The Women’s World Cup final feels a lifetime away and yet just 42 days will have passed between England‘s heartbreak in Sydney and the new WSL season.
The 2023-24 campaign begins later than usual due to the recent international break, in which the Lionesses beat Scotland but lost to the Netherlands in the Nations League.
That means limited disruption (until the next hiatus, at the end of October, anyway) but will also lend itself to fears over player workload and a schedule that is becoming increasingly intense.
Chelsea will nevertheless be the best equipped to become champions once again, with Arsenal their most likely rivals.
Here’s what to look out for at every club this season.
Arsenal
Nobody could reasonably have expected Arsenal to mount a serious title challenge in a season in which Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Leah Williamson were all ruled out with ACL tears. Accordingly, they fell 11 points adrift, and while the two forwards are hoping to be playing some part before Christmas, Arsenal cannot necessarily rely on them being up to speed.
The voids have been filled well enough, with the additions of Alessia Russo and Canada international Cloe Lacasse, last season’s Player of the Year in Portugal.
The major question is whether they have done enough to bolster a defence missing Laura Wienroither (yet another member of the ACL club) with the additions of Amanda Ilestedt and Spanish World Cup winner Laia Codina.
Jonas Eidevall does not have to contend with European football, at least, his side having been knocked out of the Champions League at the first qualifying round. That will only add to the expectation that they push Chelsea all the way this time around, but the hangovers of last term’s injury crisis are still being felt.
Player to watch: Kyra Cooney-Cross
Aston Villa
Aston Villa proved the great disruptors of last season, finishing fifth – and instead of tailing off there is a real possibility they will have got even better, with arguably the best business of the summer.
Golden Boot winner Rachel Daly will now be complemented by Ebony Salmon, the young England forward signed from Houston Dash in a huge statement of ambition, while Hannah Hampton (who has joined Chelsea) is replaced by Dutch international goalkeeper – and one of the best in the world – Daphne van Domselaar.
Yet the midfield is just as big a selling point; if Jordan Nobbs can stay fit, she is to be found alongside France’s Kenza Dali and Lucy Staniforth, who will be hoping to make an impression on Sarina Wiegman this season.
Player to watch: Ebony Salmon
Brighton
Brighton’s last season was nothing if not chaotic, with five managers (including Amy Merricks’ two interim spells) occupying the dugout. Melissa Phillips took charge with the club bottom of the table and dragged them out of trouble.
The hope this year is not just to stay up but to thrive and the Seagulls already look close to unrecognisable, with 14 players having departed over the course of the summer.
Across the men’s and women’s sides, Brighton remain exceptionally well-run when it comes to recruitment and data has played an increasingly prominent role in their recent business – which has included Champions League finalist Pauline Bremer and new captain Vicky Losada, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2021.
Player to watch: Katie Robinson
Bristol City
When Reading were relegated, Kelly Chambers was vocal about the impossibilities of surviving the WSL as the only side without the backing of a men’s Premier League club. It is now Bristol City’s mission to buck that trend. They have started by making 10 new signings – a far cry from the days when the women’s side was close to collapse, without enough players to make up an XI.
They can rely for one more season on centre-back Brooke Aspin, who stays at Ashton Gate on loan after signing for Chelsea, and on last season’s top scorer and Jamaica international Shania Hayles.
Yet the fear is this will be one leap too far for Lauren Smith’s side, who are battling against the odds to compete and there is a danger they will be on the end of some heavy defeats.
Player to watch: Carrie Jones
Chelsea
Five in a row? The Champions League is unquestionably the main goal this season, not least because Chelsea’s domestic success has become predictable.
The task facing Emma Hayes is one of rebuilding once again. Pernille Harder and Magda Eriksson’s departures to Bayern Munich will be felt, but Hayes has done it before and the Blues’ typically busy summer – with Ashley Lawrence and Catarina Macario the headline signings – puts them in a good position to hold off likely challengers Arsenal and Manchester United.
Hayes won’t have enjoyed watching Sam Kerr limp through the latter part of the World Cup as Chelsea can’t afford to have the striker anywhere off full fitness.
Player to watch: Lauren James
Everton
Once, Everton were tipped to break up the big four but their goals are now a little more attainable. Brian Sorensen’s reign has brought stability but improving upon last season’s sixth-placed finish is a huge ask.
Sorensen faces his greatest test yet because of the players he has lost. Gabby George signed for Manchester United on deadline day, leaving no time to address the hole in defence she will leave. Jess Park, who was at the heart of so much of their creative work, returns to Manchester City after her loan.
Rikke Sevecke has also moved stateside, and it is hard not to feel that for all Everton’s attacking potential – notably Nicoline Sorensen and Italy international Martina Piemonte – they are going to ship goals.
Player to watch: Martina Piemonte
Leicester
Leicester looked destined to go down for so long that there is some surprise they are still here – and in fact it is testament to the board’s commitment to the women’s team that they have continued to invest even after the men’s team’s relegation.
The message across the club is that top six will be the aim – though that is hugely ambitious. If there is one person up to the job, it is Willie Kirk, their director-of-football-turned-head-coach who has recruited well.
Aside from Kirk, the medical staff could be the most important people at the club this season. Hannah Cain and Canadian forward Deanne Rose will be vital but both have had their recent careers severely disrupted by injuries.
Player to watch: Deanne Rose
Liverpool
Liverpool need to start scoring goals. They scored, on average, just over one per game last season, with only Reading, Leicester and West Ham having less prolific attacks.
The answer, it seems, was to sign the next Ada Hegerberg, the Norwegian goal machine Sophie Roman Haug. The 24-year-old has been on an upward trajectory since leaving her homeland for Roma and judging by her World Cup, she looks ready to hit the ground running in the WSL.
Liverpool’s other star asset is Missy Bo Kearns, no doubt a future England midfielder. And the Reds’ campaign will ultimately be decided on the pitch, not off it, in spite of the excitement that they are no longer training at Tranmere after moving to Melwood’s state-of-the-art facilities.
Player to watch: Fuka Nagano
Man City
“Why put a bomb under it?” Gareth Taylor was relaxed looking back at how Manchester City fell short last season. Missing out on the Champions League was by no means disastrous – City only finished fourth on goal difference and can focus fully on the WSL.
Taylor only ever planned to bring in one new signing and has certainly achieved quality over quantity with the addition of Netherlands midfielder Jill Roord – a stark contrast from last summer’s mass overhaul which led to an underwhelming start.
Mary Fowler is expected to play a greater role after starring in Australia’s extraordinary World Cup run, with England defender Alex Greenwood in the form of her life at the tournament too.
Player to watch: Jill Roord
Man Utd
For all the frustration of another summer under the Glazers’ ownership, perhaps the biggest coup was not in any new additions but in keeping Mary Earps out of Arsenal’s clutches after a record bid.
Having lost Lauren James, Ona Batlle and Alessia Russo in the last two years, Earps’ exit would have been a PR disaster too great and would likely have decimated United’s hopes of another second-placed finish. Balancing the Champions League will be a challenge for Marc Skinner, though he has added to his attack with Japan star and World Cup Golden Boot winner Hinata Miyazawa.
Without Russo, Leah Galton and Nikita Parris will be required to step up – but the front line may stand or fall on Ella Toone’s intermittent form.
Player to watch: Leah Galton
Tottenham
Tottenham will have to find a happy medium between the over-reaching of Rehanne Skinner’s early reign – when they finished fifth – and last season’s catastrophic near-relegation. Robert Vilahamn takes over with a mission firstly to transform the way Spurs play, and the Swede – a champion with former club Hacken – is not targeting a specific place in the table. Performance over results is the priority, so long as Tottenham look a more coherent with a clear identity this time around.
They will have to cope without Beth England for now, as the Lionesses striker recovers from hip surgery, but they have signed Scotland forward Martha Thomas from Manchester United. Crucially too, Kit Graham and Ria Percival will be closer to full fitness after their ACL injuries.
Ashleigh Neville will remain key, whether Vilahamn uses her as a full-back or on the wing.
Player to watch: Martha Thomas
West Ham
It is a new era for West Ham after Paul Konchesky was sacked in May, replaced by former Spurs boss Rehanne Skinner. “No d***heads in the building” is her philosophy, she says, but all eyes will be on whether her side have made tangible improvements.
When Konchesky was sacked, they had won just once since December and were really only not dragged into a relegation battle because there happened to be four teams worse. Lucy Parker, who joins Aston Villa, and Grace Fisk, who heads to Liverpool, are the most notable departees. West Ham only have four new arrivals in turn (Katelin Talbert, a fifth, heads straight out on loan) and they may not have done enough to consolidate
Skinner has potential to draw upon, though, with Dagny Brynjarsdottir as always leading from the midfield.
Player to watch: Jessie Stapleton
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/P6EQTsG
Post a Comment