She Kicks Back with Sue Smith: From the Field to the Mic

Sue Smith won ninety-three England caps and has never formally retired from anything – neither club nor international football – because she could not face the tribute videos and the guard of honour, and nor, she reports, has Rachel Yankey. She still trains, still plays five-a-side, and simply does not have the time to commit properly. What she does have is another identity: the first woman to appear as a pundit on Final Score, a job she took terrified of the reception and now believes opened the door for others. The abuse arrives regularly and she finds blocking it empowering. She stayed loyal to Leeds when Arsenal, Fulham and Everton offered, and lost three FA Cup finals for it.