We’ve been keeping our counsel on everything that has happened with England over the last three weeks. We still have so many questions and not many answers. As a result we have found it hard to form full opinions until we know all the facts . One thing we do know is we desperately need the truth for the sake of the game we love.
These are the three questions that we are still no closer finding out the answers for despite the week’s events:
- What actually happened with Eni Aluko? This is vital for all the parties involved. With Martin Glenn stating the reason for Mark Sampson’ sacking being totally different to these complaints, we are still no closer to having the answers.
- What is in the report that suddenly made his position untenable? The vagueness of Glenn’s statement has left wide holes that people are trying to fill in. There are hypotheses and innuendo that have wide-reaching effects but again no actual facts.
- How was it that a report that was made two years ago conveniently popped up this week to be read? That is just baffling.
Everyone can agree that this has been mishandled from the get go. It has left a mess of the game we love and the damage is far-reaching.
Our overall feeling is one of complete sadness (as well as confusion). All of you who follow us know how emotionally invested in this sport we are, and particularly the England team. We have followed the players every step of the way in the last five years; we have celebrated their success, cried at their defeats and been immensely proud of the progress they have made in pushing the international game to new heights. We feel sad for all the players, coaches, backroom staff, FA staff, clubs, journalists and fans who put so much into this game on a day to day basis to make it successful. They have all been let down by the powers that be.
We have a little request. We live in an age of social media where you seemingly always have to be on one side or another and defend that to the hilt. By all means fight your corner but please remember that you should always speak to people online as you would face-to-face. Just because someone doesn’t have the same opinion as you, it doesn’t mean they’re wrong. The women’s football community is a small one that will still be here when all of this has passed so we would just ask that you remain kind to one another.
And one last thing. The FAWSL starts this weekend; the FAWPL continues. There are many great players and people doing many great things for women’s football across the country. Please get down to your team and/or local club to enjoy the weekend’s action.
