Katie McCabe reiterated her excitement ‘to get going’ for Chelsea ahead of the new Barclays Women’s Super League season.
McCabe sat down to speak with The Halfway Line ahead of the new season, she spoke about Chelsea‘s left footed legends, Irish transfers and the fantastic leader that is Erin Cuthbert.
Katie McCabe ‘admired’ Robben and Duff growing up
In the past Katie McCabe has spoken about former Chelsea winger Damien Duff being one of her earliest inspirations. The Halfway Line asked McCabe if it would feel like a full circle moment, to play for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge given that context,
“Yeah, definitely” McCabe replied. “I was actually watching Jose Mourinho’s documentary the other day, and it came up, that era of the Premiership when he first signed as manager for Chelsea.
“That was the Chelsea I remember growing up. Damien Duff was obviously playing with Arjen Robben on the the other wing as well. Two left-footed players, both [of whom] I admired, Damien Duff in particular.
“So yeah, I guess it’ll probably be a bit of a full circle moment. The first game of the season against Villa when I’m actually, well, hopefully standing on the pitch about to kickstart it off.
“So no, I’m so excited to get going. You know, it’s been it’s been a really good pre-season but just getting closer and closer now to the start of it, and yeah, once it kicks off, the games come thick and fast.”
McCabe lauds ‘fantastic leader’ Erin Cuthbert
While McCabe has had to settle into life in West London with a lot of new experiences, she also has not been denied a familiar face in fresh surroundings. Erin Cuthbert is one such face,
“Obviously, I’ve known Erin a long time” McCabe smiled. “Famously, me and Erin played about 20 minutes together for Glasgow City about 12, 13 years ago. I don’t think many people know that.
“But yeah we were teammates for 20 minutes before, I was over training with Glasgow City and she was actually finishing up with Glasgow City to sign for Chelsea. So we had a 15- 20 minute crossover and so yeah no, I’ve know Erin a long time. Erin’s been great.
“It’s good to have her there. Obviously, she knows the football club inside out. She’s a fantastic player, fantastic leader, and just a great person to have around the dressing room as well, you know!
After The Halfway Line responded that we’d be starting a full search for the footage McCabe replied, “you won’t find it! It doesn’t exist online, that’s an exclusive I’ve given you here now!”
Busy Irish transfer window ‘good for the national team’ states McCabe
This Summer has seen huge movement from Irish players transferring across leagues, a trend that was spearheaded by McCabe’s move to Chelsea. Of the 24 players in Ireland’s most recent June camp, 16 have moved this year. The Halfway Line asked McCabe if the Ireland captain has any she will keep an eye on in particular,
“I think the easy answer is all of them, but I’m genuinely excited for all of them” McCabe said with an earnest smile. “Even Maria [Reynolds] going over to Sheffield [United]. And I remember speaking to Maria, she came in for a camp, and I just had a conversation with her, and I was kind of like, ‘your next step is moving out of Ireland and going to push yourself.’
“And it’s always, it’s interesting having those conversations with younger players because they can either listen to you or they’ll go the other way and they’ll just stay right where they are.
“But Maria kind of gave off a good confidence, and she was wanting to push herself and get out of her comfort zone so when I seen it happen, I was delighted for her.
“Likewise with all the girls, even Saoirse [Noonan] coming down from Celtic to Watford, Aoibheann [Clancy] signing for Watford, leaving Shelburne. And you know there’s been a few like Jess Ziu, Stapo [Jessie Stapleton] signing for Leicester.
“There’s a lot, but I think it’s really good for the national team. I think it’s really important for us as well, going into this massive year and potentially qualifying for a World Cup.
“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work to do before that. Two against Kazakhstan, and then hopefully getting through, another two games. It’s not just your one-off anymore.
“So yeah, there’s a there’s a lot to do, but I think Carla [Ward] has been a big influence on that as well. I think she wants players playing at higher levels and playing against top opposition, and getting really up to scratch.
“So yeah, fair play to the girls. I’m delighted for them. They know they’ve got my full support when they come over to England. I’m just really excited for them.
“I think it’ll be really, really good for the for the league as well. I think the champs [WSL 2] are getting better and better. It’s getting more competitive, which you wouldn’t really say a couple years back so no, it’s been really good.”
Katie McCabe lauds Chelsea team mates who ‘showed me the ropes’
It is rare of late that such a key player switches from one rival club to another but that’s exactly the move Katie McCabe made this Summer. The Halfway Line asked McCabe if anyone in particular had helped her start at Chelsea to be a smooth one,
“Yeah, I mean, I came in a little bit earlier, before the the full team started” McCabe said. “Just to kind of meet everyone around the the training ground, you know, staff.”
“So there was a couple of players in when when I came in. There was Ellie [Carpenter], Nat [Bjorn, Nay [Naomi Girma], and Erin [Cuthbert]. So they were four I got pretty close to from the start, and they’ve kind of showed me the ropes a little bit.”
Chelsea will face Real Sociedad in their first competitive match of the season next Wednesday at 6:45pm in the final round of UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
McCabe’s side will kick off their Barclays Women’s Super League campaign against Aston Villa on Saturday 6th September at Stamford Bridge from 12:30pm.
