we ain't got no history 
25-03-2024 08:04
25-03-2024 08:04
Fran Kirby joins exclusive 200-appearance club in modern era of Chelsea FC Women
While there have been nearly 100 players (98, to be exact) who have made over 200 appearances for the Chelsea men’s team, on the women’s side, that club is a lot smaller and a lot more exclusive.
After all, the “modern era” of Chelsea FC Women is only about 20 years old, since Chelsea “Ladies” became a financed part of the Chelsea organization in 2004 — and, in general, there are fewer matches to be played in a season as well (though that’s slowly increasing). So reaching 200 appearances takes a lot longer than it does on the men’s side. For example, Claire Rafferty played for us for over a decade, from 2007 to 2018, but barely cracked 100 (thanks in part to several major injuries as well).
Statistics are also a lot harder to come by, but as far as I can tell, when she came on as a substitute in yesterday’s 2-0 win over West Ham United, Fran Kirby became only the sixth Women’s player in our history to reach the 200-appearance mark. She joins Drew Spence (who was the first, in 2020), Millie Bright (in 2022), Ji So-yun (also in 2022), Erin Cuthbert (who may be the fastest to have gotten there, at the start of this season), and Sophie Ingle (in December). Kirby, who’s the all-time leading goalscorer for the Women’s team, probably would’ve gotten here a lot faster were it not for a few health scares and injuries in recent years, but those challenges only add to the impressiveness of this feat.
Congrats, Super Fran! Here’s to many more still to come!
After all, the “modern era” of Chelsea FC Women is only about 20 years old, since Chelsea “Ladies” became a financed part of the Chelsea organization in 2004 — and, in general, there are fewer matches to be played in a season as well (though that’s slowly increasing). So reaching 200 appearances takes a lot longer than it does on the men’s side. For example, Claire Rafferty played for us for over a decade, from 2007 to 2018, but barely cracked 100 (thanks in part to several major injuries as well).
Statistics are also a lot harder to come by, but as far as I can tell, when she came on as a substitute in yesterday’s 2-0 win over West Ham United, Fran Kirby became only the sixth Women’s player in our history to reach the 200-appearance mark. She joins Drew Spence (who was the first, in 2020), Millie Bright (in 2022), Ji So-yun (also in 2022), Erin Cuthbert (who may be the fastest to have gotten there, at the start of this season), and Sophie Ingle (in December). Kirby, who’s the all-time leading goalscorer for the Women’s team, probably would’ve gotten here a lot faster were it not for a few health scares and injuries in recent years, but those challenges only add to the impressiveness of this feat.
Congrats, Super Fran! Here’s to many more still to come!