WSL 24/25 | Aston Villa v United 4:30pm Sun 23 March at Villa Park

AmarilloMike

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So, on to the next one and we meet an Aston Villa team at the lowest ebb they've been in years. Just a two or three years ago Villa were the 'best of the rest' coming in 5th but now find themselves fighting relegation. Desperately so, after last weekend's defeat to Crystal Palace.

As for United, we await news from Skinner and co, but expect to see more or less the same line up as that which lost at Anfield. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see Hinata Miyazawa start in place of Grace Clinton.

I'll be attending this one, and to be honest I expect a fairly pragmatic game - something along the lines of win at any cost rather than win at a canter which we should perhaps be doing.
 
AmarilloMike said:
So, on to the next one and we meet an Aston Villa team at the lowest ebb they've been in years. Just a two or three years ago Villa were the 'best of the rest' coming in 5th but now find themselves fighting relegation. Desperately so, after last weekend's defeat to Crystal Palace.

As for United, we await news from Skinner and co, but expect to see more or less the same line up as that which lost at Anfield. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see Hinata Miyazawa start in place of Grace Clinton.

I'll be attending this one, and to be honest I expect a fairly pragmatic game - something along the lines of win at any cost rather than win at a canter which we should perhaps be doing.
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They were at a lower ebb after we beat them 12-0 in championship first round in our first competitive game in years.
 
AmarilloMike said:
So, on to the next one and we meet an Aston Villa team at the lowest ebb they've been in years. Just a two or three years ago Villa were the 'best of the rest' coming in 5th but now find themselves fighting relegation. Desperately so, after last weekend's defeat to Crystal Palace.

As for United, we await news from Skinner and co, but expect to see more or less the same line up as that which lost at Anfield. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see Hinata Miyazawa start in place of Grace Clinton.

I'll be attending this one, and to be honest I expect a fairly pragmatic game - something along the lines of win at any cost rather than win at a canter which we should perhaps be doing.
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Carla Ward did some excellent team building and some really impressive recruitment there. Keeping that "overachieving compared to budget" thing up is tough though.

When de Pauw took over I don't think he expected things to be as tough as they have been.

The new manager Arroyo impressed with Real Sociedad. She'll want to impress with Villa and personally I hope she can. But not this weekend.
 
On a personal note, I am super excited to be attending a famous old ground, the site of the greatest ever goal I have heard on the radio... Our TV aerial was down for the men's FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal in 1999 and I can still remember to this day being glued to the radio in my bedroom as that Giggs goal was scored... It'll be another historic ground to tick off my list!
 
According to the press conference, the squad are just about all available for the weekend. Gabby George went off injured against Liverpool but is back in training.

Hannah Blundell and Evie Rabjohn are both long-term absentees.

I haven't heard any updates about Geyse so I guess there's nothing official yet on any possible move.
 
jojojo said:
According to the press conference, the squad are just about all available for the weekend. Gabby George went off injured against Liverpool but is back in training.

Hannah Blundell and Evie Rabjohn are both long-term absentees.

I haven't heard any updates about Geyse so I guess there's nothing official yet on any possible move.
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Season is ticking down quickly, its just a bad situation to not being able to use her and still pay her salary? Its not like we have endless of offensive options available to us, we just have pray that everyone stays healthy. (knock on wood)

Also, we need to root for Chelsea to take 3 points Vs City, if City manages to win against Chelsea in the WSL the pressure on United will be enormous.
 
Lightbringer said:
Season is ticking down quickly, its just a bad situation to not being able to use her and still pay her salary? Its not like we have endless of offensive options available to us, we just have pray that everyone stays healthy. (knock on wood)

Also, we need to root for Chelsea to take 3 points Vs City, if City manages to win against Chelsea in the WSL the pressure on United will be enormous.
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And, er, Liverpool to beat Arsenal? I can't believe I typed that!
 
AmarilloMike said:
On a personal note, I am super excited to be attending a famous old ground, the site of the greatest ever goal I have heard on the radio... Our TV aerial was down for the men's FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal in 1999 and I can still remember to this day being glued to the radio in my bedroom as that Giggs goal was scored... It'll be another historic ground to tick off my list!
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I'm glad you are getting to go to another good ground on your list. I first went there to watch United in 1976. We lost 3-2 (Pearson, Hill). I still remember the A and V floodlights. Such a shame the are not still there, but the ground itself still feels like Villa Park.

I was last there for our women in 2023 and we won 3-2 thanks to Millie Turner's injury time goal. I hope you get to experience something like that. Enjoy your day.
 
I'm still trying to get my head around the idea of rooting for Chelsea.
 
As you were then. Glad to see Hinata starting, but I do think Janssen over Clinton would have been wise. Villa are not as bad as their league position suggests and I think we could have done with Dom's defensively steeliness.

Both sides are wounded animals after last weekend so it will be interesting to see who responds best. End of the day, we absolutely must win this game, by hook or by crook. I'll take a tedious 1-0 win all day long if it means we maintain our place in the top 3, particularly if City beat Chelsea.
 
I don't like that Skinner is insisting on playing Toone and Clinton together in midfield. It just doesn't work for me. They played in midfield together in the reverse fixture and we were dominated in midfield by Villa. And it was poor again last week. We were playing some of our best football with a midfield 3 of Hinata, Janssen and Toone and I don't know why he doesn't just stick with that.
 
The Liverpool result is haunting me. If we had won that and win today we would have been 10 pts ahead of City with 5 games to play
 
AmarilloMike said:
. End of the day, we absolutely must win this game, by hook or by crook. I'll take a tedious 1-0 win all day long if it means we maintain our place in the top 3, particularly if City beat Chelsea.
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Absolutely agree, and Chelsea did us a last minute favour there. I do think the league is not a realistic option, and I am a pretty optimistic guy - but champions league is very much on. Excited to have the chance for more than one European night at LSV too!
 
I get the attraction of playing Clinton and Toone together, Wiegman does as well. But we haven't found a way to make it work. Toone loses part of her game when we do it.

That said, I understand we want to try and find out whether Miyazawa can make it work. Is Villa the team to try it against? Don't know - but I do think it's now or never. With Clinton's contact still up in the air it's a tough one I think for Skinner and the club. I would bench Clinton rather than Toone if it has to be one.

We've apparently been scoring more than our xG says we should or we were until the Liverpool match. We've also been conceding fewer than our opponents chances say they should - which I'm going to say has a lot to do with Phallon.

Whatever way you look at it we need a good performance and three points today. If I can't have a good performance, I'll take a win though.
 
FlexoRodriguez said:
Absolutely agree, and Chelsea did us a last minute favour there. I do think the league is not a realistic option, and I am a pretty optimistic guy - but champions league is very much on. Excited to have the chance for more than one European night at LSV too!
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There’s the new knock out Europa Cup if we fail in the CL playoffs this time round
 
I thought the plan was to have the same way of playing throughout the teams from youth teams all the way up to the first team? So since Amorims come in and we play a back 3 now, was that not the plan to have a production throughout all teams.
 
DJ_21 said:
I thought the plan was to have the same way of playing throughout the teams from youth teams all the way up to the first team? So since Amorims come in and we play a back 3 now, was that not the plan to have a production throughout all teams.
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Don’t think any of these players stand a chance to play in Amorim’s team.
 
Another goal for Terland, another assist for Bizet. Perfect ball from Rivière too.
 
Rivière Bizet Terland combination working perfectly for the goal
 
DJ_21 said:
I meant regarding all teams associated with us. Isn’t it Wilcox job to make the game model the same throughout all teams?
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I don’t think there’s any reason to try that between the women’s and the men’s game. More important that the girls’ teams would have some similarity to how the women play.

The women’s team is an afterthought to the club anyway at best. Don’t think they care how we play.
 
Maestro14 said:
I don't like that Skinner is insisting on playing Toone and Clinton together in midfield. It just doesn't work for me. They played in midfield together in the reverse fixture and we were dominated in midfield by Villa. And it was poor again last week. We were playing some of our best football with a midfield 3 of Hinata, Janssen and Toone and I don't know why he doesn't just stick with that.
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Janssen just isnt needed in midfield. Hinata and Clinton win the ball enough that we dont need a DM and more than Janssen does
 
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