WSL 24/25 | United v Brighton - 6:45pm on Sun 26 Jan

jojojo

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First things first. Yes, it's a direct clash. Yes, both games are televised. The women are on Sky Sports. The men are on TNT/Discovery. Yes, it's really annoying.

I won't be at the match, so personally I'm hoping to be in two screen mode and I'll have my remote handy.

According to Skinner, we picked up no new injuries midweek. Geyse is on compassionate leave.

Head to head - United have W7 D3 L1

We drew 1-1 with them away in October with Grace Clinton scoring for us. Inevitably, Nikita Parris scored for them. They're currently fifth in the table but they've lost three of their last 5 games.

Match is live on Sky Sports in the UK and on the WSL YouTube channel in some countries
 
Talk about a direct clash, it's my best mate's 40th birthday and I'm not missing that... We shared a flat together for four years nearly 20 years ago and he was best man when I got married nearly a decade ago. So unfortunately, this is the first home game in nearly 3 years that I will not be attending!

Beating City at the Etihad becomes immediately irrelevant if we don't follow up with a win here. After the disappointment mid-week, there has to be a big response here.
 
Letting broadcasters like Sky Sports dictate kick-off times like this is such a dumb short-sighted move. Women’s football will never grow if you put it in direct competition with men’s football like this. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when they put the women’s FA Cup on at the same time as some dead rubber midtable Premier League game.
 
Eric_the_Red99 said:
Letting broadcasters like Sky Sports dictate kick-off times like this is such a dumb short-sighted move. Women’s football will never grow if you put it in direct competition with men’s football like this. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when they put the women’s FA Cup on at the same time as some dead rubber midtable Premier League game.
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That would mean the kickoff times would be Saturday 18:45 GMT and Sunday either 12:00 or 18:45 GMT. Horrible for away fans. And they obviously need to spread them out more to be able to show more games.
 
Even though the loss midweek pains me, it wouldn’t be fair to not praise the staff for rotating the team. I’ve been screaming for it a couple of years so even with getting knocked out in the league cup, I appreciate the rotation.

And it links to this game because we all have a right to expect similar energy to the derby win a week ago. Fresh legs & fresh minds, got a good feeling about this.
 
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Eric_the_Red99 said:
Letting broadcasters like Sky Sports dictate kick-off times like this is such a dumb short-sighted move. Women’s football will never grow if you put it in direct competition with men’s football like this. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when they put the women’s FA Cup on at the same time as some dead rubber midtable Premier League game.
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I'm not so bothered by clashes in general - though I will say I'd like the Cup Final to get a clear run at its timeslot. I am bothered by them scheduling two United matches more or less simultaneously.

I find it annoying as a matchgoing fan not to be able to see the other game even on telly. When I'm a telly watcher it annoys me to have to choose or to try and jump between screens - which usually means not properly enjoying either match.

Even on WFA Cup final day last year we had the men at Old Trafford and the women at Wembley. It was good that it wasn't a direct clash, so at least it was ok for TV watchers - not so good for any matchgoers who would have liked to go to both or at least would have liked to see both.
 
@top1whoisman - many of us have been calling out for rotation, so I agree that going out of the League Cup is a bit of a blessing.

The absolute priority for us is Champions League qualification, and I am not writing off winning the WSL this season either. As things stand we are in a good place.

We have 6 or 7 days between each of our games from now, so plenty of time for recovery. I'd be going full-strength against Brighton and Spurs, and then there should be an opportunity to rotate for Wolves and Palace.
 
Demon Barber said:
@top1whoisman - many of us have been calling out for rotation, so I agree that going out of the League Cup is a bit of a blessing.

The absolute priority for us is Champions League qualification, and I am not writing off winning the WSL this season either. As things stand we are in a good place.

We have 6 or 7 days between each of our games from now, so plenty of time for recovery. I'd be going full-strength against Brighton and Spurs, and then there should be an opportunity to rotate for Wolves and Palace.
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You think we can win all our matches and Chelsea dropping eight points?
 
jojojo said:
Even on WFA Cup final day last year we had the men at Old Trafford and the women at Wembley. It was good that it wasn't a direct clash, so at least it was ok for TV watchers - not so good for any matchgoers who would have liked to go to both or at least would have liked to see both.
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Jim Radcliffe got a lot of heat for not attending the Cup final as a result of that clash as well.
 
Great to see Ella Toone looking this sharp. I'm really pleased for her and us. Team looked really pleased for Hinata as well, last season was tough for her. Watching United on two screens is annoying though.
 
jojojo said:
Great to see Ella Toone looking this sharp. I'm really pleased for her and us. Team looked really pleased for Hinata as well, last season was tough for her. Watching United on two screens is annoying though.
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If you cross your eyes can you take in both?
 
Nice, routine win to put us into 2nd! Miyazawa was superb, don’t think she gave the ball away once.And a goal on top of that too. I think she’s cemented her place in the starting lineup finally. Terland worked really hard too and her efforts deserved a goal. Hope she can get on a scoring run soon.
 
Playing with real confidence.
Great pressing.
Night and day to last season.
Best defence in the league.
MLT best centre half in England.
Genuine question. Are we better defensively without Mary Earps?
 
Excellent result, really good team performance, and up to 2nd.

I was interested in Izzy Christiansen's comments on Sky:

Ella Toone's got a free role.

The two sitting midfielders, Hinata Miyazawa and Dominique Janssen, give so much security that she can pop up wherever she wants.

i hadn't really though about that aspect of the team, but she is absolutely right. There will be games when we can play both Toone and Clinton with one sitting midfielder behind them, but the current set-up works.

Again, Izzy Christansen:

Gabby George needs to be in the England squad.

She's so consistent at left-back and then you add in her set pieces - she's got to be in the equation.

... and I couldn't agree more. And to think we have Sandberg to come in and Blundell to return!

And finally, Maya's post-match interview about Hinata:

She's a fantastic player and a fantastic person. She's magic. She's like a mini Modric.

Brilliant stuff, and yes, we can catch Chelsea!
 
StretfordEnd78 said:
Genuine question. Are we better defensively without Mary Earps?
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Genuine answer. Yes we are, as the number of clean sheets show. But I don't think it's as simple as picking out Earps, who was an excellent keeper and character. PTJ has filled her boots , and some, but the protection of Janssen is key for me.
 
Lovely game. It seems like things are really starting to click. Hopefully it lasts, and isn't too reliant on certain players. The last couple of WSL games have been really encouraging.

Terland really deserves some goals, I hope she gets on a consistent goalscoring run. She is so important in the press and buildup at the moment, if she could add more goals that would really lift us.
 
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