The She Kicks Locker Room: Captain’s Chat with Laura Bassett

Ten years after the event, the Locker Room’s captaincy slot goes back to 26 May 2012, when Birmingham City beat Chelsea on penalties at Ashton Gate and Laura Bassett lifted the FA Cup – still the only player to have done so for the club, and, as team-mate Karen Carney never lets her forget, an Aston Villa fan. She remembers genuinely believing they would win, looking round at extra-time and deciding Chelsea were on their last legs too, and being close enough in the penalty order to be relieved it never reached her. The reflective half is better still: she wishes she had delegated, having believed a captain must be the perfect role model and carry everything at her own door. On the captain she inherited from, Steph Williams, she is quietly moving.