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| | Friday, 24 May, 2002, 14:30 GMT 15:30 UK Spacey bags three awards Spacey (centre) is yet to decide whether to retire
Arsenal's veteran striker Marieanne Spacey collected a hat-trick of accolades at Friday's FA Women's Football Awards ceremony, including Players' Player of the Year. The 36-year-old, who won 91 England caps before retiring from the international scene last summer, also collected a BBC Sport Relief Special Achievement award and the Premier League National Division's Top Scorer prize. Spacey announced last August that she would be retiring at the end of the season and repeated her intention to BBC Sport Online as recently as March. After Arsenal had been knocked out of the Uefa Cup by Toulouse, she said: "I stayed on this year so I could play in Europe, but I won't be changing my mind about retirement. "I've talked to Vic Akers (Arsenal's manager) and hopefully I'll stay with the club on the coaching side, but I'm definitely going to stop playing." But after receiving a standing ovation as she collected the third of her awards, as Players' Player of the Year, she said: "I won't make up my mind now until July. "It was fantastic to get these awards, it was very emotional - I though my heart was going to rip out of my top. "But despite receiving the awards I don't feel I had a good season, and Arsenal certainly underachieved even though we won the League again. "So I'd certainly like to put that right, but I'm still in two minds at the moment about carrying on. "I've got a short trip to America to play a game over there for Arsenal, then I've got a break and I'll consider my future then make my announcement." Apart from Spacey, it was the young players of the women's game who picked up most of the awards.
Fulham's 19-year-old midfielder Katie Chapman was named Nationwide International Player of the Year, with Charlton Athletic's Fara Williams, 18, collecting the Young Player of the Year award. Birmingham City striker Katy Ward, like Williams a member of England's squad for the forthcoming Women's Under-19 World Cup finals, was the Northern Division's leading scorer. In the Southern Division, Fulham's Norwegian international Marianne Pettersen, with a tally of 86 goals in all competitions, was by some distance the top scorer. Pettersen also collected the Southern Division's Players' Player of the Year award, while Wolves' Anne Blackham received the equivalent award in the Northern Division. Manager of the Year was Leeds United's Mark Hodgson, who in six years has taken his team from the Yorkshire & Humberside League to a top-four finish in their first season of National Division football. Club of the Year was Birmingham City, who had the youngest squad in the league yet comfortably won the Northern Division and also reached the final of the Premier League Cup. | | See also:  19 Apr 02 | Football Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Football stories now: Links to more Football stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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