KATHRYN BATTE: Emma Hayes quits Chelsea, leaving a gaping hole in women’s football… as Aston Villa struggles and Brazil bid for the 2027 World Cup

For a long time it has been difficult to imagine Chelsea without Emma Hayes and vice versa.

At the end of the season, she will leave the club she spent eleven years building to take on the role of manager of the United States national team.

She is leaving her home for the biggest job in women’s football. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along often and one she couldn’t turn down — but those facts didn’t make the news of her departure any less shocking.

Hayes’ players only found out after their 6-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday and were as surprised as her staff.

You can only imagine how bleak that bus journey to London must have been. Many players and backroom staff at Chelsea are there because of Hayes.

In her eleven years she has collected fifteen trophies. But she has achieved more than just success on the field.

English women’s football owes a debt of gratitude to Hayes and the work she has done to raise awareness of the game. She has set standards, spoken openly and passionately on a range of issues and has never shied away from speaking her mind.

She is also more than just a manager. Hayes has acted as a mother figure to several players who have worn the blue shirt. Just ask Fran Kirby, Millie Bright or Lauren James. These are just a few of the individuals Hayes has mentored and nurtured over the years.

Hayes’ departure will leave a gaping hole in the WSL. That Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor, who joined the club in 2020, is the second-longest serving WSL manager speaks volumes. Longevity is rare and Hayes was in a class of his own.

Some may wonder how the Football Association can allow England’s best female manager to join a rival country. The main problem is timing. The Lionesses have one of the best coaches in the world in Sarina Wiegman, who is committed until 2025.

The FA wants Wiegman to extend her contract, but has given no guarantees that she will do so. So in two years’ time, England may be looking for a new manager – a role many say Hayes could have filled.

Would she have been the right choice for England? Would she have wanted that job? Maybe not. There are many open questions for which there is no definitive answer. But if an Englishwoman wins the World Cup with the USA, it will undoubtedly hurt.

Chelsea have won the last four WSL titles and the last three FA Cups. The only trophy Hayes has not won with the Blues is the Champions League, but she was part of Arsenal’s coaching team when they won in 2007. But ending her Chelsea reign with success in Europe would be a fitting way to retire. .

Hayes has built a dynasty and a winning machine. How will Chelsea proceed now? Hayes had pulling power when it came to signing players. Many have moved to West London to play for her and it will be interesting to see if the club continues to attract the very best – or even how many current stars will decide to call it quits.

For example, Sam Kerr is out of contract at the end of the season. Once Hayes leaves, Kerr may decide she wants to live closer to her family in Australia or her partner in America. Hayes will undoubtedly be involved in the appointment of her successor and make recommendations, but none of the managers in the WSL would comply.

Casey Stoney, who currently plays for American club San Diego Wave, is someone who could potentially do that, but she has a contract until 2025 – coincidentally the same year that Wiegman’s England contract expires. Stoney’s family is also based in the United States.

Chelsea’s player relations manager Carly Telford attended the Wave play-off semi-final on Sunday evening. Although Telford used to play for the club, fans may wonder if her presence was a coincidence and there were some jokes that the former goalkeeper had returned to lure Stoney to London. Laura Harvey has had a lot of success in the US and is another name that may attract interest, but she was previously manager of Arsenal.

Chelsea have time and it’s a decision they need to get right because whoever comes in will have huge shoes to fill.

Hayes is the best female manager this country has produced and the English football world will miss her. But it’s not quite over yet.

Hayes has just over six months left at Chelsea and has yet to win four trophies. Make no mistake, she will want to go out with a bang.

Aston Villa has been struggling so far

Aston Villa doesn’t have to panic yet. Five defeats from five games have left them bottom of the table and boss Carla Ward under pressure, but there is context.

They have played each of the top three teams from last season and Villa arguably should have picked up points against Manchester United and Arsenal. Against the latter, they led for 67 minutes before conceding two goals in stoppage time.

There is no escaping the fact that the manner in which their defeats to Tottenham and Chelsea were poor. Villa looked resigned to their fate as they went down 2-0 to the Blues and the defending for the fourth, fifth and sixth goals was extremely poor.

But it was never going to be easy for Villa. Their fifth place last season was always going to raise expectations. Ward brought in a number of new players in the summer who need time to settle in, and history has shown that sacking managers at this stage rarely works.

Everton sacked Willie Kirk in similar circumstances in 2021 and the club spiraled. Kirk had guided the Toffees to fifth place and the expectation was that they would challenge for the top three the following season – it was an unrealistic ambition.

Villa are in the same boat, but there are three very winnable games coming up. If they were to lose at Bristol City next weekend, they might have to worry.

But Ward has credit with the bank for the work she has done over the past two years and deserves to be given time. She has earned that much.

Brazil has set its sights on the 2027 World Cup

Brazil has announced its bid for the 2027 World Cup and there are many reasons why a tournament in South America would be romantic.

Brazil has produced some phenomenal players over the years – Marta, Formiga and Christiane to name a few, but there is a feeling that these stars have not been given enough support over the years.

Former boss Pia Sundhage, who was sacked this summer after exiting the group stage, said Brazil had to ‘step up’. She said in April: ‘At the moment we don’t have a national U15 team, or U16, maybe we have U17 and at the moment the U20 are not playing. Girls, or boys, who want to watch the match, want to represent Brazil.

When you’re fifteen you can do that in England, in Sweden you can, but not in Brazil.’ The South Americans will face joint bids from the US and Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium and one bid from South Africa.

Brazil needs this tournament, the US not so much. But they also have to deliver for their female players. This is their chance to do that.