Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / Lianne Sanderson talks her career arc, Emma Hayes at USWNT, NWSL, and more!

Transcript

Lianne Sanderson talks her career arc, Emma Hayes at USWNT, NWSL, and more! · Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

0:02
OK, very special guest joining us on the ITC today.
0:07
True ambassador of the game. I don't know, to me, the voice
0:09
of women's football, Amazon Prime, talk sport to zone.
0:13
If there's big football being played, that voice, those
0:16
insights, that flair, they're all going to be in the building.
0:18
You already know. Tremendous WSL coverage as well
0:21
on Herpod, the women's football show on Talk Sport.
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A legit certified one of one. Leanne Sanderson, welcome to the
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show. Thank you guys.
0:30
Guys, what a lovely welcome that is.
0:31
Yeah. I mean, I think I'm everywhere,
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aren't I? Some people say to me, are you
0:34
really the same person that was in Bilbao last weekend and then,
0:38
you know, a few days later you're in America.
0:40
But I love what I do. The jet lag is the only issue.
0:42
You know, I flew last Thursday to San Diego, 12 hour flight, 8
0:46
hour time difference. And then I flew back to Fort
0:49
Lauderdale on the red eye after the game to a game Saturday and
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then Sunday. So.
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But again, you know, when you love what you do and you're
0:56
around people that just love the game, including you guys, it
1:00
just helps to kind of push on. Really appreciate that.
1:04
Yeah, I couldn't Orlando Pride, KC, current Washington Spirit,
1:08
some of the best teams seen them.
1:08
NWSL. The other thing in common, you
1:11
called all of those games this weekend apparently.
1:12
So just voice was everywhere. Don't know how you do it.
1:15
At some point I was like, is is she a high or something?
1:18
Is is there some kind of technology thing going on?
1:21
But I think we're I think we've got some some good evidence that
1:25
you're here in the flesh with us hanging out.
1:26
My first question, Champions League final, want to rewind a
1:29
couple weeks, Barcelona, Lyon, Bilbao, that Alexia goal, you
1:34
were in the building, No surprise there.
1:36
What are you going to remember from that historic final?
1:39
I think the thing that I remember is how delighted I was
1:41
to be out on the pitch before the game.
1:43
You know, a lot of people ask me, do I miss playing?
1:45
I don't really miss it because I get to still work within the
1:48
game and have the best life, genuinely.
1:50
But when I was out on the pitch before and I was watching the
1:52
Walmarts, you know, I'm like a sponge.
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I still love the game. I was out there, you know, and I
1:56
did my little record before and it was just amazing.
1:59
I think two major giants on show we've seen, you know, over the
2:03
years people can say, oh you know, are they that good?
2:07
They are that good. You know, people like Wendy
2:08
Renard winning the Champions League 8 times.
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Alexia Portez comes on, scores a goal.
2:13
Like I don't think people realise I won the Champions
2:15
League once, right? And I talk about it nearly every
2:17
day of my life. These players have like and it
2:20
is my proudest moment when the quadruple with Arsenal.
2:22
But Wendy Renard and these types of players, like, you know, I
2:25
know she was on the other end and they didn't win, but like
2:27
they didn't deserve to win. Barcelona were just superior.
2:30
I don't think Leon showed up during the game.
2:32
I think, you know, Daniel van der Donk didn't really get on
2:35
the ball. Lindsay Horan wasn't really in
2:37
the game, but that was due to the fact that Barcelona was just
2:39
so good. You know, Lucy Bronze now has
2:41
won the Champions League five times, more than any other
2:44
person. It's just the quality they have.
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I mean owner Bachelor coming into Barcelona expected Lucy
2:49
Bronson and not play as much someone like Lucy Bronze.
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I've been her team mate at England.
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She will not just sit down and let someone take her spot.
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She will fight and you've seen she's held down that spot at
2:59
times as she had been in and out.
3:00
But who was called upon in the final?
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It was Lucy Bronze and Caroline Graham Hanson.
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Like the quality just shines. She was Bron Mattie, like it's
3:08
not like Caroline Graham hunting I don't think gets rid of the
3:10
credit she deserves. I know we talk, people talk
3:13
about her, but like not enough fans talk about her.
3:15
For me. She's such a good quality
3:17
player. But this Barcelona team,
3:19
Jonathan Heraldo is his last game.
3:21
Sonia Bumpass saw his last game. You know, I said it was the most
3:24
worst kept secret. She was going to Chelsea for
3:26
quite a unique situation. But one thing I do remember at
3:29
the end of the game was Michelle Kang, when she shook, Jonathan
3:32
heralded his hand. And obviously she's the owner
3:35
olympically on egg. And then she's bringing him to
3:37
the Washington Spirit. And I brought them there and I'm
3:40
like, this is such a cool situation because Michelle Kent
3:43
just lost on one hand, but she's gaining, you know, one of the
3:45
best coaches that just won the Champions League with the
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Washington Spirit. Pretty nice manoeuvre to gain a
3:51
great manager for your US based team and also take away a great
3:55
manager from your chief competition in Europe.
3:58
Yeah, I think as well with Barcelona, they always recruit
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from within. So it's one of those things
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where Jonathan Morales, when he took this role, he was already
4:04
there as one of the assistants. He didn't really have that big
4:07
of a name. Not really many people knew.
4:09
I think it seemed like Barcelona.
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It's a hard situation to manage because imagine telling Alexei
4:13
Buttez she's not starting in the Champions League final.
4:16
It's a big call, but I think it was probably the the correct
4:18
call. I honestly think as well that
4:20
Alexia probably wouldn't have signed the new contract had
4:22
Jonathan still been there. Not that there was any kind of
4:25
disc unrest, but I genuinely don't think she would have
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because why would you stay on a team where a coach isn't playing
4:30
you? And it's not just because she's
4:32
been injured, because she came back from that ACL injury.
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She got injured in the game I did before Christmas.
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Guess what? I was there in Barcelona with
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the course against Benfica. She got injured and then she was
4:42
out for a little while. But most coaches and managers
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would bring her back in straight away.
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We've seen it happen. So as Leah Williamson was
4:48
available to play again, she played.
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Then she picked up another injury.
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The I get why coaches do it, but it's not an easy thing to do.
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So I think the Barcelona team, they don't need to be coached,
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let's be honest, they need to be managed because players are just
5:01
so good technically. Quick follow up to that,
5:03
obviously you might be the most qualified person to answer this
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question. And how about that?
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Women's, women's football right now in Europe and the NWSL,
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obviously we're seeing a lot of you kind of crossover US women's
5:16
national team, four or five, maybe six players who are
5:19
playing professionally in Europe right now as a player, as a
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commentator, as a, as a voice of the game.
5:24
What do people maybe not understand about the the key
5:27
difference between how those games are played in Europe and
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here in the NWSL? Yeah, I love this question
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because I get asked it a lot and I have the the luxury of doing
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all of the leads, you know, in England and America and in
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Europe. I think what people
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misunderstand about the NWSL is the speed of the players and the
5:43
play. And This is why I think it takes
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a little while. It doesn't really take Barbara
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Banner in Chiwinga that long to get up to the speed of play
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because we've seen. But for some players it takes a
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while. I know when I came over I was I
5:55
won everything at Arsenal. I thought I was a good player.
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Not that I thought I was Cristiano Ronaldo, but I'd won
6:00
everything by the time I was 17, scoring loads of goals.
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I got here. The defender I remember, Leanne
6:04
Robinson was my defender in Philly, just took the ball from
6:07
me. I was so technically good.
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My soccer knowledge, my football IQ was on a different level.
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I was always good at seeing a range of pass and seeing things
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other people didn't see. But I wasn't as quick and I
6:16
wasn't as strong. So in the offseason I worked on
6:19
that. I was one of the lowest in the
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fitness levels coming in. I wasn't unfit.
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Everybody else was just like a iron woman.
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It's like this is amazing. So the fact that the speed of
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play, I think a lot of people watch the game and a lot of
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people say to me, you know, the end of it was like a ping pong,
6:34
you know, bypassing the midfield.
6:35
So transitional. I'm like, yeah, but it is also
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the quality is good. I think now we've got better
6:40
quality within the league, starting to attract other
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players. You know, we've seen Kundanangi
6:45
come in, Barbara Bandun. So a lot of clubs in Europe
6:47
would have wanted them. And then on the flip side,
6:49
you've got the WSL, which is such a technically gifted
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league. I think even the teams that are
6:55
at the bottom, Bristol City got relegated, they still have
6:58
technically good players. And I'm really looking forward
7:00
to seeing the tournament in the summer where, you know, the
7:03
friendly sorry when they're coming to play against each
7:05
other because I just want to be able to see these teams play
7:08
each other when they're in the middle of the season, though,
7:10
that would be my dream if they could run a tournament that was
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like, I know the players have too many games.
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And I get that. I'm not trying to say I have
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another tournament. But when everybody's there, not
7:18
when it's two weeks after, you know, the Olympics, when people
7:21
are probably still managing their minutes, because I think
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it would be great to see, you know, the winner of the NWSL
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play against the champion of WS. So like a Super Cup, but it'd be
7:31
a real glorified game. You know, I think there's a
7:33
market there for that. That's a whole nother level.
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But I think a lot of people, a lot of Americans have struggled
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when they come to the WSL, though.
7:40
They they they don't really, you know, you saw when Tobin Heath
7:43
has also gone over to France, Megan Rapinoe went over to
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France. You know, it's not easy to
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transition into those areas from from, off the top of my head, I
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think one of the only players that really done themselves
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justice in Europe, probably Kristen Press, you know, when
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she was in Sweden. I think you look at players,
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that's not to say they they undervalued or did a disservice
8:00
to themselves, but I think when they're in America, I think
8:02
they're more embraced to be great.
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I think going over to European countries, it's completely
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different. Playing in Spain, Italy and
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France, it's more of a rigid environment than the culture,
8:12
whereas America is a bit more like free.
8:14
I noticed that from here, you know, after games you can kind
8:17
of go of your family, spend time with them.
8:19
You don't have to wear buttoned up polo shirts to go into games
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and track foods. And everybody look the same,
8:24
like you're in, you know, like military style.
8:26
It's very flexible and free. And that's what I loved about
8:29
playing in the NWSL. So this is a really interesting
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point. I'm going to transition things
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real quick to the US women's national team because I was
8:37
wondering if I was reading too much into Emma Hayes comments
8:40
about taking the job. But she talked about, and I
8:43
think she was alluding to kind of what you're talking about.
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We want to take the DNA of USA football and what the players
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have and incorporate. Like she kept using words like
8:53
patience and quality and things like that.
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Do you think Emma Hayes is kind of trying to merge, like, OK,
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we're taking the physical gifts of these US players and we're
9:03
merging them with a more European style of football?
9:05
Or am I just kind of making that up?
9:06
No, no, I think that that's a true thing.
9:08
I think with Emma Hayes, obviously she's been over here
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before with the Chicago Red Star.
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She helped put together our roster at the Western New Flash
9:15
when we made the championship. So she's been in amongst it even
9:18
behind the scenes when people probably didn't even know when
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she's been putting together for rosters.
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And we've seen her do that at Chelsea.
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She attracts players, she gets the best out of players.
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I think perfect example of that is Neve Childs at Chelsea this
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year, a player that not really many people would have seen,
9:31
playing every minute of every game mostly.
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And I'm worried for certain players when Emma's not there
9:37
because she's the type of coach that will put her around you.
9:39
She'll also be honest with you and that's all you can ask for
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as a player. I think this US women's national
9:44
team, I think with Americans, I get it.
9:46
I love it about it. It's in the DNA to always win.
9:49
But I think sometimes it has to be almost like a step back to go
9:52
forward. Emma Hayes, I've no doubt is the
9:54
is the best person for this job. I played for Emma.
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She was our assistant coach when we won the quadruple Arsenal.
9:59
She is just obsessed with the game.
10:01
She's a type of person that you'll be out at a bar with her
10:03
and she'll start bringing out the salt and pepper and the
10:06
ketchup and such new formations. Like she is obsessed with the
10:09
game and I'm not joking. I've seen it with my own eyes.
10:12
You know, it's constant football and that is all she knows.
10:15
But I think there's also humility behind Emma Hayes as
10:18
well that she'll bring to this team.
10:20
It's a difficult job picking this team, I tell you, because
10:23
Emma's also not scared to make difficult decisions.
10:25
And I think that #9 spot, like the forward areas is probably
10:30
similar to the England men's in our outside back position.
10:32
Such AI don't think I've seen many competitions for places as
10:35
well as this in that #9 spot. Trinity Rodman, you know, Sophia
10:39
Smith, Alex Morgan, Jaden Shaw, Lynn Williams, Outside Chance.
10:42
The list could go on, you know, and I don't it's going to be
10:45
difficult for Emma Hayes to find the right chemistry.
10:48
And I think Black guy Randonowski tried to do that,
10:51
but I think he's he was too loyal in the end.
10:53
And I love black girl. He's the top guy and we're
10:55
seeing just how good he is as a coach in the NWSL right now.
10:58
Absolutely. One more quick one before we get
11:00
to NWSL. So you finished the 2000 and six
11:03
2007 season as Arsenal's top scorer?
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My Arsenal. So appreciate that.
11:08
Forty goals scored in 41 appearances.
11:11
What is it like to be in that type of zone?
11:14
You know what, I just actually just recently did an Arsenal
11:16
podcast just now and we were talking about how I scored a
11:18
hundred goals in two seasons. And I was saying like when I
11:22
look back on it, I was thinking I did exactly the same thing.
11:25
I always ate the same, slept the same, you know, trained the
11:29
same. It was never, I'm not, I'm not
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like superstitious or anything like that.
11:33
It wasn't like I had the same meal every single time before a
11:35
game, but it was like you look back on things and I wish I
11:38
could put a camera within my body and think what was going on
11:41
during that time, because every game I played in, I was the best
11:43
player on the pitch. And that's not because I think
11:45
I'm Ronaldo. Anybody would tell you that.
11:48
I when I say I don't know why it wasn't luck.
11:50
It was one of those things when you're when you're in that
11:52
moment, you know certain players in in the league are in it now.
11:54
And in world football, you want every training session to come.
11:58
You want every game to come because you just know you're
12:00
going to score and you know you're going to win.
12:02
And at Arsenal, I was really blessed as well that I was with
12:05
some of the best players in the world, you know, Kelly Smith,
12:07
Julie Fleet and Jane Ludlow. So goal scoring was like my main
12:12
was one of my main things during those two seasons.
12:14
But the consistency of my performances, I was playing
12:16
right wing, left wing, I was playing down the middle.
12:19
Kelly Smith got injured, got red carded in our semi final
12:22
Champions League. So I played in the 10 and it was
12:24
quite a unique situation because I never really trained in those
12:27
positions. I just was able to adjust and
12:29
adapt. And I think a lot of that is to
12:31
is to do with watching the game from the age of five years old.
12:35
I used to go to highbrew that I'm a Man United fan, Forgive
12:37
me. You know, I'm, I used to go to
12:40
Arsenal just to watch Dennis Bergkamp warm up and watching
12:43
that at that age, watching 90 minutes games, you know, it's
12:46
unusual because when I look back, I think I thought every
12:49
kid was doing that. But trying to get a 5 year old
12:51
to sit there and watch a 90 minute game, Can you imagine?
12:53
I, I, you know, it's impossible. Whereas I genuinely did it off
12:56
the back of wanting to, you know, my mum and dad are massive
12:59
football fans. It helps, but watching the game
13:03
and able to implement that in a game I think is is quite a
13:05
unique situation. So I love football and I just
13:09
feel blessed. I think I've always tried to
13:10
chase that success we had at Arsenal and I've still had
13:13
success, I've won things. But that camaraderie we had
13:15
around that team, that feeling, we just knew he wasn't going to
13:18
lose. And, and I see it in some
13:20
players now and I just know when it's there, everything you touch
13:24
turns to gold. Yeah, you were you were cooking
13:26
Leanne. So let's let's move over to the
13:29
NWSL talk about some other players who are just frying up
13:33
defenses right now. You know, we're near the
13:35
midpoint of the season. We're kind of starting to think
13:37
about MVP type players. I think a lot of people have
13:41
some folks in mind who's jumped out to you.
13:44
Again, we're not holding anybody to this, even though I think
13:47
they'll probably proceed with these MVP, this MVP level play.
13:51
When I'm say NWSLMVP, who you looking at right now?
13:54
It's such a difficult one to answer, but I will answer
13:57
because I don't sit on the fence, but I have a number of
13:59
players, so forgive me for. I won't really like NWSL, but
14:03
Sophia Smith, I mean, I know a lot of talk is about Barbara
14:06
Banner and I'll come on to those types of players in a minute,
14:08
but I think Sophia Smith to reach, you know, when the
14:11
Portland Thorns were not playing that well, when they were losing
14:13
games, she was still scoring and obviously against the Seattle
14:16
Reign. Now she's going to be missing
14:18
due to that crazy second yellow card at the weekend, but she's
14:22
just a top, top player and I think for sure her Barbara
14:26
Banda, like what, eight goals, you know, in a short space of
14:30
time to winger. I think obviously people are
14:33
going to think I'm being biased to the to the centre forwards,
14:35
which I am right now. But I think a special mention
14:37
has to also go to people like Naomi Germar, you know, Vanessa
14:41
Di Bernardo, those types of players that I played against
14:45
Vanessa Di Bernardo when she was at the Chicago Red Stars.
14:47
And she was one of those players that, you know, you knew she was
14:50
good but was never really going to cause many, many problems on
14:53
the attack. Now this season, unplayable.
14:56
I think at times I'm surprised she was actually on the bench.
14:59
And Claire Lavrigier started in the game and then obviously she
15:01
came on and scored off to 30 seconds in that game.
15:05
So against the Seattle rain. But I think certain players this
15:08
year are really having a good season.
15:10
But I think it's hard to see part, you know, Ule SAR as well.
15:12
The Washington Spirit. Nobody expected that everybody
15:15
thought was going to be about Trinity Robin.
15:16
And it's still kind of is. But I think the responsibility,
15:19
you know, has been shared amongst the group at the
15:21
Washington Spirit as it has at the Kansas City currently like
15:24
16 different goal scorers at the Kansas City time.
15:26
That's like unheard of. And that is a recipe for success
15:29
because they're not just focused on, OK, well, if we stop this
15:32
player, if we stop, you know, Debinia, who's not really been
15:35
available, but when she has been, you have to stop her.
15:37
She's one of the best. Who are we going to take care of
15:39
now? OK, Vanessa Di Bernardo's in
15:40
there or Lola Bunta. So there's a lot of players
15:43
that, you know, you just think I want to I want to watch them.
15:46
But there's certain teams that are just, they're just smoking
15:50
right now and they're on fire. You mentioned that Casey
15:52
current, obviously Di Bernardo scored a a borderline banger 30
15:57
seconds in. Is the current?
15:59
Are the current the best team you've seen this season?
16:02
It's interesting because myself and Mike Watts had this
16:04
conversation a lot because he likes to watch.
16:06
We've done a lot of Orlando Pride games on Amazon and it's
16:08
been brilliant because I don't think anybody else really saw
16:11
that one come in because obviously Orlando Pride have
16:13
only made one playoff in seven years and they haven't really
16:15
ever kind of pushed on with the roster that they've had.
16:18
But this season, Orlando Pride in the Kansas City Current I
16:20
think are the best two teams that I've seen.
16:22
I think with the Orlando, you've got one team on the Orlando
16:24
Pride that have a lot of role players in the team that have
16:28
been brilliant. You know, Julie Doyle, Summer
16:30
Yates, those types of players that Ali Watt, you know, have
16:34
been so good in this team. And then you add Barbara Bandit
16:37
to that, you add Martyr to that, those types of players.
16:40
The back line. I think Sam's again, we talk
16:42
about MVPI, think she could possibly be in there as well.
16:45
She's been brilliant in there as well defensively.
16:48
So players like Kylie Strom, like captain in the team and I
16:51
think Seb Hines has done a fantastic job this season at
16:54
kind of the feeling amongst the group.
16:56
And I've asked the players this question at the Orlando right,
16:58
they got brought into pre season 10 days to two weeks earlier
17:01
than every other team. And I said, imagine that getting
17:04
that phone call to say we're going in early as a player
17:07
thinking, Oh my gosh, what's going on here?
17:09
You don't really want to if you're being honest, but because
17:12
you're training at home, you want to be with your family.
17:14
But look at what's happening right now.
17:16
The progression of the Orlando Pride has been such on a
17:19
different level. They haven't lost the game on
17:21
that street. But if he was to ask me which
17:23
team I'd want to play for in the NWSL, it would be Kansas City
17:27
Current. It'd be Black Guy and Danowski,
17:29
because I said to him after the first game, if you have 5 more
17:32
minutes, that game could have been 55.
17:33
And he was like, yeah, and we're not going to do that again.
17:35
He was happy they won five, four, but he was like, we need
17:38
to shut up shot. So I like playing for coaches
17:40
that allow you like Blackco to kind of do what you want when it
17:44
comes to attacking, but also the defensive responsibility on the
17:48
other side of the ball as well. So I think Blackco and Anoski's
17:51
personality is infectious. I think he's, you know, that
17:54
type of player, that type of coach story that you want to
17:56
play for. So I think those two teams for
17:58
sure are the best two teams that I've seen so far, but slowly
18:01
creeping behind Washington Spirit.
18:04
Yeah, totally agree with that. Dino and I have mentioned this
18:07
like when when Casey came out the box and they were they were
18:10
cooking early, we jokingly referred to it as the Vlat Go
18:14
Revenge Tour. You know, he took a lot of Flack
18:17
over here about the way the national team performed.
18:19
You think there's anything to that?
18:20
Is that is there anything to like?
18:22
I mean, you know, he's the manager, He's not on the field.
18:25
But can you do like extra preparation?
18:27
Can he, can he work? Can he study film extra hard?
18:30
Like what? What?
18:31
What can he do? No, if we're having conversation
18:33
with Lacco, I've known him for. I was actually going to sign for
18:35
his team before the league folded in Kansas City when they
18:38
had like Lauren Holiday, you know, all those top players,
18:40
Becky Sauerbrand. And I love him as a person.
18:43
I think what I see with Lacco right now, he loves being in the
18:45
team environment. He loves being in Kansas City.
18:47
It's his home. That's where he lived even when
18:50
he was the national team coach. And you can see like he loves
18:53
being in that day-to-day interactions with the players
18:56
because when you're a national team coach, you have to go to
18:58
watch games, but you're not with them every day.
19:00
So you kind of have them in camp, then you let them go back
19:02
to their clubs. You don't really have much say
19:04
over. You can have conversations with
19:06
the coaches, but it's all about the national team.
19:08
Each coach on every single individual team wants that
19:11
player to be the best they can be.
19:12
So there's always that club versus country kind of fight
19:14
this player don't need to play that many minutes.
19:16
Oh, we need them to play because they're they're so good.
19:18
So I think with black code, you can just see he loves being in
19:21
Kansas City. It's his home.
19:23
He even said to us the other day when he went to the Seattle
19:25
rainy felt like he was only on loan based upon Laura Harvey,
19:28
you know, going away to Utah and then coming back and you can
19:30
just see the stadium, you know, Patrick Mahomes, Brittany
19:33
Mahomes, Andy Reed was there at the weekend.
19:36
So it's like you can say there's a glorified situation there
19:40
because the beginning of the season.
19:41
But I like what the Kansas City current are doing.
19:44
Their ownership is given Chris and Angie Long, you know,
19:46
they're not just all smoke and mirrors.
19:48
They're selling out games. Yes, it's 11 1/2 thousand, which
19:51
is less than most of the stadiums, but I think that's
19:53
where we need to be at. I think we need to be at a place
19:56
where we're having stadiums like this that sell out because it
19:59
helps the players as well. When you know you could have
20:02
10,000 at Lumen fill, but that feels like one person because
20:05
it's such a big stadium and I love that it's one of the best
20:08
places along with Snapdragon to do commentary from.
20:11
But I think this Kansas City current team are delivering
20:14
because the pressure was there. Everybody's talking about this
20:16
stadium. Everybody's talking about, you
20:18
know, the only one in the world. But you have to deliver.
20:21
And their training facility, I've been there a number of
20:23
times, is great as well. And they're just a fantastic
20:25
club. Very cool.
20:26
Yeah. You'd love to see that level of
20:27
investment. All right, so it sounds like
20:29
you've got two teams in your top tier Washington spirit maybe
20:32
knocking on the door. Is there a team that you think
20:35
is maybe flying under the radar or maybe poised to make a big
20:38
run second-half of the season? You know what, it's funny
20:41
because I would say Washington Spirit may be in that team that
20:44
are under the radar. I think the fact that I haven't
20:46
even spoken about Croy Bethune yet is quite incredible because
20:50
obviously we talk about MVP. She'd probably obviously be
20:52
rookie of the year so far. But I think the Washington
20:55
Spirit could be that team that could really push.
20:57
I think when you look at the bottom half of the of the table,
21:00
you know, Angel City, Utah and the rain are just under.
21:03
They're not, they're not achieving anywhere near the
21:05
levels they can. And I'm not quite sure they have
21:08
the minerals to then push on. I think Angel City do to a
21:11
certain degree. But you look at the rain and you
21:13
look at Utah Royals, they don't look like they have that to be
21:16
able to push on. You know, they look like they
21:18
need to recruit, bring players in.
21:21
You know, you look at the Seattle rain, they've lost
21:23
anybody, Sonnet Rose, the Bell, Megan Rapino.
21:26
And no one's trying to replace them to a certain degree that
21:28
you can't replace players like that, but you have to get close
21:30
to it. And I think their strength in
21:32
depth just hasn't been there. But I think the Washington
21:34
Spirit could be that team that could really push the top two
21:37
on. And from my conversations with
21:39
like the coaches and being around it, everybody at the top,
21:41
no one's getting carried away. You know, they're like, we not
21:44
won anything yet. We saw last year Gotham finished
21:46
in 6th and won the whole championship.
21:48
You know, San Diego Wave won the the overall champion, the Oval
21:52
Shield. But I think the San Diego Wave
21:55
as well could be that team that could go on a run.
21:57
They were in this position last year, the exact same place and
22:01
then they went on the run. But if I'm looking at that
22:03
bottom half, they would be the team that I'd be thinking.
22:06
They've got too much quality within their team to not push
22:10
on. I'm obligated to to go to this
22:13
now, Leanne, I live in Seattle. I cover, I cover the rain.
22:16
Obviously I'm in the press box. You're right, it's a beautiful
22:18
stadium. But when you have like 10,000
22:21
people in there, it still feels cavernous because it's it's
22:23
gigantic. But when you saw Haitam, I
22:26
thought you did a great job on the broadcast yesterday
22:28
mentioning it. When Haitam was able to get that
22:30
brace. It's like, OK, is this what the
22:33
rain has been missing? Was this kind of obvious, like
22:36
you, you alluded to it? Was it obvious before the
22:38
season? When you lose Megan Rapino,
22:39
Emily Sonnet and Roosevelt and even Angelina, who might not
22:42
have contributed much in the last two years because of
22:44
injuries, she goes to Orlando. Should we have seen this coming
22:47
out here in Seattle? Yeah, I think hindsight's a
22:50
great thing. I think no one underestimated
22:52
losing those types of players. But I think the strength and
22:55
depth just isn't there at the Seattle rain.
22:57
We know they have the foundations.
22:59
They have just fished up blue barns that have been there that
23:01
will implement any game plan. From watching them training,
23:04
from being at Lubin Field when I've been there, that the
23:06
feeling is still there. You know, it's still infectious
23:09
and you can still feel like, you know, the team is together.
23:12
That's something I definitely saw and I think it's a matter of
23:15
they were just waiting for those moments.
23:17
Now I get to San Diego way, they went down to 10 players in the
23:20
first 7 minutes and Sierra King got sent off.
23:23
I was thinking, oh, this game is going to be four or five.
23:25
They're in a really bad spot. And then Jess Fish, that was
23:28
like, we're not having this best player on the pitch during that
23:30
moment and you know, really stepped up and then they won the
23:33
game and I thought, okay, this is the type of turning point
23:36
they will need now. They haven't won a game since,
23:39
So, you know, they give away the ball far too cheaply for me and
23:42
they keep getting beat on transition.
23:44
Now, I know for a fact these players are watching film
23:47
religiously. They do.
23:49
They watch it, they go back. But it's like, how do you then
23:52
it's a definition of insanity, you know, repeating the same
23:54
thing and expecting different results.
23:56
They're doing that. They got caught in transition
23:58
again in the they go ahead against the Kansas City current.
24:00
I was thinking turning point potentially.
24:02
Again, not an easy place to go to Kansas City.
24:04
Don't go behind often in games and when they do, it's not a
24:07
home. This could be a turning point.
24:09
And then one ball in behind, then beats and Chiwinga has a
24:13
tap. Like just it's just those
24:15
moments and lapses in concentration.
24:17
But I think the Seattle rain are too good of a team to be in this
24:20
position at the end of the season.
24:22
They've had some far worse moments in their first year.
24:24
They're in the NWSL is far worse than it is now.
24:26
And I think, you know, we're having a coach like Laura Harvey
24:29
who takes responsibility. She has players in that locker
24:32
room that always take responsibility.
24:34
I hope that they they certainly go through a moment now where
24:36
they can try to find a way because conceding two goals in
24:39
in 2 minutes in the second-half yesterday, as soon as it kicked
24:42
off, it was like they were probably thinking at half time,
24:44
we're in a good spot. And then to then concede in that
24:47
way, it was almost like they were still in the locker room.
24:50
And this what happens against the Kansas City current team.
24:52
But one last thing about the Seattle Reign and Laura Harvey
24:54
made a really great point to us the other day.
24:57
They haven't played. The teams are in and around
24:59
them. And I thought that is such a
25:00
great point because that's not saying they don't think they
25:03
can't beat, you know, Portland OR Kansas City, Current or
25:06
Washington. But they haven't played
25:07
Louisville, they haven't played Houston Dutch.
25:09
They haven't played those teams in and around there.
25:11
So potentially when they're playing against those types of
25:14
teams, they do have the quality to beat them.
25:16
And that's when you could potentially, you could be
25:18
sitting here in a month's time saying they're on an unbeaten
25:21
run, as crazy as that sounds we could be.
25:24
Getting great and excited here. Fingers crossed.
25:29
Leah, you took over the women's football show and talk sport in
25:32
January. Great pod.
25:33
Listen to the the Frank Kirby episode a few days ago and then
25:37
obviously a lot of the Champions League stuff as well.
25:39
What's that been like? Yeah, I mean, it was a dream
25:41
come true. And they asked me to take over
25:43
because faker others were stepping down to to move on to
25:46
other stuff. And I was like, it's a dream
25:48
come true. I mean, I think for me, my
25:50
broadcasting career has kind of gone from strength to strength.
25:52
I think when I I never actually officially retired.
25:54
My last team was at Juventus. And then about two days later I
25:57
was on Randall's Island in New York training my kids.
26:01
And I've got a phone call to say, do you want to come and do
26:02
a World Cup in Qatar? And I was like, OK, this sounds
26:07
awesome When they said we need you here tomorrow.
26:09
So I took a really long flight to Doha the next day and never
26:13
really looked back. You know, I look back on that
26:15
first tournament I did. I looked like a little kid, you
26:17
know, my, my voice sounds different.
26:19
It's kind of cool to look back on.
26:21
And I did a whole major tournament after doing nothing.
26:23
Not when I say nothing in broadcasting.
26:25
I've done a lot of media work since I was a kid, going on
26:27
shows, doing documentaries. But I think, you know, I was
26:30
talking to Kalia, What about this the other week?
26:32
Like you don't realise as a player what goes on into
26:36
broadcasting. Like players think you just show
26:38
up, people do the commentary. Like I did three games this
26:41
weekend, which is like, you know, 6 calls picks me in 6
26:45
coach called trying to remember all of the players.
26:48
I, I mean, I love it and I, I did OK in school, but I wish I
26:51
remembered school the way I remembered players, you know,
26:54
and where they played. And I, I just sores in my head,
26:57
you know, I'm not always 100% right and my opinion isn't
27:00
always, it's in my opinion. I always say that, but I tried
27:03
to analyse the games the way I'd want to be critiqued to myself,
27:06
not malicious. It's better the player knows
27:09
they've made a mistake. They don't need to be hammered
27:11
for it. And I think since I took over my
27:13
show, I just love it. I'm getting all my friends on,
27:16
you know, I have a lot of good contacts within the NWSL and
27:18
WSL. And you know, I was waking up
27:21
where I'm in Fort Lauderdale right now because I'm here for
27:23
the games next weekend. And I'd wake up at like 6:00 in
27:25
the morning to do my show after doing like a Bay FC game the
27:29
night before, finishing at like 12 or one in the morning and
27:32
waking up at six. So now I'm not going to lie, I'm
27:34
actually quite happy. I've got a bit of a break so I
27:37
can like, you know, wake up and recharge my, my energy because I
27:40
think I can do everything. I think I'm like Superwoman and
27:43
sometimes, you know, you can't burn the candle at both ends.
27:46
But I'm, I'm just loving, really loving doing the show and I
27:49
can't wait for it to be back in September.
27:51
Very close. If I can ask you one more quick
27:53
one, any advice for a couple young pups like Grant and myself
27:57
just getting started? Obviously we kicked the show off
27:59
this past Champions League season.
28:01
Grant and I both caught the bug last World Cup 2023, dove into
28:06
that tournament. Or like we've got to make this
28:09
more of a regular thing because obviously there's something
28:11
here. So obviously we'd just love to
28:13
get some insight from you on, you know, any kind of directions
28:16
you think that that we can go. No, I mean, I, I appreciate you
28:20
asking me that, but I said before I even started to record,
28:23
like what drew me to you guys is that your knowledge is
28:26
infectious. And I think it's quite a unique
28:28
situation to find two guys that are really invested in the
28:31
women's game that are not like that have no ulterior motives,
28:35
not trying to be like. And I think the fact that I came
28:38
on, I wanted to come on. Then I spoke to Chris Sharp was
28:41
about coming on your show because he said to me, ah, I see
28:44
one of those guys. I said, yeah, like you guys
28:46
actually help me prep for games sometimes because I'm selective
28:50
in no, I'm being serious. I'm selective in what I choose
28:53
to look at. Look at you guys, you're like
28:55
speechless. But I'm selective because I like
28:57
to do my own prayer, but I like to see things and some things I
29:00
see, I think I'm not even going to bother watching that.
29:02
Then when I come across you guys, I was on Twitter, I think,
29:05
and I was like, OK, like I loved hearing your insights because
29:09
you go to games, you see the game, you see it very similar to
29:13
what I see where some people I think are too scared to kind of
29:16
say what's going on. And that's not really the
29:18
reality. Like as a player, you want
29:20
people to critique you. You don't want people to be
29:23
horrible and mean. You don't need to say those
29:25
things, you know, as a player when you're not playing well.
29:27
So I think what drew me to you guys is that your knowledge, you
29:31
want to kind of share that knowledge.
29:34
And I think it's it's quite contagious.
29:35
So, so I would say just keep up the good work because I see it,
29:39
people see it. And you know, I think for
29:41
myself, I sit here four years after retiring and I've done,
29:44
you know, two World Cups, two European Championships, male and
29:47
female gone and worked with some of my idols growing up that I'm
29:50
now friends with, you know, as a Manchester United fan growing up
29:54
and still am now working with Alessandro Del Piero, Robbie
29:57
Keane, you know, Peter Schmeichel.
29:59
Like it's just, I just feel like I'm in dreamland.
30:02
Like genuinely, I don't have imposter syndrome because I
30:05
always believe I deserve to be there, but I also just feel like
30:08
I have the best job. So all I can say is keep up the
30:11
amazing work. People see it.
30:13
And in our industry people talk a lot, the good and the bad and
30:16
the ugly. So I'm hearing nothing but good
30:18
things with you guys and you know anything I can do to help
30:20
you, I'm here. Couldn't appreciate those kind
30:23
words more. Leanne, thank you very much.
30:26
I got I got to ask the question though.
30:27
So I was a journalism major in college and there is something
30:31
I've noticed in the coverage of women's sports where, you know,
30:34
people use these terms where they go like, these ladies are
30:37
badasses and like it. It feels trite.
30:40
It feels a little patronizing at times.
30:43
And when Dino and I started this, the idea was like, we are
30:46
not doing that. These are this is professional
30:48
athletics. These are the elite of the elite
30:50
athletes in the world. Are those conversations
30:53
happening at like Ion or ESPN or, you know, Prime, like the
30:57
networks where you work, where it's like, OK, let's be very
31:00
deliberate and conscious of how we're covering this sport
31:03
because a lot of people are just kind of discovering it right
31:06
now. Yeah, I think it's a balance
31:07
that I think every, you know, March before the season starts,
31:10
we have a massive seminar here in Fort Lauderdale where
31:12
everybody comes analysis, everybody technical * producers.
31:17
And this year obviously was quite a unique case because it's
31:20
not something you usually see where you've got four major TV
31:22
companies that have invested in it.
31:24
So and and it's also like there's a lot of cross
31:27
advertising, which is very unique because you don't usually
31:30
see CBS advertising Amazon, which is what's happening.
31:33
And it's amazing because we're all walking to working towards
31:36
the same goal, which is, you know, everybody put their eyes
31:39
on the women's game. I don't think there's
31:41
necessarily deliberate conversations because I think
31:43
the people that they have that are on the broadcast are now
31:46
aware, you know, and are experienced.
31:48
You know, they brought myself in Jackie Oatley in to add to what
31:51
was already there in Laurie, Lindsay, Jordan Angeli, Jill
31:54
Lloyd and those types of players.
31:56
So I think it's been a process of kind of carving out the
31:59
people that kind of get it. And I remember when I was
32:01
playing, you know, and the broadcast and I think it's
32:04
important to remember this. I said it at the seminar in
32:05
front of everybody. My mum and dad used to watch the
32:07
games in England when I played at Harvard.
32:09
There was about 35 lines on the field, the cross lines, baseball
32:12
lines, you know, everything you could barely see.
32:15
You can only tell it was me because I had a Mohawk.
32:17
Whereas now, you know, there's there's still like the camera
32:21
angles are better, will continue to grow.
32:24
Everything can always be better. But what for sure is happening,
32:27
you know, the names of the players, everybody's on the same
32:29
page. Like I have a sheet next to me I
32:32
can show you right here that actually has the roster and all
32:35
the pronunciations of the names, you know, So we print them out.
32:38
You know, it's important for players that they're doing their
32:40
audios like those types of things that you kind of because
32:44
you don't want to get players names wrong.
32:46
But then there also will be mistakes that happen.
32:48
And I think, you know, I say to all my friends that still play
32:50
in the league, don't just tweet when things are going wrong,
32:53
Tweet when things are good. Because you keep telling me how
32:55
much you love me and you love our broadcast to me.
32:57
But just put it out there so people can actually say and see
33:00
it because we're in 2024. Social media is powerful.
33:03
So I think the fact we've got, I mean, Jen Cooper, I don't know
33:06
if you're familiar with Jen, but like she is the person behind
33:09
all of the stats. How she does it, I don't know.
33:11
She has every minute of every game, you know, that I've ever
33:14
played in still now and we can go back and look at every single
33:18
NWSL game from the moment it started to the moment it
33:23
continues and it's updated every day.
33:25
So we have all the prep, the meetings, everything.
33:27
So I'm loving being here and obviously like being here
33:31
doesn't allow me to do as much work in England, but I'm OK with
33:34
that because I love being here. I, I really feel invested in
33:38
what they're trying to do and putting on the best product we
33:41
can and, and I feel really blessed to be a part of that.
33:44
Well, Leanne, we love having you here.
33:45
We love to have you on the show as well.
33:47
Thank you for, for joining us and sharing those insights.
33:50
Like I said, I I really do recognize you and appreciate
33:54
your ambassadorship of the sport.
33:56
And I can say from personal standpoint, you definitely
33:59
accelerated my interest and kind of like my knowledge based on
34:02
the sport. So thank you for that.
34:05
Thank you for joining us. Now anytime guys, and good luck
34:07
for the rest of the season. Appreciate it, right?
34:10
Same to you. We'll talk to you soon.