ELLEN WHITE MBE
Early years
Born in Aylesbury, just 15 minutes from where I grew up, White attended the Grange School and Waddesdon Church of England school for Sixth form. Like many girls her age, she played with the boys as there were no girl's teams. She started her football journey in Aylesbury before getting scouted by Arsenal at eight.
Club
White started her career in the Arsenal academy before moving to Chelsea, where she was their top scorer for three seasons. When her contract ended, she moved to Leeds, where she won the FA Women's Premier League Cup in 2010 before the squad was disbanded due to funding. She returned to her roots and re-joined Arsenal and won the league in 2011 and 2012, the FA Women's Cup in 2011 and 2014, and the FA WSL Cup in 2011, 2012, and 2013. She would later join Notts County. After she made the drastic move not to extend her contract with Notts County and moved to Birmingham City, where she became the league's top scorer in 2018, she got the WSL’s Golden Boot award, but no trophies were acquired in those years. With Manchester City as her last club she would play, she won the Women's FA Cup in the 2019-20 year and the FA WSL Cup 2021-22.
Injuries
Within months of joining Leeds in 2008, she suffered a cruciate ligament injury, leaving her off the pitch for a significant amount of time. In April 2014, White suffered an ACL injury, making her unavailable for the season. At the start of the 2019-20 season at Manchester City, she suffered another knee injury, requiring her to have surgery and miss the first three months after the Tokyo Olympics. White suffered back spasms and required acupuncture, which caused a puncture in the lungs, which contributed to her retirement the following year.
Achievements
On the 7th of November 2020, White became the second player in WSL history to reach fifty goals after scoring a brace over Bristol City. And months later, on 7 February 2021, she became the record goal scorer with 55 goals compared to Vivianne Miedema with 54 goals.
Country
White played for England from under 17 to under 23 levels. She finally made her senior debut in March 2010 at home to Austria, scoring a final-minute goal to win 3-0. She attained three world cups in 2011, 2015 and 2019, reaching the semi-final in 2015 and 2019, plus finishing third in 2015. In the 2019 World Cup in France, she received the bronze boot award for being the third-highest goal scorer. She also had the honour to play for Team GB at two Olympics in 2012 and 2020 ( in 2021). White was the joint top sorcerer in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, which they won the following year. She made her 100th cap for England against Australia, the country she played against on her debut on 27th November 2021 and scored the only goal of the match to continue England's 100% winning run for the 2023 World Cup qualification. She was one of four players who scored a hat trick against Latvia when the score line ended in a 20-0 victory, which broke the record for the most ever hat tricks for an England side and the most significant victory for both men and women senior sides. She was crucial in winning the Euros for England to lift the first major trophy since the men's World Cup 1966.
Personal awards
White has been named England's International Player of the Year three times in 2011, 2018, and 2021 for his success in Europe. She is also the Lionesses' current and retaining at the time of writing record goal scorer, with only Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney above her, respectfully with 52 international goals. She was finally given her legacy number to honour the 50 anniversary of England's inaugural women's international, with the FA announcing her number as 174. Finally, in 2016, she was awarded the title of Honorary Freeman of the Parish of Aylesbury by the Aylesbury Town Council
After football
White retired on a high after winning the Euros in 2021. Since then, she's joined motherhood. Also, as part of the “Where Greatness is Made” campaign, a plaque honouring her was installed in Aylesbury town centre in 2022. She was also appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for her service to association football.
Ultimately, white has been a driving force in advocating for grassroots women's football, improving the standards and opportunities in the domestic game, and inspiring the next generation of players.
Lauren James
Many people might know Lauren James through her older brother, Reece James. However, it has been seen that her love for the game was not just through Reece or their father but also through herself. She insisted football was all she ever wanted. She told the Telegraph in 2021, “All I ever knew was football, football and football” Although her brother could take credit for her getting into football, her ambition to play drove her motivation. When Lauren was growing up, there was a field behind her house with two pitches, and every day; she would play football there or in the streets. Even when her brother Josh was at Fulham and Reece was at the Chelsea Academy, she would kick the ball against the fence herself. This led to her being a part of the Chelsea Academy under-10s to under-14s team. This helped her grow into the technical player she is and her ability to carry the ball past the plaster switch easily and use her body to shield the ball from the posing players.
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