Ella Toone MBE
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How can anyone not love Ella Toone -- except perhaps for anyone playing against her?
No idea. She is marquee
She's going nowhere.
Can't imagine it, especially if we get to the CL.
Of course PSG would love to have her. It wasn't long ago that there were rumo(u)rs about Barcelona being interested. Of course they were/are, as I suspect is the case for many other clubs around the world. But wanting her and getting her are two different things.
I agree with those who just don't see it happening. If there is a player anywhere who I would bet on to spend the rest of their careers with the same club, it would be Tooney.
I'll just add that if she were ever to switch teams, it would be to one outside of the WSL. Maybe Barcelona could entice her with the promise of being able to play along side her own favorite player, Aitana Bonmati.
I agree with those who just don't see it happening. If there is a player anywhere who I would bet on to spend the rest of their careers with the same club, it would be Tooney.
I'll just add that if she were ever to switch teams, it would be to one outside of the WSL. Maybe Barcelona could entice her with the promise of being able to play along side her own favorite player, Aitana Bonmati.
"rumo(u)rs" -
Very good.You are right - any top team in the world would love to have Toone, but she is United through and through. And, she is so close to her family. She only moved out of her mum's house a couple of years ago apparently, and bought her own house a few doors away - at least I think that's what she said in a podcast thing.
Like I said - she is going nowhere.
P.S. - We could get Bonmati to United!
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Not that it matters at all, but my recollection is that she said that she bought a house "a mile or so" or "a mile or two" from her parents' house. (I think that was discussed in one of the episodes of the "Tooney and Russo Show," when Russo told her that she wished Tooney would be a bit more open-minded about trying new things, and she responded by saying "I like what I like....")"rumo(u)rs" -
You are right - any top team in the world would love to have Toone, but she is United through and through. And, she is so close to her family. She only moved out of her mum's house a couple of years ago apparently, and bought her own house a few doors away - at least I think that's what she said in a podcast thing.
Like I said - she is going nowhere.
P.S. - We could get Bonmati to United!
Another reason why I don't think she's going anywhere, at least not soon, is that she has established a brand -- both figuratively and literally -- in the U.K. She seems very dedicated to her ET7 Academy, and the web site promises a store to be "coming soon." (I hope the first item in the inventory will be red bucket hats!) Playing her club ball outside the U.K. could potentially hurt the brand, and she would have to consider that potential lost revenue when evaluating a salary offer elsewhere.
I’ve watched a fair few of her YouTube videos and she absolutely hates leaving Manchester at all, she doesn’t even like going London.
Here's a new episode of "What Moves Me" featuring Tooney:
If anybody ever happens to stop by her local pub in Tyldesley for a couple of pints, please shoot a little tour video for me!
If anybody ever happens to stop by her local pub in Tyldesley for a couple of pints, please shoot a little tour video for me!
Got to admire her - and yet Wiegman decided not to start her against France.
I think Ella's work often goes under the radar - even among United fans. She's part of the glue that can keep a team together. There are times when she's the missing link between attack and defence and she switches jobs well. There's a persistence about her that I love watching, even when she's not getting the results she wants.
People looking for her to be a classic winger or even a classic creative #10 don't really give her much credit for what she does do. You'd think she'd get more credit as a scorer/assister of big match goals though, as that's harder to ignore. I sometimes get the idea that people think she's just lucky when it happens
She will be difficult to bench now.
Good post!I think Ella's work often goes under the radar - even among United fans. She's part of the glue that can keep a team together. There are times when she's the missing link between attack and defence and she switches jobs well. There's a persistence about her that I love watching, even when she's not getting the results she wants.
People looking for her to be a classic winger or even a classic creative #10 don't really give her much credit for what she does do. You'd think she'd get more credit as a scorer/assister of big match goals though, as that's harder to ignore. I sometimes get the idea that people think she's just lucky when it happens
She's England's and United's best player without doubt.
Has been for some time now.
Has been for some time now.
Totally agree. There are a lot of fans who judge her based on how many goals she's scored lately while failing to appreciate the many other ways in which she contributes to team success. (The same is true of her pal Russo, who also is often unappreciated for all the tireless work she does apart that doesn't show up on the score sheet.)I think Ella's work often goes under the radar - even among United fans. She's part of the glue that can keep a team together. There are times when she's the missing link between attack and defence and she switches jobs well. There's a persistence about her that I love watching, even when she's not getting the results she wants.
People looking for her to be a classic winger or even a classic creative #10 don't really give her much credit for what she does do. You'd think she'd get more credit as a scorer/assister of big match goals though, as that's harder to ignore. I sometimes get the idea that people think she's just lucky when it happens
A year or so ago, as a huge fan of Tooney's game, I got to thinking about what she could do improve. I came up with a list of three items:
1. Get physically stronger. Given her short stature and build she's never going to be a bruiser, but greater upper-body strength would help her better fend off defenders and win more duels. It seems clear to me that she's been doing that -- especially during the time last season when she was forced by injury to take some time off -- and we saw the results during the tail end of the season and are seeing them now with England.
2. Develop more confidence in her left foot. We all know she has a cannon on the right side, but she often passed up good left-foot shots and had other shooting opportunities shut down because defenders knew that she would shift the ball to her right foot to shoot. She said in an interview recently that "Alex" (I assume Greenwood) has been nagging her about taking more shots with her left foot for exactly this reason, and we've seen the results. Turns out she has a cannon on the left, too.
3. Up her defensive game. Again, I think this is something she clearly has been working on. I was reading something this morning in which Keira Walsh was extolling Toone's virtues on defense, covering the spaces that she and Stanway can't cover. We don't see Tooney making a lot of aggressive slide tackles (which I consider a good business decision), but she is really good at being in the right space at the right time to cut off potential passing lanes.
My conclusion from all of this is that Tooney's game is, right now, the best it has ever been -- and perhaps more importantly, is likely to only continue to improve over time.
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Thanks for posting this.
Notice in the "heat map" that she's been lurking mostly on the right -- LJ's side -- which sets her up to either cross with her right foot or drift across the top of the box to shoot with her left. IMO this is an important addition to her game (as per my previous post).
20 questions from the FA:
Thanks for posting the 20 questions. Music to my ears:
Along with what these two said it definitely doesn't sound like she'll be going anywhere. Just hope we invest more in the women's team.
Along with what these two said it definitely doesn't sound like she'll be going anywhere. Just hope we invest more in the women's team.
I don’t think there’s anyone who’s ever deserved something like Ella deserved this win tonight, representing England and United especially considering the context surrounding what she’s been through with her dad passing. So unbelievably proud of her and happy for her, she’s exactly what it means to play for United.
Tooney in post-match action:
Not the worst I’ve ever heard.
Was thinking the same.
In one of her post-match interviews Tooney was asked what the after-party was going to be like, and after saying (predictably) that it would be "crazy" or "mental" or something she added that none of them have had a drink in a long time, so.... I didn't catch the whole quote, but the gist was that they would all be smashed after one drink.
That said, I'd be willing to wager a large sum that in the karaoke video above, that glass of wine she's holding was not her first.
A national treasure, that one.
That said, I'd be willing to wager a large sum that in the karaoke video above, that glass of wine she's holding was not her first.
A national treasure, that one.
Yeah that's not bad you know
Sometimes real life hits hard, even during a tournament.
I bet you with that thoughtful and awesome attitude, that she may have also been her grandmas favourite person.
As everyone has probably heard, Joe popped the question and she said yes. No surprise there, and by all accounts he's a good egg and is great for her. I just hope that even if she adopts Joe's last name legally she will continue to wear "Toone" on the backs of her jerseys, unlike most of "my" USWNT players who have recently married and created much confusion among fans. I'm optimistic, though, that she'll follow Alex Morgan's lead, and for the same reason: "Toone" is not just the name of a footballer but also a brand.
She's mint.
Here's a little Tooney fun to brighten everyone's day:
https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/de...k-tram-feature-to-promote-man-utd-women-v-psg
https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/de...k-tram-feature-to-promote-man-utd-women-v-psg
I assume everyone knows this, but I feel like someone should say it "out loud": Our Tooney had a goal and three assists in the friendly last night.