The Mirror has teamed up with BT Sport’s Rachel Brown-Finnis for a new WSL column.
In her first column, the former England and Everton goalkeeper discusses Mark Sampson and the England job as well as the opening weeks of the WSL season...
After some of the most controversial weeks in the history of women’s football in this country, it’s time to move on and let the football do the talking.
England Women might not be playing for another two weeks but now is about looking forward and the team is a great position to move on from all of this with Mo Marley in charge.
The game has been tarnished to a degree, but having Mo at the helm she’ll be able to get the girls doing what they do best.
I was lucky enough to work with Mo during my time at Everton and having managed the U19s for years I know she is a presence that is well respected within the game.
Most of the girls have worked with her at some point and know how she works and that can only be a positive thing.
At the moment it’s only a temporary appointment but it seems like the most sensible one for me.
With the World Cup just around the corner it’s great to see someone picking up the reins who already knows the girls and knows what Mark Sampson was about.
If we put aside what has happened recently there was a lot of positive work that Sampson did as England boss.
The work he did on and off the pitch with the girls to get England to where they are now really is groundbreaking.
Luckily for England with Mo’s involvement in the U19s she is already aware of what he did and can pick up where he left off.
There’s no denying that it’s a huge job after everything that has happened but Mo knows what she is doing and now it’s over to the girls to do what they can on the pitch.
Nothing can be done to turn back time or undo what’s been done but there’s no better example of what we stand for as players than getting out there and putting out a solid performance and carrying on — starting with the game against France.
That’s what she will be reiterating, and it’s the FA’s job to rebuild the profile off the pitch.
England aside, it’s been an exciting start to the FA WSL season and already my tips — Chelsea and Manchester City — are smashing it.
Chelsea, in particular, definitely look like the ones to watch.
I touted them right from the start, they’ve made some good additions to their squad and they just look far superior to the other contenders.
City and Arsenal have looked good too, but after two 6-0 wins, it’s Chelsea that look a cut above the rest.
I’ll be at their next game, against Liverpool, and with the visiting Reds looking a bit disjointed at the back all I can see is a pretty substantial home win.
* Watch Chelsea Ladies v Liverpool Ladies exclusively live on BT Sport 1 this Saturday (7 October), from noon.
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