Marieanne Spacey

Marieanne Spacey
MBE
Marieanne Spacey in 2017
Personal information
Full name Marieanne Spacey
Date of birth (1966-02-13) 13 February 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth Sutton, London, England
Position(s) Second striker
Attacking midfielder
Youth career
British Oxygen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Friends of Fulham
1989 HJK Helsinki
1989–1993 Friends of Fulham
1993–2002 Arsenal Ladies
2002–2005 Fulham Ladies
International career
1984–2001 England 94 (28)
Managerial career
2003–2006 Fulham Ladies
2018–2024 Southampton FC Women
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marieanne Spacey-Cale (née Spacey), MBE (born 13 February 1966)[1] is an English former international women's footballer. Having played 91 times for England, Spacey is considered one of the greatest English footballers of all time.[2] From 2018 to 2024, she was head coach of Southampton FC Women.[3]

Club career

[edit]

Spacey was prevented from participating in boys' football at school but joined British Oxygen's women's team at the age of 13 in 1979.[4] She played for Friends of Fulham under the tutelage of Fred Brockwell and was reported to have signed for Italian club Roi Lazio as a 19-year–old in 1985.[5] Spacey also played for HJK Helsinki in Finland.[2] The Finnish move came about through Spacey's England teammate Louise Waller, who had played for HJK the previous summer. After playing in Friends of Fulham's 3–2 WFA Cup final defeat to Leasowe Pacific at Old Trafford in April 1989, Spacey flew out to Helsinki with Waller and remained until September.[6] Spacey then returned to England and scored 12 goals in the first five games of the 1991–92 season for her old club, who became known as Wimbledon Ladies in 1991.

Spacey then spent eight seasons with Arsenal from 1993, before moving to Fulham on a professional contract in the 2002 close season. She had missed the second part of 1995–96 due to pregnancy.[7] In her final season with Arsenal she was the leading goalscorer and FA Players' Player of the Year, also winning a Sport Relief special achievement award.[8] Throughout her Arsenal career Spacey had enjoyed great success as a deep–lying forward player, helping The Gunners win numerous trophies.[2][9]

Vic Akers said of Spacey's career in 2009:[9]

"Marieanne was one of the most feared forwards in the game. She had good technique, ability on the ball, pace and power, and she was capable of scoring goals from all over the pitch – many of them from distance."

In 2002–03 Spacey won a domestic treble with Fulham.[1]

International career

[edit]

Spacey made her debut for England against Belgium on 20 August 1984.[1] She played in all four of England's games at their first FIFA Women's World Cup appearance in 1995.[10] Having finished playing for England with a respectable 76 appearances, Spacey was later recalled by Hope Powell to add experience in midfield.[9] Spacey was surprised by the development: "I honestly thought that wouldn't happen again. When I got the letter my legs went weak. I've played 76 times for England and now I feel like the new girl!"[11] She went on to play a total of 91 times for her country, scoring 28 goals before retiring after UEFA Women's Euro 2001, aged 36.[8]

Among Spacey's achievements with England were two Mundialito tournament wins in 1985 and 1988. She scored twice in the 1985 final against hosts Italy as England won 3–2 in Caorle. In May 1990 Spacey scored at Wembley Stadium in an exhibition match played against Scotland. The following April she scored a hat-trick against the same opposition in a 5–0 friendly win at Adams Park in Wycombe. When The Football Association (FA) took over running the national team in 1993, Spacey plundered four goals in the first game that September, a 10–0 win over Slovenia in Ljubljana.

She was allotted 65 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[12][13]

International goals

[edit]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 May 1990 Wembley Stadium, London, England  Scotland ?–0 4–0 Friendly
2. ?–0
3. 11 August 1990 National Sports Center, Blaine, United States  Soviet Union 1–? 1–1 1990 North America Cup
4. 20 April 1991 Adams Park, High Wycombe, England  Scotland ?–0 5–0 Friendly
5. ?–0
6. ?–0
7. 30 June 1991 Nordby Stadion, Nordby, Denmark  Denmark ?–? 3–3
8. 21 July 1991 Kashira, Russia  Soviet Union ?–0 2–0
9. 8 September 1991 Goldstone Ground, Brighton, England  Soviet Union 1–? 1–3
10. 25 September 1993 Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Slovenia ?–0 10–0 UEFA Women's Euro 1995 qualifying
11. ?–0
12. ?–0
13. ?–0
14. 17 April 1994 Griffin Park, Brentford, England  Slovenia ?–0 10–0

Coaching career

[edit]

Spacey has a UEFA Pro Licence. She became manager of Fulham Ladies when they reverted to semi–pro status in 2003,[1] but left in 2006 after Fulham scrapped their women's team altogether.[14] Later that year she became a senior coach for AFC Wimbledon Ladies.[15] Spacey later coached the England Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 teams as well as working in the coaching departments of Arsenal and Charlton Athletic.[2]

In November 2006 she was appointed girls and women's football development officer for the Worcestershire FA.[16]

In December 2013, Spacey was appointed assistant to England women's manager Mark Sampson.[17] She was part of Mark Sampson's coaching staff when the Lionesses came third at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada in 2015.[18] In 2017, with Spacey as head coach, the England under-23 team won the Nordic tournament in Sweden, beating Norway 2–0 in the final match.[19]

In July 2018, Southampton F.C. announced that Spacey would be joining as the head of girls and women's football technical department, based at the Staplewood Campus full-time and also overseeing the club's Regional Talent Club. The club said her appointment was intended to help their women's team's "future goal" of playing in the FA Women's Championship.[3] Their initial bid, to join the inaugural Championship, was rejected by The FA.[20]

In her first season as head coach of the senior women's team, who played in the FA Women's National League, Premier Division South, the team completed the double, winning the league title with a 18 wins from 18 games and the League Cup.[21][22]

At the end of the 2023–24 season, Spacey stepped down as head coach of Southampton and took a new role leading the club's women's and girls' programme.[23]

Honours

[edit]

Spacey was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2009.[24]

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to football.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Spacey says: "Give footy a go!"". BBC Sport Academy. 10 July 2002. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d "Marieanne Spacey". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Saints appoint Marieanne Spacey-Cale MBE". Southampton FC. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  4. ^ Lopez 1997, p. 107
  5. ^ Simon Barnes (21 November 1985). "Women footballers are lured by the lire / English women to become professional soccer players in Italy". The Times.
  6. ^ White 2001, p. 38
  7. ^ "Quotes of the week". The Independent. 2 December 1995. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Fulham squad profiles:Marieanne Spacey". BBC Sport. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  9. ^ a b c Robert Galvin. "Marieanne Spacey". National Football Museum. Retrieved 2 February 2011.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "England:Marie Anne Spacey". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  11. ^ "Marieanne Spacey". On the Ball. Archived from the original on 9 March 2001. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  12. ^ "England squad named for World Cup". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  13. ^ Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Fulham pull plug on women's team". BBC Sport. 16 May 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  15. ^ "Dons Trust Quarterley Report 03/06" (PDF). AFC Wimbledon. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2007.
  16. ^ "Women's Football: Spacey set to inspire soccer stars". Kidderminster Shuttle. 6 November 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2009.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Brent Hills and Marieanne Spacey take up new roles". BBC Sport. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  18. ^ "The FA – Marieanne Spacey-Cale Joins Southampton". The FA. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  19. ^ "The FA – Nordic Tournament England U23s Norway Match Report". The FA. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Saints' bid to join women's league unsuccessful". Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  21. ^ Association, The Football. "FA Women's Leagues and Competitions". The Football Association. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Spacey-Cale hails double-winning Saints". Southampton FC. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Spacey-Cale steps down as Southampton head coach". BBC Sport. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Latest News – Hall of Fame 2009". National Football Museum. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  25. ^ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B24.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Lopez, Sue (1997). Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football. London, England: Scarlet Press. ISBN 1857270169.
  • White, Nick (2001). Sun, Sea and Sexy Football: The Life and Times of British Footballers Abroad. London, England: Invextus. ISBN 0954161009.
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