Katie McCabe is a footballer whose reputation precedes her, whether it be for scoring ‘bangers’, her penchant for on field chicanery or even for scoring her nation’s first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup goal direct from a corner.
The Arsenal defender has been at the club for almost a decade now and in that time she has become a vital player for the Gunners, even captaining the club through unsteady periods with long term leaders temporarily missing from the line ups.
On Wednesday afternoon The Halfway Line got the chance to sit down with McCabe and talk all things leadership, Arsenal and Ireland.
‘Leading by example’ is ‘most important’ to McCabe’s leadership style
Katie McCabe has become a leader in her time at Arsenal, evident even in the past couple of weeks both with and without the ball at her feet. Against West Ham with the ball at her feet and her side 3-1 down, it was McCabe’s logic defying goal that set Arsenal back on track and on the way to victory.
Conversely after Arsenal went 1-0 down last weekend to Liverpool, when Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar seemed to take the concession particularly to heart, it was McCabe who consoled her and picked her up when she was down. The Halfway Line asked McCabe about her values as a leader, she thoughtfully responded:
“I think leading by example is one of the most important things to me. You can’t ask someone else to do something that you’re not doing yourself. So I’ve always kind of held that, and I’ve always had great leaders around me to kind of look at that, you know, and learn from too.”
The Arsenal full back continued: “I pride myself in my work ethic, communication and consistency, and for me, I always like to try and how I’m going to play on the pitch. As I’ve mentioned, I play with world class players, and I’m up against them every day in training. So I need to be at my best. And I think having played at such a high level for a long period of time now, I’ve been able to consistently, kind of keep at that.”
She continued: “I think communication as well is so important positive reinforcement, whether it’s variable, non verbal, the song, which you can kind of dive into, but ultimately it’s leading by example. And for me, it’s very clear how I play, very passionate, very all in there’s nothing half, half of me. And I think, yeah, I think that shows the fans how much I love the club, and yeah, would put my body on the line for it, while trying to encourage the rest of our girls as well.”
‘It’s an amazing connection I have with the fans’ delights McCabe
If you have been to the Emirates or to Boreham Wood to watch Arsenal play of late you will be accustomed to a familiar tune serenaded from the home faithful ‘We’ve got McCabe, Katie McCabe, I just don’t think…” need I go on? Well, McCabe was asked about that feeling, the feeling she gets when 60,000 fans chant her name, she gushed:
“I think I see the fans cheering for me, it’s an unbelievable feeling, and I think it’s a reflection of me showing them how much it means to me to play and represent the club by giving my all every single game. I wear my heart on my sleeve when I’m playing for this football club, and I will give everything. And I know they see that. They see the dedication I have and the career I’ve had since I’ve come here nearly nine years ago.”
McCabe continued: “It’s an amazing connection I have with the fans. For us as players, we want to, obviously reward them as much as possible with amazing performances and goals and silverware at the end of the season, you know. It’s such a growing fan base from where I’ve started to where we’re at now in terms of selling at the Emirates and record attendances. It’s been a really special journey, and I’m very proud to be part of that, for sure.”
‘We felt that, we know the fans feel that as well’ McCabe laments FA Cup exit
Arsenal are currently navigating perhaps their most difficult moment since Renée Slegers took charge as head coach. Defeat against Liverpool on Sunday in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup meant that realistically Arsenal can only really hope to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League this season.
McCabe spoke eloquently about the defeat and how her team can navigate a path back to form, she noted:
“Look I think it’s we were so disappointed to go out the way we did on Sunday, and we felt that, we know the fans feel that as well that disappointment. But for us, obviously, we have to digest that and look to see how we can kind of avoid those situations and conceding those sort of goals and get back onto the training pitch and work even harder. We’ve got a massive game now on Friday against Everton, who will pose a lot of threats. They caused us trouble in the home in our home game right at the start of the season, and they’ve only gotten better, so we need to respect how they play, and we’ll need to be at our best on Friday night.”
McCabe lauds ‘world class team mates’ who have helped her develop
McCabe joined Arsenal 9 years ago, signing from Irish club Shelbourne FC in 2015. She reflected on her development since joining Arsenal, how she has changed and how the club has helped her to improve as a footballer, she noted:
“When I first came I was a winger, I was an attacking player, so I’ve always tried to kind of hold onto that aspect [of my game]. Having kind of worked my way back into a fullback position under Joe Montemurro at the time and so even by being a fullback, it’s obviously developing my defensive roles and defensive responsibilities, but keeping a hold of what I’ve always kind of been naturally good at: which is attacking down the left wing, whipping in crosses, getting assists, goals.
She continued: “So I’ve always tried to maintain those high level of standards, day in, day out. And I think the player I am today, it’s down to obviously, as well the girls who I’m playing up against every single day. I’m blessed to have such world class teammates who pushed me to be the best version of myself every day over the course of the last 9, 10 years.”
McCabe jokes she would rather Chloe Kelly in ‘red and white than playing against her’
One of the most entertaining moments of the January transfer window was Arsenal’s announcement of Chloe Kelly’s return to the club on loan. Kelly and McCabe recreated one of the iconic Barclays Women’s Super League moments with a twist, where McCabe had once thrown a ball into the back of Kelly’s head, she now handed it to her team-mate once again.
McCabe was asked about Kelly’s impact since she returned to Arsenal:
“Yeah, look, as I said, I’ve known Chloe a really long time. We were two really young players when I first came over and were in a wealth of experience and a team full of legends when we were that age, you know. So we were always very close and looked after each other in that sense. And I went on my loan, she went on her loan, and our journeys obviously went a bit of a different direction but I’ve always kept an eye on what she was doing with Everton and developed that natural rivalry then when she she played for Man City. So really happy to see her doing so well, you know, and even from a national team point of view, how influential she’s been with England.”
McCabe continued: “Having her back now it’s fantastic, the energy she injects onto the pitch, her quality on the ball, and you can see how she’s matured and she’s more vocal, and you can just tell by the way she plays how much more experience she has, and she can really sort of lead an attack as well. So yeah, definitely would rather her in red and white than playing against her.”
As for any left over rivalry between the two? McCabe laughed it off, noting:
“No, there wasn’t even on those sort of games at the time she was playing for Man City. I’m obviously representing us, and we’re both fighting for the same thing. So you’re always going to be on a line and you’re fighting for the badge you represent. So that came across in a lot of different ways, but ultimately it was, I’ll always have to be at my best, and she always has to be at her best. So we tested each other in so many ways, which was always exciting.
McCabe continued: “the minute she came back, it feels like she never left. To be honest with you she’s just part of the furniture now, she settled in really nicely. She knows a lot of the group as well from being international teammates, but also having played against the girls as well, you know. So she’s doing really well. And, yeah, we’re delighted to have her back.”
‘Wherever the manager wants me to play, I’ll do it’ McCabe affirms
In the past McCabe has dealt with her fair share of adversity. The Irish captain found herself unfairly characterised by overzealous critics as a ‘bully’ who dictates what a manager should do or not do. The concerning trend is one that seems rooted in misogyny, in the face of a female leader with an unapologetic passion for their country.
McCabe was able to put the trolls in their place, noting:
“There’s this element with Ireland that people think I do what I want and it’s absolutely not the case. I’ve never went into a manager in my whole career and said, play me here because I said, so.”
McCabe with passion in her voice tapped on the table for effect before continuing:
“So that kind of narrative was frustrating to see, I do what I’m told, whatever, wherever the manager wants me to play, I’ll do it. [Like] in the past, when we’ve had injury problems with Arsenal and Jonas [Eidevall] has asked different roles of me, whether it was Ireland, and I’ve been asked to play higher up or lower down. I’m always going to do it, and I’ll always do it to the best of my ability.”
Ireland’s most recent camp was the debut of new head coach Carla Ward and McCabe was keen to make her stance clear under Ward too, she affirmed:
“With Carla, obviously coming in, it’s her first camp. She’s figuring out the team, how she wants to play, giving players opportunities in different positions. So yeah, for me, I’m always going to respect what the manager wants and do it to the best of my abilities.”
‘We need to keep pushing’ urges McCabe on future of Irish women’s football
The FAI Women and Girls Plan was launched last night, the plan outlines a 12 year strategic vision for developing women’s football in the nation. The Halfway Line asked if the Ireland captain had seen the plans as yet and if so, what did she make of them? She responded:
“Briefly, I know it was obviously in the works in the background. I haven’t seen the full launch, because it was only yesterday afternoon, but I think it’s such an important initiative. I think over the course of me being in the national team since I was 18 to now, women’s football has grown so much, even me, personally, I used to play with boys, now I’ve got nieces who can play on an all girls team.”
McCabe continued: “So it’s shown over the course of many years, the growth and the work that’s been doing at grassroots level, and I think also from a national team point of view, our success as a senior team is so important because it brings in forms, and it brings in the attention to young girls, whether It was the World Cup a few years ago, and it makes young girls aware you can actually be a professional footballer, you know.”
She further noted: “So there’s so much that goes into it, but I was delighted to see the initiative get launched yesterday, and we’ve got some fantastic people that do so much for the game over in Ireland, even that I work closely with on the national team. So yeah, it’s an exciting time, but we need to keep pushing for sure.”
