Manchester United boss Marc Skinner is not new to the Women’s FA Cup final. He took home-town club Birmingham to Wembley in 2017 but suffered a resounding 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in a game that was over as a contest in just 32 minutes.
At that time, Skinner, although involved with Birmingham in various coaching capacities since 2006, was still very new to first-team management. He had not long turned 34 and had only been in the job for six months. Looking back, six years on as he prepares to take Manchester United to their first ever FA Cup final, he admits that mistakes were made in 2017 – but he has learned from them.
That growth as a person and as a manager has helped Skinner take United to the top of the WSL this season, all but certain to now finish in the top three and qualify for the Champions League for the first time, as well as going further in the FA Cup than ever before and in with a chance of winning it.
“What we got wrong at Birmingham was making it a massive event,” Skinner said ahead of Sunday’s final against Chelsea. “We made it too big, put quotes on the wall from players and families, so it became an emotional event rather than being a clear business-like [plan].
“We made mistakes and I think that was naivety. You can celebrate afterwards if you win the cup and be as emotional as you want. There’s going to be enough emotions in the game that we need to save them. I’ve learned from that,” he added.
In contrast to their 2017 FA Cup run, Birmingham struggled in the league when Skinner first took charge. The Blues won only once in the shortened one-off WSL Spring Series that year and he considers himself lucky that there was no relegation – although Birmingham weren’t bottom – because he may never have been in a position where he could be appointed by Manchester United.
Two years later, when Skinner was offered the head coach job at Orlando Pride and the chance to work with superstars Alex Morgan and Marta, Birmingham were flying high. He left midway through the 2018/19 WSL season, but his team went on to finish fourth – just two points behind Chelsea.
Orlando was another slow burner that also improved with time. Skinner didn’t win any of his first nine NWSL games and the team finished dead last in the 2019 regular season standings. Yet in 2021, they were unbeaten in the opening seven games and were in first place…
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