Manchester United Women - Silly Season 2023/24 - Ins and outs
- Thread starter Lightbringer
- Start date
Agreed.
Not unexpected but a bit of a shame not to see more of her in the United team. Best of luck to her.
Squad as of 6/9:
GK: Earps, Baggaley, Middleton-Patel
RB: Riviere, Rabjohn
CB: Le Tissier, Turner, Mannion, Evans
LB: Blundell
CM: Zelem, Ladd, Bøe Risa, Naalsund
RW: Parris, García
AM: Toone, Miyazawa, Watson
LW: Galton, Fuso
ST: Geyse, Thomas, Williams
Add a versatile fullback who can play on both sides and that’s a good, deep enough squad.
We’ve got a few players who can play at either wing position so I think we’ll be fine there.
I didn’t include Leon as I think she will leave the club. Really hope both Rabjohn and Watson stay with us but I wouldn’t rule out a loan for either, especially Watson now as Miyazawa has been confirmed.
GK: Earps, Baggaley, Middleton-Patel
RB: Riviere, Rabjohn
CB: Le Tissier, Turner, Mannion, Evans
LB: Blundell
CM: Zelem, Ladd, Bøe Risa, Naalsund
RW: Parris, García
AM: Toone, Miyazawa, Watson
LW: Galton, Fuso
ST: Geyse, Thomas, Williams
Add a versatile fullback who can play on both sides and that’s a good, deep enough squad.
We’ve got a few players who can play at either wing position so I think we’ll be fine there.
I didn’t include Leon as I think she will leave the club. Really hope both Rabjohn and Watson stay with us but I wouldn’t rule out a loan for either, especially Watson now as Miyazawa has been confirmed.
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Miyazawa and guyse are very exciting transfers, looking forward to the womens team this season.
Depth is expanding. Will be interesting to see how they bed in, and wether Skinner uses more rotation this season with CL.
I'd hope he will but there is also a very good chance our CL adventure lasts two games.
Is there anything to be said for dropping toone back to 8 now that we have Miyazawa? shes tenacious enough and and her goals/assists have fallen off a bit this last year....
I get where you're coming from, but I wouldn’t. She’s a forward who lives on taking risks and being a threat whenever she gets the ball. The closer to the goal we get her in possession the better.
Too often last season we failed to get the ball to her and she got visibly frustrated in many games. It was obvious she felt the pressure to create something whenever she did get the ball and that resulted in her making the wrong, forced decisions
Having better supply to her will increase her goal and assists tally.
In my opinion she is at her best as a second striker and we saw that again when she got responsibility in the World Cup.
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I thought before Russo went that we needed one more top-class forward, so if we assume Geyse is a straight swap in there I still think we're light. I'm not sure I can take the Thomas/Williams double sub any more. (Williams did score some essential goals from the bench so not wanting to minimise that, but she's 36 this season.)
That’s a fair point. Ideally Williams is a perfect, experienced third option and I’m confident she can still produce those magical supersub moments. But you’re right that she was more or less the second option all season. With Miyazawa’s arrival I wonder if Toone will also be played higher up at times.
The thing with Thomas is that we only play her as a RW so we haven’t really seen what she could do up top. Her scoring rate for Scotland is decent. I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually moves during the last week of the window, but especially in that case we’d need a good striker who can actually compete with Geyse (not that Skinner would rotate but in theory at least
).I wonder if Kerolin was just an alternative to Geyse or if we’re still interested.
Yeah that was the thing, she was our first player off the bench in the cup final, whereas Chelsea brought on Harder and the impact was almost immediate. I've not seen much of Miyazawa but hopefully she can an extra creative option in the middle and take some of the pressure off Toone, the worry with Skinner as you say is that he has his preferred team and doesn't mix it around (those three in the middle in particular).That’s a fair point. Ideally Williams is a perfect, experienced third option and I’m confident she can still produce those magical supersub moments. But you’re right that she was more or less the second option all season. With Miyazawa’s arrival I wonder if Toone will also be played higher up at times.
The thing with Thomas is that we only play her as a RW so we haven’t really seen what she could do up top. Her scoring rate for Scotland is decent. I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually moves during the last week of the window, but especially in that case we’d need a good striker who can actually compete with Geyse (not that Skinner would rotate but in theory at least
I wonder if Kerolin was just an alternative to Geyse or if we’re still interested.
Hopefully the stuff about Kerolin and Cooney-Cross in January is genuine, not ideal to be happening mid-season but would be showing the right ambition at least.
Yeah if we add those two, albeit in January, I'm very happy with our signings. Although if I had to choose I’d perhaps opt for a fullback instead of one of the midfielders (as good as they are).
As you said we're showing ambition that we failed to do when discussing Russo and Batlle contracts. I'm sure Earps will get better wages elsewhere but at least we're finally building a squad that has potential to sustain pressure on our rivals. It must a good sign for Earps too, but I'm still afraid we'll lose her next summer.
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That’s a fair point. Ideally Williams is a perfect, experienced third option and I’m confident she can still produce those magical supersub moments. But you’re right that she was more or less the second option all season. With Miyazawa’s arrival I wonder if Toone will also be played higher up at times.
The thing with Thomas is that we only play her as a RW so we haven’t really seen what she could do up top. Her scoring rate for Scotland is decent. I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually moves during the last week of the window, but especially in that case we’d need a good striker who can actually compete with Geyse (not that Skinner would rotate but in theory at least
I wonder if Kerolin was just an alternative to Geyse or if we’re still interested.
A US journo was on the All for United WFC YouTube channel here, chatting about this. Apparently Courage want a NSWL record fee for Kerolin if we want her now, around $300-350k. She will be free in December at the end of season. I think we will wait, like we have done for Cooney-Cross. We may lose her if we wait, as others will be interested if she's on a free but she likes us, the league and playing with Geyse so we would have a good chance. Unfortunately as it's our first time in the CL we have no coefficient so we will get a tough draw and could be out before Jan which may impact it too.
I'm expecting Earps to go too. Feels the same as Russo with Arsenal offering a record fee with a year left on her deal.
Yeah we’re not paying that. I’d rather take the risk of losing her to a rival in January. If she wants to come to United, she will.
If we actually make the group stage I’m confident we’ll go through. It’s the qualifier I’m most worried about.
It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to find a better shot stopper than Earps but with good scouting I’m confident we could find a more modern keeper who’s decent at that too.
Well, if Earps is desperate to leave United, then I´s say let her feck off then! What are we going to do with these primadonnas who have zero loyalty to the club that could not give a shit about what Man United did for them? She will be 31 when her contract is up, not exactly entering her prime even though she can play on a high level for a couple of more years.
If Earps were going to leave United should have signed Daphne van Domselaar to a long term contract, but I am sure we were dragging our feet expecting Earps to extend.
If Earps were going to leave United should have signed Daphne van Domselaar to a long term contract, but I am sure we were dragging our feet expecting Earps to extend.
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What’s the source on this?
Could be the media drumming it of course, but could also be true, since she has refused to extend her contract. I think there are a few more transfer gurus that are reporting similar things, but not sure if the source are the same etc.
If that’s true, Earps will lose more of my respect than Russo and Batlle. At least they didn’t force a move and gave their all until the last minute of their last game for us.
That sounds like the next step is to refuse to play etc.
That sounds like the next step is to refuse to play etc.
This might get ugly with Earps tbh.
This is really sad with Earps. Everything around the club right now is quite depressing.
The whole club is a bit ugly at the moment.
I doubt we will let her leave. I wonder what the terms of her plus one on her deal are. If we are looking for a replacement she must have the option to extend rather than us.
Well, Russo is a snake who lied about being United fan, so she is a traitor, cant get any worse than that.
With Ona I have no problems at all whatsoever, she is a class act and still is.
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If Earps forces her way out she will be at Russo level of being an assh0le. But Russo probably takes the price since she claimed to be a United fan.
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At this point as long as Earps stay silent its hurting Manchester United! If its not true she wants to leave, then come out and say so.
United have triggered her contract extension, and I assume thats an old contract meaning she gets LITTLE MONEY compared to what she would get from Arsenal or Barcelona now?
Many of our male ex-players are United fans and have left us. And still are United fans.
Which of our male players that claim to be life long United fans have left United in their absolute prime for our main rivals, while being offered to become Uniteds highest paid player ever by the club?
This is not Welbeck being pushed out of the club because he is not up to United standards. This was Englands most famous, prettiest, and highest rater striker that United desperately wanted to keep! The most marketable womens player on the planet commercially. And on top of that saying she was a United fan on top of that.
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The club has extended her contract by one year already, they triggered the option. I assume its an extension of Earps old contract. So Mary might be chasing a transfer to get a massive fat contract already starting this season instead of waiting for the United contract to expire after the upcoming season.
We need players that have some kind of pride to put on the United shirt instead of looking for easy UCL glory, quick money and fame elsewhere.
Does such player even exist?
We don't really know any of the details about what's going on behind the scenes tbh, and the club has done a lot to alienate women with its behaviour of late. Earps has never struck me as someone who would let success go to her head. But as I said in the other thread, if we can get someone in who we think is a capable replacement and she really wants to go, just get it done. It'll be brought up during every game otherwise.
Which of our male players that claim to be life long United fans have left United in their absolute prime for our main rivals, while being offered to become Uniteds highest paid player ever by the club?
We need players that have some kind of pride to put on the United shirt instead looking for easy UCL glory, quick money and fame elsewhere.
Does such player even exist?
Maybe not with those circumstances. But the club are equally to blame. They had a couple of years to offer her a decent salary and started doing that late in the spring when it was too late. Don''t get me wrong I don't like what Russo did one bit.
In terms of the bolded part, I give much more leeway to female players. The top male players and their offspring are set for life, no matter where they play. Very different story with female footballers.
It's a shame how poor our reputation is in the women's game. It seems to keep being an issue. We have no pedigree/reputation because the Glazers scrapped the women's team for so long until they were forced to bring it back. Poor facilities for the women while the mens and boys teams have better in view of the women's team at Carrington. We offer low salaries and our women's budget is shameful for a club of our revenue compared to our rivals. Then you add in how we have handled the issues in the men's team recently and it looks a mess. Such a shame with the progress we are making on the pitch.
That is why we need selling and quickly to someone who will take it seriously.
Don't know if it's about letting success go to her head. She is the best goalkeeper in the game and she understandably wants to spend the last years of her career playing UWCL football. Far from a given at United whereas probably any top club in the world would be willing to sign her and offer that. Along with wages matching the player's standard. Something which we haven't done, compared to what our domestic and European rivals have.
Kind of playing the devil's advocate here. Like I said I do understand the motivation to earn more when it comes to female players. At the same time there is a way to handle these things and what we're currently hearing doesn't sound good at all.
Good to see the news from the women’s team is as depressing as as the men.
Why Mary? Dear god why?!
I like Mary and she's a great keeper but it gives us a year to find a decent replacement. I would rather keep her long term but there are a few good keepers out there, so I'm not too worried. The WC showed how keepers have improved massively since the last one when we brought Earps in.
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Well, a couple of years ago Russo had just had a major injury and had returned back from that injury. United had her under contract and probably did not want to commit to paying her Miedema or Kerr money since she at that time had not done much in the WSL or the main england squad.The Euros skyrocketed her value obviously and as United are the only top 4 club running their womens team with a profit we did not immediately throw her a big fat contract before knowing she was a super star and by then it was already too late. I dont think it was as easy for the club as its being pointed out by many. In hindsight we should have offered the contract we did 2 years earlier, but what if she did not pan out and flopped?
United were trying to grow slow and responsible, the Euros sped things up with players salaries going through the roof, with Arsenal and Chelsea already use to it with United being 5 years old and not ready yet as an org.
And yes, I can agree female players need to grab the money more than male players, but Russo was going be Uniteds best paid player and the darling of the club PR wise. If Russo was committed to being loyal to United all she had to was to sign in the end. I never got the impression from her comments she intent on staying.
I don't mean to be mean-spirited, but if Earps' does leave, I trust she will personally refund all those who have bought her shirt, after all the hoo-ha about it.
I'm not sure if this is the right thread, but what are people's thoughts on a starting XI? I am going for a highly unusual and improbable 4-2-4, or is it a 4-5-1? No idea really - just amusing myself.
Earps'
Riviera. Le Tissier. Turner. Blundell
Zelem. Ladd.
Toone. Miyazawa. Galton.
Geyse
I'm not sure if this is the right thread, but what are people's thoughts on a starting XI? I am going for a highly unusual and improbable 4-2-4, or is it a 4-5-1? No idea really - just amusing myself.
Earps'
Riviera. Le Tissier. Turner. Blundell
Zelem. Ladd.
Toone. Miyazawa. Galton.
Geyse