Off The Shelf | Molly Bartrip - now available on all podcast platforms

The latest episode of our all-new official podcast Off The Shelf with Molly Bartrip is now available on all platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google and SPURSPLAY.

The centre-half - ever-present in her first season here as Spurs Women finished in their highest-ever league position in the Barclays Women's Super League in 2021/22 - tells her inspirational story, opening up on how she overcame serious health issues - anorexia nervosa and depression - to become a professional footballer at the highest level in the WSL.

Hosted by modern day great and fans' favourite Michael Dawson, alongside co-host, Senior Club Journalist, Paul Miles, Molly takes us back to her days growing up in Romford, where she would play football with boys, 'I was the only girl a lot of the time, but it didn't faze me' and her early days at Spurs, Charlton and Arsenal.

She recalls how an injury while on England youth duty in Holland and the feeling of letting her family down triggered her eating disorder. "It's the feeling of being rejected... I ended up not eating and over-exercising," she says, explaining that the illness, 'took over me'. Molly recovered, and soon realised her dream by joining Reading in the WSL, but she then suffered from depression. "I felt low... for me, depression was scarier, I had nothing in me, it was horrible. What turned it around for me was knowing I could be better, I wanted to be better.

"I knew that football was the reason I got into anorexia, and came out of anorexia. So, I knew football was potentially the reason I went into depression, but it was going to get me out of depression. That was my mindset, I'd get out of it, I just needed to know how to. I had the mindset to battle back."

She did exactly that.

Molly, now 27, represented England at four age groups and played for eight seasons at Reading before joining Spurs Women in 2021. "Today, I put one foot in front of the other, I don't want to think too far ahead, I still struggle, I don't deny that, but I'm in a good place, I've got the right support around me and I'm at Tottenham, that's all that matters."

All episodes of Off The Shelf will appear first and exclusively on SPURSPLAY. After that, they will be available on all your usual podcast platforms including Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify and Google.

Introducing... Off The Shelf

We are delighted to launch our all-new, official podcast, Off The Shelf.

Off The Shelf will bring you even closer to our great Club, telling often untold stories from the current playing squad to the legends who went before them, the staff who keep everything ticking over behind the scenes and, of course, our fans, the heartbeat of Spurs.

In our first series of six podcasts, we'll speak to legendary former skippers and Club Ambassadors Ledley King and Jenna Schillaci; our esteemed captain and World Cup winner Hugo Lloris; another goalkeeping legend, Heurelho Gomes; Academy graduate Oliver Skipp and from Spurs Women, defender Molly Bartrip, who has a compelling story to tell.

Each podcast is dedicated to its subject, shining a light on their careers, and the stories that define them. How did Ledley feel when he was told he’d have to retire? What has it meant for Hugo to captain our Club for almost 10 years?How did Jenna react when she was told she couldn’t play football as a young girl? How did Skippy climb through the ranks from Academy to first team? How did Molly overcome serious health issues to reach the top of the women’s game? What was the one thing Gomes wished for when he left home in Brazil to pursue his dream in Europe? You’ll hear those answers and more...

And who better to present our podcast than one of our modern-day greats and fans' favourite, Michael Dawson! 'Daws' joined us in January, 2005 and spent nine years at the Club, making 324 appearances in all competitions for us until departing in the summer of 2014.

Michael finally retired after 20 seasons as a professional for Forest, Spurs and Hull City in August, 2021, and stepped straight into new roles as our Club Ambassador and as a panellist on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports. A true leader, Daws radiates enthusiasm - his love for the Club shines through.

Joining Daws is our Senior Club Journalist, Paul Miles. 'Milesy' has been at the Club since 2000, interviewing our players and managers for 23 years - including every game of Daws' Spurs career! You may have seen him in the last couple of years as part of our N17 Live matchday team.

All episodes of Off The Shelf will appear first and exclusively on SPURSPLAY.

After that, they will be available on all your usual podcast platforms including Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify and Google.

Off The Shelf | Ledley King

Off The Shelf | Jenna Schillaci

Off The Shelf | Oliver Skipp

Off The Shelf | Heurelho Gomes