Mary Earps needs saving from herself in desperate bid to remain relevant

And let us not forget that Hampton was magnificent as England were crowned European champions for a second time in Switzerland. It is worth pointing out that the 24-year-old, who made a string of important saves throughout the tournament, including in two penalty shoot-out wins over Sweden and Spain, did more to secure the trophy this year than Earps did back in 2022.

The decision to make her No 1, primarily because her ability to distribute the ball is vastly superior to Earps, was fully vindicated. As with most things, Wiegman got a tough call right, but all Earps can do is whine and complain about the way she was treated. Her autobiography is salty, with a dash of lemon and a sprinkle of sour grapes.

Earps was a wonderful goalkeeper for England and one of the best in the world. She won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023 on the back of a stunning World Cup campaign and was in goal when the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022. Her career is worth celebrating and I always enjoyed speaking to her whenever she was put up for interview.

But when I wrote a comment piece in May claiming Earps’s ego was out of control, it was not just based on her selfish and petulant decision to walk out on the England team on the eve of a tournament. It was also based on behaviour I had witnessed and been told about within the England camp.

Interestingly, although some criticised my comments and leapt to Earps’s defence, I was surprised by the number of people within women’s football, including former and current players, who told me they agreed with every word and it was about time someone said it.

What has emerged over the last few days merely reinforces the view that Earps’s ego is causing her to indulge in acts of reputational harm. It has been a public relations own goal and the 32-year-old has belatedly realised the damage she is doing.

Take this stunning extract from The Guardian’s serialisation of her book on Sunday: “There were three huge talking points from the 2023 World Cup. One was the unspeakable kiss that Spain’s football federation president Luis Rubiales planted on Jenni Hermoso as she collected her gold medal, which would later lead to his resignation and prosecution.”

The other two talking points both related to me.

“My penalty save in the final had been viewed as heroic and, even, perfect. Even people who weren’t into football were excited about the display, praising the execution, the composure and the swearing that followed, which was celebrated by women for its passion and deliverance and criticised by others who would never have picked up on, let alone noticed it, in a man celebrating the biggest save – or any other feat – of his life.

“I’d been given the new nickname Mary Queen of Stops, and the way the save, or a goalkeeper for that matter, was being talked about was on a scale that was unprecedented in the women’s game...”

The third one, if you are still interested, was Earps publicly criticising England kit manufacturers Nike for failing to put replica goalkeeper’s jerseys on sale for her fans to wear.

Quite what sort of reaction Earps was expecting to the serialisation of her book, given the explosive nature of her comments is unknown, but it has not gone down well.

Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea manager, spoke for many of us when she said on Saturday: “With what I read in terms of the comments coming from Mary Earps, it’s not acceptable to not show respect to your team-mates or managers.”

Hampton must know what Earps thinks of her, but in recent interviews she has repeatedly praised her detractor and pointed out that, without her, England would not have been successful in the past and female goalkeepers would not be in the public consciousness.

She is right too, Earps was a trailblazer. A huge character and, until recently, very likeable.

Realising the backlash was coming, Earps posted on Instagram over the weekend to try and repair the damage. There was no apology, but there was an attempt to paint herself as the victim, while apparently complaining that her own words, in a book she had been paid by The Guardian to serialise, were being perceived negatively and pitting women against each other.

Given it was Earps who attacked Wiegman and Hampton in her book, was it not her who was guilty of pitting women against each other? Then came the sales pitch.

“I know that people like to create drama, but please remember this book is about my life and my experiences. This is not a soap opera, this is real life. Pulling out a paragraph or a sentence here and there is not a reflection of the contents of the book. Please see through the headlines and read it in its entirety.”

And then the self pity.

“I would never intentionally say things to hurt someone. That’s not my style. People can experience the same situation differently, this is not about heroes and villains, just different perspectives – multiple things can be true at once… This has been an incredibly difficult 24 hours, not just for me.”

It was at this point that I realised Mary needs to stop talking. The people around her have failed to protect her from herself over the last few months, but they should realise there is nothing to be gained when all you do is keep digging and make things worse.

Earps’s story is an interesting one and she has had a brilliant career in football and will surely go on to have an exciting one on the celebrity circuit in the years to come. I am told she wants to become a television presenter one day and follow in the footsteps of another former England international Alex Scott. She may well have success in that pursuit. I’m sure there will be plenty of offers to come from celebrity reality shows like I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing too.

But in failing to come to terms with her demotion with England, Earps has poured petrol on the flames in her book. Her ego was out of control when she walked out on England in the summer and everything we have read in her autobiography so far confirms it.

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