A very subjective look into AWFC

I don’t quite remember the last time AWFC were beat on penalties. I mean that literally, not figuratively. I have no concept of this and I can’t even tell you who was the player that missed the last kick, i truly don’t. If I had to guess I’d say Tottenham? Sooner or later this is going to be a thing… we are gonna go to a penalty shootout and we will be absolutely fantastic because we have exquisite penalty takers.

Kim Little is, of course, as reliable as it gets, we all know that. And aside from her we have Lia Walti, who scores some absolute peaches from the penalty. And not like we didn’t know this but how about Steph’s penalties? So damn perfect. Plus Katie, Beth, Viv, Leah…This gives a lot of confidence. These are not quite intangibles I don’t think but this dimension definitely fits in a different category than most things/stats/parameters.

In Catley’s case, beyond her executing the penalties perfectly, what stands out to me the most is the unthinkable pressure that must have been on her shoulders, yet she was as cool and composed (at least from what I could see) as you’d like. This is of course a great sign of things to come because, all things considered, there’s not a whole lot that she could live at Arsenal that would evoke more pressure than say taking a penalty kick during the first match of the World Cup when your country is hosting it, you know what I mean?

We have a lot of great characters in our team. It seems like this is the right time for a lot of things to go our way. All the players at the World Cup are growing in stature, well at least the ones that are playing, and this can only help AWFC as a whole and Arsenal as a club, without a shadow of a doubt. I truly believe that there will be a lot of teams, even the top ones, who do not wanna face us this upcoming season.

I believe we have all it takes to win a lot.

d ❤

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On the previous post I mentioned how Amanda was amazing and how I wanted to go deeper into Noelle playing at center back. I had planned to be fully awake and active so I could fully take in the Switzerland match a few hours ago. Spoiler alert: I FELL ASLEEP. Judging by the scoreline (0-0) I didn’t miss much, so you’d think. But a clean sheet is exactly what I wanted to see and glad that this was the result. Why? because I only really care about solid defense displays by Maritz and of course Lia Walti, but let me chat about Noelle for a second.

She has truly grown on me. The second half of the season she was on fire and showed so much consistency and determination that it was hard to imagine a team without her. Up until then I assumed she was versatile and this manifested in a few ways. One of those ways is how strong she is defensively, just as a straight up right back. Solid. You can also add to that her ability to go forward, and yeah she’s not Lucy Bronze going forward, but her overlapping runs are there when she is allowed. Add to that the fact that she can also play as a left back. That’s a huge asset.

This World Cup has shown me yet another dimension to that versatility, and as I mentioned and I’m sure you’ve seen, she has been playing as a central defender. I could swear she looks taller than she’s ever been. Ok I’m kidding. As of now she has been playing as a right center back but if she can also play left back, she can also play left center back. Do you see what I’m getting at? We have some decent cover for Leah. So: Amanda, Teyah, Beattie and even Steph can help while Leah is gone, but now adding to that potential pool to choose from is something that I wasn’t expecting if I’m being completely honest with you. I still think we can use another defender to cover for Noelle actually.

This World Cup has been fascinating and I want the season to start but due to the intensity and evenness of the matches I want all players to get as much rest as humanly possible.

d ❤

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Well that is not something I had on my World Cup bingo… Our new center back being the joint top goal scorer of this competition… And let me tell you that I couldn’t be happier. This is just amazing to see, even if it doesn’t automatically mean she’ll do it during the WSL season, but wow! what a great omen.

When Rafa left, one of the things that I knew we would miss was there ability to score big goals. I didn’t know she had that in her locker until I saw her of course, but to know that an incoming player DOES have that, and she’s doing it in the biggest stage of all, is something that gives me a lot of confidence and I truly cannot wait for her to partner up with Leah and Jen.

The thing that stands out the most for me, and I might be reading way too much into it, is her smile and jovial attitude. She truly enjoys scoring and her attitude is infectious. I really think this will go a long way in the locker room, especially when she is there to replace Rafa, who we have all heard was a bright shining light in that back room. Ability is fantastic, yes, and so is worth ethic. Another great thing is activism and all that amazing stuff, and to me its also important the palpable attitude or what I would say is a palpable attitude that I can see in players… their body language, their stature and I don’t mean height.

To me, Amanda Ilestedt has that stature we need, and the stature we deserve. She’s closer to Leah than what we currently have and I’m so here for it.

Btw, I will chat more tomorrow but I am LOVING seeing Noelle as center back for Switzerland… sign of things to come?!

d ❤

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We all saw Keira Walsh getting injured and not being able to walk off the pitch. Nobody wants to say out loud what we all think and I’m not gonna do that out of respect for her and her family, even though they’ll never read this… just putting the bad energy out there isn’t constructive.

But my thoughts instantly went to Leah (her best friend as far as I know) Beth and Viv. I thought about how difficult and it has to be for all of them to watch the World Cup in general while being injured. You heard them speak about it and I don’t have to paint any sort of picture you haven’t seen. They are supportive for them but wish they were there and all 3 know without a shadow of a doubt that they make any team they play in infinitely better, and I cannot think of any 3 players that do just that.

If that wasn’t bad enough, these players recovering from a massive injury have had to watch their friend and colleague suffer, in the biggest stages of them all, a horrible injury. And let’s just. say for the sake of argument that it wasn’t anything that bad and she just tweaked her knee and can’t walk on it at the moment but will be fine… the trauma those watching from home who have suffered ACL injuries can absolutely and will most likely be triggered.

Their empathy will be activated first because that’s the kind of people they are and then all this might morph into their own bodies, their minds, and in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. This is a moment for us fans to support and be there not only for Keira and her teammates but our players at Arsenal that have gone through something really bad and they relieve it daily, and in days like today it can be even worse.

One can only hope that these players getting hurt in the world stage proves what we’ve all been saying for years and the research is stepped up. Part of me thinks that people don’t believe how bad it really is and the casual World Cup viewer is exposed to it in real time and not just reading that X players are missing because they got injured during the domestic season.

d ❤

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The NED vs USA match was so damn intense that I can’t do a podcast AND also a blog post, but trust me I have a lot to say about it. I will talk about the match itself, the whole situation with Lindsey Horan and DVD and much more, all of which will be out in a few hours.

Today though I wanted to clarify something regarding the event I spoke at. Before I start, it’s important to note that this is all directed to very few people, as in I totally understand I have a very small number of readers and its not like there’s an expectation for me or “my brand” which isn’t a thing really. I have no power, no pull, no contacts, but I have opinions and I have instincts and I also have respect for my audience aka YOU, regardless of how many of you read what I write or listen to that I say.

For those that don’t know AFTV is a YouTube channel that, through the years, have grown exponentially and are an absolute force of nature. During the latter Wenger years they produced a lot of negative content and had a few regulars there that I felt were not cool, insulting and they were also inundated in bullying, one of their members committed suicide and another was arrested for domestic violence or something worse. This is not what AFTV are about obviously… they wanted to and have given fans a voice and it has been adapted all over the league and all over the world pretty much. This is not a defense not an insult to them, I’m just trying to express a point here. As you can imagine they divide opinion and mine has certainly been more than divided. I don’t watch their channel, I don’t subscribe to them and I also agree with a lot of what Robbie and Lee say there. Both btw were absolutely lovely folks and I had a great time chatting with them on and off the panel. They definitely love the club and care about the fans. That’s the genuine vibe I got.

Said event was filmed and I didn’t really know. The chat is on their YouTube channel and again, I had no idea it was going to go on there. I’m not mad nor did I expect them to ask me for permission but it would’ve been nice to at least be told it was a possibility. Not because I don’t what I said to be out on the internet, but because I respectfully don’t want to be part of that brand, or any brand for the time being until a lot of things fall into place for me in many years to come.

The growth on podcasts and such is a very interesting thing. More on this at some other point.

Stay tuned for that podcast later today.

d ❤

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There is an infinity of things that, as hard as I try, I could never understand about being a female footballer. I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman, I don’t know what it’s like to be a professional/elite athlete. I can try to be as empathetic as possible yet I know there’s just no way for me to not only understand what they go through, but I also cannot understand a lot of things adjacent to the sport and so on.

Among those things that I cannot understand, and this is about football and sport in general, is having to face your friends. Now, of course I understand what it is and can be to play a sport and have a friend or even family member play in an opposing team… something like a pick up footy game with friends, or tennis, or whatever. That’s not hard or difficult to comprehend.

What I have issues understanding is when it gets to be a physical encounter… like you’re not gonna harm anyone playing tennis, but having to go in on a 50/50 tackle, in a World Cup final, against your best friend at club level, or someone you’re emotionally attached to, etc… this is nuts. Like I said, I try to understand it and I get the elite mentality where the opponent is just that: an opponent. I just don’t know that I have a brain that is fast enough to compartmentalize and not see someone I care about as the rival they should be, and I’d tackle the living lights out of them.

It’s one of those things were its just a given that elite players just overcome that and they have blinders on and fight whoever is front of them, yet I thought about it today, as I often do, and its just jaw dropping to me. Imagine an Australia vs England final were, hypothetically Beth Mead would play against Steph… hard fouls, or nutmegs, etc… or Leah having to tackle Caitlin… it’s just insane to me. It truly is.

There are many variables, the stakes are indescribable and when you have worked so long for something, its easy to assume no emotional connection with your rival can be an obstacle, but I can’t think of a bigger one than that.

d ❤

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