TELFORD Carly

General
COACHING FUTURE
She signed a contract extension to remain at Chelsea in February 2021, which included taking on a part time role as a coach with the club's youth teams for the 2021/22 season. "I've always loved helping develop players around me, not just goalkeepers but outfield players as well. Sometimes it can come quite natural and I think that's what they've identified, and we sat down and decided that there is an opportunity to help the youngsters in our U16s and U18s. I'm really excited because the coaching set-up at Chelsea is amazing, not just at senior level with the experiences that we have with winning lots of trophies, but our youth set-up is fantastic as well. I'll be helping those girls, keeping them at Chelsea and improving them as people and as players." (chelseafc.com, 17 Feb 2021)

KEEPING BEHIND
In January 2021 she spoke about the standard of women's goalkeeping being "10 to 15 years behind outfield players" but saw signs of improvement. "It is getting so much better. I think the investment is there and clubs are taking it seriously, they are hiring or being made to hire full-time goalkeeping coaches with good levels [of qualifications]. It's going to be a talking point but as a collective we have to give more context as to where the female game is in goalkeeping and we aren't where we want to be or where we would like to be but we are getting there. We need to invest in grassroots to get kids to want to be goalkeepers and then get people like the FA [Football Association] to invest in goalkeeper coaches that help these kids be better and not just expect someone's dad to volley 10 balls at them and that's a goalkeeping session." (bbc.co.uk, 20 Jan 2021)

MENTAL HEALTH
She has been outspoken about her mental health struggles since her mother passed away in 2018. "I'm not afraid to talk about it because it helps me. Sleep is sometimes the hardest thing to do when you have so much going on, trying to switch off is quite difficult for some people. I'm pretty good, but I did struggle sleeping at the end of last year [2018] when I lost my mum. I'm a really sociable person but I remember at the [2019] World Cup, Jill [Scott] would ask me loads of times, 'Caz, do you want to go for a cuppa? Do you want to go for a walk down the beach?' I'd be like, 'Nah, I'm all right Jill, don't worry about me, I'll just sit in my room'. I just spent loads of time by myself, which is completely not like me. I was completely emotionally detached from anyone and anything. A lot of the things I've been doing outside of football is making sure I'm in the right frame of mind." (telegraph.co.uk, 23 May 2020; goodness.me, 14 Jul 2019)

CLUB CAREER
She began her senior career in 2002 with Sunderland before joining Leeds Carnegie in 2007. She first joined Chelsea in 2010 and spent three years at the club, including a short loan spell at Australian W-League side Perth Glory. After a three-year spell in the English Women's Super League with Notts County, she returned to Chelsea in May 2017 and signed a one-season contract extension in February 2021. (chelseafc.com, 17 Feb 2021; chelseafc.com, 02 May 2017; sunderlandecho.com, 10 Sep 2007)