Hi Emma, you seem like you’ve taken to the US like a duck to water. But what food or drink from back home are you missing?Antony, StaffordshireI always miss a roast dinner, roast chicken. And the milk. The milk is different over there so when you have a cup of tea, it’s just not the same because the milk is not the same. It alters the quality of the tea so, listen, that’s tough for me.
How’s life in America been treating you? Is the infrastructure for women’s football noticeably more developed there? And the million-dollar question: what happens when your new team face England in the World Cup final in 2027?Tom Stubbs, BrusselsFirst of all, I love being there. The cultural approach to the girls’ and women’s game is more ingrained in the US, because they’ve been doing it for longer in terms of providing opportunities. That’s noticeable, and the US approach to women’s sport stands out, not just soccer, but with basketball too. As for that hypothetical for 2027, well, you’re saying we’re in the World Cup final so I’m excited! If you give me that option today, I’ll bite your hand off. I want to be in the World Cup final competing to win a World Cup so, whoever you’re facing, it’s going to be a top, top side, and I don’t get emotional about it – it’s England but I’m repping the USA so my focus is on the USA.
What sets good coaches apart from great coaches?Amalia, AustraliaNumber one: to be a great leader, I think you have to show great empathy and a great understanding, that helps you connect with people. Yes, natural emotional intelligence levels will help, but you have to develop the skills to be able to bring the best out of people. Number two: have clarity in your vision, so that everybody can align to that and they know what they’re signing up to. And number three: don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with them. You can’t always be right, so remember that they’re partners with you, you go along the journey of coaching teams where, even as the leader, the team’s insights and their guidance should form a part of the narrative, because they play the game, they know it, and their experiences of it are equally as valid as your direction as the leader.
What are you most looking forward to about the Women’s Euros?Kevin, BirminghamThe closeness in games. I want to see more games being tougher to win, that’s what I’m most looking forward to, because then coaching comes into it. You get to see more coaching when the matches are tighter.
Who is the USWNT player who has most surprised you since you became manager of the national team?Kiaan, ManchesterI couldn’t name just one, oh my goodness, they all did. I went there not sure what to expect from their level and I was so pleasantly surprised on the whole. Yes, I think there’s a gap in experience between the top group and this generation that I’m bringing through, but I’m just so pleasantly surprised, their attitude, their approach, their coachability, all of it.
As someone who understands the global game and its power to unify, what do you think US Soccer should be doing to help rural communities, like ours in western Montana, grow the game where there are no lights, few coaches and limited infrastructure but a deep hunger to play?Nick Lawyer, MontanaIn the US, so much focus is about “pay to play” and I hope that, with the Soccer Forward legacy programmes of 26 and 31 [the 2026 men’s World Cup and the 2031 women’s World Cup] that we’re really started to develop more connections with communities that don’t have the same access to the sport, so I hope the work that Soccer Forward are doing helps to address some of that.
Do you feel the USWNT players who play in the NWSL are at a competitive disadvantage to those playing in Europe?Rob Coughlin, ChicagoI think both the NWSL and the European leagues are competitive, but they are different experiences. The Champions League offers something that the NWSL cannot, at this moment in time, but that is changing. The parity in the NWSL, week-in, week-out, and the competitiveness of the league, ensures there is always a top fixture every week, so it’s the diversity piece that’s different. In Europe you get the Champions League but the development of the Concacaf W Champions Cup – which Gotham FC recently won – will help to bridge that gap.
In your vision to remake women’s soccer in the US, what are the top-three actions you most want and hope to see from NWSL clubs?Luke, PortlandThe first will be to just keep adding to their own staff, so they’re providing the players with all the professional services in and around them in a deeper way. The second is, keep attracting the best quality to the NWSL, because it helps our own players develop when they’re playing in the best training environments with the best players. And expansion, because I think expansion is another step in the right direction, showing that the game is developing.
What skills should young American players with national-team ambitions be practising in their back yards?Marissa, DenverHit the ball against the wall, practice one-v-ones, do rebound balls – you develop your own technical stuff by practising a lot of your tight-area skills and ball control.
What can young players do to increase their tactical awareness and knowledge of the game, particularly if they harbour ambitions of being a coach themselves when they are older?Chris Wragg, BournemouthThere are a couple of things: watch football and try and watch it through the lens of a coach, not as a fan. Educate yourself, but outside of England – don’t just go to your run-of-the-mill location, go to somewhere like Barcelona’s innovation hub and see if you can do some positional play coach education courses, and go other countries where you can experience different coach education because that’s just one example.
Thanks for all the wonderful work you did at Chelsea. First, would you like to manage England one day? Second, have you dropped the F-bomb on US live TV yet and, if so, what was the reaction?Peter Collins, LondonFirst of all, I’m always sceptical that people can’t use the F-bomb in the right context, but I’d say I think I’ve refrained from it for now – I’ve been working on that! As for managing England one day, I’ll never say never.
If the world’s most expensive footballer cost around £200m – Neymar’s fee when moving to Paris Saint-Germain – how much is the world’s best football manager worth?Rick, LondonA manager, like a player in many regards, is someone “on the team” but it is someone who is heading that up, and you can see with the fees for managers as they stand, when buying them out of contracts, the transfer fee isn’t at that same amount as players but they certainly are expensive amounts. I don’t think managers’ fees will ever be that of a player, because of marketing reasons, which is also why players’ transfer fees are that high. You can sell players’ shirts but we don’t sell managers’ shirts so I don’t think their fees will ever meet that same level.
Do you think Chelsea paying record-transfer fees season after season is good for the Women’s Super League? You were against WSL introducing fair-spending levels, was this because it would have stopped Chelsea efforts in winning the Champions League?Ted Harvey, IpswichI know Naomi Girma is worth at least $1m, at least! She’s the best.
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How bittersweet was it seeing Arsenal win the Champions League? Bitter because you probably would have preferred it to be Chelsea who won but also sweet because you were assistant coach to Vic Akers last time Arsenal won the trophy in 2007. Also, when you and Renée Slegers talked before the final, what advice did you give her?Ingrid, New ZealandIt was far from bittersweet. Arsenal were a massive part of my life since I was 10, I coached there for a long time, so I was delighted for them. I brought Renée to England as an academy player in 2006 so I’ve had a strong relationship with her and I’m so impressed with her. I think she’s incredible, she did an amazing job, and yes we did speak in the week leading up to the game, but she doesn’t need my help. She’s got that under control and I’m very happy to see an English team win it.
Your coaching career goes back to when there were a lot more independent clubs run without the backing of a pre-existing men’s team. Now only two in the WSL and WSL2 run independently. Do you think this will ever change, or are the majority of successful women’s team going to be operated by men’s clubs?Liam, Newcastle-under-LymeI think we’re potentially going to see more independent teams, yes, and that’s a good thing. Both can exist, but having strong independent women’s teams with strong ownership can only aid the development of the game.
Thomas Tuchel resigns tomorrow – do you want the job? Do you even get the job?David, SurreyNo, I do not. I love my job.
Do you envision it being possible for a female coach to manage in a top-five men’s league or an international men’s team in your lifetime?Bryan, PortlandYes, I do see that happening, but I always think these questions should be asked of owners, not of managers.
What is the one common question/trope that you wish the media would stop asking in press conferences?”Ruth, OntorioAny comparison to the men’s game or “when are you going to coach in the men’s game”, like it’s the be-all and end-all. I love working in women’s sports. When I get those two questions, I wish I could put a pin in the balloon in the room.
I see that Finland recently called-up a 51-year-old. Do you need an 80-year-old?Ann Steiner, ArizonaWhenever you want a game, Ann, give us a shout! I’ll put you on the bench.