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‘I'm still called a gold-digger. Men look at me like I'm stupid'

Times

8 hours ago

Business
Times

‘I'm still called a gold-digger. Men look at me like I'm stupid'

Carolyn Radford arrives in her sizeable back garden, fresh off the family helicopter, with suitcases, her millionaire husband, John, and two dogs — Bo, a teacup Maltese terrier, and Casper, a weimaraner puppy — in tow. It's a whirlwind — and not just thanks to the still spinning rotary blades on the seven-seater chopper out on the lawn. The couple met when Radford, a lawyer, applied for a personal injury job at the insurance firm John founded. 'I think I'm still being interviewed,' she quips. 'It's my probation.' If so, it is a comprehensive trial period. Along with three sons (ten-year-old twins Rupert and Albert, and eleven-year-old Hugo, who are boarders at Ludgrove School, where alumni include Princes William and Harry), two dogs and three homes — one in the Algarve, Portugal, one beside the Thames in Eton, Berkshire, and this one, 19th-century Barnby Moor Hall in Retford, Nottinghamshire — the Radfords own the sprawling Doncaster-based business One Call Insurance. Oh, and a football club. 'I didn't quite realise what I was getting myself involved in,' Radford says wryly. As CEO of Mansfield Town FC, one of just a handful of female chief executives in English football, 43-year-old Radford has taken the Stags from the non-league doldrums — when John, 59, bought the club in 2010 for £1, the team no longer had a ground, but trained in the local park — to League One, where last season they played alongside Wrexham, Reading, Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City. Being blonde and glamorous, the comparisons with Rebecca Welton, the wealthy, fictional owner of the equally fictional AFC Richmond, are inevitable, but, 'It's not like Ted Lasso,' Radford says firmly, before I have even asked. In the ten-bedroom manor house, complete with gym and swimming pool plus vast chandeliers, indoor pillars and several grand pianos, Radford and I settle in the very white lounge/dining room. Up in her top-floor office, alongside shelves of law books, is Karren Brady's novel, United, set in the world of football and politics. Radford doesn't know Brady, the first female managing director of an English football team, who was appointed at Birmingham City at the age of 23 and who now sits in the House of Lords as well as being Alan Sugar's wingwoman on The Apprentice and vice-chairwoman of West Ham United, 'but she's been incredible in showing what can be done. I respect what she's achieved massively and hopefully it inspires other women, not just to aspire to the title of CEO, just to go and feel supported and ignore the noise.' When Radford, then Carolyn Still, was appointed CEO at 29 — at the time the youngest CEO in English football — there was no shortage of noise. She and John, who are worth an estimated £184 million, had been dating for a while but were not yet publicly a couple and, while some branded it a 'publicity stunt', Radford was subjected to sexist abuse from the stands and online. 'It was overwhelming,' she has said. 'Being young, relatively attractive and female, all those things counted against me. I was made into this caricature and had the most horrible things you can say about being a woman [said about me], people calling me a bimbo.' 'Nobody knew anything about me, or cared,' she says now. 'I didn't realise, especially back then, what the title means or how it worked, that it was generally for people — men — who had been in football or had played or they'd been around football clubs before.' Almost 15 years on, things are not much different. 'I'm still called a gold-digger,' she says. 'They still just look at me like I'm stupid.' The best riposte, of course, is the recent success of the club, but the low-level sexism persists, even among fellow executives. 'On match days you go into each other's boardrooms and a lot of the time they'll direct conversation to my husband, and it's not just me being paranoid,' she has said. 'There are lots of casual comments like, 'Hope you're behaving yourself today,' or, 'Oh, look at you. You look absolutely gorgeous,' in a leering kind of way. Just not things you would say to another man. 'But I don't have to read my CV out to everybody,' she says. 'I work hard, so think what you want. I'm not desperate to prove people wrong. I just want to do the best that I can possibly do.' It is not all casual. She has had rape threats and death threats 'constantly' since being in the job, online and in the post. 'Now, I just don't want to even know what any of it says,' she says. She thinks it is probably the case that 'all women in public positions get that sort of thing'. As the club's owner, her husband is not immune to criticism either. 'If we win, we're local heroes. If we lose, we're some kind of villain,' Radford says. She jokes that her husband, a Mansfield native, 'went to the pub and came home with a football club', but it's not entirely a joke. The club's previous owner and CEO, Keith Haslam, had run it into the ground and, according to John, had plans to sell off the ground — the oldest in the football league, built in 1861 — to build houses, claims denied by Haslam at the time. 'We rescued it, really,' he says. 'We had no fans, nothing. The club was literally just some football players that we'd inherited,' Radford says. 'Nobody wanted to go and watch their team lose again.' Last season, its most successful in 50 years, was Mansfield Town's first in League One — 'and almost our last', says Radford. But the club narrowly escaped relegation. And the 10,000-seat stadium is sold out every match day. Lee Anderson is one of those regularly in the stands. The Reform MP for the nearby constituency of Ashfield, he represents the political vicissitudes and shift to the right of the region in recent decades: Red Wall (and in Anderson's case, National Union of Mineworkers) to Brexiteer to Boris Johnson era Conservative to Reform. Mansfield ranks in the top 15 per cent of the most deprived areas nationally, with some neighbourhoods in the top 10 per cent. 'It's a tough town,' Radford says. 'For John, the choice was either go down the pit or go into the army [he chose the latter] and that is reality.' 'But people in Mansfield have a smile on their face now,' John says of the club's contribution. The couple have ploughed an eye-watering amount of their own money — a reported £100,000 a month — into the club to get there. 'I don't even want to think about that,' Radford says. 'And then there are the tangible assets we've done.' John bought the stadium back for £2 million, 'then spent another couple of million to get the stands right', he says. They have built a new training ground, which cost another £1.5 million. Later — while piloting us to the club in the helicopter — John says, deadpan, 'You don't really realise how much of a money pit a football club is until you're doing it.' Money has also gone into myriad initiatives, both at the club, such as academies for local youngsters and walking football teams for older people, and via their charity, the Radford Foundation, which funds and supports leisure facilities and services in Mansfield and the surrounding areas, including for children, disabled people and the elderly. Their roles, CEO and owner, 'are just titles, really. We're a husband and wife team,' Radford says. So do they ever truly switch off? 'Not really. And if you are losing four games in a row, it's brutal. Every match hurts. 'I've had to reframe it. I've started listening to all these podcasts, learning how to manage our world and not take it too personally, because I start to blame myself, but sometimes it's nothing to do with you.' Growing up in Chorley, Lancashire, Radford's father owned a building company and her mother was a PE teacher. 'I'm from quite a sporty background,' she says. 'My aunties ran for England and one was CEO of Sport England. My cousins played netball for England and I grew up watching a lotof football, so I have always understood it. But it wasn't necessarily something that I ever thought I'd be dealing with on a daily basis for ever.' Her first job, at 13, was on Saturdays in a pie shop. When her sons are old enough, 'I'll be getting them working in the kiosks at Mansfield, that's for sure. Showing them how to cook a pie. I think it's important,' she says. She studied politics at Durham University and, 'I am massively interested in politics, but I don't like to show it too much or I might get stoned — football is bad enough. 'I've always been quite malleable in my way of thinking, and I think that's being able to pivot and having conviction of what I think is right and wrong,' she says. 'I liked New Labour, Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell and Things Can Only Get Better. I was on that bandwagon. 'Post-university, I was then Tory. I've always liked Thatcher and I liked Boris Johnson. Are you allowed to say that?' She is confused as to why Kemi Badenoch has been made leader of the Conservatives — 'It seems like they put them there to be … It's like a game' — but neither is she convinced by Sir Keir Starmer's government so far. 'Perhaps by actually talking to business owners, maybe you'd get a better way of doing things. It definitely needs a shake-up.' One of her best friends at Durham was Lucy Rigby, now the Labour MP for Northampton North and the solicitor-general. 'I don't think you have to be politically affiliated to one particular party — I think that's where we've been going wrong. I'd definitely vote for Lucy.' Radford was a lawyer for Gucci group, working on brands such as Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, before moving to One Call. She and John, who has been married once before, began dating after he hired her. I imagine there was some commentary around that. 'John was still building a business. He wasn't … One Call wasn't what it is now. I fell in love with John for his mind, his business acumen, his intelligence. 'Then we've got an age gap, but lots of people have age gaps. I didn't think about it. And you don't know how a relationship's going to work out anyway. 'I guess I'm about the same age now as John was then. And we're still here, touch wood. We built our world together. I like to think and hope that my hard work and a bit of business acumen and whatever else has helped create our world.' The Radfords were both state school educated, but it is likely that their three sons will attend one of the UK's top public schools, perhaps Eton or Marlborough. 'I sound so northern when I'm cheering them on at matches,' Radford says. 'But they are very down to earth. They're not really materialistic, and they just like their friends and playing football.' All three want to be footballers when they grow up. But the Radfords' lifestyle has made them tabloid fodder, with stories of paying decorators to transform Barnby Moor Hall at Christmas, flying in Santa Claus on the helicopter and spending £10,000 on a birthday party for their sons. 'The boys are very lucky and blessed, but often they don't even have birthday parties. That was for a particular show that was on TV [Billion Dollar Babes],' Radford says. (For a while, though, the family did own three racehorses named Rupert, Albert and Hugo, after them.)'Often in these kinds of situations, I say yes because I'm trying to fly the flag for the football club, and that was part of that process.'Does she feel that her actions are sometimes deliberately misinterpreted?'Yes, I think so.'Does she think it would be the same were she a man?'No, I don't think so.' John is back from refuelling the helicopter, so we hop in to fly the seven minutes to the football ground. We land behind the stadium, beside a brand new padel court complex the club has built and an AstroTurf pitch heaving with kids playing football. Our unsubtle landing inevitably attracts a lot of attention, though all of it feels positive. For all the sexist abuse she has endured, Radford has also been dubbed 'the first lady of Mansfield'. It is Friday night, not a match day and out of season, but people are drinking in the stadium's bars. 'That's what our strategy is — to make it a destination every day, not just on match days,' Radford says. 'To make it a hub, really part of the community again. 'It's taken 15 years and we're not there yet,' she says, as we stroll through the blue and yellow-seated stands. 'It's a labour of love, but we're proud of what we're doing.' By the time we've finished touring the stadium, where a fourth stand is under construction, I check my train times back to London to find they've all been cancelled. The Radfords — heading south to pick up their sons for the weekend — generously offer me a lift in the helicopter. I sit with Casper, the weimaraner puppy at my feet as we soar over a lush, green early-summer England, landing just before sunset at an airfield in White Waltham, near Maidenhead, where Prince George is rumoured to be learning to fly. They would love to take Mansfield Town all the way to the Premier League, Radford says. 'We want to take it as far as possible, without being stupid. 'We're also big manifesters. I didn't know there was a name for it until recently, but we kind of talk about things, John and I, as if they're going to happen. We're always talking about our plans for the future, always pushing forward.'

Ethan Nwaneri interview: What ‘intense' Arteta taught him at Arsenal and his highlight of 2024-25

New York Times

10-06-2025

Sport
New York Times

Ethan Nwaneri interview: What ‘intense' Arteta taught him at Arsenal and his highlight of 2024-25

One of the most invigorating subplots of Arsenal's 2024-25 was the rise of Ethan Nwaneri in his breakout season. The midfielder made history on his Arsenal debut in September 2022, becoming the youngest ever Premier League players at 15 years and 181 days. He continued to impress last season, equalling John Radford's 62-year-old record for Arsenal goals before an 18th birthday (eight), becoming the youngest player to score in successive Champions League games, and becoming the third-youngest scorer in a Champions League knockout game behind Jude Bellingham and Bojan. Advertisement For all that, when asked for a standout moment from his breakout campaign, Nwaneri says: 'The goal against Man City.' The 18-year-old is speaking at an England Under-21s media session ahead of their European Championship matches against Czechia and Slovenia this week. While that goal was not game-changing, as the fifth in a 5-1 win, it was one the midfielder was determined to score, calling for the switch for 14 seconds before it came, and once the ball reached his feet, he had one thing in mind: cut inside and bend it into the far corner. 'I knew I'd do something if I got the ball,' he says. 'Then Dec luckily saw me. You don't really think, you just do it. You think about it afterwards. '(That finish comes) from a young age, practising in the park for ages. I've always been playing on the right more, so I've always kind of been cutting in on my left foot. So I've just developed over the years, it's really just come from me, naturally.' Nwaneri ended the season with nine goals and two assists, notching another seven for England's youth teams along the way. Able to make an almost immediate impact in the Arsenal first team, the young man is still making strides in north London. 'There's a lot to learn from Mikel (Arteta),' he says of his club manager. 'If you ever met him, you'd see how intense he is. How he's so good with his words and he knows what he's saying. He's elevated my game, definitely. There's so much, not even just tactically but mentally too. 'On a personal level, he's helped me a lot. He's really big on body language and the way that he presents himself. He puts that onto me. Before, maybe the way that I'd walk or slouch a bit or just the way I'd be sitting, he's onto everything. That's helped me just sharpen up in my mind and it's helped me a lot.' For what it's worth, Nwaneri is standing almost at attention during this interview. His shoulders are back, there's a smile on his face and he is assured in what he's saying. There is also a sense of realism that the past season did not just have a linear upward trajectory; they never do. He missed a few weeks in January with a muscle injury after his first Premier League starts, but also saw his minutes dwindle as the season drew to a close. Advertisement 'Going from playing quite a lot to not playing as much is normal in football,' he says, 'So I don't really take it to heart. I understand Mikel's got a decision to make at the end of the day, and it's hard for him to make. 'He obviously wants to include everyone but he can't. But I think it's part of football and it's those times that can really define where you're going to be. I think I've dealt with it well. I'm in a good place mentally and physically.' It helps that Nwaneri has one of his closest friends as a team-mate. Fellow academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly also broke through in 2024-25, going on to score on his full England debut. The pair made their first starts for the club together against Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup, with Lewis-Skelly involved in the build-up to Nwaneri's first Arsenal goal. 'My relationship and friendship with Myles is so important,' Nwaneri says. 'We're so similar but so opposite at the same time. We think the same way, but the way that we might portray it to other people, he might seem more open and I might seem more closed off. Our friendship is special.' Arteta has stressed the importance of viewing Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly as individuals rather than constantly comparing them to one another. Having signed their first professional deals in the 2023-24 season, their existing contracts run until the end of next season, but Arsenal are in talks with both players over fresh terms. Still just 18, Nwaneri is the youngest player in Lee Carsley's England Under-21 squad this summer by 18 months. Even so, he has gained experience at international youth tournaments in the past two years, featuring at two Under-17 European Championships and an Under-17 World Cup. His first call-up to Carsley's under-21s came in March, and saw him debut against France on his 18th birthday. His first start came days later against Portugal, in which, interestingly, he played as one of two No 10s behind a striker. He scored from just outside the box that night and was occupying more central areas than he had been as a right-winger for Arsenal in Bukayo Saka's injury absence. A natural attacking midfielder, as Arteta reminded people at the end of the season, there is interest in where Nwaneri fits positionally going forward at Arsenal. He impressed in Martin Odegaard's central midfield role on the final day win over Southampton, but circumstances have seen him have more exposure out wide in senior football. Advertisement Carsley's admission that he needs to be creative with his team selections could benefit Nwaneri, who has experience playing across a front three and in midfield. 'You can see sometimes I'm a natural midfielder,' says Nwaneri. 'But I think if the manager wants you to play in a position, you have to do it to the best of your abilities. I don't mind playing there because anywhere for the Arsenal first team I'll be happy playing, and trying to do a good job for the team. I've played false nine before a few times, actually. I think I can do a role anywhere that the manager needs me. 'I want to play forward. I want to be a positive player, one who affects the game, who can control the game, who scores goals. I think that's just my game. There's loads of stuff that I can add to my game. I think defence, (playing) inside, my physical capacity, there's loads of stuff that I can get to work on in my game. That's what I'm going to get to work on after we've hopefully won the tournament and joined pre-season.' While Arsenal supporters may have been anticipating the impact Nwaneri had on the first team last season, it may have come as a shock to the more general Premier League observer. For the teenager himself, there were doubts that this would be his year. 'Before each season, I can see where I'm going to be at the end of the season,' he says. 'I've always had that ability to see and visualise where I want to be and put my mind towards it. I wasn't really surprised, I was aiming for 10 goals and I was close to it, but I think now it's just, 'What's the next step?' and what I need to do to get to where I want to be.'

From Henry to Rice – 5 of Arsenal's greatest European nights

The Independent

09-04-2025

Sport
The Independent

From Henry to Rice – 5 of Arsenal's greatest European nights

Arsenal delivered one of the greatest European nights in the club's history by routing Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. Here, the PA news agency looks at five other memorable Gunners encounters in continental action. Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 0 – 1970 The first of Arsenal's two European trophies came in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the precursor to the UEFA Cup. They won 3-0 in the second leg of the final at Highbury to overcome a 3-1 deficit from the opening encounter. Goals from Eddie Kelly, John Radford and Jon Sammels secured the club's first silverware for 17 years. Arsenal 1 Parma 0 – 1994 The Gunners lifted the Cup Winners' Cup, which was later abolished in 1999, after Alan Smith produced a stunning finish from the edge of the area. Parma's star-studded line-up for the showdown in Copenhagen included Tomas Brolin, Faustino Asprilla and Gianfranco Zola. But they could not break down Arsenal's famous rearguard marshalled by Tony Adams. Inter Milan 1 Arsenal 5 – 2003 Thierry Henry struck twice as Inter were dismantled at the San Siro. Arsene Wenger admitted that 'not in my wildest dreams could we have predicted that sort of result'. Freddie Ljungberg, Edu and Robert Pires were also on target in the Champions League group game to avenge their 3-0 defeat to the Italians at Highbury two months earlier. Real Madrid 0 Arsenal 1 – 2006 The Gunners became the first English club to triumph at the Bernabeu after Henry broke the deadlock early in the second half of the last-16 Champions League clash. Victory came in a period when Real collected superstars for fun, with David Beckham, Ronaldo, Robinho and Zinedine Zidane all starting. Arsenal eventually lost to Barcelona in the final. Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1 – 2011 Until Tuesday's humbling of Real Madrid, this was Arsenal's greatest European win at the Emirates Stadium. Barcelona, having taken the lead through David Villa, fell to late goals from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin. However, the Spanish giants went on to win the second leg of the last-16 clash and the competition.