WSL 22/23 | Manchester United v Brighton - Sun 16th Oct 12:00

[ForeverRed1]

What do you mean by being "truly competitive"??
We already are surely??
We are top, the team who has scored the most goals, and jointly conceded the fewest, what more could or can we do to be "truly competitive" in your mind, 3 wins from 3 is surely all that we can ask for??

We already have top notch/World class players all over the pitch, Zelem as captain is one, Earps, Tooney, Russo, Turner, Ona, Ladd, Galton, and Garcia, would all fall into that category as well.
Which positions do you think we need to improve upon??

For me we are truly competitive side in the game when we win something. We haven’t won anything yet and shown that edge when it comes down to it.. of course we’re a new team in relation to others.. but winning a major trophy is the next step. Top of the league after 3 games, let’s do it over the course of the season. There a big difference. When we’re in the mix in the last 4/5 games .. then we know we’re there.

where are you getting the idea I don’t like the players ? I love these players and it’s the best squad we have had since we formed. We just have to show we can go all the way, grind out results but also beat The big guns. This hopefully is the season we do it and break top 3.

id like us to sign a legit superstar of the womens game, Ada hegerberg someone of that ilk. That level of player is the next step for us imo. I don’t think we have gone out and broken the bank for a player yet? Maybe I’m wrong..but I don’t remember us making a statement of that kind yet? Heath and press were exciting but we didn’t break the bank to bring them.

 

[ForeverRed1]

It’s really great to see the start to this season, what the lasses have put together so far. Early days, but a wonderful streak. Even with Toone first now getting going, and Russo missing.


I think, this season, for a real good shot at top 3, it’s most important to keep the teamwork and team spirit high. Skinner seems to be good at that.

However, if we’re gonna push up an extra level, to continuously putting up such numbers, and being more resilient against the best teams, I think we really need the special players we have now, plus a few more.

I agree, I have just said that in my above post. I said the same as you. We’re now at a very good squad and a few touches of special special players would take us up another level. I’d like to see us go big. Genuine superstar of the womens game type stuff.

 

[MUW4Eva]

For me we are truly competitive side in the game when we win something. We haven’t won anything yet and shown that edge when it comes down to it.. of course we’re a new team in relation to others.. but winning a major trophy is the next step. Top of the league after 3 games, let’s do it over the course of the season. There a big difference. When we’re in the mix in the last 4/5 games .. then we know we’re there.

where are you getting the idea I don’t like the players ? I love these players and it’s the best squad we have had since we formed. We just have to show we can go all the way, grind out results but also beat The big guns. This hopefully is the season we do it and break top 3.

id like us to sign a legit superstar of the womens game, Ada hegerberg someone of that ilk. That level of player is the next step for us imo. I don’t think we have gone out and broken the bank for a player yet? Maybe I’m wrong..but I don’t remember us making a statement of that kind yet? Heath and press were exciting but we didn’t break the bank to bring them.

Errr...we did break the bank to bring in both Heath and Press, we used the money that was earmarked for the following summers transfers to bring then both in, so in that sense they are both the biggest signings we have made.
It is of course, such a huge shame that we as fans never got to see them in the flesh....

As for singing a big name, we shouldn't be going down that road, we should be looking to make them ourselves.
One could say that Russo, Earps, & Tooney thanks to their respective exploits at the Euro's are big names.

Yes of course we need to prove ourselves over a full season, and I sure as heck hope that this is the season for that, and right now it is looking like ot very well might be.

3 wins from 3, playing fantastic football as well, things are looking very good indeed, yes of course that could all change very quickly, such is the all round quality in the league now.
We have previously beaten Arsenal, & drew with Chelsea, so we have the history of doing well against them, and we have beaten City on multiple occasions, albeit in the cups, but now seems like our best chance of transferring such form into the league this season, certainly those sides will be far more warey of us and what we can do, then perhaps they might have been before.

 

[ForeverRed1]

Errr...we did break the bank to bring in both Heath and Press, we used the money that was earmarked for the following summers transfers to bring then both in, so in that sense they are both the biggest signings we have made.
It is of course, such a huge shame that we as fans never got to see them in the flesh....

As for singing a big name, we shouldn't be going down that road, we should be looking to make them ourselves.
One could say that Russo, Earps, & Tooney thanks to their respective exploits at the Euro's are big names.

Yes of course we need to prove ourselves over a full season, and I sure as heck hope that this is the season for that, and right now it is looking like ot very well might be.

3 wins from 3, playing fantastic football as well, things are looking very good indeed, yes of course that could all change very quickly, such is the all round quality in the league now.
We have previously beaten Arsenal, & drew with Chelsea, so we have the history of doing well against them, and we have beaten City on multiple occasions, albeit in the cups, but now seems like our best chance of transferring such form into the league this season, certainly those sides will be far more warey of us and what we can do, then perhaps they might have been before.

How much did press and Heath cost us ?

so you think we’re the finished article ? You don’t think we can improve? You think we’re the best team in the league? Just curious.

i agree with bringing through our own superstars but I’m also for bringing some ready made ones in too.

I think we’ll finish in the top 3 and I think we’ll be right up there this season.. but we would come unstuck against the likes of Lyon and Barca in my opinion once we break into champions league. We’re not that level yet but no reason we can’t be in the future. As I said in previous posts we have a very strong base and are not far off being a truely competitive team. Just my opinion of course.

 

[Grande]

In which areas/positions do you think that we need more "special players"??

We have the best goalkeeper, best CB's, best DM, most creative CM, best young forward pair, (Tooney/Russo), best wide player (Galton, who if she wanted to play for England, would easily be ahead of Hemp or Kelly in the pecking order, as she is vastly superior to both of them), and best RB (Ona), soo that is quite a lot of special players right there.

I love all of thise players, let’s I think the bar to Miedema and Kerr is a very high one, and I’m hopeful some of our players can get there, but feel it’s too early to say that they have.

 

[MUW4Eva]

How much did press and Heath cost us ?

so you think we’re the finished article ? You don’t think we can improve? You think we’re the best team in the league? Just curious.

i agree with bringing through our own superstars but I’m also for bringing some ready made ones in too.

I think we’ll finish in the top 3 and I think we’ll be right up there this season.. but we would come unstuck against the likes of Lyon and Barca in my opinion once we break into champions league. We’re not that level yet but no reason we can’t be in the future. As I said in previous posts we have a very strong base and are not far off being a truely competitive team. Just my opinion of course.

No, no team I ever the finished article, or is complete, there is always room for improvement, and that certainly incudes ourselves right now.
I think that we definitely have at the very least as good a starting eleven when everyone is fit as anyone else that is hoping to challenge for the league title.

It is about trying to keep as many players fit this time round, but we now do have much better depth in the majority of areas then we have ever had, so hopefully that helps.

As for the signing a superstar player, it all depends on who is making that decision, Marc or the club.....we should only be signing players that the manager is happy that we are signing.
We shouldn't be signing anyone just for marketing purposes, or because of their "name" or "brand".
That has happened far too often in recent times with the men's team, I don't want the same to happen with the women's team.

I think we are still short of Lyon & Barca, but if we were in this season's Champions League with our current squad, I think that we could do pretty well, not win it, but at least get out of the group stages in second place, maybe first depending on the group.

 

[MUW4Eva]

I love all of thise players, let’s I think the bar to Miedema and Kerr is a very high one, and I’m hopeful some of our players can get there, but feel it’s too early to say that they have.

Both of those two are undoubtedly top blast players, but I can see Russo getting to such levels if she carries on with her current trajectory.

It is just all about where that will be in the future, after this season.....

 

[ForeverRed1]

No, no team I ever the finished article, or is complete, there is always room for improvement, and that certainly incudes ourselves right now.
I think that we definitely have at the very least as good a starting eleven when everyone is fit as anyone else that is hoping to challenge for the league title.

It is about trying to keep as many players fit this time round, but we now do have much better depth in the majority of areas then we have ever had, so hopefully that helps.

As for the signing a superstar player, it all depends on who is making that decision, Marc or the club.....we should only be signing players that the manager is happy that we are signing.
We shouldn't be signing anyone just for marketing purposes, or because of their "name" or "brand".
That has happened far too often in recent times with the men's team, I don't want the same to happen with the women's team.

I think we are still short of Lyon & Barca, but if we were in this season's Champions League with our current squad, I think that we could do pretty well, not win it, but at least get out of the group stages in second place, maybe first depending on the group.

I agree with all said. I think we’re missing a big goal scorer, Russo is obviously very good but I’m not sure she will score 30 goals in a season, maybe that will come.. but I think if we can bring a goalscorer of that ilk.. we could be on to something. Personally not a massive fan of Galton either (controversial I know) but I think there’s better in her position.

Aim big and go debinha

 

[MUW4Eva]

I agree with all said. I think we’re missing a big goal scorer, Russo is obviously very good but I’m not sure she will score 30 goals in a season, maybe that will come.. but I think if we can bring a goalscorer of that ilk.. we could be on to something. Personally not a massive fan of Galton either (controversial I know) but I think there’s better in her position.

Aim big and go debinha

Oh you are definitely a person after my own heart with your mention of Debinha, she is a wonderful, wonderful player, no doubt about that!
Although you lost me with the downplaying of Galton....but that is the joy of opinions, no worry about that!

I love watching Galton play, she is easily 10 times the player that someone like Hemp could ever remotely dream of one day aspiring to be, she is a top class player, and the only reason she doesn't get more headlines is her decision to not play for international football, because if she did, she would easily walk into the national side, no question about that.
So I am more than delighted that she doesn't, and she like Ona and Garcia (obviously with the latter two it is very disturbing reasons for their respective decisions to not do so) can be fully rested and fit for our games.

As for needing a goalscorer to get 30 plus, I get that idea, that way of thinking, however, what I personally think Marc is doing, is building a team with so many good attacking players, that we are not reliant solely on one striker to get the goals (look at the issues with the men's team currently for that with a central Ronaldo for example), but rather a group of players that if one doesn't score past the opposition, then others will, so that it makes it a lot harder for the opposition to totally stop us scoring.

Look at the Brighton game, no Russo, yet we still score 4 goals, we have lots of players who can score (Zelem, Garcia, Parris, Galton, Thomas, Williams, Tooney, & Leon) which is at least to my mind far better than just having one player that scores the majority of goals.

I think we were over reliant on past strikers (Siggy, then Press), and when they didn't score, then we looked a bit lost, so now, I think that we are far more prepared if a central striker, like Russo is out.

Obviously it is always preferable to have Russo fit and in the team, that goes without saying, but she isn't the be all and end all of our goalscoring, and I think that is a good way of thinking from Marc.

 

[croadyman]

I like your optimism, but I do have some doubts about the manager, the squad and the club's commitment to the women's team.

Zelem is a creative midfielder, but a lot of that creativity comes when she's taking setpieces not in open play. When the midfield gets up against a tough opposition, she can look error prone and slow, with or without the ball. Ladd feels like a key player in making our team look robust but has been in and out of the team - whether due to fitness concerns or manager choices.

I like the defensive lineup, but I'm still wondering when we'll see more of Tounkara.

I'm also conscious that our forward line still have a way to go to reach the kind of ruthless finishing that Chelsea and Arsenal's best can offer. I'm hopeful though, Toone and Russo are young and only going to get better. Galton, Garcia, Leon all look good for some goals. We've also got goals from all over the pitch, which is a good thing and could be our real weapon this year.

In terms of our rivals - it's good that they don't look invincible this season. I'll reserve my judgment on them until I've seen them play us though. Some of last season's matches against them were painful - though in terms of damage done to our top 3 run, the draws against weaker opponents hurt us most. I'm hoping our squad strengthening measures will help there.

Yeah I definitely won't be saying anything with confidence about this season until we faced Arsenal, Chelsea & City.

 

[MUW4Eva]

Yeah I definitely won't be saying anything with confidence about this season until we faced Arsenal, Chelsea & City.

Sooo....we could play 5 win 5 before the Chelsea game, and you wouldn't say anything with confidence??
So if that does turn out ti be the case, you wouldn't be filled with confidence heading into the Chelsea game if that is what the situation turns out to be??

 

[jojojo]

Sooo....we could play 5 win 5 before the Chelsea game, and you wouldn't say anything with confidence??
So if that does turn out ti be the case, you wouldn't be filled with confidence heading into the Chelsea game if that is what the situation turns out to be??

We were top of the league and still unbeaten in the middle of January in the 20/21 season. We ended it in fourth - partly because we lacked squad depth, but also because the teams around us were all very capable of putting together 5 match runs of wins and of beating us.

What's changed. We've got a better starting XI, partly because our players are getting better together. We've got a better squad on paper, but that's unproven for now - rotation didn't look great against Villa.

For our opponents. City look weaker than previous seasons, much weaker on paper - but they will improve as the new team gels. So far, Chelsea don't look as good as last season but they've too many good players not to come good. Arsenal, like us, have hit the ground running - they also have experience of winning things, game changers and a sharpness up front that's ready now.

I think we can compete for trophies this season (I'm disappointed in the Villa result) but three wins are just that - if we want to be top three we were "supposed" to win. That's the kind of fight we're in.

That said, I think most of us are just reserving or judgment due to just how soundly we got thrashed by Chelsea at LSV last season. I also think we can't just rely on our rivals slipups, though that might get us into top three. We need to take more points from them if we want to win the thing.

 

[MUW4Eva]

We were top of the league and still unbeaten in the middle of January in the 20/21 season. We ended it in fourth - partly because we lacked squad depth, but also because the teams around us were all very capable of putting together 5 match runs of wins and of beating us.

What's changed. We've got a better starting XI, partly because our players are getting better together. We've got a better squad on paper, but that's unproven for now - rotation didn't look great against Villa.

For our opponents. City look weaker than previous seasons, much weaker on paper - but they will improve as the new team gels. So far, Chelsea don't look as good as last season but they've too many good players not to come good. Arsenal, like us, have hit the ground running - they also have experience of winning things, game changers and a sharpness up front that's ready now.

I think we can compete for trophies this season (I'm disappointed in the Villa result) but three wins are just that - if we want to be top three we were "supposed" to win. That's the kind of fight we're in.

That said, I think most of us are just reserving or judgment due to just how soundly we got thrashed by Chelsea at LSV last season. I also think we can't just rely on our rivals slipups, though that might get us into top three. We need to take more points from them if we want to win the thing.

Wow, so much emphasis on the Villa Cup game, not sure quite why, but okay....
Parris scored a belter in that game, and would we really have lost it if Earps was in net?? I highly doubt that we would.

So anyway, our squad or rotation players got much needed and very valuable minutes in the legs, so yes we got a point from that game, but it should have been more, that is fair to say, but it was a match that did more good than harm really.

Looking at last season's results and worrying about them happening again this season, is a bit odd, sure they could happen again, but we have had a huge overhaul in our squad, so trying to extrapolate anything like that just doesn't work really, as the squads involved are mostly very different (especially ourselves and City for example).

Yes the results and performances against our top 3 rivals will be crucial/critical, no doubt about that, however we should be going into them with a positive frame of mind, and not having any sort of inferiority complex to any of them, we are on their levels now.
What will make the difference will be individual errors and concentration in these games, as the sides are soo similar really now in terms of quality available to each respective manager.

 

[TMS]

Wow, so much emphasis on the Villa Cup game, not sure quite why, but okay....
Parris scored a belter in that game, and would we really have lost it if Earps was in net?? I highly doubt that we would.

So anyway, our squad or rotation players got much needed and very valuable minutes in the legs, so yes we got a point from that game, but it should have been more, that is fair to say, but it was a match that did more good than harm really.

Looking at last season's results and worrying about them happening again this season, is a bit odd, sure they could happen again, but we have had a huge overhaul in our squad, so trying to extrapolate anything like that just doesn't work really, as the squads involved are mostly very different (especially ourselves and City for example).

Yes the results and performances against our top 3 rivals will be crucial/critical, no doubt about that, however we should be going into them with a positive frame of mind, and not having any sort of inferiority complex to any of them, we are on their levels now.
What will make the difference will be individual errors and concentration in these games, as the sides are soo similar really now in terms of quality available to each respective manager.

I'm not sure anyone is actually disagreeing with you pal? They're just saying we've been in this position before in the last couple seasons and then results have slipped or we've not been able to consistently match our top rivals head to head. No one is saying it won't be different this season, they just don't want to get ahead of themselves before it actually happens. Can't say I disagree with them based on past evidence.

 

[MUW4Eva]

I'm not sure anyone is actually disagreeing with you pal? They're just saying we've been in this position before in the last couple seasons and then results have slipped or we've not been able to consistently match our top rivals head to head. No one is saying it won't be different this season, they just don't want to get ahead of themselves before it actually happens. Can't say I disagree with them based on past evidence.

I get all of that, but past evidence or past results are totally irrelevant to this discussion or way of thinking, how for example is the home defeat where we conceded 6 goals to Chelsea, at all relevant to this season, when our squad is so very different to the one that toon the field that day?
Same for the derby match where we drew 2-2 at LSV, both sides have changed hugely, so I just don't see what relevance to this season, and this squad, those matches, or other previous matches have??
If the squads were largely the same, then yes, I could see why one might wish to look back and make some sense of what happened previously and think it could happen again, but that isn't possible this time, not when looking at our squad now.