In the latest episode of Life’s a Pitch, Ruesha Littlejohn and Lucy Quinn were joined by Ruesha’s London City Lionesses teammate Georgia Brougham. On the St Patrick's Day special, the issue of manager-player relationships were a major talking point.
Leicester boss Willie Kirk is currently suspended while an investigation over an alleged player relationship is ongoing. Jonathan Morgan, controversially cleared of bullying behaviour by Sheffield United, was recently sacked after a player relationship from his time at Leicester came to light.
Mark Sampson lost his job as England manager over a previous relationship with a player while in charge at Bristol Academy, while new Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson previously left Portland Thorns in 2022 after an investigation into her conduct, having reported herself to the club after she and a player «developed feelings for one another» that were not acted upon.
«It's gone on in the game, but it's not new, it's been going on for a long time,» Ruesha said in the new edition of 's women's football podcast this week.
«I'm not going to say names but I've probably been in a position before where I was manipulated by somebody that was in power. This is going back years, early on in my career. I had to do certain stuff, like extra sessions…it got very weird. I'm not going to say everything that happened, but, when I stopped going, I stopped playing. It was very weird and that was all power.
»I'm not saying it's a male thing because obviously there are women too. But because we are loud, outgoing personalities, it's a power thing where maybe they feel like they can have control and see if they can get you to fall into line. It becomes a kind of game of control, I don't know."
An early contender
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