Sue Smith - Emma Hayes said ‘no’ now, but don’t rule her out managing in the men’s game

It takes a brave person to be the first person to do something, and Chelsea manager Emma Hayes is certainly brave enough to be the first woman to take charge of an English men’s league team – it just has to be the right one.
Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes has been linked to the AFC Wimbledon job (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes has been linked to the AFC Wimbledon job (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)
Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes has been linked to the AFC Wimbledon job (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)

Emma was this week linked with the vacant job at AFC Wimbledon and was quick to say thanks, but no thanks.

It would be great if we reached the point where jobs in men’s football were open to everyone with the right CV regardless of your colour, race or gender.

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If a female manager turned a team around, it would encourage more. But if you failed, would that set things back for other women with ambitions to do the same? Would the women’s game want you back?

Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes talks to players after the FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup Semi Final match at Kingsmeadow, London. (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes talks to players after the FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup Semi Final match at Kingsmeadow, London. (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)
Chelsea's manager Emma Hayes talks to players after the FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup Semi Final match at Kingsmeadow, London. (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)

I have never been a manager, but I have a bit of an idea what it would be like crossing into the men’s game like that having been the first female pundit to appear on the BBC’s Final Score.

It was a daunting experience.

I just had to back myself and my ability. Sometimes you make mistakes but all the way through my playing career I worked to put myself into positions where my mistakes would be a big deal and you just have to do everything you can to be ready and trust the people who give you the opportunity.

They put me on with former Everton and Republic of Ireland winger Kevin Kilbane, who is just such a lovely person. As soon as I walked through the door, Kevin and the presenter, Jason Mohammad, made me feel at home. One of the producers said straight away to me about being the first female pundit, but they did not mention it or make me feel as if anything was different. The next time I was on was with Dion Dublin, who was the same.

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At first people can be a bit wary of disagreeing with you and you do not want to speak until you are spoken to but I remember the first time Charlie Nicholas disagreed with me on Sky’s Soccer Special and I was made up. He was not saying I was rubbish, he just had a different opinion. It made you feel part of the discussion.

I was also the first female studio pundit on Soccer Saturday and have been doing it for a few years, but for the first show this season, after a number of popular and high-profile pundits left the programme, I did feel really nervous.

It was not like myself and Clinton Morrison had come in new to replace those guys but people felt like we were. I was wondering what people were thinking and if it would be okay.

The pool of experienced female managers is not very deep at the moment but Emma would have nothing to fear in men’s management.

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She is always looking for marginal gains and was one of the first in the women’s game to study other manager’s training sessions. She is very clever about how she manages her players, for example not asking her older players to train as much – something I never saw in my career with other managers.

At Chelsea she is able to bring in some of the world’s best players but her skill is keeping them happy when they are not playing. She has also done a great job of developing players, turning my former Doncaster Rovers Belles team-mates Beth England and Millie Bright into England regulars.

You see her tweak things tactically in games and sometimes it is only afterwards you appreciate what a good move it was.

Those skills are just as important in the men’s game.

It would probably be a big shock to some men to have a female coach for the first time, but I think a lot would be open to it.

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When I was still playing I did some coaching for an under-18s team at a college in Huddersfield and straight away you could see the lads felt it was a bit weird and did not want to be there, so I got the manager to take an attacking drill and joined in, crossing the ball for them.

As soon as they saw I could play a bit they were asking who I played for, and the sessions became completely different.

Emma is working with world-class players at Chelsea, so it would have to be the right job to take her away. Why leave one of the best women’s teams in Europe for a League One relegation battle?

Maybe one day Emma will want to challenge herself at a men’s club but it would have to be the right opportunity. She has earned that with all she has achieved so far.

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