The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Bonmatí is Fifa’s Best, FA Cup latest and WSL returns – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: January 16, 2024

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey and Emma Sanders round up the latest FA Cup action and preview the weekend’s WSL return

This is The Guardian. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly, a generation changing the rules and the world. Amen, Aitana. Spain's Bon Mati wins Player of the Year at the FIFA Best Awards and has a strong message as she's recognised alongside Mary Earps

and Serena Wiegmann, who says she has unfinished business as she extends her England contract to 2027. We'll discuss that, plus round up the fourth round of the FA Cup with just one cup set as third-tier Wolves knock out championship side Reading. And the WSL is back. We'll preview this weekend's return of the women's top fly. All that, plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

Now full disclosure Women's Football Weekly fans as soon as we finished recording the pod dun dun dun breaking news Serena Wiegmann has extended her contract with the FA until 2027. This kind of stuff always happens you can guarantee about 9.05 some kind of breaking news arrives for us. So we will continue the rest of the pod afterwards but Susie is with me first of all just to react to this breaking news. Susie, they could have told us earlier couldn't they? Guess it's back, back again. I feel like I need to sing that quite a lot when I'm on this podcast. Yeah, but the thing is, no one else has actually heard the rest of the podcast yet. So you're not technically back as far as they can hear. It's only for you and me. But anyway, Serena Vigman has extended her contract. What do you make of that?

I mean, it's fantastic news, right? Like for any England fan and for like women's football fans generally. You know, it's great to have a manager staying in international football who's at the top of her game, one of the biggest sides in the international game. It keeps the challenge up. There's, you know, I think in the press release they put out, they said there's a lot more for them to do and that she thinks they can go a lot further.

And I think anyone who has watched them in recent years getting to a World Cup final without Beth Mead, Leah Williamson, Frank Kirby, an injured Millie Bright for much of that tournament, Kira Walsh missing for a little bit of that tournament. Just incredible, really. And the potential for the side is really clear long term. I don't know about you, but I'm just itching at the idea of Serena Wiegmann versus Emma Hayes at the World Cup in 2027, which is now well and truly on the cards and an absolutely delicious prospect. Oh, did you know what? That was one of the first things that crossed my mind when this news came through, actually. And I think from Serena Wiegmann's point of view as well, there's no way on earth that she would have wanted to bow out after the Euros, which is a tournament she's already won twice with England and the Netherlands. She wants that World Cup so desperately and she knows that her best opportunity of doing that is with

England. I mean, the only other opportunity would be the US, right? Realistically, in terms of short term routes to the World Cup. If she wants a big project, you know france or or going back to the netherlands or in australia or somewhere like that who have all got managers let's let's be clear as well would be a great project to take on on brazil or somewhere like that you know a team with a huge amount of potential but that wouldn't be a 2027 winning side that would be a much longer term side maybe germany would be the only other option beside the US that would offer the level of readiness to go as England and the US and Germany do. That's all you've got on your cards, basically. So, I mean, if you're looking at Emma Hayes having just joined the US, there's not signing a contract that will naturally take her to the World Cup and things like that.

You're sort of not looking at that tournament thinking that there's many other options for you to be in a league environment where you've got the time to build towards it so it makes sense from that point of view right like there's there's few other chances I think a great part of this is that her assistant Ayan has also signed for the same length of time too you know he's such a critical piece of the puzzle all the players adore him think he's brilliant think he's the sort of technical wizard behind Serena who's such a good coach and people person and manager of of people not just players but of staff around her and stuff too very good obviously technically as well but I am very much the the sort of brains on the training ground so yeah such a good partnership so good

that they're signing together and just really exciting to have that security moving forward I was also really sad about the possible idea that you know we'd maybe seen the last of an England team captain by Leah Williamson with Serena at the helm because they feel like such a brilliant leadership partnership of the Lionesses and the idea that we might be kind of edging towards you know would maybe see it at the Euros if she was going to stick around that long but you know again who knows it just felt like oh are we reaching a conclusion where we're not going to see some of the things we really really want to see and see this team at its best. Exactly well we get all our dreams have come true Suszy if you like now then you're just all gonna have to pretend because

we're gonna get on with the rest of the show that we recorded earlier on and you may or may not hear me greeting suzy rackers if i've not seen her for a week shh don't tell anyone what a panel we have today Susie Rack did you have a fun FA Cup weekend? I made the round trip to Manchester United v Newcastle which you know usually a round trip to leave for a midday kickoff is as grim as anything but I actually quite enjoyed it oh well I'm very glad

excellent stuff um Sophie Downey fresh from a trip to Vancouver and do you know what I was going to ask did you buy more beanie hats did you buy a Vancouver beanie hat oh yeah I actually came home with two I mean I said it was a holiday for new year but actually I lost my Canada hat at the end of last season and so I have to go and replace it so I went and bought two in return and it was definitely worth the trip to Vancouver for that. So you went to Canada to replace your Canada hat basically is it like it has to be authentic never mind any kind of shipping company just fly over there why not? Essentially yeah any excuse.

Emma Sanders it's lovely to see you as always you must be deep in transfer news currently yes although I've now decided that I suddenly need a hat from the Caribbean so I'm gonna have to go there I think I might have to come with you because I'm not quite sure you know in terms of your fashion I feel like I need to guide you the right way so you know I might come to yeah okay there's plenty fashion on display last night wasn't there in Hammersmith very randomly FIFA's the best awards were held last night it wouldn't be an award show without some eyebrow raising moments would it look no further than the FIFAIFPro Women's World XI, with possibly the most attacking line-up ever, seven Lionesses included, and just two of Spain's World Cup-winning team.

OK, let me just read it out for you, first of all. Goalkeeper Mary Earps, defence Olga Carmona, Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood, in midfield, Kira Walsh, Celestia Russo, Lauren James, Ella Toon, Aitana Bonmati, in an attack, Alex Morgan and Sam Kerr. I'd love to know your thoughts, Susie. I mean, well, you know, it's a player vote.

It's the FIF Pro World XI. And what's blatantly obvious is either players don't watch a huge amount of football or they see things completely differently to we do watching from their pitch side view and i mean think players are a lot better than we think they are it's a little weird to see so few spain players in and for that to include oh carmona obviously she scored a golden final but just of the huge number of Spain players that were just so phenomenally brilliant and won the Champions League with Barcelona as well and things like that it just it feels like a strange list yeah I did wonder whether the fact that you know

some of the Spain players had played with World Cup and you know not necessarily played a huge amount at club level and vice versa because of the dispute with the national team, meaning that some of the Barcelona players that won the Champions League then didn't play at the World Cup. I wondered if that maybe had impacted things a little bit because you've got players who have played one or the other, but there are players that play both as well. So I wondered about accessibility of leagues as well on TV and stuff

because I think that may have had an impact too. That still doesn't explain Alex Morgan to me. Anyone else? Anyway, Jenny Hermoso, Aitana Bonmati and Linda Caicedo were the nominees for Women's Player of the Year and no surprise here, it was Bonmati who took home

yet another deserved accolade. Meanwhile, Mary Earps has added another trophy to her collection. She was named Women's Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year running. deserved accolade. Meanwhile, Mary Earps has added another trophy to her collection. She was named Women's Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year running. Serena Wiegmann was named Women's Coach of the Year for the fourth time, beating out Emma Hayes and Jonathan Giraldez. Good news as well, from next year onwards, a new award named after Brazil legend Marta is going to go to the Best Women's Goal of the Year, mirroring the Puskas Award for men's goals.

Adam asked, since there will be this new award dedicated to Marta, and rightly so, what would everyone on the pod's thoughts be of who should have won that award if it was around for 2023? Oh, there are some cheeks being puffed out here. I'm going to you, Emma Sanders, first of all. No, I was like praying you, Emma Sanders, first of all. No. I was like praying you didn't come to me. I have a memory like a sieve.

I can't remember the goals that were scored last weekend, let alone throughout a whole calendar year. I need some help, guys. I need like a short list and then I'll choose one. I'm looking at you, Soph, because you've got a memory that isn't like a sieve. I would go Linda Caetheado. Oh, yeah. Against Germany. that isn't like a sieve. I would go Linda Caetano against Germany.

Yeah, that was a cracker. That would be my favourite that has been scored. There have been some absolute crackers, but I think that would probably be mine. That's a very good shout. Loving your work, Sophie. I'll let the rest of you off the hook for now. Right, it was a brilliant weekend of FA Cup fourth round action.

We'll talk about last night's draw for the fifth round in a minute because it threw up some really tasty ties didn't it I'm looking at you Arsenal Manchester City look we're not going to go through every game from the weekend because we'll be here all day but let's take a closer look at some of the standout results holders Chelsea had an almighty scare had to come from behind and rely on two late goals in extra time to beat West Ham. 3-1, Mie Fischl equalised with 20 minutes of normal time to play after Vivian Assay had given the Hammers a first-half lead. Emma Hayes' side totally made to sweat, but goals from Erin Cuthbert in the 101st minute

and Shuka Nushkin in the 107th minute sealed safe passage through to the fifth round. They had 70% possession, 33 shots and 15 corners, Susie. It eventually paid off. I mean, yeah, it was just a little bit dominant, but a long time to score and highlighted the loss of Sam Kerr, right? I mean, the fact that it took till the 70th minute for them to get the equaliser speaks to a little bit of a problem there as a whole up top. But it was Mia Fishel who came off the bench and got the goal.

One of the players you would want to step up and fill Sam Kerr's shoes. Also suggests that maybe they don't have to look very far for a replacement either. As long as, you know, she can sort of have that kind of impact going forward. Agib Iva-Jones as, scoring the third goal in extra time. Also, you know, a sign that they have goals there from some of the younger players that are sort of ready to come in and step up. So I found it very interesting from that point of view that it was, you know, just so dominant, but they didn't have someone who was capable of turning it into the back of the net.

I mean, who knows with Sam Kerr on the pitch, maybe it would have been the same. Like, she has days where she doesn't get to score, but she gets one big chance and then turns it in, and it's a game-changer. But yeah, I thought Mia Fishel's strike was just so well taken. Like, really, really beautiful strike. Really wrong for it at the goalkeeper, because, you know, she twists, she turns so quickly,

and, you know, it's sort of two touches, and it brings it down and then spins and smacks it into the roof of the net. And yeah, just really, really instinctive goal and yeah, highlighted that maybe she could be the one to step up in the absence of Kerr. Sophie, Emma Hayes said they looked rusty. Bearing in mind what Susie says, how much food for thought will that game have given Emma Hayes and her coaching team in terms of how they are going to operate for the rest of the season without Sam Kerr?

I think they're well aware how tricky this league is at the moment and any game can throw up potential threats. So they're not complacent at all. But we've talked about Emma Hayes' Chelsea side for years as being mentality monsters and this is kind of their bread and butter I think to find a way to come through despite the adversity that's thrown their way Sam Kerr not being there is definitely definitely a problem but I do think they've got the resources there to figure it out and figure out how they can replace her well replace the irreplaceable I would say because she does everything like about three players does she

does it in one player so it's just about drawing on different you know players and utilizing their different array of skills rather than just trying to immediately find you know say Fischl is going to replace Sam Kerr it's not going to happen so it's just about being clever with it I was speaking to Johanna writing Canary yesterday, and she said even though they went one goal down, their mentality is that they were going to win that game, and it didn't matter how long it was going to take, and they knew it was going to happen at some point,

and they knew they were going to score. And just because it kind of took them to extra time to do it, they had a very, very strong belief in themselves that they could get through. So they have that belief. They have that winning mentality, and I think that will serve them in good stead, despite any obstacles that come in their way.

Yeah, they are the mentality monsters. 1,204 days since Chelsea last lost a Women's FA Cup match. That was from the, for anybody who's like a maths whiz, by the way, that's from the weekend, not from today. Just in case you say, hold on a minute. But they are going for five straight titles, which is quite incredible. No such struggles for Arsenal. They cruise to a 5-1 win over neighbours Watford at Meadow Park.

I say neighbours because of the training ground sharing in London Colney, by the way, in case you didn't know. Five different goal scorers for Jonas Eidevall's side with Alessia Russo, Lia Valti, Stina Blackstenius, Amanda Illestad and Frida Mahnemool on the score sheet. By the way, worst kept secret in women's football is out there now. Emily Fox's arrival at Arsenal confirmed last Thursday and she made her debut in this game. Friend of the show Tim Stillman, Emma, tweeted about how the Gunners wanted to add variety and unpredictability to the way they attack. And there were plenty of signs in this game that they've done that. Yeah, absolutely. I think that was the thing that everyone was screaming out for from the first half of the season. You know, much like we just talked about

that dominance with Chelsea and perhaps them needing to dig in and find a goal from somewhere. That's very much been the case for Arsenal in the first half of the season in quite a few of their games where they've absolutely dominated, created tons of chances and just needed someone to put it in the back of the net. So having that range and that variety in attack is kind of what they've been looking for. And almost having a plan B and a plan C to add to the plan A. Obviously, no disrespect to Watford, but there is obviously the caveat that they aren't WSL opposition

and therefore you would expect Arsenal to pose tougher challenges later on in the calendar year. But yeah, I thought Emily Fox looked really good on her debut and that's encouraging signs. The fact that there was five different goal scorers is always brilliant. The quite funny thing though

is that they still managed to concede a goal and it was from a player that is actually an Arsenal player that they've loaned out. So, yeah, that was quite amusing. Yeah, that was. That made me chuckle a little bit as well. I was surprised she was playing, to be honest.

Manchester United 5, Newcastle 0. We were really looking forward to the game at Lee Valley Sports Village, weren't we, when we previewed this last week? Well, Newcastle travelled in amazing numbers with over 1,000 fans there. to the game at Lee Valley Sports Village, weren't we, when we previewed this last week? Well, Newcastle travelled in amazing numbers with over 1,000 fans there. In the end, they were comfortably beaten 5-0 by Manchester United.

The Magpies, though, saw their incredible 399-day unbeaten run end as a result of that. But Sophie, Mark Skinner's going to be pleased his side dispatched of them in the manner they did. Yeah, it was comfortable in the end. I think it just showed a bit of the gap, I guess, between the FAW now, Northern and Southern Premier and the WSL. You're going to have it closer with a championship team. There's still a way to go for Newcastle.

They're very, very young in their journey. So they will have taken a lot, I think, from the the day despite the scoreline and despite the dominance of Manchester United but Manchester United had to go out there and do a job and and that they did they they dominated in pretty much every department didn't they and I want to give a shout out to Ella Toon's celebration if anyone can find me a picture of it with all of them because I think it was Ella Toon, Lucia Garcia, Millie Turner and Maya Letizia they were lined up like the, but I don't think any photographer got the full on front on one. So if anyone can find it for me, that would be brilliant because it was such a good celebration. But yeah, United dominant, as you would probably expect in that situation.

And it was kind of a good way to start the 2024 and look forward to a big game as we'll preview next weekend. Yeah, that's got GIFs and memes all over it, hasn't it? That photo, if someone can find it. Elsewhere, Manchester City secured safe passage with a 4-0 win at Durham. In the other all-WSL ties, Liverpool narrowly edged out Bristol City, thanks to an 85th-minute winner from Gemma Bonner. Matt Beardside had been reduced to 10 players as well when Kerry Holland was sent off on the hour mark.

And on Saturday, Everton put their name in the hat for the fifth round with a 3-0 win at Aston Villa. All of those goals came in the second half with 18-year-old Caroline Ollinson getting her first for the club before catcher Schnoy added a late brace. No upsets in terms of WSL sides being knocked out by lower league sides. Sheffield United, though, probably came the closest. Tottenham having to rely on a 96-minute winner from Rosella Ayan to make it through.

That was quite an exciting game, I thought, that one. Who wants to take that? Yeah, and by the way, Bethany England just straight back into it with two goals. You know, she's just kind of carrying on where she left off which is a great sign for Spurs but yeah very back and forward but I think we've kind of got a bit used to that now you know Tottenham men's team have been like that for a while and now it seems to have come across to the women's team where it's just this sort of fire blazing games where it's let's just outscore the opposition and it's great fun it's great fun to watch and Robert Villahan has obviously brought that into the women's team.

And you can see the philosophy of the way he wants to play. It's very much just go out there and express yourself and enjoy yourselves. But it means that they are going to concede goals. And I think when you're not at your 100% best, then it can be an extremely risky tactic. And they obviously found that out against Sheppard United. But at the end of the day they got through they delivered another entertaining game for the fans they were in the hat for the next round

so yeah I don't think you can be too critical of it and obviously there was plenty of debuts in that Spurs team as well obviously Charlie Grant the big one that a lot of people were looking forward to seeing but Zhang as well being in there from the start so yeah another exciting game. Yeah, it was. Leicester beat Derby by four goals to nil and Brighton were 6-0 winners at Luton.

Big shout out to Luton ladies. Cracking turnout to watch the match and a brilliant cut run as well for the lowest ranked side left in the competition. There was, however, an upset as championship side Reading were beaten 2-1 at home by third division Wolves. Big shout out to listener Nag, who always gets involved in the pod.

They messaged to say, how did the panel all think Wolves did? In all seriousness, the game had Cup set written all over it, but had no media coverage. How do we get more coverage of the games? Sophie? Well, that's a good question I do think maybe they should have all been on the FA player at the weekend given that they've all

been put on the FA player yesterday I don't really understand you maybe like maybe it's about commentary or something or not having that kind of resources I don't know but even just having the stream up would be a start right I think it's about making accessible for people and visible for people and if you're having it recorded anyway you might as well stick it live if you've got that platform to do it so I do think there's work to be done there I think it was a bit of a surprise that only eight were put on for me of 16 I know that's half but I think that's something for the organizations to go away and talk about. If you've got the ability to do it, do it. I think Wolves were, in my point of view, the better side in that game.

I'm not surprised at all. I know Reading took the lead, but Reading have been having an inconsistent season. And Wolves have been, yeah, they're not at the top of the Northern Premier this year yet. Well, not at the moment. Newcastle are leading the way, but they have pushed for a number of years towards the top of that division and they were in the playoffs a couple of years back as well against Southampton so I think they're a club that are really ambitious and they've picked up some players who you know we've seen around the championship for a few years back so they got the

quality there so I think it was a big up for them. And yeah, they're in the hat for the next round, which is huge. Yeah, as are Nottingham Forest. They're into the last 16 after a big 6-1 away win at fellow National League side Plymouth. But it wasn't to be for Moneyfield, Susie. A 4-0 defeat at the hands of London City Lionesses. But such an amazing story. And you got to talk to some of those at the club in a piece for The Guardian ahead of the game. Yeah, wonderful club. The manager's doing great things there.

I spoke to Kirsty Pearce, who used to be at Reading, who was just full of praise for him. She went there. She's known him personally for a long time. She had retired from football, gone away, had a baby and thought about returning just sort of for fun, recreationally, and so joined their team. And she had nothing but good things to say about what is being done down in Portsmouth to build up this team that's only had a women's team since 2017. It's a pretty new team. They've not played at their home ground for, God,

I can't remember how many months it is now, but a very long time. Let's put it that way. They've played at eight different home grounds whilst their their home ground is being redeveloped so there's been huge delays um for various reasons so they're sort of really battling against the odds generally speaking at the moment like say really young team loads of like lengthy trips for their home games to all these different grounds, and yet they progressed to this stage of the FA Cup with, I think their third round was a win over Millwall Lionesses and then they get to play London City in the fourth round.

And I think it's hard to overstate the impact of the increase in prize money on teams that are able to scrape to this level of the tournament. The prize money doubled this year and it's mainly concentrated from the third round onwards. So these are the teams that are feeling the benefit of it so for a team like money fields wolves not in a forest plymouth or you know newton the ones below the sort of top two divisions that you know who don't necessarily see that kind of money you know it's sort of like i think it's like 13 grand or something they get at this stage for just losing and you know for a team like money fields who have been struggling to exist because of all the home ground difficulties and the costs involved in that, it makes a huge, huge difference. So I sort of really, really hope they might pull off a little upset

just because I really like them so much. But it was just so unlikely because I think, you know, you talk about a two-league gap in men's football and it's much more of a realistic prospect. A two-league gap in the women's game is a huge huge golfing class is virtually impossible to overcome I was just going to give them a real shout out because I was there on Sunday and they put in such a gutsy display and especially in that first half they competed with London City all the way and it was only they

had to hold on for 30 seconds the board went up for a minute of extra time in the first half they competed with London City all the way and it was only they had to hold on for 30 seconds the board went up for a minute of extra time in the first half and they just had 30 seconds to hold on and little John just popped up and scored and I was just like if you just held on for 30 seconds it could have been a different story because obviously you're then going at the break and your heads are down a bit but I think they should be so proud of that performance they put in they for the first half it didn't look like Moneyfields were the team of sort of amateur footballers and they were going up against several ex-internationals. So I think they deserve a lot of credit for the performance that they put in.

Yeah, absolutely. And as you say, that money is so, so important the further down the pyramid that we go. Right, nine of the 16 teams left in the competition are from the top flight. But we've actually only got one all WSL tie, which is pretty impressive. The draw for the fifth round looks like this. Arsenal, Manchester City, London City Lionesses against Liverpool,

Leicester against Birmingham, Wolves Brighton, Tottenham Charlton, Nottingham Forest against Everton, Southampton at home to Manchester United and Chelsea against Crystal Palace. And of course, the ties will be played over the weekend of the 10th and 11th of February. The plum one, Emma, Arsenal-Man City. Considering the fact after in the league, we've got Arsenal-Man United and Chelsea versus Manchester City,

it's going to be fascinating. Yeah, I bet Chelsea fans were cheering when they saw that draw because, yeah, it's two massive, massive heavyweights, not just of the WSL, but obviously of the FA Cup as well. So it's a bit of a shame that the draw has come out so early on. That game is, you know, final worthy, certainly semi-final worthy. But look, this is the magic of the Cup, they say. And, you know, the teams in that we've just been discussing, the likes of Nottingham Forest,

will be delighted to see two WSL teams going head to head, because if they can pull off a shock against Everton, I think it is that they've got at home, then, you know, that's great to see one of these big teams, you know, lose so early, because the draw just opens up a little bit if you can get a little bit of luck on your side. So great for the competition as a whole. Great for the teams that are in that round because it creates a bit more excitement around that entire draw and that entire round. But yeah, for the teams themselves, I think it's going to be

a really difficult one for both Gareth Taylor and Jonas Eneveld to manage and almost try and work out what to prioritise because there are only three points off Chelsea in the WSL title race. I'd imagine, certainly from Manchester City's point of view, because I sat down with Steph Horton last week and we were discussing the fact that it had been eight years since they last won a WSL title. And while they enjoy winning all silverware

and the FA Cup will be right up there as one of their priorities, I think a lot of that Manchester City team will be craving for that WSL title being their number one. So it will be an interesting one to see kind of how they manage the schedule and what they prioritise. But yes, certainly an exciting one from a neutral and from a fan point of view. Yeah, for sure. The London derby between Tottenham and Charlton has got a nice narrative as well.

The Karen Hills and Kit Graham derby, if you like. What else stands out for you, Sophie? I really like the look of Southampton United. Southampton obviously had our store in the Conte Cup a couple of weeks back or just before Christmas. And I think they got something like 13,000 down to St Mary's, if I'm not wrong. So really big crowd.

It's a really great day for them to be able to host a big WSL side. So I love the fact that you know Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Southampton they're all at home as well I think the fact that they get their chance to bring in their gate receipts and bring in crowds and kind of get that that buzz around the game I think is really really cool so I really like the way kind of the cookies crumbled in that respect um but yeah Southampton Manchester United is the one I've got my eye on. Oh it's really early in the morning but now I, Southampton, Manchester United is the one I've got my eye on. Oh, it's really early in the morning, but now I want a cookie. That's it for part one.

In part two, we'll look ahead to the return of the WSL. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Hello there. Jonathan Friedland here, host of the guardians politics weekly america podcast i'm heading to new hampshire where i'll be hosting three special editions of the podcast covering the primary election that's happening there starting this friday the 19th of january

i'll be driving around the granite State, queuing up for campaign rallies, joining residents at town hall meetings, speaking to voters and analysing those all-important results on election night on the 23rd. Will Donald Trump emerge victorious as expected? Or can Nikki Haley or even Ron DeSantis bring about the first shock political upset of 2024. Listen to Politics Weekly America from this Friday, 19th of January, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Now, after a month-long winter break, the WSL is back. Let's take a closer look at this weekend's fixtures and touch base with each of the sides.

Touch bush. Oh, God, I'm doing my Steve again. Did that last week. We'll touch base with each of the sides as we gear up for the second half of the season. So the standout tie of the weekend has got to be, although, although you know I'm open for somebody disagreeing with me on it but Chelsea against Manchester United is tantalizing in prospect isn't it Emma Hayes welcoming Mark Skinner's side to Stamford Bridge on Sunday lunchtime as they begin life without Sam Kerr following that ACL injury she picked up while training in Morocco. I mean, they've started it in the FA Cup already, but starting it in the WSL, slightly different maybe. We spoke on last week's pod about what a blow that's going to be and earlier on as well.

How do you expect them to shape up against United, Susie? I'm excited for this game and even more excited for it without Sam Kerr. I mean, like, obviously, it's devastating to see someone have an injury, but I just think it brings a new dimension to this fixture that I think many maybe would have thought was sort of Chelsea's to lose with Sam Kerr sort of in the fold and Chelsea full and fit and things. But, I mean, given United's performance at the weekend against Newcastle, I mean, obviously, it's Newcastle, and I think they very much looked

like a physically much smaller, weaker team. You know, they've only been professional for six months versus a team of elite professionals at the top of their game. It's a very, very different thing to, you know, kind of facing Chelsea. But it's just the number of goal scorers United have got at the minute. And the fact that it's at Stamford Bridge and it's the first big game that Chelsea are hosting are hosting at stanford bridge against a sort of top three four rival i'm starting to fancy united and that feels strange for me because chelsea just are relentless winners but i don't know oh i feel like the others are pulling faces like i'm insane and i feel like maybe i am insane and maybe it's that time of the morning but i just have a feeling about Man United and I don't know why.

Maybe it's Nikita Paris' incredible goal scoring form, but I don't know. Okay, well, we'll revisit this next Tuesday and see whether your kind of hoodoo shake was correct or not. I am the kiss of death, remember? I'm the kiss of death. So this probably isn't a good thing. Well, your predictions are appalling. Sorry, United fans. I'm really gutted because I was actually supposed to be going to this game and then I got asked to work. And so now I'm working in the studio. So I'll be watching in the studio, but it's not quite the same as being at Stamford Bridge. But if the prediction doesn't go Susie's way, Emma, United could actually be seven points adrift of the top three. That's including

if results go against them this weekend as well. It feels like it's a bit of a must win for them if they want any chance of finishing in those Champions League spots. Yeah, it does feel that way.

And I know that certainly as the media, we put a lot of attention on these head-to-head games, but there's a reason why we do that because it has proven to be very significant in previous title races races I do think it will be slightly different

this season I still think there's points that are going to be dropped against sides that maybe in the past would have been unexpected you know obviously we saw Man City lose to Brighton for example I do think there'll be one or two more of those results throughout the rest of the season but certainly from Manchester United's point of view I think it's more the mental side of it to have a gap that increases, you know, that is that big right at the start of the year got to play catch-up anyway against a side who've won the last four WSL titles against a Manchester City side that I think personally have looked like the best playing team so far. You know, they've obviously been inconsistent, but when they've been on it,

I think Manchester City have been the best team. And then obviously an Arsenal side who have clearly got the money banks behind them as well that they've been able to strengthen in the last two windows and they just seem to be getting stronger and stronger in terms of their squad depth. So if you're Manchester United and you see that gap after the first game of the new year in the second half of the season, I do think it is quite damaging. So yeah, from that point of view, maybe you can call it a must win.

Maybe not a must win, maybe not a must win maybe a cannot afford to lose but certainly if they want to really be title challengers then then yeah I think they have to win it semantics isn't it I get the point mustn't lose in terms of psychology but yeah it's I love this season because it's just it feels wide open and you know obviously I don't love what's happened to Sam Kerr. That's pretty awful. But it feels like it's kind of made it even more wide open. 20,000 tickets and counting sold so far, by the way. So it's going to be a decent atmosphere at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

You mentioned Arsenal, Emma. Arsenal looking to shake off that shock North London derby defeat just before the international break. They welcome Everton to Meadow Park on Saturday afternoon. They'll have taken big confidence, of course, from that FA Cup win over Aston Villa at the weekend. And that kind of shows it's not really going to be a walkover for Jonas Eidevall's side, Sophie.

Not at all. I was really impressed by Everton at the weekend. And they've got, you know, bodies back now. Lee Stenevik played something like 75 minutes, I think. And then Katja Snodjic was back as well, getting amongst the weekend. And they've got bodies back now. Elise Stenevik played something like 75 minutes, I think. And then Katja Snodjic was back as well, getting amongst the goals. They've done well in the transfer window. Katarina Kuhl won't play because obviously she's on loan from Arsenal. But they've got Riku Madsen in to boost the forward line.

I do still think, despite Brian Sorensen telling me on Saturday that you can stop talking about our defence now, I think they are in need of a defender still because you look at that, that's their area of weakness. They do play really good possession-based football and when they're on it and when they're sharp, there's a real identity about the team and you can see what they're trying to do. I think they did kind of outperform themselves in that first half of the season. They had so many injury issues Brian was saying every other week about two other players were dropping like flies so he said that the comeback from the winter break it was the first

time he's actually had 10 versus 10 in training so positive for him but yeah losing Rika Siveke Gabby George and Natalie Bjorn from that defense and not replacing. That's my red flag. And Arsenal have an attack that can really exploit that. But they will be full of confidence. But I think Arsenal will be too, as you say, that win against Watford. Yes, they were a championship team, but they showed different ways of scoring and they got lots of different goal scorers on the score sheet as well. So it's going to be a really interesting matchup. Yeah, I feel like it is. And you're so right. How can you not, you know, the positions that you need are not midfielder and forward, which is what they've recruited.

You mentioned Katrin Kuhl. Obviously, she's 20 years old and she played under Brian Sorensen. He handed her her senior debut back in Denmark. The Scandi connection continues there as well because they've added Danish forward Rika Madsen to their ranks as well. She signed an 18-month deal after a spell at North Carolina Courage.

No defenders as yet, but we still have time. How confident are you of Arsenal's chances in this one, Susie? Can they keep the pressure on? I'm never confident anymore. After the lost Spursurs which I you know I should have won and you know should have been an easy game for them you know you can never this is with my Arsenal fan head on yes there's never any confidence going into any game anymore men's women's whatever as a journalist I I mean, they should walk it, right?

Like the number of goal scorers they had against Watford, the manner and style of the goals. I mean, Lia Valti's goal, like straight off the training ground, it was just such a nicely worked corner to confuse the defence and, you know, leave her space to slot it in, in theory, particularly against a, as we've said, very, very much depleted Everton defence. Emily Ramsey's also injured as well, isn't she? She's got a problem. So, you know, they're down a goalkeeper too. You kind of have to think that that's Arsenal's game to lose on paper and in reality. Football doesn't get played on paper, Susie. That's why I said and in reality. I'll pop your bubble.

Manchester City were on a run of four straight victories coming into the break and they host high-flying Liverpool at the Joy Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Liverpool, of course, had that big win over Manchester United before the break. Can they do it to the blue half of Manchester as well, Emma? Yeah, I think you can't write off Liverpool.

They've shown that this season. I think nobody is surprised by the level that they've reached. Maybe people, including myself, are surprised at the consistency of the level that they've reached. Absolutely, them sitting fifth in the table, level on points of Manchester United, I don't think is a it's a huge shock at all because they've you know they showed last season they're extremely hard to beat

and what they've done is added in you know both January and the summer transfer windows there's obviously still a bit of time in this window but I don't think they'll do much at all if anything but they don't need to because you know they've got a very very good squad there I've got an extremely good manager in Matt Beard and And yeah, they've just proven really, really difficult to beat, but added a bit of quality. However, I would say Manchester City's home record is brilliant. So I would put my money on Manchester City, but they're certainly going to have to be at their best.

On that point, Sam asked us, do you think Liverpool could realistically finish above Manchester United this season? Yeah, I do. I think realistically they can. Do I think they will? Will they? I don't think so. There's those semantics again, Emma. I know, yeah. No, but I think they certainly can. I don't think there's any question about that. Yeah, I think Manchester United will just sneak it for me. But yeah, that's their goal.

I mean, Matt Beard wants to close that gap on the top four. He's spoken about it very regularly and top five finish was their absolute kind of minimum goal

this season. So that's what they'll be intending to do. And I think it would be very foolish to write them off. But yeah, I personally think

Man United will sneak it just because of the array of attacking talent that they can call upon. Okay, interesting. Again, we'll revisit those predictions. Away from the game, rumours flying around that Eli Robach could be poised to make a move to Barcelona.

What's the latest on that, Sophie? I heard about this as late as everyone else did, I think. I was actually on the road back from Aston Villa Everton and I was like, what's going on here? Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise because I think I was actually on the road back from Aston Villa Everton and I was like what's going on here yeah that that was a bit of a surprise because I think I was pretty sure she was going to head over to Manchester United at some point so I wasn't expecting that whether it happens this window or in June because her contract's up in June I think so whether she goes on a free or whether Barcelona fork out for her this window I do think she needs to move somewhere she needs to

get try and get some playing time and it's quite obvious that she's not in Gareth Taylor's plans at Manchester City for whatever reasons I mean despite him saying in almost every press conference that they choose their keepers on every game it's been consistently Kiara Keating in every game so yeah I think she does have to unfortunately leave the club which is sad for her. But you have to look after yourself and try and go elsewhere and get some minutes. And she'll want to try and force herself back into the England squad as well. And she can't do that when she's not playing football. So it's probably the right move for her to go somewhere different at least. On the England bit that Soph mentioned there, I think this is a really significant period with England

where there's almost like a six-month window where Serena Wiegand might almost just try things and look at things a little bit differently and thinking ahead towards the Euros and obviously England trying to defend their title there. And I think someone like Ellie Roebuck,

if she can get some playing time in this next six months and leave in January rather than having to wait until June, I do think that would be really significant in terms of yeah that thought process for Serena so as far as I know Eddie Roebuck is and her party is such a definitely pushing to try and leave in January if they can obviously when a club like Barcelona

comes along and and you might have to wait until June then I understand you know the patience but personally I just think it would be better for her to leave in January if she can. Yeah I mean the one thing about the Barcelona move like in many ways I love the idea of it because I think that for a player who clearly has had her confidence pretty shot by not playing not being picked a very young player being picked ahead of her losing her number one shirt being appreciated and respected by the Europeanan champions is going to do that confidence a world of good but how much you're going to play that's the big question and for me she's got to go to a team where she's going to be number one or is going to be

at least be told that she is going to be phased in as number one pretty quickly so that would be my concern is that you know she moves to barcel Barcelona and she's not necessarily going to play ahead of Panyos and Cole. And it's a really difficult, difficult one. Because like I say, I think it'd do well to good for her confidence to play around that squad. But they also don't concede a huge amount of goals. It's not necessarily a huge goalkeeping test and you're not necessarily going to play.

So I really liked the idea of her going to United if Mary Earps leaves, which, you know, was what I thought was the more likely scenario and what I was thinking was the reason she was being left out in the cold at City because it's you know an increasingly controversial whilst significantly less controversial in women's football to move between sides big rivals I felt that that was the reason but I think that if she doesn't move like if she's holding out for Barcelona in the summer I think they've got a try for a loan move in January you know even if it is you know just to a WSL side or a championship side even anywhere that's going to get her on the pitch Bristol City are desperate for goalkeepers exactly like definitely not Chelsea

let's let's rule that one out um they've got a dearth of goalkeepers Arsenal even you know desperate like I would just get her on loan somewhere where she's got a chance of getting some minutes before the summer even if that is the move that you're holding out for but I worry that that's not the right move there are actually a surprising number of goalkeeping places available around you know you even look at like Tottenham and West Ham West Ham just before Christmas I think didn't even have a reserve goalkeeper on the bench when Mackenzie Arnold was injured so there are opportunities if you look around the league for playing time and so you can't put all your eggs in one basket I would say

as well it would be foolish to I think Tottenham as well you know they brought in Votikova just before for that Arsenal game before the break but that was her first WSL start and Becky Spencer I would say as well. It would be foolish to, I think, Tottenham as well. You know, they brought in Votikova just before for that Arsenal game before the break, but that was her first WSL start. And Becky Spencer has started all of the other games. So there are opportunities around, I think, if they go looking for them. And Becky Spencer's contract runs out in the summer as well.

So I think that's another interesting one. I think the three of you need to club together and form your own agency and represent Ellie Roebuck. You've pretty much touted her out to every single club in Europe. Some good news off the pitch for City as well with the announcement of plans to build a new £10 million

dedicated training facility for the women's team at the club's City Football Academy which is great news as well. Now we've got a London derby on Sunday evening as West Ham and Tottenham go toe-to-toe. Susie, Chris Poweros was understandably very excited about some of Spurs' acquisitions in the transfer window when she was on last week.

But West Ham have actually made some big additions as well. It could be quite fascinating, this one. Don't know what we're going to get. Yeah, I mean, really difficult game to call, right? And that is the beauty of things at the minute particularly with the teams that are sort of battling for the best of the rest prize I'd like you literally don't know which way to call it I mean you have you sort of have to say Spurs but West Ham have been playing so well they've got the new players in I still

need Spurs I think it's gonna be Spurs I'm going to get my butt off the fence. But yeah, I think West Ham could cause them some real problems and look really solid and, yeah, much better side than they perhaps were at the start of the season. I think it's worth remembering as well that Zdorsky is obviously on loan from Tottenham, so therefore she can't play for West Ham. So that's one of the three new sign-ins that can't play. And Christy Mewis, as far as I understand it, they're still building up her fitness. So it could actually just be Gorry that actually plays out of the new signings.

And therefore, I do think if judging by that, I would go in Tottenham's favour, because obviously West Ham aren't just going to improve overnight dramatically. But yeah, I am excited to see when all three of those players start playing together towards the end of the season. I think it's actually a really important game for West Ham. Brighton are playing Bristol, that's an absolutely crucial one at the bottom of the table. West Ham are still really, I know they've made signings, but there are big questions about them. And then they have to go to Ashton

Gate next weekend to play Bristol in a massive relegation battle game. So I think they will feel they have to get at least a point out of this to keep their head above Bristol in a massive relegation battle game. So I think they will feel they have to get at least a point out of this to keep their head above Bristol in that position. Because, yeah, I know we've all bigged up Brighton, I think, this season, and they are doing a really good job in terms of what Mel Phillips has done there. But I do think Bristol have a bit of energy about them, that they could go and cause an upset away from home. They definitely can do that.

They have it within their capability. And then you could have that really interesting game between West Ham and Bristol City the next week. So they'll want to keep their noses in front, that's for sure. Don't worry, they play Arsenal the week after that. And, you know, Arsenal will be top of the league by then and then throw it away against West Ham because that's the madness of being an Arsenal fan.

So, you know, West Ham will be fine. Listen, we'll talk Brighton Bristol City in a second but my OCD only allows me to go in chronological order down the WSL table so bear with while we talk about Leicester Aston Villa Friday night football at the Pirelli Stadium it's eighth versus ninth in the table a couple of devastating injury blows for Villa with Lucy Parker requiring ankle surgery and Dan Turner out until at least mid-February with a knee injury they just can't really catch a break Susie this season can they? No and I mean heads must be down after the loss

to Everton right like it was a a hefty defeat to someone that they should be really competing with and you know hasn't necessarily been having the best time of it themselves so nothing is really going right for them um really really struggling and I don't really know why because you know the basis of the team that did so well last season is still there Carla Ward is still in my opinion a very very good manager I just don't know why things aren't clicking quite right I do wonder whether whether it's, you know, sort of similar to Everton after their, like, impressive season and then falling off the following season and Willy Kirk getting sacked and things.

Whether it is slightly higher turnover than perhaps you would have done if you were just trying to sort of maintain and improve slightly. That trying to break into the top three or four and, you know, having a sort of bit of a higher turnover, meaning that you you sort of go a little bit too far with your tinkering has impacted them but then again we're this many games into the season you know you should be sort of beginning to see the signs of progress by now so I'm really worried about Aston Villa and I'm really worried about Carla Ward and

I really don't want to be but yeah I, I think Leicester will really, really fancy this game. Yeah, I think you're right. Last but not least, we've mentioned it briefly already, but Brighton-Bristol City, the battle at the bottom, the visitors would move level on points with Melissa Phillips' side if they could pick up victory. Emma, Sophie's given her thoughts already, but where's your head at in terms of the relegation battle

as we head into the second half of the season? Yeah, I completely agree with Soph in that I think Bristol City have been brilliant which sounds mad to say considering their bottom of the table but I think they were quite strong favourites to go back down to the championship mainly because of their the resources and the fact that they were obviously the only non-premier league team in the WSL that they were always going to have to face a bit of a battle in terms of the January transfer window. And I think we've obviously seen that. West Ham have obviously gone out, spent the money

and got in three massive names. Bristol City just haven't got the capacity to do that. So, you know, I think I said in my pre-season predictions that I thought that could be the case in terms of that could be what decides the relegation battle. But I don't think anyone was expecting Bristol City to come in and be quite comfortably the worst team in the league. They've shown that they haven't.

And Lauren Smith, by the way, I'm a huge, huge fan. A young manager, Welsh manager, doing fantastic things there. And what she's managed to do with a very, very young and let's be honest, extremely inexperienced squad, I think is just tremendous. And they're only going to get better. They have got better. I think if you watch their first game in the WSL

and you watch to get, you know, let's see how they get on on the weekend, I think you'll see a significant improvement, not just individually, but in terms of the way that they set up, their game management and just their intelligence in certain moments of the game. So yeah, I think it's going to be a really, really tough game for Brighton and I wouldn't be surprised to see Bristol City come away with a point. Excellent. We're looking forward to all

of those fixtures, which of course we'll talk to you about next week on the pod. But some international news finally for you. It was announced last week Gemma Granger has stood down from her role as Wales manager with immediate effect to become head coach of Norway. She said, I had no intention to leave, but I've been offered an unexpected opportunity that I couldn't turn down and it's been extremely difficult for me to get to this point. I hope you know the decision to leave has not been taken lightly. Massive opportunity for her, Sophie, and big news to start 2024.

That's been my shock of 2024 so far. I did expect her at some point to move on. And I do think like Wales Nations League campaign was kind of a bit over eggs at times. That, you know, when you look at the opposition they had to face in Denmark, Germany and Iceland, you know, they were always going to be probably favourites to go down. And before that point in time, she had done a lot of good things with Wales.

I know she was highly rated by the players. I remember talking way back to a couple of them and they said she was one of the best coaches they've ever worked with. So she obviously is held in high regard. I was surprised that she moved so quickly. I thought she'd seen through European qualifying and try and get into the playoffs for that. But yeah, I guess you can't turn down opportunities

like the Norway job. And, you know, Norway have a playoff, don't they, in February to stay in Ligue 1. And they're probably really, if they can do that, they're in real contention to reach the Euros next summer. And I guess she weighed that up and was like, I probably have to go for it. But now the question really is what happens to Wales and who do they bring in or how ambitious

are they because you need someone who has pedigree and winning ability I think to try and lift them out of League B but yeah that's going to be an interesting choice for them because I don't know who they would opt for because yeah I've had some surprises like Eileen Gleeson for Ireland that was a surprise for me um so you never know they might go down the Irish route or they might go ambitious so we'll see what happens yeah we will let you know obviously as soon as we hear Emma before we go tell us a little bit about your interview with Fran Kirby yeah it was um really really interesting conversation with Fran she always is a great speaker she's always very

brave and very open to discussing important topics and I watched her documentary with with Chelsea that they did back in early November where they were discussing a range of issues around women's health injury recovery social media abuse etc and I thought Fran spoke really powerfully you know on it so I basically got in touch and and just I wanted to speak to her more and I wanted to give her a bigger platform if you like to discuss it and yeah I thought her words were very powerful on on the effect that body image comments can have on younger players in particular and what she hoped to come from speaking out about it was to encourage younger players that you know they can also talk about it you know they can get help where they need and it was also one of the most powerful lines I think

was where she she sort of said that it's it's almost up to other players who notice it to report it and to help them and she you know was very very sort of strongly identifying the mature and the experienced players in the squad so I can imagine in terms of Chelsea she would have been thinking of the likes of herself Millie Bright, Sam Kerr you know natural leaders and and obviously you know experienced internationals you know if they see a young player don't just pretend it's not an issue know that they felt that themselves talk to them about it encourage them to get help and I just thought it was really really powerful and you know she's received a lot of letters from players at other clubs asking for her advice and asking how to

report things and also people themselves who have been directly impacted by it that maybe didn't realize just how much they were struggling and then they've heard some of the things that Fran has said and naturally realised, you know what, I am feeling that way and maybe I do need to do something about it. So, yeah, very powerful. And let's not forget that this is Fran Kirby, who, in my opinion, probably her and Lauren James are the two most naturally gifted, naturally talented players

that England has ever produced. So this isn't just a player who's been around the WSL and done an okay job. She is a world-class athlete and has achieved phenomenal things in the game. So if she's telling you that your nutrition and your

diet and these sorts of things are important, then why would you not listen to her? She's achieved everything. So I can only applaud her and I thank her for her time. And yeah, I hope lots of people read it and got something from it. Yeah, I certainly did. I thought it was absolutely fantastic. And it's a really important point to raise. And you need somebody with such a high profile as Fran Kirby to do that for people to recognise that there is help out there. That's a great note to end on, actually. Emma, it's been

a pleasure as always. Yeah, thank you very much for having me and hopefully see some of you later today. Well, I might see you in the Caribbean. I mean, you kind of promised, don't forget. When I said I was going there to get a hat, what I meant was a bottle of rum, let's all be honest. Well, you know I am there straight away in that case. Soph, the hat is just bloody brilliant. I absolutely love it. Thank you, and thanks for having me back. You're always a superstar. Susie Rack, see you soon.

See you soon. Afraid it's not today, but at least I hope I get to see the hat, Soph. You've got Rachel today. Got it. Don't tell Rachel I said that. Unbelievable. Right, we'll see you all next week

with the full round up of all those WSL fixtures including Chelsea Manchester United and Manchester City against Liverpool. Don't forget, if you

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