Bethany England remembers vividly the first time she won the League Cup. There were just five minutes remaining when Leah Williamson levelled the scores for Arsenal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, putting the 2020 final on the brink of extra time. But then, basically on the goal line at the other end, England popped up with the stoppage time winner for Chelsea, as Emma Hayes’ Blues filled a frustrating gap in an otherwise bulging trophy cabinet.
“I remember sprinting to the corner, to all my team-mates, celebrating. I remember hugging Drew Spence for dear life, saying, 'There's no way I could have played another 30 minutes if it had gone to extra time',” England exclusively tells GOAL, picking out her favourite memory from a competition she has plenty of good ones in, having won it twice in her time with Chelsea.
Plenty has changed since that game. Only four players in the Chelsea squad that day remain at the club, with Hayes also having left her post as manager. England is one of those to have moved on, joining Spurs for what was a British record fee in January 2023. In north London, it’s a project at a different stage, with different expectations and, as such, an environment that demands different things of England.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is the striker’s ability to pop up in the right place at the right time to find the back of the net. With 29 goals in her 56 Women’s Super League games for Spurs to date, she’s adapted well to the key differences between the two London clubs, even if it was hard at first.
And beneath it all, that burning desire to lift trophies remains. “That's a fond memory because it was the first time we'd won the League Cup,” she says of her winner in the 2020 League Cup final, speaking ahead of Spurs’ quarter-final clash with Manchester United in this season’s competition, on Sunday. “Just being able to help the team win the trophy… I'd like to be in a position where I can help Tottenham do the same.”
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Adapting to new surroundings
Not that it was immediately easy for England when she made that switch from Chelsea to Tottenham – quite the opposite. “I really struggled at first, if I'm honest,” she admits. “I went from the champions to a team that was facing relegation and that was a difficult, difficult place. It's probably the hardest six months because I joined at Christmas and I knew the pressure that was on me to be able to help deliver the goals to help them stay afloat.”
Those contrasting circumstances also meant there was more than just a psychological adaptation for England to make. In that 2023-24 season, her shots per 90 minutes were halved after swapping Chelsea for Spurs, representing the decrease in service that she would also have to contend with. “I realised quickly how a lot of it was going to be running rather than running with the ball,” she recalls.
“You do have to appreciate there's times where you're going to suffer a lot more without the ball in games and you do have to work on yourself individually because, when I was at Chelsea, you could potentially get five to 10 opportunities a game and you know one of them will go in. At Spurs, you might get one chance, and if you don't take it, that's all you've got.”
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Ruthless goal-scorer
Fortunately, in England, Tottenham had signed a player with a ruthless streak that allowed her to thrive despite those obstacles. After scoring on her club debut, England never let up, netting 12 goals in 12 league games to propel Spurs to safety. That her dozen came from an expected goals total of 5.3 says everything about how clinical she was in those six months.
“I think what helped me in my first season was that even though chances were few and far between, I was making those chances count. I feel like since I've come here, I've been able to make more chances count, with less opportunities, if that makes sense,” England says. “Usually, I'm quite humble about what I've done or achieved but I know I'm a fantastic goal-scorer and, given the chance, I will continue to score goals.”
That clinical touch puts her second in the WSL’s all-time top-scorer charts, only behind Vivianne Miedema but with Khadija Shaw creeping up behind her at quite the pace. “I've been chasing Miedema's record and every time I seem to get that one closer, she pops up and scores another one,” England laughs. “I'm aware that I've got Bunny on my tail. If she's bagging four goals every game, then she's probably going to be hitting that 100 record sooner than most of us.”
Given the 31-year-old has brought up that goal-scoring race naturally, it’s clear that the competition from her peers is something that spurs her on. “Definitely,” she confirms. “I want to be in and amongst the best. I've been chasing this record for a while. Bunny is just a phenomenal striker and in a team like Man City, she's going to get ample chances, but she's putting away almost every single one of those chances. It's one of them where if my name can be up there amongst the greats, amazing, but I just want to keep pushing myself.”
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Playing her part
It was with that relentless goal-scoring that, despite intense competition for places, England kept herself in the Lionesses' picture at one of the most pivotal times in the history of the national team. Part of the squad that won the 2022 European Championship and included again for the run to the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, she has more than played her part in helping the women’s game hit new heights in England. “It's definitely something I'm proud of,” she notes.
It might surprise some to hear that it is the World Cup, rather than the triumphant home Euros, that England cherishes more, but perhaps not when one considers that she didn’t get on the pitch during the latter. “I played. I was able to do my part. I had my penalty against Nigeria and I truly felt like I was able to help the team,” she says of the World Cup. “It took me a long, long time to feel like I deserved recognition for the Euros, the same as the other girls that actually got to be on the pitch, because in my head it was like, 'If I'm not on the pitch, I'm not helping'. But I still showed up every day, helped train the starting 11 and the subs.”
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Changing a culture
England isn’t in the Lionesses picture right now, with the World Cup her most recent call-up. Hip surgery after the tournament would rule her out for five months and regaining her place has proven tough, even if her goal-scoring has continued. However, the experiences she has accumulated at international level and the winning environment she has been exposed to, in addition to her time at Chelsea, only adds to her credentials as a player who can help change the culture at Tottenham.
“My mindset has never shifted in how I approach games,” England explains. “I've always had that winning mentality and never give up attitude. I think it's trying to change the club and other people around, just their perspectives on what it is they can achieve.
“I definitely had to learn to move the goalposts a bit on what is actually realistic, on where we're at right now and where we want to be. But I think anyone who has followed Tottenham over the last few years will definitely see the change, not just in style and play, but mentality. Obviously, there's a lot of factors involved in this, I'm just a piece in the puzzle, but I'm very proud to represent Tottenham and how we've been able to grow over the years.”
A top-half finish in the 2023-24 season and a run to the FA Cup final, under Robert Vilahamn, was a huge step in the right direction, bringing about what England calls a "cultural shift" in the team. “We were able to achieve great things and I think that probably changed everyone else's mindset and perspective as well of, 'We can do. It is possible'," she says. "I think the start of when Robert came in was when we really started to see a Tottenham side that was able to start progressing from there on.”
