125 of one and 125 of the other.

Rachel Yankey won her 125th cap for England on Sunday. Her 125th international cap.
You would think that would be something to praise and celebrate, wouldn't you? But apparently not.
Apparently the fact that she is only a woman, means that it isn't relevant or important or any sort of achievement in the slightest.

I would laugh, if it wasn't so damn disrespectful, patronising and sexist.  But was I surprised? Hell no, because I'm beginning to expect nothing less.  As disappointing as that is for me to admit.

Last September when Yankey became England's most capped outfield player, I did an exclusive interview with her.  She was a pleasure to speak too, as always.  As I'm freelance, I contacted several publications - as I always do - to see if they would be interested in featuring a wonderful player talking about her special moment. Those that got back to me, did not.  I often hear that readers don't want to read about women's football, but how do we know if they are not given the option. Readers don't look for women's football, because they don't expect it to be there, it's a vicious circle that needs to be broken.  The only publication that were happy to print the article were The Voice, who then featured it on their back page as the lead sports story.

Admittedly, it may have been me and not the article that they didn't want.  But I'm not being arrogant when I say that I think it was the subject matte,r they weren't interested in.  Despite all the right things that were muttered after our women's national team put on such a successful showing at London 2012, we can all see nothing much has really changed.

So, on Monday I went through the papers and their websites as I always do.  And I was surprised, some had actually taken notice of what must be the proudest moment in the midfielder's life.  I was happy, no scratch that, ecstatic to see that Yankey and women's football in general were getting some much needed and deserved recognition.  And about time too!  Until I looked at the comments below the line.  A fellow, more experienced sports journalist once told me: 'Never look below the line'.  After all this time, you would think I would've learnt.  Because he's normally bloody right!

The majority of that negative consensus was that the Arsenal star's achievement had no right being compared to Peter Shilton's because women's football isn't at the same level as its male counterpart.  And later that night on Twitter, there were similar statements as well as the woefully sexist: 'So what?'

Just to clear something up, no one is comparing women's football to the men's game.  No one is comparing Yankey to David Beckham.  We wouldn't compare Beth Tweddle to Louis Smith, nor Christine Ohuruogu to Michael Johnson, would we?  So why can we not have the same respect in football that we show to the competitors in athletics.

Yankey's achievement should be celebrated for the amazing individual benchmark that it is and we should be proud to say she is English and has been so committed to her national team over such a lengthy period of time.  Particularly given the fact that when she first started her journey, she played alongside the boys because there were no women's team for her to compete in.  Funny how she was good enough for the boys then...

The joke is; those that say her record number of caps is irrelevant because she supposedly plays at a lower standard, would still celebrate or congratulate a San Marino player who reaches the same number.  Even though their FIFA ranking makes theirs the lowest standard of all.

I don't care who you are, to appear so many times for your country at the highest level available to you, is amazing. 

So the next time those people are making their sarcastic comments, maybe they should sit and think. 

About what they have achieved in their life, about the disrespect they show to someone who has spent their whole life trying to achieve their dream.

And about England's equal most capped football player.  Who just happens to be a Woman...

"Football?" "But you're a girl." "Yeah. No shit, Sherlock!"

"Wow! Sports journalism. That's a different job for a girl."

"Have you always been into sports?"

"Did you used to play football?"

"How did you get into that?"

All questions I am used to being asked on a regular basis. And nearly four years ago when I committed to this as a career, it used to bother me.  Deep down, it may still do.  But I know longer feel the need to react or come out with a barbed comment.

There's a few reasons for that, the main one is I feel a lot more secure about my capabilities as a sports journalist.  But more importantly as a female sports journalist.

Now, I'm not attempting to be self-effacing when I say this. But I, Natasha Henry am not the best journalist in the world.  No, seriously, I'm not. 

I still feel I'm pretty new to all this and with every period of time that passes I aim to get better and improve my skills.  As anyone should, whatever career they're in.  The way I see it, the day you stop learning is the day you might as well give it all up.  Why should the field of journalism be any different?

Thankfully, I'm not the only one.  Female or sports journalist!

Contrary to popular belief, there are quite a bloody lot of us.  Some would call us a coven, personally I would describe us a more mature sorority.  One that would rather be on the field, than waving pom-poms on the side-line.  And more importantly, one that drinks really good wine and likes really nice food.

And do you know what, we're good.  We're damn good.  We know our stuff, we graft hard and most importantly we have the courage to fight the negativity that - far too often - floats our way.  I know about our capabilities, but I wasn't sure if others did.

I was curious about this, which was why I created the survey earlier this year, to see what others thoughts were, regarding us women that write about sport.

Some of the answers surprised me, and some didn't.  But it's always good to see what people think about something you care strongly about.

So, I'll be posting the article later today and feel free to comment, share or ignore.  It's up to you.

Hopefully it will remind you that the gender of the writer doesn't matter, it's only the words that do.

To be continued...

Only a Phonecall Away.

He's in the squad.
But he's not going.
He is going.
Now he's definitely not.

Not a moment too quick, the Rio Ferdinand and England drama has come to an end. The joke is, it could have all been prevented if Roy Hodgson had just bothered to pick up the phone. It's so simple, it's not even funny.

For months, the whispers to recall Ferdinand have got louder and the England manager finally decided to listen yet doing it in the manner that he did; hasn't done him any favours.

We can all agree that the defender currently playing for the Champions-elect is not the injury-hit player of 18 months ago. His performances and the injuries and inconsistency of others, means he fully deserves a place in the squad. If not the team.

It was clear that Ferdinand and the medical team at Manchester United had worked hard to find a system that allowed him to play regularly, without any serious problems. So it's curious that the England boss didn't think to contact the club and/or the player before calling him up.

Given the way the defender was left at home prior to Euro 2012, some may also feel an apology should have been on offer. He was clearly aggrieved by Hodgson's decision to more-or-less take John Terry's side, while there are also the 'football reasons' that have never quite been explained.

Sir Alex Ferguson's comments last week were no surprise. The manager has long been vocal that Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs' decisions to retire, helped them prolong their club careers. But as well as thinking about the best interests of his club, he is thinking about the best interests of his player. At the age of 34, the former Leeds star is in the last lap of his top-flight career, it is logical that he would also want to ensure it lasts as long as possible.

That is why it is understandable the player has pulled out of the double header against San Marino and Montenegro. Two games that require a fair amount of travel and also games that England should win without too much fuss. The decision to meet and explain to the manager, makes it hard for many to question Ferdinand's motives or doubt his commitment to his national side.

As for Hodgson, it could be said he won't come out of this so well. His subdued character is a stark change from previous national managers such as Fabio Capello, but it appears to be working well enough with two wins and two draws from four qualifying games.

But you have to admit, this situation could have been easily prevented. That much is clear. Hodgson or his team don't appear to be on the ball in regards to what is going on with English players. An area they should know inside and out. Surely that is part of his job description?

Maybe this is the time for the England manager to become more thorough, and make sure he knows exactly what is going on with the professionals who are available to play for him.

Because when or if things go wrong, he may end up looking like a bit of a bumbling fool.