Manchester United could not have imagined a more painful end to the 2023/24 Women’s Super League campaign.
When the full-time whistle blew at Old Trafford on 18 May, it spelled the end of a season characterised by the highest of highs and lowest of lows. A club record 6-0 defeat to Chelsea on their own turf, as Emma Hayes’ side celebrated a fifth consecutive league title, was one of those lows.
Such an emphatic defeat stung, but it also meant they finished outside of the top four, despite the fact they came agonisingly close to their first league title only one season prior. To add insult to injury, it was north west rivals Liverpool who leapfrogged them in the table to claim that fourth spot.
As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. For United last season, it came in the form of a historic FA Cup win, which is an achievement that simply cannot be overshadowed. Not only did they overcome Chelsea on their way to the final, and comfortably beat Tottenham at Wembley – in securing silverware, they achieved what no other United Women team had done before.
Yet, while it offered some form of a redemption, there was no escaping the fact the campaign as a whole had failed to meet their own lofty expectations. But for manager Marc Skinner, he was already well aware of where the team had fallen short.
“The balance in our team wasn’t right,” the 41-year-old admitted, speaking at the Barclays WSL‘s 2024/25 season launch media day earlier this month. “After game six we lost Gabby George, who we had only bought in the summer. We had a right-footed left-back again.
“But, I just need to reiterate that this isn’t a catastrophe theory at Manchester United, that if you don’t win everything, then you have well under-achieved. I get the pressure of being at Manchester United, I live it every day. I want to win. We want to win. We have to do it in a certain way.”
If the league season was tumultuous, the start to the transfer window appeared to be a catastrophe. While key players, including Mary Earps and former captain Katie Zelem, headed for the exit door, new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was admitting in interviews that plans for the women’s team were still ‘to be decided’, and reports suggested the team had been moved into temporary facilities at the Carrington training base in order to accommodate the men’s team while renovations take…
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