The West Ham Ladies captain Stacey Little has left the club, attacking her treatment as “disgusting”.
Little, 28, claimed on Twitter she chose to leave West Ham after “being suspended for having an opinion as captain” – though chairman Stephen Hunt said that she and several others had been released after being deemed “surplus to requirements” by the manager Marc Nurse.
West Ham finished sixth in the Premier League South last season, with Nurse appointed in July to replace Julian Dicks when the former West Ham defender joined Slaven Bilic’s new backroom team.
Little wrote: “After being suspended this week for having an opinion as captain I have decided to leave @westhamladies after being left no choice & being treated disgustingly by the club.
very hard decision to make but there's only so much you can take. I have been driven out of this club by two individuals for having a voice!
— Stacey Little (@StaceyLittle) October 6, 2015
“Tonight I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken to be leaving the club I love and have done so much for. When they say blood, sweat and tears, that’s exactly what I have given and so much more!
“I was the proudest captain and would have run through brick walls for my team. It was a very hard decision to make but there’s only so much you can take. I have been driven out of this club by two individuals for having a voice.”
Hunt, though, told the BBC that Little, Kelley Blanchflower, Lily Mellors, Emma Sherwood, Kerry Stimson and Kayleigh Xidhas were all leaving after Nurse decided to reshape his squad.
“A meeting was called by the manager for Tuesday evening to announce his decision to release a number of senior players, including Stacey Little, whom he deemed surplus to requirements. The club is focusing its future on its main players such as Aditi Chauhan, the Indian international, and Giulia Ferrandi from Italy. We also have a number of new signings being discussed, including players from Women’s Super League teams.”
Blanchflower wrote on Twitter: “Beyond heartbroken, cannot believe any of this. No words will ever explain what happened today, still in shock.”
