The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Dream debuts and Chelsea’s tactical tussle as WSL returns – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: September 9, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Tim Stillman and Fadumo Olow to unpack a thrilling opening weekend in the WSL

This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faker others and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So the opening weekend of the Barclays WSL did not disappoint with dream debuts and some glorious goals. There were some stuttering starts as well, but not for Arsenal's Olivia Smith, who showed she's well worth the money. Chelsea started where they left off laying down a marker against Manchester City, United made light work of Leicester

and Everton sparkled in the Moiseyside Derby. We're going to cast our eye over the deadline day drama, plus we'll take your questions, and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. What a panel we have today. Susie Rack, how has your week been? Busy, really, really busy. Lots of big interviews coming out ahead of the new season,

and then dovetailed with the transfer window. So, you know, that was exhausting. Anything that you can kind of tease us for the week? This week, I'm talking about last week, we had Germa, Bunny Shore, Beth Mead, Georgia Stanway, all as big interviews. This week, I've got a really nice Afghanistan piece coming out. Wonderful. I look forward to reading that.

Tim Stillman, how are you happy with the gunners start to the season, no doubt? Yeah, not too bad, thank you. Yes, it all worked out all right in the end. The first 20 minutes or so, it's a little bit on edge. But, yeah, good start for Arsenal. Looking forward to getting into it. Wonderful. We have a pod debut as well for Dumo-El-O.

How are you? I'm good. It's been a good weekend of football as well, so I'm glad than the WSL spy. Even though the Euros was only like a good, but month or two ago, it still feels like it's been forever. Yeah, well, we didn't feel like that last week when we did our preview pod.

We felt like it had been a nanosecond since we'd been talking about football. But I tell you what, it was a blockbuster weekend, Stanford Bridge to the Emirates, Anfield, and everything, of course, in between. The Barclays WSL felt like it was back with a bang. But we're going to kick off with arguably the action of the weekend. It was at the Emirates with the European Champions welcoming League Newcomers, London City, lionesses.

And as Tim alluded to just then, some early shaky moments for Arsenal, falling behind to a Kosovares-Azlani penalty early on, but they did eventually find their attacking groove and put four past the visitors to make it a comfortable opening day victory in the end. Susie, your team as well. It had the hallmarks, bearing in mind what London City Lionesses had been doing

in the transfer window, spending big. They were kind of the unknowns, weren't they? And it could have been a little banana skin for Arsenal. Maybe that's what contributed to their slughey. start. Yeah, right there beforehand. I mean, every team is going to, you know, find it a little bit difficult to settle into a new season and into the first match. Like, you know, the past couple of campaigns, Arsenal have had some pre-WSL start games in the Champions League and things that sort of kind of got them ready almost to be able to hit the ground running in the

league. So I think, you know, those first 20 minutes of unconvincing play, a few sloppy passes were sort of kind of inevitable. I think we saw most teams across the weekends struggle at some point with kind of settling into the campaign. But really great performance overall, great debut. And yeah, London City, a banana skin for sure. In a way, it's quite good to play them in the first game of the season before they've had a chance to gel

because I actually think they're going to be a pretty decent side. I think Justin pressure is a very good manager and we'll get something out of those players. So, yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting to see how they develop. Yeah, we'll talk about London City Lionesses in a second. I'm not sure Tim fully agrees with you on how they're going to progress this season.

But I do want to talk to you, Tim, about Olivia Smith, because there's a lot of pressure on a big price tag, isn't there. But the display that she put on, the goal that she scored, showed exactly why she's worth a million pounds. Yeah, I mean, the goal itself, If I was explaining to someone who'd never watch football, never watch the WSL, etc., etc., why did Arsenal sign Olivia Smith? It's for that. It's because of her ability to create her own shots, her ability to come up with individual actions.

And even before that, I think her first touch of the game, she kind of took the ball on both feet and did a little skill and drew a foul. And I think it's just that kind of sense of, you know, really taking a moment, really taking a game by the scrub of the neck that maybe Arsenal just don't, quite have enough of, particularly in a centre-forward like Rousseau, who's, I think, elite at hold-up play. She creates four chances in this game, but perhaps she isn't a killer as a goal scorer. And so I think behind her, Arsenal, needs someone like that who really can just drive past three players and smash it in the top corner. And from there, Arsenal never really looked back. That was the moment the game swung, and it never swung back again after that. That attacking depth is quite clear to see.

Beth Mead, Friedemannum, and Steina Black-Sdenius all coming off the bench for Dumo, two assists for Beth Mead as well for the other two. What did you make of the substitutions from Rennyslegger's? No, I thought there were really good choices. I think particularly with Beth Mead, I mean, there's been lots of talk about, like, you know, what's her career looking like, our Arsenal, where does she fit into this matrix so far? And I really think she showed great value and what she brings as a player coming off the bench, having two assists.

And I think is exactly what Arsenal leads throughout. the season being in so many competition. They need that kind of natural rotation that goes quite seamless and it doesn't really affect the playing a negative way. And I think Beth Mead really bring back to the side. Good point. Okay, let's discuss London City Lionesses. They have spent a lot of money. But is it going to be difficult for Jocelyn Pashore to kind of make them into a cohesive unit? Ryan has sent us a message on X. What now for London City Lionesses, how do they improve ahead of their hosting of Manchester United on Sunday. Who wants to pick this?

Susie from the positive side or Tim from the slightly more negative side. Go for both. Go to go first. It's a tough ask, right? Like we've seen a lot of teams struggle with jelling players, particularly like I think back to when, say, Everton finished 4.45th and Aston Villa finished 4.45th, you know, in a few seasons ago. Like, went through big transformations.

over the summer to try like with the ambition of breaking into that top three or four and both failed dramatically and part of that was like the high turnover of players where you disrupt the momentum you had the previous season in a very successful campaign by having to get rid of players but you're trying to elevate the quality of the side to be able to compete with those top teams so like disruption isn't always a good thing so I think it's going to be really really difficult and they've got such a wide range of players coming in in terms of like old heads experience but that will tire late on like we saw against Arsenal and then some really exciting young talent as well so I think it's very much like a team for the future but I do think

in the context of the league as a whole particularly amongst those mids table teams they're going to be very very competitive yeah I think I mean I think they'll be absolutely fine because the bottom line is they have quality and you can always work with that as a coach. It might be slightly rocky for the first few games. I think we saw that from them last season. They didn't fly out of the blocks in the second tier, but once they kind of got motoring a little bit, they were much, much better. I think you could see why they won or why they bought Grace Giro, aside from the fact she's a really, really good player, but they perhaps just missed a little bit of that power at the back of the team, at the back of the midfield. I thought

Arsenal got hold of that area, but it reminds me a little bit of when Man United first came up in 2019 under Casey Stoney and you could see the kind of the foundations were there, but it took them a season or two to really become a competitive team. I think we'll see something similar for LCL, but I don't think they'll be anywhere near relegation. I think they'll take points off of a Chelsea, a man city, a man united at some stage in the season, maybe just not quite now. You're nodding for Dumo?

Yeah, I think definitely. And you've also got to remember they don't need to win a lot of games to stay up. You saw that with Crystal Palace last season and the seasons before that. And I think especially with the format changing for next season, they've just got to just get those wins. And I do think they can do that, especially against some of the sides that, you know, I anticipate we'll struggle a bit more throughout the season like Leicester City. And we saw a Liverpool throughout that game against Emerton as well.

So I think they've probably been dealt a tough card for the opening two games of the season, be against Arsenal and Manchester United. But on the positive side, it's a good thing they get them out of the way. So it's one of those ones. That is a good point. And to Susie's point as well, the bigger teams get them out the way as well before they start a jelling and clicking. I'll tell you who didn't need very much time to gel and click. It was 20-year-old Ornella Vignola.

What a debut to remember for Everton, scoring all three of her shots created in a 4-1 win over Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield. They've got such a good record there. I'll tell you what, Marva Creel is going to be gutted. that she did the preview pod and not this week this week's pod as an Everton fan she would be delighted

four straight victories it is now for Brian Sorenson's side came from behind as well it's a happy stomping ground for them six wins from six on Liverpool soil which is just absolutely incredible

what did you make of this game Susie I mean it shows what a team can do when they're backed right and when a decent manager is given a decent number of players to work with and obviously the chance changes at Everton have meant that they've got the back in, they're at Goodison,

like that's a pool for players as well, that is a powerful one. And, you know, great to see some of their new signings come into the side and make a difference because that's where they've really been struggling in recent years, like working on a complete and utter shoestring. You know, obviously, Vignola's going to steal the headlines, but I thought Mazpacheco in particular was absolutely brilliant. They've just got a really, really good squad now, and I'm quite excited to see what they do with it.

It was not complete plain saining for them. Liverpool arguably could have been two or three goals up fairly early on. But yeah, a real confident performance from the forwards, like starting ahead of Kelly Gaggo as well. I think a lot of people were surprised by that. Brian Soroson said that she's been doing this a lot in training though. So, yeah, clearly deserving of that starting spot ahead of the French player. Yeah, she came in from Granada, didn't she, in the summer? one of nine players brought in to Everton over the transfer window.

And what a debut, Tim, first Everton player, male or female as well, to score a hat trick against Liverpool since Dixie Dean back in 1931. That's about 90 years, by the way. My maths is telling me. I mean, what an incredible debut. Yeah, absolutely exceptional. And I really rate what Everton have done over the summer. I think I read it's been four years since they finished above Liverpool,

three years maybe since they finished above Liverpool and the WSL I do fancy them to do that this year actually when I look at

what both clubs have done during the summer but a really really fantastic debut it has to be said though as much as I really rate

Brian Sorenson and I kind of tipped Everton to maybe push towards that fifth place this year that there was an element of freakishness

about this result I think Liverpool hit the bar a couple of times they very much outscored Everton on XG Everton I think four of the their first seven shots went in.

And you could see with the hat-trick goal, for example, the big deflection when it's your day, it's your day. However, I think, again, like I was saying about Olivia Smith, really, with Vignola, particularly two of those goals, she makes them out of nothing because she gets a shot off from, you know, not a great flowing move or anything, but she gets the ball, she gets it on her left foot and she has a go. And if she keeps doing that, she might not get a hat-trick every single game. but it actually reminded me a little bit

I think the first game of last season Brighton played Everton and Seeker got a hat trick for Brighton and it was very similar where two of the goals were from quite long range so maybe a little bit of payback for Everton there in terms of getting maybe a little bit of luck but I really like what they've done this summer

and I think they've got a really good coach and I think they'll cause a lot of teams a lot of problems this year. The fearlessness of youth it is quite incredible isn't it that they can just grab a game by the scruff of its neck. But you're right, a scoreline doesn't always tell the full story. And actually, Brian Sorenson did say for Dumo

that they were quite poor in the first half and lucky to go in ahead. How did he manage to change the game in the second half? A big part of it was just Liverpool were in some ways just really unlucky with some of their chances as well. And I think some of the substitutions made really helped him as well. But again, looking away from Everton, but looking at Liverpool specifically,

I do think that I'd be interested to see what this new Liverpool side is going to look like with Gareth Taylor. I mean, he's been in that Manchester City ecosystem for so long and you can see him trying to implement some of those changes, but I worry for them because I don't think they necessarily have the players that can really implement what he

want, like playing out of the back. I think defensively they were quite poor as well in that game. So I don't know if his style of players really going to suit the Liverpool side going forward and the thing with the WSEL you don't really have the luxury of times. It's not a massive league with so many players. So I'm worried about that element for Liverpool going forward.

Well, he seems to have been told that he's been given time because he's talking about it in terms of it being a project and, you know, as you would do in a new job, you know, very open about the fact it's the start of a project. That helps give you a little bit of time and favour with the fans as well, doesn't it? But do you think the fans should feel positive or concerned, Susie? We discussed this last week a little bit. Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot to be quite concerned about

the complete disinterest from the club as a whole towards the women's team this summer is evident in the transfer window, right? Like Sam Kerr, great recruitment, Lily Woodham, another great signing. But it's very, very piecemeal. And, you know, when you lose players of the quality of Olivia Smith and Taylor Hines and, you know, Neve Hay, he retires, Yana Daniels goes, like, you're not really replacing, like, sort of like for like quality. And, yeah, I'm really worried about them.

I think it's a really difficult task that Gareth Taylor's got ahead of him. And in many ways, I'm like, really interested to see because there's not like such a huge test of his ability as a manager to be given a team with with so few resource in comparison to his only job in a head coach role at Man City it's like chalk and cheese so yeah it's it's going to be interesting to see how he copes with that team and those that standard of players and the level that they're fighting at because obviously at city you can like input your style onto those players and and get something from them, but it's how adaptable he is to getting the best out of the players at his disposal

who may not be able to play the sort of free-flowing game that he would like to play. And I think that's the interesting thing for me. Yeah, speaking of two teams with plenty of resources, his former team, Manchester City, beaten on the opening game against Chelsea, tough game to start with. But Chelsea's title defence up and running, two-one they won in the end. It was a battle of the WSL heavyweight. and one that we questioned. Great start to the season,

but almost too many big games to kick off the season. And it felt like they picked off where they left off, picked up where they left off, I think is what I mean. Tim, you knew what I meant, didn't you? Sonia Bonpastor is now unbeaten in the league in 23 games, which is quite incredible. What did you make a Chelsea's performance? Yeah, I thought this was such an interesting game

because both teams did some. We saw Chelsea at the end of last season, moved to that kind of back three on occasion. And I know Manchester City manager, is it, Yeglertz? Yeah, yeah. Yes, yeah, yeah. I've never said his name out loud before. That's the first time.

And he said he was caught by surprise a little bit by that. And obviously we're seeing Manchester City try and do some new things. They're moving to more of high press. In fact, they remind me of Arsenal when they move from Joe Montemoro to Jonas Idaval, gone to more of a double pivot in midfield. So they're doing quite new things. They have quite a lot of players missing. but the story of this game for me with Chelsea was the wingbacks

Ellie Carpenter, Sandy Baltimore you know Man City were trying to really clog up the middle but those two wingbacks I think really really kind of got stuck into to Manchester City particularly Ellie Carpenter I think you look at both goals Alex Greenwood you know probably see where she's more of a centre back nowadays and I felt that Chelsea was smart there and Sonia Bonpastor afterwards talked about that being tactically

flexible, being unpredictable, and I think them catching City by surprise, that's the difference in this game. They just sprung a little bit of a surprise. It gave them a two-goal lead, and that's won them the game, really. The surprise, so much so, that then Yeglerts decides to give his team a proper tactics board instruction manual, which Sonia Bonpastor was not happy about at all. He had started Lauren Hemp on the right. Carolyn and for Gino were both out, which may be contributed to it. But getting out a tactics board during a break in play with Yamashita down receiving treatment, Sonia Bonpastor was not happy about that.

She said it's not, she didn't feel like it was in the rules. What did you make of all of that for Dumo? I thought that was quite funny, actually. I'm not going to know. I mean, I feel like if you've got to try your best to win the game, so I don't really blame them for it. But I do think going back to that point on hemp playing and Murphy playing on opposite sides, I don't think that worked for them at all.

It kind of left Deli Carpenter wide open to really dominate that wing completely. And it's insane what Chelsea do. Like they bring in such high value players of such insane quality. And you think almost like, is there going to be a sense of competition? Is the team going to like, I guess, break apart in some type of way? But it never does. I don't know what it is, Somerva pasta does. I don't know how the Chelsea system works.

But they're just really good at bringing in such high value players with such great quality that just naturally fit into a game and Cimon bothered about the fact that they might be out over the next couple of weeks of another player comes in. It's the perfect system and I think Manchester City really struggle that and I just generally think throughout the season

it would be interesting to see if they can keep their players fixed because I think that's been a big part of Manchester City I think I watched an interview where I'd been Medemar said that she'd only played with Lauren Hunt and Bunny Shaw three times last season so yeah the injury is a big problem for them but if they can keep their players

fit, especially their attacking front, I do think they can get some good points and some good goals and really challenge at the top. Yeah, it's not all over. It's the first game of the season because it's always been so so tight, hasn't it? You know, you look at that as a first game and you go, oh, that's it. City are out of the, out of the running, but it's not going to be the case, I'm sure. And actually, Susie, Fidumo mentions the stars that Chelsea have at their disposal. Alyssa Thompson announced to the Stanford Bridge crowd before the game. Sam Kerr, named on the bench for the first time in 21 months after that awful injury she picked up. Aggie Beaver Jones obviously got the opening goal, made sure she wasn't forgotten.

Myra Ramirez is due to come back. Lauren James is due to come back as well. How are they going to juggle their attacking stars? No one's ever happy when you're sitting on the bench right, but medals help big time. If they finish with trophies at the end of the season, then no one is going to particularly care like how they got them to a certain extent. and if you're in four competitions and competing in four competitions for much of the season then you need that squad right like this the fact that some you know so many of those players

are either injured or coming back from injury shows that you need a deep squad to be able to manage aggie beaver jones really excited me i thought she looked brilliant you could say that in a squad with that much attacking talent she's not going to get much game time but i really think she deserves it and i'd like to see her get it but yeah like exciting times i think that you know there's a big contrast in in the impact of getting your business stuff done early between Arsenal and Chelsea in these opening fixtures in the, you know, obviously Alyssa Thompson sat in the stands because she's only just arrived on deadline day versus Olivia Smith having that incredible debut performance after a full preseason Arsenal, which

is interesting. Obviously, that only lasts for a short while a player settles in. But I think there is, you know, some merit in that kind of early business that Chelsea are usually really, really good at. This was, I thought, quite a surprising move for them. Usually they've got their business done before the windows even open. So, yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting to see how they settle. Yeah, it is indeed. Settled quite well so far.

Win over Manchester City. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we're going to look at how some of the other teams got on. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Right, let's continue with the rest of the weekends. Barclay's WSL action. Manchester United cruised to a dominant 4-0 win

over Leic on Sunday. It was an emotional day as well for Ellatoon. She actually scored the opening goal on 13 minutes, which happened to be on the anniversary of the death of her dad, Nick, put in a player of the match performance as well. She was outstanding, Tim.

Yeah, she really was. And I think one of the things that Manchester United never quite sorted out was how to get Elatoon and Grace Clinton into the same team, which I think might have played into, as well as the contract situation, why they were willing to let Grace Clinton go, because we saw Eilatoon on the right quite a bit last season

on the right of the front three, and I don't think that really worked. And then you see with this goal what she's all about really popping up roughly around the penalty spot with a first time finish. That's just Eletoon all over. And when she's playing in that number 10 role, which really is her role, I think, that's when you get the quality.

And it feels to me like, You know, maybe the Grace Clinton, like I said, the contract situation forced it, but I did think that United needed to make a decision between those two players. They've made it. And I don't blame them for making the decision they have because I think Helatoon is such a huge part of that team and has been for so many years now. And are really great to see her back in her position and scoring goals again. Yeah, it really felt as if Manchester United were a team that had really benefited

from having competitive Champions League football in the last few weeks rather than pre-season games for Dumo? Yeah, I think it gave them a bit of a time to kind of get into that competitive feel a lot quicker. But I also think this game really showcased, I think, a lot of players like Mallard, I think, was exceptional and I'd love to see a lot more of her throughout the season. I think Jess Park, when she came on, it was good. She works really well in tight spaces. And I think the trade, at first, I kind of side-eyed it.

I think naturally, like, a lot of Manchester United fans do, is kind of like, Why don't you want to keep your best player or one of your best players in your team? But I definitely agree with him. Like if you can't fit them into that same system and the contract negotiations aren't going to where they are is better to cash in early. And I think United have been victims of that transfer saga

before with Alessia Rousseau, with Mary Earps and kind of sorting it out early on works well in their favour. But yeah, as a side, I think they looked really good. I do worry for Manchester United injury-wise throughout the season. I think it's been a reoccurring theme as to why it just tops off at, like, second place. And I know Chelsea are just in a whole different atmosphere to the rest of the side at times, but you kind of saw it throughout the season last year when you do lose players at vital points of the season,

especially when you're in so many competitions. It's just having such a small, I guess, lack of experience throughout the side isn't great. And that's a bit that I worry for, Manchester United. But as an opener game, I thought it was great. like Jade Riviera's cross was fantastic and I think she's an exceptional player but again another one has had quite a bit of injury so I'm keeping everything crossed

and hopes that we can have a good season. Are you a Man United fan? I'd forgotten that. A nervous one. Yeah. Sorry Tim. I was just going to interject there and say yeah, United only named five subs for this game.

One of them an academy player, obviously one of them are goalkeeper. So you can see the squad. I know there's a couple of players to come back but that's quite shallow, when you compare what Arsenal and Chelsea did with their substitutions this weekend. Yeah, look, we were going to talk about transfers a little bit more, but I'm calling it the Manchester Lioness Switch, Jess Park and Grace Clinton,

both crossing over different sides of the city. But Grace Clinton, Susie's saying, you know, essentially I'm not on the same page as the club and leaving when she's been so superb. We saw what she did when she went out on loan to Tottenham. It's felt like she's not quite been on the same page as the club for quite a while, actually. And she's not alone, right? Like, we've seen a lot of players lead man United over the recent years and sort of say similar. And, you know, kind of hint at the state of the club behind the scenes.

And there's clearly a disconnect there. You know, we've spoken about Jim Rackcliffe's statements about the women's team at various points on the podcast fairly regularly, which don't speak to like amazing kind of level of support for the women's. and set up and yeah I'm like very worried about their lack of business obviously Siglotteolm, Rolfo and Jess Parker are all really really good quality additions but like that's not enough for a team that is potentially going to be competing in the Champions League this season as well should they get through all of the qualifying game so it's a big ask for their squad and I think when you reflect on the last few seasons I think they've

been really really lucky with injuries they've not had a big injury crisis one or two here are there but none that have like utterly derailed them but they're literally two injuries away from a complete crisis at all times and they're not being backed and now they've got an extra potential extra load of games added in as well I think it's going to be a real struggle and I feel quite sorry for the staff around the club who are having to like weather that but yeah it's uh I think it's is telling that a lot of the statements from players exiting in recent years have been quite damning Yeah, and actually they play Brann on Thursday night in Champions League qualifying

and then they've got London City lionesses at the weekend in the league so you're exactly right they're a bit thin on the ground. Lester, I think everybody pretty much tipped them to be the relegation contenders of the season. Rick Passmore took interim charge last week. They did add a few names on deadline day. It's early days but is the manner of. of the defeat, Tim, concerning for Leicester? Very. I'm very concerned about them.

I tip them for that relegation playoff spot myself. They only scored 21 goals last season, which was only one more than Crystal Palace, who were quite comfortably relegated. And I don't really think they fixed that in the transfer market. To be honest, what they stayed up on last year was their defensive record. I think they had the joint sixth best defensive record, so like a mid-table.

and that's what got them some drawers here and there that really kept them out of the relegation picture but if they're conceding four on the opening day that's quite concerning. The whole manager situation I think I find quite concerning to change like that with 11 days to go before the season. Not sure that was handled particularly well either. I think they're very clear favourites for that bottom spot.

I have to say, you know, Yuta Rantala coming back potentially boosts them in terms of goal scoring and overall quality, but it doesn't look like a squad to me. It doesn't really look like a WSL squad to me, I have to say. Yeah, it's going to be fascinating to see how they get on and whether or not Rick Passmore gets the job permanently or not, or if there is another manager potentially waiting in the wings.

One new manager, Martin Ho, got his first three points of the season, spurs with a narrow 1-0 victory over West Ham in his first game in charge. Not necessarily convincing, I think it's fair to say for Dumo, Bethany England's 86-minute penalty there, only shot on target in the game. Look, a win is a win. Good to open with it, but, you know, work to do, I think. Yeah, you're right. A win is definitely a win. I think with spurs, Burongley and Martin Harry was good for them, like the Majesty United fan base and I guess even having spoken to former players, they all speak so highly of him and said that he was a great contribution. to the success that Manchester United were having. What I worry for them is in the lack of signings and also the aging side that they have,

especially in their starting 11. I think Bethingland is great. Do I think she should be or go to goal score a week and week out? I don't think so. And I think that stuff like that worries for me about spurs going forward. But yeah, a win is a win. Especially even with West Ham,

they're not overly inspiring with the WSR side. It's really, I guess, tough to say. say, but they're just not that exciting to watch either. So I think they came across and faced their equal really in that sense. I'll just be wondering what to see from them going forward throughout the season. Yeah, they've got stuff to build on, I think. I think is the diplomatic positive way of looking at it, just in case Chris Powers is listening and doesn't want us to be hammering her spurs

this early in the season. West Ham had so many opportunities, Susie, 20 touches in Spurs box. but just the one shot on target, which would be quite frustrating, I'm sure, for Rianne's skinner going forward. The thing about West Ham is on paper, they've got a good squad with good quality players. I feel like we say that every time we talk about them,

but I am a little bit worried about them this season. They had eight players go out, they only bought four in. The squad's depth isn't there, although, you know, you would argue that the quality is there. They just never, ever look like a team that can get any kind of consistency week in week. out like they managed to grab the shock result but can't sort of kind of, yeah, then do it

the following week and the easier tie almost. So I'm always on the fence about them. I was toying with them for the, I was going to say the relegation spot, but no, the relegation playoff spot alongside Leicester. But I sort of always am with West Ham and they always seem to sort of kind of avoid that fate. They pull it out the bag. I do pull it out of the bag. And I don't really know. where they're going or what the intention is with the side. Like I don't understand the club's vision for this team because it feels quite sort of not completely hands off

but a little bit dismissive and they're happy as long as things are just ticking along and that is like standing still isn't good enough in this league anymore and that's what I worry about for them. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. perhaps if there is this 49% stake that Monnet Collective get, things might change a little bit, but, you know, there's still lots and lots of question marks for sure. Tim, unfortunately, you have the me game of the weekend to analyse. What can you do with Brighton, Aston Villa, first goalless drawer of the season in Crawley?

Yeah, I mean, I actually watched the West Ham Spurs game as live, but honestly, I don't. don't have a lot to say about it. It's 90 minutes of my life, I won't get back. But obviously for this game, I was on Azimang watch a little bit. And obviously, they've given her the number nine shirt this season. They started her. So you can see that, you know, this is her second loan spell here. But it looks like she's going to get more starts, more game time.

And she had a really good performance. She had kind of three shots, five shot creating actions, but only 64% passing accuracy. So I think you can see. some of the things that Arsenal want to tighten up in her game. But I think what we saw in this game, this was fifth against six in last season, to WSL. And that's kind of what it looked like. It looked like two good mid-table teams who are both well-coached,

I think, you know, Aston Villa's manager now has had a pre-season, but we saw the same system as last season. What I saw in this game was two pretty well-coached, good, strong mid-table teams, but both of whom probably just lack that really stark, quality to break open a game like this. And to be honest, this and Spurs v. West Ham were quite similar games. It just felt like, I feel like West Ham actually do have the quality to break open a game like this. But yeah, it looked, if you were a coach watching this,

you'd say, yeah, two nicely structured teams, but just not quite that real kind of spark to really bring a game to life. Tim, I'm just curious, were you quite excited about watching Michelle Ajimael. I didn't catch much of that game, but I'm quite excited to see her throughout the season, especially with the hype that she had from the Euros. But I think she'd make a really good, consistent player for Brighton. Absolutely. And I think that's what Arsenal really want. I think what we saw for England in the summer, just the perfect Plan B player. You know, England used to put Millie Bright up front. She makes more sense to have Michelle Azimang to kind of put up front. And she was in that, you know, that like kitchen sink roll a little bit crashing the box. But obviously there's more to the player than that, I think. And I think that's what Arsenal want to build out. They want to build out a player who can start games, influence games for the whole 90 minutes. I think you saw in this game when she faces the goal and she faces an opponent, she's very, very difficult to stop, very difficult to stop indeed. But, you know, she just needs to tidy up like a few fundamental, a few kind of technical fundamentals, I guess.

But I think she's going to be a hell of a player. I think she was very unlucky not to score in this game. I think she's going to score plenty of goals in the WSL this season. I really love that she is being able to sort of settle into WSL football a little bit out of the Arsenal spotlight. I think that's really beneficial. I think it's a really smart move. I wrote in my one of my preview things.

I wrote somewhere that it's not necessarily like if you're an Arsenal fan, what you want to see is like a really talented player got on loan. And there may be times in the season where fans go, oh God, but if we had Michelle, we would have been all right in that moment. Like we would have had a player to come on where we didn't. And that kind of thing, if injuries take hold and stuff. Whereas this time out, I feel like you've prioritised the long-term development of the player and what's important for that over necessarily sort of like potential immediate demands in the heat of a moment

if things aren't going quite right, which I think is really significant and speaks to like the quality of Arsenal's attention to detail at that academy sort of developmental level. Yeah, and also Steina Blackstanias's contract I think is up at the end of the season. so that creates a much more natural time, I think. But in this game as well, you know, Aston Villa has switched to a back three. So she's kind of up against three centre halves. Another thing that I think will really benefit her, though, is playing with Frank, someone like Frank Kirby, for example. And I just think with Villa in this game,

you can kind of see that their big goal scorer has been Rachel Daly for quite a long time. And she's playing a slightly different role in the system, slightly more withdrawn, but perhaps, she doesn't quite have the same goal scoring prowess that she had maybe two seasons ago and I feel like Aston Villa kind of need that player

I think Aja Man can be that player for Brighton but if we're talking about game breakers two seasons ago Villa might have won this with a goal from Rachel Daly and it feels like that might happen less and less as time draws on yeah she is an absolute superstar isn't she

the bright spark if you like of what was a very ultimately dull game. No more nil-neals, please, this season. That would be nice. Now, listen, we have kind of touched on many of the deadline day signings. We talked about the Lioness Manchester Switch with Grace Clinton moving from United to City, Jess Park heading the other way.

Alyssa Thompson and her $1.1 million move from Angel City to Chelsea. Grace Gaioro's $1.4 million move to London City lionesses is from PSG. That's one hell of a statement. And Giso Young is back in England as well. She's joined Birmingham City on a short-term loan from Seattle Rain. There's some of the standout stories. What caught your eye the most, Susie? Oh, God. I mean, all of those that you've listed,

Gross Gioro is obviously the big one with, you know, that move to London City. Like, what's interesting is Michelle Kang's not only got a really, really top-quality striker into London City. she's also weakened a rival in France as well because she's owner of Leon too so taking her from PSG is a is a like doubly shrewd move for her and I think it's going to be interesting to see how this sort of multi-club ownership model plays out because I think we're probably going to see quite a bit more of that and I think you know what conversations are happening by the scenes about you know well if things don't work out in London City you can go to one of these other clubs that I've got under my belt you know

because it's not the most attractive prospect necessarily, like a developing team that's just been promoted. So, yeah, I think the multi-club ownership and the huge money being invested is playing a big role. But, yeah, I mean, if you're talking of, like, the opening weekend, obviously it's Olivia Smith, who looks like the signing of the summer so far, but it's a bit early days to be drawing any conclusions,

isn't it, after one game? Yeah, I think so. Any other summer business that stood out to you for Dumo, who had the best window, in your opinion? Oh, I don't know about best window, but I would say probably who I was excited wise just from the opening games, Ellie Carpenter. I think she had a great game.

Yeah, top-top signing her and Libby Smith. I think we're definitely the top two that delivered in the opening weekend, for sure. Tim? Yeah, I'd take this from a slightly different angle, actually, around deadline day and everything. And actually, I think what kind of really stuck out to me is that on Deadline Day itself, we didn't have too many surprise stories because most of them broke the day before Deadline Day. And actually, the quality of the transfer reporting and Tom Gary of this parish, very responsible for a lot of that, like, we're just knowing about things so much more quickly now.

So actually, it felt like the day before Deadline Day kind of felt like Deadline Day, because that was when Alyssa Tompon, and broke. We've got the Grace Giro's story. We got the Clinton Park swap. All of that kind of unfolded, or at least in a reporting sense, unfolded the day before. And it's something I certainly feel as well that, you know, it's getting, if I think of myself competing with other reporters, it's getting more competitive. Mr. Gary beat me to the Olivia Smith story by a couple of hours this summer. So, you know, I just think... We don't compete with each other on this point in. No, no, no, no. the story was accurate and it was out there. That was the most important thing.

But I just think the quality of the reporting and the resource that's going into it is just getting so much better now. I think that's my kind of real takeaway from this summer. Yeah, absolutely, it is. And I have to say, I'm just going to wrap up some of the round three of Champions League qualification,

which gets underway on Thursday. I mentioned Manchester United face S.K. Brown in the first leg, they're travelling to Bergen for that one. There's also BK Hacken, Atletico and Iintrack, Frankfurt, Real Madrid, which sound very exciting. And qualification for the new Europa Cup kicks off on Wednesday as well. SWPL side Hibernian are travelling to Italy to face into Milan while Glasgow City host Irish champions Athlone Town. Hopefully I have pronounced that correctly.

It's been a pleasure hearing from you as always, Tim. Thank you. My pleasure as always. Thanks for having me. For Dumo, brilliant debut. I hope you enjoyed yourself and you'll come back. Yes, of course. Thank you so much. Susie Rack, always a delight to be in your company for an hour,

no matter the time of the morning. Yeah, no, I'd rather later, to be honest. Well, I'm an hour ahead, so I kind of did get a mini lie in, so yay me. Right, Keith, if having your say, sending your questions via X or email us at Women's Football Weekly at the Guardian.com. And as ever, a reminder to sign up for our biweekly, 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 Iodale. Our executive producer is Danielle Stevens.