Chelsea Women travel to Everton this weekend as fans continue to absorb the news that their head coach is leaving Kingsmeadow.
The club’s board is making early soundings about a successor after Emma Hayes announced to the dressing room that she was quitting at the end of the season after 11 years in charge.
She will be taking charge of the US women’s national team, but filling the 47-year-old’s boots will be a challenge.
The likeliest new manager will be a continental high-flyer who has already won the Women’s Champions League and is well-versed in European football. But that narrows the field to a handful of candidates.
Hayes’ immediate plans are to continue to battle for a fifth league title on the trot, while her dream remains to lift that elusive European trophy.
But the whisper at Kingsmeadow is that she’s going to take advantage of a month-long domestic winter break either side of Christmas to go house-hunting in Chicago.
Saturday’s remarkable 6-0 away win against Aston Villa propelled the Blues to the top of the league, three points clear of all rivals following Arsenal’s defeat of Man City. “We were mustard,” chirped Hayes afterwards.
“That was the most complete performance I’ve seen from my team in a long time,” said Hayes, adding that she was especially pleased to see six different names on the scoresheet. Millie Bright marked her 250th game for the Blues with one of the goals.
This weekend sees Chelsea embark on a challenging run of five games in a fortnight. The omens are good against the Toffees. Everton have lost 11 of their last 12 WSL ties against the Blues, and have only managed one win from five in domestic games this season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s men host Man City on Sunday afternoon – a chance for everyone to admire the silky skills of a truly remarkable striker.
But when they’ve finished watching Nico Jackson, the hat-trick hero of White Hart Lane on Monday evening, there’s also Erling Haaland’s nimble footwork to enjoy.
It’s the last game for two weeks for the men as yet another international break is looming.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
