CAGE FIGHTER!
Five big brothers taught Chloe Kelly to play in a pen on a gravel pitch... and it’s paid off with City move
FOOTBALLER grows up on tough London estate. Plays against the big boys and takes the hard knocks. Then uses the bruising initiation to make it as a professional. It is an unexceptional story and would hardly warrant a mention were it not for the fact that the player in question is Chloe Kelly. The youngest of seven children, Manchester City’s new striker would have found it hard to avoid football growing up with five brothers in Ealing even if she tried. Kelly embraced it, followed them down to a caged gravel pitch on the Windmill Park Estate, joined in and earned their respect — even though it was a painful process at times. ‘I don’t think there are many who came up playing in a cage,’ says the 22-year-old. ‘I was always around the cage with the boys as soon as I was allowed, about the age of seven. My brothers included me even though they were older and playing with their friends. ‘The whole summer we would get out in the cage early mornings, go back for some food and be straight back there. A few years later, someone melted a bin in the middle. It wasn’t the best, but we had to make do with what we had! ‘Playing cage football really made me the player I am. It added a bit more creativity to my game and the physicality as well.’
Were the brothers protective? ‘Definitely not. They were probably the ones telling everyone to hit me harder. Get used to it. If I was on the floor, they would tell me to get up. ‘They never really felt sorry for me if I was getting knocked about. I think that was the way to go. If they made it easy, you would always think everything is going to come easy in life and that’s not the case. That’s how I’ve got so far today. ‘I was one of them. Looking back, I really appreciate that but less so at the time. I was a bit gutted going home and crying to my mum sometimes.’
Kelly watches elder brother Jack and triplets Ryan, Jamie and Martin play local league football when she is back in west London. ‘Jack still says now that he’s better than me,’ says Kelly (right) who has another brother, Daniel, and sister, Paris. ‘He says, “I’ve taught you everything you know, but not everything I know”. They don’t let me get too carried away. They always keep me grounded and that’s a great thing.’ After being scouted by QPR at a schools tournament — ‘it was my first real game because I was used to playing in the cages’ — Kelly turned professional with Arsenal. She took the bold decision to
move to Everton, initially on loan, in 2016 even though it led to homesickness and regular calls to her mum Jane and dad Noel. ‘If I hadn’t gone to Everton, I don’t know if I would be in the position I’m in now at City and pushing on in my career,’ she says. ‘I could have been satisfied with sitting on the bench at a top club but I needed minutes under my belt. I needed to show what I was capable of on the pitch, not just the training pitch. I don’t think a lot of people would make that leap of moving to a city I’d never been to before at such a young age. ‘It was very daunting. Because I was such a family girl, I got homesick and every opportunity I got I would be back, but I knew it was the best for my career.’ Kelly was fourth in the Women’s super League scoring charts with nine goals for Everton when the season was ended. City, who were top at the time but saw Chelsea crowned champions on a pointsper-game basis, signed Kelly in July and she will make her WsL debut for Gareth Taylor’s side at Aston Villa today as the 2020-21 season gets under way. Although City lost 2-0 to Chelsea in the Community shield last weekend, Kelly was a threat as she hit the post and also beat three players with a sensational run to set up a goal for Janine Beckie that was ruled out for offside. ‘Once I found out City were interested in me it was a case of, “OK, when can we get it done?”. I can’t wait to get going,’ says Kelly. ‘There are a lot of England internationals here and that was massive for me. If I get another call-up, it’s easier going into that environment by playing with those players day in, day out. ‘I looked at playing with the likes of steph Houghton and Jill scott, learning, adding to my game. I’m ambitious and I want to be the best version of myself.’ Kelly made her England debut in November 2018 as a substitute against Austria in a friendly but suffered an ankle injury that required surgery the following February. It kept her out for six months and out of contention for a place at the 2019 World Cup, where new team-mate Ellen White scored six goals as England reached the semi-finals. However, Kelly’s performance as a substitute for White against spain in Texas in March was a rare highlight in England’s disappointing sheBelieves Cup, and she has now set her sights on next year’s Olympics and the European Championship in this country in 2022. ‘It’s exciting to have another year of development ahead of that — I’ll work my socks off to be in the squad,’ says Kelly. ‘It was frustrating missing some key games but it was good to be back and kick-start my England career. ‘To see players like Ellen getting the coverage she deserves is great. Hopefully in a few years’ time that will be me.’