90min

2019/20 WSL Award Winners Announced – Including Player & Manager of the Season

By Jamie Spencer

Bethany England is WSL Barclays Player of the Season for 2019/20
Bethany England is WSL Barclays Player of the Season for 2019/20 / Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
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Chelsea striker Bethany England has been Barclays Player of the Season for the 2019/20 Women’s Super League campaign following a stunning individual year.

England began the landmark season, which saw Barclays align with the WSL as named sponsor, in spectacular fashion when she scored a wonder goal in front of 25,000 people at Stamford Bridge in the opening game against Tottenham.

England began 2019/20 with a stunning goal at Stamford Bridge
England began 2019/20 with a stunning goal at Stamford Bridge / Marc Atkins/Getty Images

From then on, the Chelsea star never looked back and her 14 goals were crucial as the club took the WSL title on points per game basis when the season was abandoned as a result of the difficulties associated with trying to carry on amid the coronavirus crisis.

England’s form at club level has also seen her become a fixture of the Lionesses squad over the last 11 months since a senior international debut in August 2019.

For overseeing Chelsea’s title win, a third in the last five season, Emma Hayes has been named Barclays Manager of the Season.

Emma Hayes is 2019/20 WSL Barclays Manager of the Season
Emma Hayes is 2019/20 WSL Barclays Manager of the Season / Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Her Chelsea were the only unbeaten side in the WSL when the season was abandoned, winning 12 and drawing just three of their 15 games played. The Blues had the most prolific attack in the league, scoring 47 times, an average of just over three per game, and also had the second best defence.

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema has been awarded the Barclays Golden Boot ahead of England. The Dutch international, who scored a double hat-trick in a record 11-1 WSL win over Bristol City in December, had recently beaten England to the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year award.

Manchester City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck has won the Barclays Golden Glove for her 10 clean sheets. It was another season in which the 20-year-old kept senior England international Karen Bardsley sidelined and underlined her status as a star of both today and the future.

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