With the new Women's Super League season here, our previews continue with Manchester United and Reading, two clubs who have been on the fringes of the Champions League race in recent times without breaking the top three.
Manchester United
Manager: Marc Skinner
Key players: Katie Zelem, Alessia Russo
Last season’s finish: 4th
United's relaunch in 2018 was one of the monumental moments which have helped to pique the nation's interest in women's football in recent years but they have yet to crack the top three in the WSL since their promotion at the first time of asking in 2019. Entering his second season in charge, there will be much expected of head coach Marc Skinner as the Red Devils look to become one of the country's leading lights in the women's game.
They will be boosted this term by the experiences of three of their leading lights at the European Championship this summer, with Mary Earps, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo returning to training with gold medals hanging from their necks. Earps' four clean sheets in six games with England helped to underline her position as her country's best goalkeeper, while Russo became a megastar thanks to her performances off the bench and sensational back-heel goal against Sweden in the semi-final. Toone, meanwhile, provided the outstanding moment of the final with her magnificent scooped finish over Germany keeper Ann-Katrin Berger to give England the lead.
READ MORE:
- Can Chelsea retain WSL title?
- Are Arsenal serious contenders again?
- Will Leicester avoid the drop in WSL?
They will be joined back at Leigh Sports Village by another Euro champion in Nikita Parris, whose arrival from Arsenal gives Skinner extra options out wide, while Adriana Leon, Lucia Garcia and Rachel Williams have come in from West Ham United, Athletic Bilbao and Tottenham Hotspur respectively to create greater competition in a forward line which already boasted great quality in the likes of Russo, Toone and Leah Galton.
Maya Le Tissier's signing from Brighton & Hove Albion and Aissatou Tounkara's addition from Atletico Madrid mean that the defensive stocks are also bolstered as Skinner plots to make United a more solid outfit than the one which shipped 34 goals in 30 games across all competitions last season. Millie Turner's return to training after suffering carotid artery dissection will be a huge boost to not just her teammates but also the United fans, who hold the centre-back close to their hearts due to her long-serving status at LSV since debuting with the club in their very first fixture after formation.
Reading
Manager: Kelly Chambers
Key players: Natasha Dowie, Deanne Rose
Last season’s finish: 8th
Reading’s 2021-22 campaign went as you could have imagined, steadily finishing in mid-table and it was a position below what they accomplished the season prior, and three less than the campaign before that. Fans will not have high expectations given the quality they have to compete with in the division, but they will be hoping that boss Kelly Chambers can give them signs of improvement this year. Chambers has been in charge since 2014 and she did well to guide the club to the WSL in 2016 and then to a fourth-placed finish in 2017-18, but the club have stagnated in recent years.
She has added six new faces to her squad to try and turn their fortunes around. Goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns arrived from Hacken and she gained valuable international experience with Northern Ireland at Euro 2022. However, they lost captain Natasha Harding to Aston Villa, which could be a huge blow this term.
Reading will be hoping that key players Natasha Dowie and Deanne Rose can match or surpass their form last year, having a direct involvement in 13 of the 21 goals the team scored in 2021-22. There is a desperate need for more of the squad to chip in with goals, and it might be helped if Chambers were to stick with a specific formation this year as she deployed five variations last season. That might help her take her side to the next level.
