Emma Hayes has been rewarded for her loyalty and success by being given a new contract through to 2021.
It follows her firm refusal – despite speculation – to throw her hat into the ring for the vacant England coaching job.
She is adamant that she wants to cement Chelsea Ladies’ position as the nation’s No1 women’s team, despite ferocious competition from Manchester City.
“This is a place I feel very much a part of, and it is very dear in my heart,” she said. “I couldn’t see myself anywhere else, and it makes absolute sense to commit to the club going forward.”
Her contract runs until April 2021 – a fitting reward for her tactical skills in squeezing past Bayern Munich in the Women’s Champions League.
The next home leg of that competition is on Wednesday November 8 against Rosengard at Kingsmeadow. Tickets via www.chelseafc.com
As the Ladies contend with a long lull between fixtures, the women’s League Cup also looms… with some significant changes to the format.
The FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup now gives three points for a win, two points for a penalty shoot-out win, and one point for the team that loses the shoot-out.
The Blues start in Group Two South, with Brighton, Bristol City, Spurs and Yeovil (who, coincidentally, Chelsea play at Kingsmeadow on Sunday October 29 in the league, at 2pm).
The first two fixtures are away – on November 1 and 4 at Brighton and Bristol. Then come two successive home ties, against Yeovil and Spurs on December 3 and 6.
It should, on paper, eliminate dull draws as each fixture is determined on the night. The changes officially aim to increase competitiveness and excitement.
It also means that Hayes’ girls are upping their penalty practice, with keepers Hedvig Lindahl, Becky Spencer, Carly Telford and Fran Kitching getting more spot-kick save experience in the past couple of weeks than they’ve had all year.
Hayes and the training squad now have a clear idea of the priority order of penalty takers if it comes down to that.
Under the new format, the top two teams of the five in the group will progress to the quarter-finals.
And there’s another change. For the first time in women’s football, a fourth substitute is allowed during extra time, once the competition has moved beyond the group stage to the knockout phase.