The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Chelsea spot on against Arsenal, City win thriller and B-team debate – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Tom Garry and Tim Stillman to break down Chelsea’s win over Arsenal, Manchester City’s six-goal thriller, and the WSL title race

This is The Guardian. 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, I'm Faye Carruthers, and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Is the title race over? Chelsea extend their lead at the top of the table with a late win over Arsenal. There were goals galore elsewhere in the WSL at Villa Park and beyond. We'll round up all the action from the weekend as well as discussing B teams.

All that plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Susie Rack, hello. How's your week been? Hey, hey. The week. Exhausting. Oh God, it's Tuesday.

I know. And I was technically off yesterday, but I did do bits of work. So, you know, all good fun starts the week. Oh, dear. You're still smiling, though, as is Tom Gary. As always, I'm loving the new headphones. Very posh. I'm hoping they're working. This is like a technological marvel if my headphones can get through the pod I'm well faked I managed to see nine goals across two games over the weekend so I had a great weekend oh I love it when that happens I mean it can be rare at times I was at Kenilworth Road for Luton Millwall the less less discussed about that, the better. Tim Stillman, how are you? Yeah, I'm not too bad, thank you. Not too bad at all.

Yeah, I went to two games this weekend. One that maybe didn't have VAR, when maybe it could have one that had VAR and just decided not to use it. So, yeah. Oh, dear. It was one of those weekends, wasn't it? Throw in the weather as a bit of fun. And it very much felt like the end of January, didn't it? But the hotly anticipated London Derby took centre stage on Sunday. Chelsea hosting Arsenal in front of a record Stamford Bridge crowd. And it finished Chelsea 1, Arsenal 0. Sorry to the two gooners on the pod.

It was an 84th minute penalty from Guru Wrighton that settled it ultimately. But it means that Sonia Bonpastor's side have earned their 11th win of the league season. It was a really tight game, but they now have a seven point gap at the top of the table. So the title race is not tight. In your match report, Susie, and it makes me laugh every week, you said Chelsea are operating in a league of their own and they just find ways to win. Last week you said you've kind of run out of superlatives for them, but what kind of pushes them over the edge in a game like this? Because it wasn't a walk in the park for them.

It wasn't, but it was at the same time because I was thinking about it, they don't make mistakes really. You know, you look at the Arsenal time because I was thinking about it. They don't make mistakes, really. You look at the Arsenal performance, really difficult first 20 minutes. They really weathered a storm and then come out of it, have some really great chances and just can't get the ball away. And you've got to be able to take those chances when you're playing Chelsea. One of them. You've got to be able to take one of them. And they don't.

And I suppose you could argue that Chelsea didn't make the most of their opportunities either but like then you have the likes of Wrighton and Lauren James coming off the bench and you've got that real attacking impetus to sort of really battling players that you're kind of throwing into that game and that helps be the difference basically obviously lj winning the penalty but um it's just a lack of a lack of errors and a belief that they're going to win they just believe that they're going to do it and they do every single time and it was close but i also think it that's deceptive that if some kind of more of those chances had gone in, either way, Chelsea still would have won because they are just superior and stronger, physically more intense, more clinical in most ways. Fascinating, isn't it? You mentioned the penalty, Lauren James brought down by Kim Little.

It led then to Katie McCabe being sent off for directing foul and abusive language towards referee Emily Heaslip. Loads of discussion on social media, as you'd expect, Tom, but what was your view on both? Well, the penalty, first of all, I think is very, very harsh on Arsenal

when you see it from certain angles, but I sort of think they've only got themselves to blame for getting themselves into that situation. I'm going to be quite harsh on Mariana Caldente but I was really disappointed with her kind of lack of effort to keep tracking back which sort of led to the situation the red card I think is just really poor discipline and I think in these really big games you have to keep your head and I have very little sympathy for Katie McCabe in that situation. I understand why it probably looked a bit confusing if you're either at the game or trying to watch it on TV

and you're maybe not really sure what's happened but when you see some of the replays, you clearly can't talk like that right in front of a referee. So as harsh as it might seem, have quite little sympathy for for the red card and I think I think it's just one of these things that we are seeing a lot more in big games you just you really have to to keep your composure even if you are absolutely furious about a decision you know we've got we need to if you're going to want to try and win titles you've got to somehow keep your head I'm going to be really controversial as an Arsenal fan and say I think it was a penalty like Kim gets to touch on the ball but she doesn't like materially change

the direction of it or force it away from LJ in in any way so for me if she doesn't take down LJ LJ is on her feet with the ball still at her feet like she grazes the ball and for me that's just not enough to warrant it not being given as a penalty right like she grazes the ball and for me that's just not enough to warrant it not being given as a penalty right like she takes out the player enough and the ball has not moved from LJ's feet so all those were like really slowed down or the stills of you know Kim Little with a touch on the ball like she literally grazes it in the loosest possible sense and then completely takes out the player and I just I can't, you know, like being objective here, because obviously, like my instinct is to go, no, it was robbed, blah, blah. For me, it just it was a penalty. Like she she takes out the player.

She doesn't get the ball away from her feet. So, yeah, I haven't said that on social media because I'm too scared to. But yeah, controversially, I think it, I think it was a fair decision. Even with VAR, would it be pulled back? Maybe if you're going sort of still by still, but I don't think it was enough of an error to even warrant that. So yeah, weirdly for me, I think Arsenal were not robbed for once well I think we know what what your fellow Arsenal fan uh thinks but I'm interested as well in your overall view of the game from an Arsenal point of view Tim because Rene Slager's mentioned small details it doesn't feel like it's small details though anymore because the gap between the two teams just feels massive at the minute I think on a micro level so in in one-on-one games,

it is kind of small details, the kind of zoom out level. Chelsea are about to walk to their sixth consecutive league title, so I can't sit here and tell you that there isn't a gap. On the penalty, I don't think it's controversial. I think on balance, maybe it's not. But to Susie's point, even with VAR, it wouldn't be overturned. I think the kind of small detail that was a big detail in this game is how each team, how each coach was able to change the game. You look at the subs Chelsea bring on.

Lauren James, Guru Wrighton, Aggie Beaver-Jones, Hermano. Arsenal bring on Frieda Mornum and Stina Blackstenius. So that's four attackers Chelsea are bringing on at 0-0. Arsenal bring on two. To Tom's point, on the penalty, Kim Little is really running back to try to keep pace with Lauren James. I think Kim Little's coming into a phase of her career where perhaps ideally she wouldn't be on the pitch on 84 minutes. She's probably more of a 60-70 minute player now. She's got a hand injury, which I think is bothering her. Leovolt is on the bench, but not really fit either. Mariano is really puffing and blowing

there as well in the 84th minute. And I just think Chelsea were able to power up from the bench in the last 20 minutes. In a way, Arsenal weren't. And Arsenal finished with Alessia Russo on the wing. They start Caitlin Ford, even though she's not really fit. Basically, the difference in this game was that Chelsea have greater attacking depth than Arsenal and that really showed in the last 20 minutes. That's the difference that's a small difference and a big difference. And actually, that's really interesting when you then look at Johnny Liu's piece after the game, which you can read in The Guardian, by the way, he kind of analysed Arsenal's wider ambition as a club and looked at how they've fallen behind their London

rivals as much off the pitch as on it. And we've talked about recruitment before, which I think is a really key point. But how concerned are you, Susie, with Arsenal's trajectory when you see what Chelsea are doing? And it's difficult to compare the two clubs, but I think because of the success that both have had in the past and the fact that Arsenal at the minute are the closest challengers for the title, where do you see your club heading? Yeah, me and Johnny were chatting about this as he was like composing his usual masterpiece and like i think the thing is is everything that arsenal were doing at the moment feels quite responsive uh to the market changes and the growth of the game um when they should be leading it right like they are the second um most valuable club in the world they are you know kind of getting these huge huge

attendances at the stadiums they're getting great away turnouts they've got a really engaged active fan base they've got really decent sort of you know first 11 and slightly wider number of quality squad players around that but they're constantly playing catch up and aren't leading the way on the pitch uh off the pitch um financially you know Chelsea spending one million dollars on on Girma um you know a player that Arsenal basically priced out of the running for I think speaks to the problem in, you know, a player that Arsenal are basically priced out of the running for, I think speaks to the problem in that, you know, Chelsea aren't being held back by sort of wage structures, limits of the market, you know, it not necessarily being the done thing at that time. And Arsenal sort of having to then react to that and act in that world after Chelsea have sort of

set the benchmark but yet we're talking about a club who is not short of money and you know in theory has the resources available but just chooses not to not to invest them and I mean you can make the argument oh well you know we want a sustainable game blah blah but and I want that more than anything and I think there should be maximum salary caps and minimum um salaries more critically but you know the reality is is that we're not in that world at the moment and you've you should be a team that is setting the standard and uh bringing in some of the best players in the world to properly compete and instead you're sort of chasing the tails off of Chelsea. So yeah, I just, yeah, I think things need to change

higher up at Arsenal. And there needs to be a little bit of a shift in attitude for me. Well, let's have that salary cap conversation in a second, because part of the reason why we're talking about it is, you know, the kind of ambition point exemplified, if you like, by the unveiling of Naomi Germer as a Chelsea player at Stamford Bridge before the game. She's become the first one million dollar player. That's around about nine hundred thousand pounds making the move from San Diego Wave.

She's obviously got the support of her U women's national team coach Emma Hayes a brilliant defender we talked about her and gave her all the plaudits last week I mean it is a massive statement Tom what exactly is she going to bring to the side and then we'll talk about the wider point of the of the salary cap in a sec I think she brings for the next four to five years an incredibly good chance of continued success. You're talking about arguably the best defender on the planet and an age profile

where her peak years are still ahead of her. I think for Chelsea it's the perfect opportunity to try and slowly evolve this side. You can imagine Millie Bright still right at the top right now. Will she still be at the top in three years' time?

It's probably doubtful. So you can see the evolution of the team in that sense. I think there was a necessity for it as well, a little bit with Buchanan's injury, but this is also something that Chelsea have been

planning for a while. They do have a knack of going out and trying to find the player that will be at their, you know, who will be a superstar for the next sort of four or five years. And they're going to go and sign that player. And I think they've done it again. Hey, clearly money helps. It's huge money, isn't it? And it's incredible how quickly the fees are going up. Just look at the British transfer record compared to Medeva Ramirez

12 months ago, you know, we've more than doubled the British transfer record in one year uh which is an extraordinary rise of inflation um and I think what she brings I think she she's so dependable she's she reads the game really well she's got great sort of anticipation and awareness a good mentality everyone who talked about her behind the scenes to talk about the that kind of winner's mentality and a kind of, hate to use the word, vibes, but the sort of attitude she was bringing during the Olympics. I think it sounds like she was really key to that goal.

And I think if you're an Arsenal City or Man United fan, this is really ominous. And where they're trying to go with this signing, it's Europe, isn't it? It's trying to take on Barcelona to win the Champions League for the first time. That's the target with a signing like It's Europe, isn't it? It's trying to take on Barcelona to win the Champions League for the first time. That's the target with a signing like this.

Yeah, it is. And that actually, we had a message from Sue Klesniks on X with Chelsea accumulating players similarly to Lyon previously. Can they dominate Europe and find a way to topple Barcelona?

And can anyone in the WSL compete and this is the kind of point what what do you think Tim in terms of the the salary cap with the questions whether Chelsea spending needs to be controlled um where do you stand on it yeah I'm not in favor of a maximum salary cap I'm in favor of a minimum um salary cap at the moment I think there's there's big gaps between what players are earning. I think particularly in a league like the Championship, it's so variable and it's actually quite still, there's a lot of jeopardy in that career.

I wouldn't put a maximum on at this stage. We don't even really have that in the men's game. And I do think continued investment is really important. I'd say in terms of Chelsea's investment, there's definitely a challenge to Arsenal and to Manchester City by the way this applies to them as well because Arsenal and City have roughly the same wage bill so they're very much included in this conversation. I think what we're kind of looking at here is to your point Tom, Chelsea are trying to win the Champions League. That's clear that that's what they're trying to do. And Arsenal, look, Arsenal have made some really, really good signings,

some really big signings. The money that Chelsea have paid for Naomi Girma, Arsenal put pretty much the same amount of money on the table for Kira Walsh in the summer. The deal just didn't go through. So I think, you know, I do think Arsenal have ambition. The question is, do they have the same ambition as Chelsea? Because Chelsea have lost Khadija Buchanan to an ACL injury.

I think that centre-back partner for Millie Bright's been an issue for them for a few years, since Magda Eriksson probably came out. But the point is, Chelsea don't mess about. When Sam Kerr gets an ACL, Ramirez, world record. When Buchanan gets an ACL, Girma, world record. They put the money down.

They don't carry gaps. They don't make do and mend. They don't talk about, you know, Arsenal having discussions about can Rosa Kefaji play out wide? Can Russo play out wide? Chelsea don't do that.

Chelsea put the money down. From Arsenal's point of view as well I'll try and tie this up quickly that there's some squad registration stuff around Champions League and this is where I think Arsenal probably coming to a stage where they need a sporting director because the way the recruitment has been organized they're limited in terms of the overseas players they can bring in in January because they're going to have to re-register probably Amanda Illestead and Victoria Palova that only leaves one more space for an overseas player they then don't meet the homegrown quota so they've got to lose a player so it it

just feels like organizationally it's ever so slightly off and I don't think Arsenal are miles behind Chelsea in that respect but there's there's a little gap to jump. And there is a question about, are Arsenal going to meet that commitment and make that jump? And the bottom line is, are Arsenal trying to win the Champions League? Are Manchester City trying to win the Champions League? But if Arsenal aren't trying to win the Champions League, they're surely trying to win the league. And if they're trying to win the league, you've got to to compete with Chelsea who have the squad for the Champions League so you basically are a rock and hard place right you have to be competing with Chelsea any other trophy that

Arsenal want to win this season they're going to have to beat Chelsea so yeah and they're currently 10 points behind Chelsea in the in the league table after that defeat and actually they came into the game with the best run of the top four. I know Chelsea are unbeaten. Obviously, they had that draw. But Manchester City had lost three. United on a really good run themselves. We'll get to both of those games in a second.

In fact, that is what we're going to talk about next. Because it was a real Barclays WSL classic in the weekend's opening game Aston Villa hosting Manchester City at Villa Park and it finished Aston Villa 2 Manchester City 4 this is how the game went Chassidy Grant putting the hosts ahead in the sixth minute before Viviana Miedema struck twice turning things around for Manchester City again before the break then a known goal from Laia Alexandri saw Villa level within a minute of the restart. Then we saw a wonder goal from Mary Fowler and a strike from Jess Park,

which basically sealed the points for Manchester City. It felt like it was the Viv Miedema show yet again, Susie, didn't it? It's great to see her back looking her best as well after all the injury problems that she's had. Yeah, brilliant. Sorry, sorry mate I'm sorry it hurts it hurts no I'm really happy for her because she really deserves like um to be playing football to be in form you know she's such a phenomenally talented forward. Her finish for the second was just absolutely beautiful. Classic Viv.

And the first, I mean, what an error to play her in like that. You just don't do that, especially when you've taken a surprise lead against a team like City. You don't then throw it away by handing the ball to Mithama on a plate in the middle but yeah like I mean she's just superb and obviously she's had you know on and off injury problems since her ACL um niggles here and there that have kept her out and you know that happens but like you hope that this might be the moment where she is back for the long term rather than sort of another short-term spell because yeah someone that that good deserves to be played and we deserve to be

able to watch her play can i jump in on me tomorrow and just throw a debate out there because i was lucky to be at the game on saturday and watch her i was at the manchester derby as well a week before and i prefer me tomorrow seeing her as a central number nine. I just think that's her best position. And there's been this sort of past couple of years of seeing her drop deeper and deeper both at Arsenal and Man City. And from things I've read,

it sounds as though she quite likes doing that as well. But I'm curious to know what the gang think here. But I really thought this game was a perfect example of the number nine is still her best place to be what the the gang think here but i i really thought this game was a perfect example of the number nine is still her best place to be on the pitch and i guess i'm wondering now whether gareth taylor is going to think about that and think of utilizing her either as a starting striker or you know rotating with with sure because it just felt as though we're getting the best strengths out of medamart when she's as a number nine i agree. It's a really good point. Rye smile from Tim on that.

And of course, Bunny Shaw is coming back, which is really important as well. She came off the bench. And look, there's no doubting the quality that they've got at the top end of the pitch. This was their first win in three WSL matches because of the injury crisis that they've had. That feels like it's easing. But defensively, Tom, they've not been quite so impressive.

Conceded 14 goals so far this season. You know, none of the other top four are in double figures. That is a concern. Yeah, defensively, they do look still a little bit lost without Alex Greenwood, who has been such a formidable centre-back for them. yeah defensively they they do look at still a little bit lost without alex greenwood who was who uh you know it's been such a formidable center back for them a classy classy player for a very long time and the leader in that team and i feel particularly alexandri looks a little bit uncomfortable without greenwood there i'm really curious to see whether they're going to

try and reinforce with another defender in in a window between now and thursday because i do think there is work to do there they were exposed really easily for Aston Villa's two goals particularly the first and there were a number of times in the first half where Villa simply just had to counter-attack with pace and they were getting in behind City very easily and then I suppose when you couple that with the defensive issues in the Manchester derby in the league when they were very vulnerable to the high press and they couldn't really play out from the back at all with any confidence. I think it just shows again how bad they're missing Greenwood,

who orchestrates so much of that passing out from the back. Hey, you know, other players have been missing and are missing key players, so I don't think City can just entirely blame it all on the absence of Greenwood and Hemp. But nonetheless, they are really badly missing those two. And I think particularly Greenwood at the back. And, you know, with such an enormous game on the horizon on Sunday now,

you know, we're talking about a situation where City and Arsenal forget the title. They can't afford to lose these games now for European qualification. And if Man City don't show up for defending, they're going to be in trouble for that. It's a good game for Sean Goethe to end on, although not

the result he wanted. Obviously, he scored over 100 goals for Manchester City in his playing days, but his time as interim head coach at Aston Villa is over with the arrival of Spanish manager Natalie Arroyo. Tim what do you make of that appointment and and what will she have maybe seen in Villa's performance that she

can build on in the coming weeks? Yeah definitely I think it's a really interesting appointment I think it's a really good appointment actually as well um she did such a good uh job at Real Sociedad Villa have made some interesting appointments you know the Robert, I don't know if I should mention his name on this podcast. Mr. DePaul. Don't want to invite any litigation. DePaul! He had China in his hand. Friend of the show. And by the way, I said

Natalie and it's Natalia, so I do apologise for that. Must get new manager's name right. And disappointed I can't continually use my DePaul joke. She's actually a former continually use my tapal joke she's actually a former journalist as well so um maybe she will be a friend of the show but I think I think one of the things that Sean Goat has brought back is just brought a few players back that had become isolated that had become frozen out you see in this game that Maz Pacheco uh has a really nice

link up with Kirstie Hansen on the left. And that's stuff we saw under Carla Ward that I think we started to lose a little bit as Robert De Paul was trying to change things. And, you know, they've got some great wide threats. They really have that chastity goal. I mean, we're talking about Greenwood being out for Man City. She drives through an Alex Greenwood sized hole on the left side of City's defence to score that but they've really got some depth Villa when you I mean even losing a player like Kenza Darley when you look on their bench they have really good attacking players in particular to bring on I'm not

sure that they're as strong at the back but there's stuff to build on there for them and under Carla Ward certainly in her first season, they were quite an exciting team. And you might remember this fixture two seasons ago when Villa won it 4-3. And, you know, Villa tend to be quite an entertaining team to watch. So there's definitely stuff to build on. But I think she really kind of has to sort out the defensive organisation

as a bit of a priority. Yeah, without a doubt. They're five points clear of the relegation place. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we'll look at the rest of the weekend's action and focus on that relegation place, which Crystal Palace currently occupy. 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.

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That's A-U-R-A frames.com, promo code ACAST. Conditions apply. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Crystal Palace lost their fifth league game in a row despite a courageous comeback. It finished Crystal Palace 2, Tottenham Hotspur 3, Bethany England scoring twice to send Spurs into a comfortable lead before Katie Stengel and Ashley Wearden leveled it up. Heartbreak, though, for Laura Kaminski's side as Olivia Holt hit a 95th minute winner

to give Tottenham all three points. And actually, overall, it was a really horrible weekend results wise for Crystal Palace. It means they're four points adrift at the bottom of the table. Susie, they've got Bryson up next. How does she go about up? With great difficulty. means they're four points adrift at the bottom of the table Susie they've got Bryson up next how does she go about up with great difficulty I mean I say that they're scoring goals right and we've seen them a lot this season take the lead in games and then fall behind obviously that's not the case in in this game but like we've seen them get goals against a lot of the teams they've played

and really pushed them quite hard they just can't and we said this like pretty much every single week can't maintain a level of performance across 90 minutes and that's uh like indicative of the gap between the championship and the WSL um and you know the sort of the demands on players and how that changes between those two leagues because you've got players that, even if you're full-time in the championship, are not as physically tested, let's say. The league's not as physically demanding week on week as the WSL is, and so they don't have the stamina necessarily to compete over

90 minutes in the WSL and that that's the problem right um how do you solve that and like manage to stay up is something that no team has really cracked that's come up from the championship in recent years and it's only going to get harder the better the WSL gets and unless you know the championship kind of gets closer to full-time professionalism across the board and can maintain a competitive level that provides that sort of high level physical intensity of a of a game across 90 minutes to prep them like that's the reality of it so it's a real difficult spot to be in I don't know how they're going to get out of it it's a really difficult problem because they're a well-coached side and I don't think it's a problem of their making it's like the nature of

the beast and I know maybe the answer is you go and spend loads of money signing a whole load of really high quality WSL experienced players and pack your entire team with them but that's also unrealistic so yeah it's it's not an easy place to be in um you know they've got to be favourites to go down particularly after Leicester's result but it's a shame because they are a really really well coached side and Laura Kaminski seems to know what she's doing. Yeah, we'll get on to Leicester's result in a minute, but it was a big win for Spurs. They draw level on points with Brighton in fifth place,

and actually back-to-back victories in the league, Tom. It's a really big confidence builder, I feel, for them, ahead of hosting Manchester United next weekend. Yeah, what a debut-free kick as well to win the game in the last minute. I think Spurs needed that. It was a little bit of an in-and-out first half of the season, but they're still a very good team there.

And I think they've got players coming back from injuries now. I think the feeling amongst Spurs throughout the season has been maybe we'll start to see what they're really made of in the second half of the campaign. And I think the Manchester United game now is what better way to test themselves now than against that team who've won four in a row.

And I think that's where we'll start to maybe see how much progress they're making. But I think they got away with one ever so slightly at Palace. Palace were a bit unfortunate with the fact that they were level right until virtually the very last kick but I think that for Willeheim now they have to try and aspire to finish

above Brighton I think that needs to try and be the aspiration for the rest of the campaign those two probably battling it out to be the kind of best of

the rest as we've often called them and I think this was a big win for them and on Palace if I may I mean, the context of their season now is that their final two home matches are against West Ham and Leicester.

Arguably, the two games that you would target at the very start of your fixture list, you would go, okay, our home games against the two supposedly weakest rivals, but they're the last games

they've got at home. So it's whether or not they can just hang on in there long enough to still be in with a fighting chance when those two games come around I think that's going to be the challenge now is just keeping in touch because there's a danger for them that if everyone else keeps picking up points that they'll start to

drop away that's my worry for them. It should be said as well they finish away at Man City so they've really they're going to have to not just be in it on the last day realistically they're going to have to be outside of the relegation zone on the last day and that means somewhere they're going to have to pick up some points that maybe you wouldn't expect and that look they remind me exactly of Bristol City they don't have a problem scoring goals they've conceded 34 Leicester 15 Everton 19 they've conceded the same amount as Leicester and Everton combined. And that's probably what's going to send them down. Yeah, good at scoring goals, as is Bethany England, by the way. Just want to make a nod to her because she's become the first player to score against all 19 teams to ever have appeared in the WSL.

And she's also now joint second in this season's goal scoring charts as well, which is some achievement. Perhaps a dark horse for the England squad in the summer if she continues that kind of form. Meanwhile, it was an important victory for Leicester. They entertained Liverpool at the King Power Stadium. It finished Leicester 2, Liverpool 1. Olivia Smith scoring in the opening minutes to give Matt Beard's side the lead. But Leicester responded through Janice Kamen and then Missy Goodwin helping them open up a bit of breathing space over Palace at the bottom of the table it was actually Leicester's first league win since October and only their

second of the campaign Amandine Mikel must kind of be breathing a bit of a sigh of relief Tim but it does feel as if it's a result that's been coming. Yeah, yeah. They were a bit unlucky against Spurs, I think. I think Spurs have kind of crawled over the line a little bit to pick up six points from those last two games. But I mean, Leicester, everyone can see what their issue is. They've scored five goals this season, so they nearly doubled their tally for the season in this game. They seem to have been a little bit destabilised in goal as well by Lisa Kopp going. That seems like it was quite a last-minute move to me, because I was hearing that Spurs were going to get Jennifer Falker from Hekens. So Leipzig scored an own goal early against Spurs,

and then in this game, you know, kicks the ball off Olivia Smith in the opening minute. But I mean, I would not have put any money on Leicester to overturn this at 1-0 down, particularly because of how few goals they score. So just an absolutely huge result for them. And obviously that Naomi Mouchon injury earlier in the season has really killed them in terms of their goal scoring. I am surprised they haven't done more in the market to perhaps go and get a striker, but it does kind of feel like it's going to be enough.

And defensively, I think they're good enough that they keep enough games tight that they're 0-0 or 1-0. So I think this has been a really decisive season, weekend in that relegation battle. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Leicester have actually only conceded one more goal than Manchester City. They've got a brilliant defensive record.

Liverpool, though, Matt Beard's going to be so frustrated, Susie, isn't he? I mean, his side, again, controlled a lot of the ball, out-created their opponents, but just couldn't take their chances, really. Yeah, I think we need to be talking a little bit more about Liverpool's lack of commitment to the women's team and lack of investment in their squad. You know, there's only so many miracles Matt Beard can work. Obviously, they had a fantastic finish last season, but

obviously, they had the season where they were relegated and then the heat was on um and a lot of people talked about that lack of commitment lack of investment um how has such a big Premier League club been allowed to sort of get away with showing so much disdain for their women's team but that hasn't really gone away um yeah they put in sort of just enough to be able to get back up again they sort of put in just enough around beards to give him something to work with but he is also a master at finding hidden gems of players from leagues you've never heard of that end up being miraculous that they get really really cheaply but there's only so long he can sort of work that kind of magic for

in a league where everyone is spending around him. And I just think it's really unfair. I want to see, A, him at a club that is going to respect him as a manager and give him proper backing and really recognise his talent as a manager. And, B, I want to see Liverpool hauled over the coals for their lack of investment in their women's team and lack of support for their women's uh manager and players because it just like i'm not being funny but they're seventh they've got 12 points from 12 games that is appalling for a club that is running away with the premier league and has money coming

out of its ass for whatever better way of putting it like they are not short of cash like fine if we're talking about some of the teams towards the bottom where we know that things are a little bit more financially hamstrung on the men's side although even then they've still got loads of this you know we're still talking one player's wage free for the year you know like all of these clubs every single club in the WSL should be investing but Liverpool for god's sake come on they should be throwing money at this women's team they should be up there competing at the top of this table and they just don't seem to give a damn yeah really interesting point Liverpool fans get in touch with us

um on social media or um women's football weekly atuardian.com. Let us know what you think as well. Manchester United, who've also come in for a fair amount of criticism themselves, backs up their impressive derby day with a really comfortable win over Brighton. It finished Manchester United 3-0 Brighton, thanks to goals from Elatun, Hinata Miyazawa and Salim Bizet. It was really easy, comfortable, easy. That sounds really patronising. I don't mean that in the slightest.

Apologies, Brighton fans. But it was a comfortable victory, I think, for Mark Skinner's side. Tom, what did you make of their performance? Yeah, no, don't apologise to Brighton. They didn't have any shots on target and they defended really poorly. So I was there and your assessment's fair.

Man United played well. They're in a good bit of form. They've won four games in a row and I don't think it's in the league, sorry. And I don't think it's a coincidence that those four straight league wins have all seen Hinata Miyazawa starting the game. They've found a sort of a formula

that works for them in midfield now with Jansen, Miyazawa and Toon. And I think we saw again the front four, in particular, Terlan, Goulton, Bizet and Toon. And I think we saw again the front four, in particular, Turland, Goldstone, Bizet and Toon, working really hard off the ball again.

And that, particularly in the first 25 minutes, the work rate was very, very impressive. And Brighton couldn't really cope with that. And I think it's a positive sign from Manchester United. But how can I put this? Every time we discuss Man United between now and the end of

the season I want us to keep something in mind that we just it's inescapable for Manchester United's season the final three matches of the season are Chelsea Manchester City and Arsenal that that is their final three games so so they're second at the moment and and they could well be second now for quite a long time if they if they play the way that they can and they win the games that they should. Man United should be sitting second going into those three games. But it all has to come with that caveat that those three incredibly difficult matches are their final three of the season.

So that brings a couple of things to me. It brings pressure on Man United to keep this winning run going because they'll kick themselves if they drop points and then go into the hard run. But it also, I think, needs to bring in that measure of calmness and not over-excitement and not hating them as sort of,

you know, giving Chelsea a real run for their money necessarily if they're the closest challengers because they're still going to have those three absolutely brutal games in a row to finish the season. And that's where we will really find out what this team is made of. I find it fascinating to see what Manchester United are doing this season.

I also find it really fascinating, bearing in mind how brilliant Brighton were at the start of the season, how it's not quite gelling for them at the moment. And actually, their manager, Dario Vizic, was really outspoken about his side's defeat to Liverpool last week. We talked about how that's not necessarily going to be the most motivational of team talks. But this time he's come out and he's described them as having cloudy minds, Tim. I mean, he seems pretty frustrated with his side at the moment

which you know bearing in mind the stats that that Tom's just given us seems seems you know valid but what do you make of what he's saying yeah it's interesting isn't it I mean they've lost Frank Kirby um who I think has been a bit of a loss for them I mean in this game though Nikita Paris has a quite big miss at 2-0, which she puts over the bar and if they can get that back to 2-1. But I mean, Arsenal made pretty short work of them in the Conte Cup. They lost badly at Arsenal in the league as well. This game was pretty straightforward for Manchester United. I just think, I mean, I think a lot of these teams in the middle of the table are really grappling with something about how they approach the games against big teams.

Because Brighton's style against, you know, United City, Chelsea, Arsenal is likely to see them get beaten. Albeit they drew with United earlier in the season. But there is that question about do you compromise on that for these games? Try and do something else, but then maybe lose something in your messaging longer term I just think what strikes me about Brighton is their lack of intensity off the ball some of that is because you know when everyone's fit Nikita Paris, Frank Kirby, Vicky Lozada all brilliant brilliant WSL players but probably not going to give you a high press at this stage of their careers and some of these goals like the the Celine Bizet goal it's it's just so easy the nutmeg I think it's Hayley that loses the ball

and doesn't really go and get it back and they kind of play very offensive wingers like I just think going back towards their own goal they really lack intensity to win the ball back and yeah that that's really only going to end one way against the bigger teams. One more game to discuss. West Ham put the ghost of their Chelsea hammering to bed. An important victory over Everton. They also beat Tottenham midweek, by the way, in the League Cup quarterfinal.

It finished West Ham 2, Everton 0 at the weekend, though, in the WSL. Goals from Shakira Martinez and Vivian Asai. Rhian Skinner understandably delighted, Susie. But particularly with their side's composure throughout the game, what did you make of their performance? Yeah, I mean, they have obviously massively stepped up. But I think it's the difference in the sort of quality of squad,

which we talked about a little bit for West Ham in recent weeks and before Christmas in particular, when they were sort of, you know, starting to find their feet a little bit, it felt. But yeah, they've just got that little bit of international quality that I think elevates their squad above sort of the teams below them in particular. You know, the Riko Eke's the um Manuel Parviz, Shalina Zdorsky, Vivian Asai, Kat Gori like they've got some players with a lot

of quite high level international experience that they're able to lean on and I think that is the difference you know when you look at Everton's squad by comparison, they've not got that same calibre of player. They've got, I mean, obviously they took Hayashi from West Ham in the summer, but beyond her, we're sort of talking less high profile, big internationals, you know, in like Justin Van Haven, Aurora Gali, players like that, who have that international experience, but aren't quite the level of player that west ham have at their disposal so and i think that's what we're sort of seeing now we're seeing that quality start to shine through for uh for west ham um which is is

making the difference um and yeah like a really really assured performance um and you know really kind of helps them out uh in the league to sort of stretch their legs away from palace at the bottom which i think is a big help you know obviously getting two wins from the last five games is uh is the thing that has done that um but it's also shifted them clear of villa everton lester um which is yeah i think about about right for the standard of their squad. Yeah, it's a really big boost for them. Brian Sorensen, though, frustrated with his Everton side. Real lack of composure in front of goal again.

17 chances, none of them on target. Right, let's talk about the Championship, shall we? Another fascinating weekend. As we say every single week, Newcastle United have pulled themselves back into the title race after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Portsmouth Bristol City drew level on

points with Birmingham at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over the league leaders Charlton comfortably beat Sheffield United at the Valley while Molly Lambert gave Durham a hugely important win over Southampton to move them into fourth finally it was a one all draw between Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland. So here is how it stands.

Four points separating Birmingham in first from Newcastle in seventh. Portsmouth stay at the bottom. They're still three points behind Sheffield United. And we've had a fab email in from Mark from Darlington. Thank you very much for it. And please indulge me because we love getting full on emails here on Guardian Women's Football Weekly. I am going to read it in full. This is from Mark.

Love the pod. Really enjoy the love that you and the panel regularly shower on the championship. My one small gripe is it would be nice if you could back that up with more discussion on the championship rather than just a round-up for a few minutes towards the end of the pod. Maybe even a championship special at some point. I promise you we are discussing this, Mark. The biggest problem is there is never enough time. We talk about specials all the time, and yes, we will and are planning it. It will happen, most definitely. We don't need persuading, which is what Mark wants to do.

If you need any persuading doing this, maybe towards the end of the season, how about this possible scenario? Whilst there's a long way to go and some inevitable ups and downs, by a strange quirk of the fixture list, the current top four in the championship, Bristol City, London City, Birmingham and Durham,

would, if they retain their current league standings, play each other on the last day of the season. Oh, that is me rubbing my hands with glee. Birmingham at home to London City, Durham host Bristol. And if things stay as tight as they currently are, it could create the mouth-watering prospect of a four-way winner-takes-all battle for the title and promotion to the WSL on the 4th of May. My excitement at this prospect and of Durham sustaining the challenge

is only tempered by the fact that Birmingham and London City are the two Durham fixtures that immediately precede the season finale. Talk about a tough run in. More generally, I agree with the panel that this is the most fascinating and exciting championship season for years, with only four points With the top seven, including Sunderland and Newcastle, it adds to the interest and, leaving personal allegiances to one side and putting regional pride first, it bodes well for the growth of the game in the North East. The North East desperately needs a team or teams in the WSL to accelerate the growth and address that particular geographical anomaly. You also asked in the previous pod what Durham fans thought of the increased competition in the region from an improving Sunderland and a Newcastle team benefiting from significant investment. My personal view is we shouldn't be worried because Durham have proven over many years to be a really well-run club with a strong sense of community and sustainable financial model that enables them to consistently punch above their weight.

It also kind of suits us that the rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland dominates the debate and the media attention in the region. It allows Durham to fly under the radar and quietly outperform both of them. Susie Rack asked a few weeks ago, how on earth are Durham doing it? She should come up here and find out

and be guaranteed a very warm North East welcome. She's smiling at that, Mark. Finally, I loved Tom Gary's suggestion that Durham are a team of the season for what they're currently achieving

and if my final day scenario plays out in the way that I hope, they certainly could be. However, before that, I predict a brief flirtation with top spot in February

because Durham have a couple of winnable games against Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers and dare I also suggest or maybe dream of a possible FA Cup upset this weekend against a currently out of form Brighton. Keep up the great work

and come on Durham. Best wishes Mark. Thank you so much for that Mark. We really appreciate it and we are planning to do a more significant pod on the championship very soon I promise right something we really really have to talk about big breaking news story from Tom this week on B teams so the FA are looking into allowing WSL and championship B teams to play in the women's national league as part of plans to restructure tiers three to six from the 2026-27 season.

Tom, tell us a little bit more about it and also, most interestingly, what the reactions have been like from clubs, managers and fans that you've been speaking to. Yeah, this is a proposal that the FA have put together very comprehensively in a lot of detail that's currently being consulted on with the clubs and various other stakeholders and all the clubs in the Women's National League and Tier 5 and Tier 6 are all going to have their chance to have a say on this at the moment.

But we're expecting a decision probably by March, April at board level. And it's reached a point now where I think it would be a big surprise if this B team thing doesn't happen because of the kind of level of detail that's gone into this proposal. Nothing would change until the summer of 2026, I should say. So the proposals show that next season would stay exactly the same in the lower tiers to give everyone a year to get ready. But the plans have been big changes. So league expansion in the number of teams in the leagues in tiers 3 and 4

from 12 to 14 teams in a league and increasing the number of promotion places between tiers four and three and between five and four with a new playoff being proposed as well. So if you're currently, for those who don't know, it's one up, one down. You get lots of bottlenecks in the pyramid with teams who maybe finish second with great seasons and get stuck in a league. Teams who finish second now in those regional leagues would go into the playoffs with other runners up. So a bit more movement there. What's the reaction? Well, a real mixture, I think so far.

I've heard a lot of positive reaction from people about the expansion of the leagues, wanting more matches and wanting more promotion because I think a lot of people that I speak to are frustrated at finishing

second or third, by sometimes winning games 10-0 in a single season and still not getting promoted. I think that's very frustrating. That's being welcomed. But I think the B team's issue is going to be a lot more controversial. Across the Women's Super League and Championship, there's a lot of people who are in favour of this.

They think that the current academy system isn't working well enough to develop the next generation of stars. So they want more competitive games but i think the big teams will be more uh less welcomed by some of those lower ranked clubs who feel that you know this is another way for the big teams to carry on their kind of domination and assert their domination on the on the sport so it's going to be an interesting issue it was clearly very um comprehensively rejected by the football industry sort of fans and clubs when it was proposed in a men's game wasn't it it's going to be an interesting issue. It was clearly very comprehensively rejected by the football industry, sort of fans and clubs when it was proposed in the men's game, wasn't it? It's not very popular prospect in the men's game.

And I'm curious now to see what the next few weeks hold and whether or not there is a big challenge to this B team's idea. But as it stands, I think that these proposals are so detailed that I think that it's going to take a lot now for the B team's idea to not come through. We'll get everyone's thoughts on it in a minute, but we've had a couple of emails in on the B team's point. This is from Graham in Bournemouth. Hi there, Faye, Susie, Tom, Sophie, Etal. How is this improving the pyramid in England? The clubs that already have the resource will now have more opportunity to upskill their existing squads and to dominate the amateur

and part-time teams around them, much like the FA's change in FA Cup prize money last year, increasingly moving us in the direction of heavier reliance on Premier League teams and the whims of owners. See current Man United ownership

for how that can go. Having just listened to the latest episode of another women's football podcast, I know, I'm sorry to stray, but Maggie Murphy has a lot of interesting stuff to say. Yes, she does. She is a wonder. It also made me think about the concept of a closed system for the WSL and Championship, which I'd not love. Works for the US as it's their norm, but it would be a radical turn here. In truth, I am being very hypocritical here

as a supporter of AFC Bournemouth women, where it's obvious that Premier League investment into supporting infrastructure and players can make a huge difference. I just don't know the answer. Seems like the FA don't either. Has anyone else got any good ideas? Graham. And this was also from Jim Hearson titled to be or not to be. like it Jim how does the pod feel about the possible introduction of B teams into the football pyramid as per Tom's piece last week definitely an argument that playing competitive games helps to develop players but as massive scorelines in cup games show there's a huge gulf between the WSL and lower tiers of the game so would the games even be that competitive there's also the question of which WSL and championship clubs could

afford to run B teams. We often see that teams are unable to fill their benches on match days. So how are they going to have an extra 20 or so players for a separate side? Jim, Susie, what do you think about the proposals overall? And what do you make of Graham and Jim's points? The proposals for B teams, I'm not a fan of at all. I think that there's a lot of correct points in those emails in that there's going to be a domination of WSLB teams if that happens because the resourcing is so much greater at that end of things. I much prefer seeing some of the young players go out on loan

to some of these teams and make a difference. Obviously, it's not quite as common that they go below the championship for those deals, but I think that's a far more significant thing to happen. I think there is a case to say that you get a team in tier three or four coming up against a Manchester United B team and uh that is you know potentially uh commercially beneficial for the club uh the smaller club in that you know they've got a a big fixture against a big name but I think that's really kind of sort of clutching at straws for a positive amid what isn't a very great

proposal in terms of sort of yeah the pyramid and its development um in terms of closed leagues just no way i don't think the wsl championship should ever be closed um it's the like foundation of football in england that you have um uh promotion and relegation and you know anyone can move up and down regardless of of circumstance financial backing whatever and admittedly that's a bit skewed the more the gap opens up between those leagues and it becomes harder and harder to actually bridge that gap or and then stay up but like it's a fundamental part of the game it keeps the pressure on financially um you know stops complacency and you know where is the incentive for investment for teams below the very very top

if you if you don't do that um i think the you know us is a is a different beast but would benefit from that style of system too in the long term um i think they should be looking the other way rather than us looking at them personally. Yeah, I think all this is really interesting. No to a closed, the WSL was a closed league for the first few years while they were stabilising and getting investment. I think we're well beyond that now.

I think if anything, there should be another, I think there should be a playoff between 11th in the WSL and second in the championship. I think there should be more routes opened up. The question of B teams is really, really interesting. I think there's a really good point in there about realistically which teams would be able to do that. Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United.

I'm not sure I can see any other team being able to do a B team, but there is a wider issue around youth football, academy football and women's football. It's very much tied to acl injuries as well the idea that the jump's too big that it's not professionalized enough as a setup the england under 23 team was brought in by serena veegman that only existed like what we're talking three years four years like it's very very nascent So there is an issue about academy football, which historically has been tied to universities and stuff like that. And that's not really appropriate anymore. So I do definitely understand the idea that under 21 and academy elite football kind of really has to come up.

And yeah, a lot of it's tied to fitness as well and preparing players for professionalism, but also giving them other routes into the game. I think some of the arguments around B teams that apply in the men's game don't apply as much in the women's game. So, for example, if you support Southend United and they get several thousand people every week and they've been in your family for 60, 70 years, I think you've got a right to say i don't want to watch them play chelsea's reserve team i think there are fewer historical and traditional ties in women's football but you know i read um the report tom put out and it sounds like there's extensive surveying here that this is going to be quite democratic around what clubs really want and so i think

they've kind of just got to lean into that and really weigh up what do the clubs want here and um i think that's that's really got to be pivotal because there are no blue sky um that in all of these things about the structure of football you're looking for the least worst solution. That is the reality. Yeah, absolutely. It's a fascinating debate. Quick one, Tom. Yeah, really quickly. What I should have said was that this is kind of phase two of this process.

There has, as Tim's alluded to there, but there has already been extensive surveying in the kind of phase one over the last sort of seven, eight months. So they've done all that surveying and come back with this proposal. So I think we're at a stage where this is what the FA wants. And now it's going to be a case of whether it's signed off. last sort of seven, eight months. So they've done all that surveying and come back with this proposal. So I think we're at a stage where this is what the FA wants and now it's going to be a case of whether it's signed off.

Yeah, it's going to be fascinating going forward, that's for sure. Let us know your thoughts. You can send in your questions via social media or email us as everyone has done today. Thank you for all of those messages. womensfootballweekly

at theguardian.com Thank you, team. It's been an absolute delight. We got through so much today, those messages womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com thank you team it's been an absolute delight we got through so much today so many different points of view

it's been fascinating Tom see you soon see you soon mate bye Tim my pleasure as always thanks for having me Susie hopefully I'll see you at the lunch

yeah you will yay see you all next week as well. A reminder for you too to sign up for our weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts sign up. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Salah Ahmad.

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