Eniola Aluko

It is dangerous to sit on your laurels, but a lot of the time you only have to add one or two people to the fringes of a winning team to improve it.

I've learned things in Italy at the age of 31. Some of the passing drills are so complicated you need a high level of concentration and if you mess up the rhythm, believe me you are told!

I've experienced it with Chelsea Women: it can be very hard at the top for long periods of time, fighting just to stay in the same position and to preserve an unbeaten run that will always come to an end.

From a young age in England I felt technical skills were coached out of me. I remember when I was 15 doing a rainbow flick over a player's head in training and the coach telling me off and shouting: 'This is not the Eni show.' That discouraged me from expressing myself individually with the ball in that team again.

The fear for English players has always been that you might risk a place in the national team if you go abroad but now with all the technology we have, and social media, you are able to watch goals and assists every week, which means his performances are just as noticeable as anyone's in the Premier League.

There are many clever contractual ways to let a young player continue his career elsewhere while still having first option to bring them back in future. Contracts can include a buyback clause such as Barcelona had with Cesc Fabregas, or a sell-on clause where the development club benefit financially from all the work invested in the young player.

As a forward, when you have not scored for a while the desire to score gets stronger and stronger and ultimately that can work against you because you are trying too hard to do what comes naturally.

No one should feel comfortable venting racist abuse, whether from the stands or through media outlets. Just as fans must call out any fans they see hurling abuse, journalists must call out colleagues who perpetuate divisive rhetoric. Name and shame them.

Don't read, click links or subscribe to any media organisations that peddle sinister untruths and stereotypes.

Players are under enough pressure to perform from fans and the media without a manager complicating matters further in public.

Perhaps I am influenced by philosophies like the one at Chelsea which was 'If it isn't broken, change it' which saw us win three league titles in five years playing three different formations and tactical strategies so that the opposition could never keep up with our evolution at the time.

Football is full of different characters but there are perhaps none who have a split personality quite like Jose Mourinho, as I can testify from personal experience.