Chelsea boss Emma Hayes once again found her arms full at the culmination of the WSL season - with four successive Women's Super League titles and four successive manager of the season awards
Hayes was crowned Barclays 2022/23 Manager of the Season at the official end of year awards following another hugely successful domestic season at the Chelsea helm.
It is a double title defence that threatens to bely all convention, but prophesy an end to it at your own peril. Tuesday evening's presentation is the sixth WSL manager of the season award to find itself pulled into the Hayes gravitational vortex, following her side's seizure of a unprecedented fourth WSL title on the bounce and a third domestic league and FA Cup double in a row following the Blues' 3-0 victory over Reading on the final day of the WSL season.
"So much of what we have to do is survive and I'm grateful for the wonderful team behind the team and we've been able to come through an amazing season," Hayes said as she collected her award.
A casual glance at Hayes' trophy cabinet -- a piece of proverbial fiction that is screaming out for its extension -- would suggest another episode of casual domestic dominance. Eight league titles across a decade of Hayes at Chelsea, 13 major trophies altogether.
But this WSL season has proven the toughest task to face the Chelsea boss and her unrelenting squad.
Following a shock opening day defeat to newly-promoted Liverpool, Hayes was forced away from the touchline for over six weeks as she underwent an emergency hysterectomy and took time to recover.
The absence coincided with glimpses of a Chelsea machine not at its usual blistering and ruthless became almost commonplace, and the sense that the Blues were there for the taking galvanised the opposition around the reigning champions.
Soon Manchester United and Arsenal were threatening to upset the status quo as they pushed ahead of the Blues in the table. Manchester City were not far behind.
Chelsea continued to grind in the background, mining ways to win. Injuries to marquee players Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder forced the Blues into an attacking redesign, while Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan's injuries brought Hayes' newly-dubbed "hybrid-monsters" to the fore as strength in depth was given a new definition.
A disappointing loss to Arsenal in the Conti Cup final dashed the Blues' hopes of a domestic treble, but the manner of the loss did not offset the Blues' charge and their conviction to win was emphasised as they responded with emphatic league wins over Brighton and Manchester United. By the campaign's end, Chelsea touted an undefeated home record, with 66 goals scored (the league's most) and 58 points in total, matching the WSL record.
Before her side's 3-0 win over Reading, Hayes declared that the victory, if secured, would be her favourite. It was a sentiment that, on the surface, deserved caution. Hayes rattled off the same line in 2021, again in 2022.
Yet, few would argue that this season's declaration trumps them all.
"Maybe that's why it's my favourite year," she told SkySports after the 2-0 win over Arsenal that effectively declared Chelsea title defence a success. "My own personal health issues, that was frigging hard."
Hayes is set for a well-deserved break away from the touchline following her latest triumph. The Blues manager has been candid about the struggles of being a present mother while balancing her role at the club, admitting that "work-life balance doesn't exist" after her side's 1-0 victory over United in the FA Cup final.
"When I have to sit at home, alone, and think about the work we do everyday and the sacrifices we all make, I know I’ve given my life to it,” Hayes said. “My little boy I know would like to see a little bit more of me because I can’t manage more than this and that. But what I know is that in elite performance, you can’t have a work-life balance. It doesn’t exist.
“So all I know is that I’ve given everything I can to the team, to the club, to put us in the place. But I’m also still the f***ing kid in Camden whose had an absolute ride of a lifetime.”
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