Keep Kicking (Editor’s Letter: a tribute to Kelly Smith)

Jen O’Neill marks Kelly Smith’s international retirement with an unusually personal editorial. There will be no Kelly Smith-shaped cavalry to answer England’s call in future, she writes: whether rushed back too soon, patched up or effectively on one leg, Smith never shirked her self-appointed responsibility as saviour. O’Neill recalls watching her terrify then world champions Norway at Oldham in 1998 and realising she need not feel ashamed of being a female footballer, an oddity to the wider world if not to the men she grew up playing with. Injuries, some cynically inflicted, robbed supporters of too much time watching her at the top. Talent and heart together, she argues, endear a player to any fan, and she signs off with a gushing thank you before turning to the Cyprus Cup and a new season.