Emma Hayes’ replacement has huge shoes to fill but her departure spices up the WSL | Karen Carney

The Chelsea manager has given her club an aura of dominance but the competition could open up after her tenure ends

There are few harder acts to follow in football than Emma Hayes. Whoever takes the Chelsea Women’s managerial role will have big shoes to fill. Most managers get appointed when things are going wrong and they have to turn it around, so coming into a successful club is a difficult proposition.

History has shown that replacing legendary managers is tough. When Vic Akers left Arsenal Women after 10 trophy-laden years in 1997, his successor lasted a season and Akers was brought back. He managed the club for a further decade with lots of success. I felt Arsenal were not the same without him. Today you see the club really trying to get back to the top with some positive moves but it is so hard to achieve.

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