Top 40 Karen Bardsley Quotes

There are constant messages I heard growing up… like, ‘If you’re unfit, you go in goal’ or, ‘If you’re crap, you go in goal.’ No, no, no! How do we change that? How do we give goalkeeping more respect?

That’s what tournament football’s all about. It’s about finding your feet in the first game, finding what works, and gaining confidence.

To build more interest in goalkeeping, we have to change how people think and report on goalkeepers. You are not just there to keep the ball out of the back of the net: you are there to impact the back four, to organise the team, essentially lead from the back. It is a really pivotal position.

Goalkeepers get criticism for commenting on outfield players, but outfield players can comment on goalkeeping; it is not a two-way street.

Road wins are critical, and it’s huge for you as a team when you can pick up three points on the road.

I grew up watching Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, watching them achieve.

It took me a while to accept everything, but I am so grateful for the way my parents raised me. It’s my life, it’s unique, and I think it’s so meaningful to me as I get older.

You think it’s so easy? Get in goal.

You can make loads of great saves, but if you concede, it’s, ‘That’s what we will show the world.’

I graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Graphic Design, and all in all, I can look back on my collegiate experience and say that I really did enjoy myself.

You have to choose to use mistakes as learning opportunities and leave them behind.

We do get a lot of sexist tweets and comments, things about a woman’s place being in the kitchen, not on the pitch.

My teammates always have my back on the field, and I will do everything in my power to make sure I always have theirs.

My big thing is we need to change how people feel about goalkeeping. I don’t think there is enough respect for the position in the game, whether male or female. There is a stigma that you have to be a certain size or not very good with your feet, or you have had to go in goal as a last resort.

There’s no pressure on a goalkeeper in a penalty shootout. So it’s a nice opportunity for us to have some fun and try and make some saves.

I like to eat healthily and feel like I’m putting good fuel in my body, although I do allow some tasty treats once in a while.

I don’t see why people can’t praise when they see something done well – even if it is by a woman.

I think City is a really good example of how you shift the culture internally. We’ve had a big culture shift, particularly in the academy. Young boys are now more comfortable with strong female athletes being around.

We talk sometimes about the impact we hope we’re having, that little girls – and boys – at home are watching us on TV. We can be role models.

Everyone provides a different experience, and for me, personally, it’s important that all perspectives are seen.

Every minute I’m on the field, I’m out there playing for my team, and the success of our team is what is most important to me.

I am fortunate that I have a good support network who I felt I could say, ‘Hey, I need to find out why I am speaking like this,’ and they could find out who I needed to speak to.

I trained with some great keepers at college, alongside full-grown men, and it helped me 100%.

Kids in school told me my parents had accents, but I had no idea; they’ve always sounded that way to me.

Everybody wants to score. It’s a great feeling. But making saves is a great feeling as well.

You try to do the right thing at the right time and make a good impression on people.

If you speak to girls who play football alongside lads, they’ll tell you that you almost have to earn the right to play with them. It’s annoying that you have to do that, but once you’ve done it, the barriers are down.

The only technical difference you will find is, if you are keeping goal as a male, they will play a bit further out, but set positions are the same, and techniques are constantly evolving.

One of my core values is that credit should be due, wherever it is needed.

Female goalkeepers are seen as equals in academies now. We’re trying to set a good example for the younger boys so they’re used to seeing us women around, making great saves and scoring great goals.

As a keeper, you have to understand that your job is black and white: you make a save, or you don’t; you can be the hero – or the goat.

You’ll do anything to keep the ball out.

Different techniques are now being used in futsal and handball. It’s about timing more than anything else. Those little intricacies are slowly being picked up in the women’s game – and it’s kind of going unnoticed.

There were some coaches, some teammates, some sports psychology people who I could trust and rely on. They were very important to keep me focused on the right things – the things which would be beneficial to me instead of catastrophising things and worrying about things which were not in my control.

As a result of my upbringing, I was interested in reconnecting with my family and making them proud. Therefore, this emotional connection meant that representing England became a personal obsession.

You have to stand and fight for what you believe.

I found it personally really difficult to admit to myself that I was struggling sometimes, but once I had the feelings and I knew I could not sit with them any longer, I sought the help I needed.

Just normalising the idea of women playing football is a massive part of what we need to do.

I think, in a tournament, things are always a little more exciting.

I’ve seen my share of bad goalkeeping, and I’ve had my moments. But I’ve seen some excellent goalkeeping as well.