My beautiful daughter, Madeleine.
Motherhood was very challenging for me. After several heartaches, my beloved Richard was born in November 1994. Eleven months later on the 28th October 1995, at 8:57pm, along came my beloved Madeleine.
As I held her for the first time, I couldn’t believe she was mine, all mine. I felt the luckiest woman alive, two miracles in one year. In May 1999, my beloved Olivia was born and finally in 2005 my beloved Felicia, our family was complete.
My husband and I prided ourselves on running a close, kind, forgiving, encouraging, supportive and above all.. a loving ship. Creating an unbreakable bond, family is everything. Madeleine’s love for football began aged 18 months on Mablethorpe beach where she kicked her first ever football.
She played her first match aged 5 for Ilkeston Ladies. She was by far the youngest player on the pitch winning what became the first of many medals. My beautiful daughter, Madeleine. From an early age, Madeleine displayed a unique spirit, an indomitable spirit.
She was dedicated, driven and single minded in all that she did. This in turn lead to great success both on and off the pitch. A spirit which we as parents guarded and nurtured throughout her childhood, into adulthood. Madeleine ’ s love of sport grew with her.
She represented her Schools at all levels and disciplines, determined to always win the gold medal. She played cricket, was a member of Amber Valley Athletics Club and also enjoyed horse riding with her sisters and cousins, Emily and Rosie.
I supported and watched Madeleine in every competition she ever entered. I never missed a thing. As a family we clocked up thousands of miles through training and watching nearly every football match she played, even taking in Norway where she represented England in the European Championships. Bursting with pride doesn’t come close.
Madeleine loved us watching her as much as we did. My beautiful daughter, Madeleine. As Maddy entered adulthood, she became a compassionate, loyal, talented and determined young woman.
Alongside her footballing success, she gained a first class honours degree in Marketing, PR and Advertising. Her first permanent role was with the Derby Runner, that of the Social Media Coordinator.
She loved her role and her colleagues. Her kind boss, Rob Jefferies and Elaine Walker became firm friends. In 2019, Madeleine joined Sheffield United Football Club, making the number 8 shirt her own.
Alongside playing, she worked at the Sheffield United Community Foundation with Rob Jenkinson and his team. Maddy later joined Eoin Doyle ’ s marketing team. She really enjoyed both of those jobs and working closely with all of her colleagues.
Maddy flourished both on and off the pitch, under the guidance of Neil Redfearn whom she admired greatly. My beautiful daughter, Madeleine. She fell in love with Sheffield United, the fans and the city of Sheffield. Maddy rang me one morning as she arrived at work, having parked underneath the poster of her that adorned the side of Bramall Lane.
The buzz and pride she felt from that was palpable. Maddy became Miss Sheffield United and adored every minute of it. This was her home, the place she envisioned she would hang up her boots one day.
Everything ended in #UTB. Our life without our Madicat is unthinkable, unimaginable and unbearable. We shall look for her in every single day, for the rest of our lives. I stand here before you today beyond proud of everything she achieved, achieving more in 27 years than most people do in a lifetime.
The love shared is beyond precious. I am very grateful to have been her Mum. Madeleine knew how much we loved her and we know how much she loved us. All I can do now is carry her inside like I did once before, except now she will have to stay in my heart forever.
What you need to understand is this.. The saddest and utterly heartbreaking reason why I am having to stand here and speak to you today is because of football. From February this year, the indomitable, irrepressible spirit, the spirit called Maddy, the spirit that I had so fearlessly protected was allowed to be broken. Taking her away from me.
I love you more. Your greatest fan, Mum
