Mary Earps has been everywhere the last few days. The Guardian published an extract of her soon-to-be available book, “All In: Football, Life and Learning to be Unapologetically Me”. Barely a broadcaster has missed a chance to speak to the former England number 1.
However, things have not played out quite how Earps would like. She seemed visibly, if not distressed, then worn down in an interview with BBC Sport’s Emma Sanders. The PSG shotstopper repeatedly complained that elements of the book have been taken out of context by the media. She was largely talking about the discussion around her relationship with Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman. I’m not sure exactly when Sanders conducted the interview, but it seems the backlash over comments about her successor between the posts, Hannah Hampton, has stung Earps, too. “I’ve not written a book to tear anyone down,” she insisted.
The problem is, you can’t release extracts of a book before its publication day and then moan about them being taken out of context. By definition, extracts are out of context. Someone around Earps should have explained this and helped her pick the right bits to make public ahead of release. I’ve put out an extract of my new book. The aim was to give people an idea about what I’d written in the hope they’d buy a copy. That is how it works.
“She has had a PR disaster” and “scored a massive own goal”, one football industry figure told me. “[Earps] isn’t exactly complimentary about Hannah and the England team and how she lost her place,” they noted. There is a general consensus that those advising Mary Earps have dropped the ball.
Mary Earps, and Why WoSo Coverage Needs to Change
One of the joys of covering women’s football is the accessibility. The goalkeeper herself noted this in that BBC interview. It would be an awful shame for both journalists and fans if that were lost. Furthermore, it is clear that following two Euros victories and a World Cup final appearance, alongside mass broadcasting of WSL matches, the game has changed for female footballers in England.
It is all still quite cosy, though. Mary Earps is clearly shocked at receiving anything other than “girl boss” style compliments, which is generally what has happened previously. “I think this whole saga exists for the world outside of women’s football, but those within women’s football perhaps don’t quite realise that,” a women’s football insider told me. “You’ve got one party looking to maximise book sales and general footprint, and that’s the name that will get the clicks in mainstream media.” That is likely true. But the pushback that there has been indicates, if not progress, then a maturing of the coverage.
As I’ve moaned before, so much reporting on women’s football, and women’s sport in general, is… a bit lame. When it comes to the WSL in England, it focuses almost entirely on Chelsea and Arsenal. The Manchester sides get a bit of a look in too, but that’s about it. There is far too little discussion of sides such as Spurs (who I support), Aston Villa and Brighton, who are trying to grow in the WSL. (It’s partly why I started a separate blog about Spurs women.)
The graffiti demanding that former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall lose his job was not nice. Nor are attacks on individual players. There is no need to replicate some of the nastier elements of the men’s game. However, such incidents hint at a possible maturation of women’s football. So does some of the criticism Mary Earps is now facing. The media needs to be part of that development.