Hi,

From the sounds of it there are quite a few Kelly Smith fans in here!

I play football for a team in North West London, about 10 min drive from Borehamwood FC where Arsenal Ladies play Home games.

Im lucky enough to be local. Seen Kelly around, she seems really nice and down to earth.

I was in Bend it Like Beckham.

Hi carly,

What did you do in 'bend it like beckham' then? Im a big fan of kelly smith and i would have loved to be there to see her, but i don't think i would have been so calm!

xx

Carly been away for a while!

How are things?

I played football in the team that had a fight, when Parminder (asian girl) got sent off.
Well i played in that team.

Yeah ive been away for a while, been busy and had no time for fun!

Arsenal and England international star Kelly Smith
has won the Nationwide Women's Player of the Month Award for October

Article.

Good job Kelly!

haha, i just put that on the other topic!

great minds think alike

wooooooohooooooo!!! go kelly! well deserved i think! cant wait to see her play on sunday!!

yeah it's gonna be awesome!

hey r u going to the game on sunday?

yeah, as if im gonna miss my beloved Arsenal ladies!!

i usually go and meet up with a couple of my mates from nearer london...........

and this time im bringing some of my uni football team!! i thought they should come see some REAL women's football instead of the crap we play every wednesday!

its gonna be mental!!

look out for me and say hi (if you don't get scared by all the crazy swansea students i'll be with!)

xx

lol, i have heard sum things bout swansea students, maybe i wont cum and say hi.....lol, nah only messin if i see ya, (or hear u shouting Kellys name, lol) then i'll cum and say hi! i'll prob be the one being dragged away by security as i try and run on the pitch!

yeah please do, then you'll look more mental than me and the Arsenal girls might not think im as mental as they (probably) do already!!!!

and yeah, i'll probably be screaming really loudly in a northern accent, surrounded by crazy welsh people. ooh and there will be the famous kelly smith banner and maybe some welsh flags so come say hi!

xx

yeh i'll def cum say hi, the banner will prob be a give away to where u are!! i'm going to bring this fog horn thing i brought frm euro 2005 with me so i'll be the girl gettin dirty look from people aas i deafen them!!!

excellent mate!!

xx

found out today i got a rearranged cup match tomorrow so i cant go watch Arsenal, absolutely gutted, !! praying for my match too be cancelled! so mite see ya at another game, hope its a gud match, suppose its a given if kellys playing!

aw gutted mate!

hopefully see you at another one!

Vic Akers about Kelly:

(From Arsenal's Official Site.)

'If she was a male footballer she would be earning pots of money'.

'She's got a bit of Thierry Henry in her game, a bit of Rooney_79586.shtml'>Wayne Rooney
- she's got everything that anybody could possibly want in a player.

'Playing at Euro 2005 did her no favours in terms of her fitness
and we were without her for the early part of the season.
We've tried to build her up gradually and used her sparingly in games
but she's come on massively just recently and she's looking a real force again.

'We want her to be fully fit for the second half of the season
and, if she can achieve that,
then it will be a big help to England in their World Cup qualifying campaign
as well as to ourselves.'

Smith eyeing silverware

Arsenal and England striker Kelly Smith is aiming to end her rollercoaster year on a high note
by helping the Gunners beat Bristol Academy in their final game before the Christmas break on Sunday.

Victory would put the League champions within three points of leaders Charlton Athletic,
who have no weekend fixture.

In their last five League and Cup outings they have hit the net 24 times without reply,
in the process reaching the final of the Premier League Cup
as well as putting themselves within striking distance of the National Division summit.

And Smith, who is in the final stages of recovery from an injury
that has restricted her club and international appearances through much of 2005,
will be after further goals as the Gunners look to make it six wins in a row.

The 27 year-old striker, enjoying her longest run of games for five years
following a succession of serious injuries, said:
"Things are going so well at the moment that I don’t want a Christmas break!"

"Regaining fitness has been a long, hard process
but now I’m back to enjoying training as well as playing.
I’m also hitting form and scoring goals,
so I’d rather be playing matches than taking a couple of weeks off."

Victory this weekend would mean a satisfactory end
to what has not always been a happy first full year back in English football for Smith,
who had spent the previous seven years playing in America.

Despite some low periods in a year where she was not 100% fit at Euro 2005,
she is in a happy frame of mind as she looks ahead to what could be a tumultuous 2006.

As well as gunning for League and Cup glory with Arsenal
Smith will be hoping to help England qualify for the 2007 Women’s World Cup finals.

"It’s been a great end to the year for me," she said,
"and there’s so much to look forward to next year.
For one thing I’ve never played in a Cup final in England,
so the League Cup final in March is a game I really want to play in."

"I’d love to play in The FA Women's Cup final as well,
but there’s a long way to go in that competition just as there is in our World Cup campaign.
We’ve made a great start by winning our first three games though,
and that’s built up confidence in the squad."

"Our next game, against France in March, will be massive
because they’re the group favourites.
But they’ve lost a game, so if we win this one we’ll be six points ahead of them
– and that would set us up beautifully for the rest of the campaign."

Source: www.thefa.com

wow i am well jealous, would have loved to be in bend it like beckham!!! Kelly is a legend, when i met her she wanted to get food, but i made her stay outside in the cold to talk to me haha! I even asked hr about her dog!! I would have run a mile!!!

I would run a mile away from you as well She is well nice though and am glad that you got to meet a player who is your idol.

btw nice pic for your sig.

Well i have met her a lot of times, as i live local and we have mutual friends/people we know etc.
I have also seen her dog a few times too and its well cute! Last time i saw it, Kelly was warming up before a game with her dog and the dog was great at footy too! -hehe

Eniola Aluko about Kelly Smith (from the FA site):

Aluko, who rates Smith as one of the best players in women's football,
believes the Arsenal striker's 'never say die' spirit is an inspiration to young girls
coming into the sport.

The Charlton striker added:
"Kelly is known all around the world.
She has been through trials and tribulations and come back stronger.

"Sometimes not everything goes right in your career and she has bounced back from her problems.
You have to be strong to continue.
She has been playing over in the States and is a regular for England.

"I have never had a serious injury,
but not a lot of people realise what it is like not to be able to play football.

"You get really bad withdrawal symptoms when all your team-mates are out playing and you can't.
To come back from a broken leg and play back at that level is fantastic.
It is something to be inspired by."

I've been cleaning my Sport folder and found this short video from the England v France WWC qualifier in Blackburn.

How gentle of Unitt to treat her suffering team mate like that, huh? Heartwarming

Rach doesn't looked too bothered, slowly walking over to check on Kelly

- then Unitt's thinking a'way Kel just move already I wan kick the ball