9 hours ago
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Guardian writers’ predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 4th
Prospects
It was all-change at Manchester United during pre-season, with the departure of their head coach Marc Skinner after five years followed swiftly by the appointment of Eva Olid as a new era begins. There have been significant outgoings from the playing group, including the senior squad members Melvine Malard, Gabby George, Millie Turner and Lisa Naalsund, as well as the end-of-contracts exits of Leah Galton and Hannah Blundell, but the signings of the Spain youth international defender Andrea Medina, the former Germany youth international goalkeeper Janina Leitzig and the Sweden forward Monica Jusu Bah will give the squad a fresh feel.
Missing out on the Women’s Champions League places by nine points last season was disappointing and after a summer in which other clubs have spent big, it feels more likely United will be looking over their shoulder at challengers coming up from fifth and sixth than mounting a title challenge.
Tottenham’s and London City’s ambitious recruitment mean they could threaten United’s position but United have not turned into a bad team overnight. European quarter-finalists last season, their squad retains a strong level of quality international players, despite the sale of Malard to Chelsea in particular. The England internationals Maya Le Tissier and Ella Toone are the senior leaders in a squad that also retains a world-class goalkeeper in Phallon Tullis-Joyce, the dynamic England midfielder Jess Park and the talented Sweden wing-back Anna Sandberg. A top-half finish feels realistic and the club will hope for strong runs in the domestic cups. There is also understood to be a desire at the club to make the playing style more entertaining for supporters.
Off-field picture
As with the men’s club, the Glazer family own a majority stake and Ineos – led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe – has a minority stake but has control of football operations. The women’s team’s financial history divides opinion in the sport; some argue United are an example of how to run a professional women’s team sustainably, having recorded a profit of £397,000 in their most recent accounts and a profit of £1.34m since reforming their senior women’s team in 2018, while others lament a lack of investment from the ownership compared with the budgets of their rivals such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
The manager
Olid was appointed on 5 August on a two-year deal with the option of a further year. The Spanish coach, who turned 41 in late August, arrives after an impressive spell at Hearts, where she led the club to their first Scottish Women’s Premier League title in May. That made her the SWPL’s manager of the season. It is understood she was chosen by United’s hierarchy because they feel her CV demonstrates a strong track record of developing and improving young players.
Star signing
Bah, who has 11 caps, looks to be an important signing for United from BK Häcken for a fee reportedly of about £400,000. The 23-year-old helped the Swedish club win last term’s inaugural Women’s Europa Cup – European club-level women’s football’s second competition – and she said the opportunity to work with Olid was “perfect” because she wants to improve. She provided seven assists and scored 16 goals for her club last season and United will hope she can settle into the WSL quickly.
Stat attack
United made a mockery of underlying data last season. Only Arsenal overachieved against their attacking expected goals by more and only City conceded fewer compared with their xG at the back. They were ranked fourth for expected goal metrics at both ends but the combined variance of +9.86 against those numbers makes them hard to predict this season.
after newsletter promotion
Set for a breakthrough
Layla Drury, an academy graduate, became United’s youngest player and goalscorer when given her debut in the Women’s FA Cup in January at 16, and this summer the 17-year-old became the youngest player to sign a professional contract with the club. She has been added to England’s Under-20 squad for September’s World Cup in Poland and last Saturday scored for the Young Lionesses in their 11-0 warm-up victory against New Caledonia. The forward had previously played for Wales’ youth teams.
What they say
“I always say: ‘My life is football.’ I don’t have other things. I spend probably 24 hours every day on football. It’s my life, my lifestyle and I give everything for the team and for the players. They always have me. Doubts, questions, [it] doesn’t matter the time of the day, I’m going to be there for them. I want to make them better, and that is how I’m going to feel good as a coach, seeing the improvement, seeing that they are better, and of course, winning matches” – Olid to MUTV.
Where are they playing their home games?
United play at Leigh Sports Village, a 12,000-capacity venue which is also the home of the rugby league club Leigh Leopards and United’s men’s Under-21s. It has been their home ground since 2018. The stadium hosted a quarter-final at 2022’s Euros. United’s final home WSL fixture, against Arsenal in May, has been scheduled for Old Trafford, although that match may have to be rearranged if Arsenal reach the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League because the second legs are that weekend.
