KATHRYN BATTE: Emma Hayes stepping away from Chelsea leaves a gaping hole in women’s football… while Aston Villa struggle and Brazil bid for 2027 World Cup
- Emma Hayes will be leaving Chelsea at the end of the season to manage the US
- Aston Villa are struggling to live up to lofty expectations since last season
- CHRIS SUTTON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a CLOWN – It’s All Kicking Off
It has long been hard to imagine Chelsea without Emma Hayes and vice versa.
At the end of the season she will leave the club she has spent 11 years building to take up the role as manager of the United States national team.
She is leaving her home for the biggest job in women’s football. It is an opportunity that does not come around often and one she could not turn down – but those facts did not make the news of her departure any less shocking.
Hayes’ players did not find out until after their 6-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday and were just as surprised as her staff members.
One can only imagine how sombre that bus journey home to London must have been. Many of the players and backroom staff at Chelsea are there because of Hayes.
Emma Hayes has won the Women’s Super League an incredible six times for her club Chelsea
Hayes is an immensly popular figure in Womens football and often interacts well with fans
Chelsea before their WSL thrashing of Aston Villa, they are currently top of the league
In her 11 years, she has amassed 15 trophies. But she has achieved more than just success on the pitch.
English women’s football is indebted to Hayes and the work she has done to raise the profile of the game. She has driven standards, spoken openly and passionately about a number of issues and has never shied away from speaking her min
