The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - FA Cup drama, transfer moves, and WSL returns – Women’s Football Weekly podcast

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Jamie Spangher, and Sophie Downey to review the weekend’s FA Cup games

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. Congratulations to Wolves and Rugby Borough who are into the fifth round of the FA Cup. Apart from the postponements, it was a fairly straightforward fourth round, for the higher ranked teams at least, with wins for all the WSL sides that played. We'll talk through all the action as well as rounding up the latest transfer news,

players and managers. And although we've not defrosted yet, the WSL and Championship winter break is over as we return to League matters this weekend. We'll discuss all that, plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Hi there, Susie Rack. Now then, I don't want to be that smug person. It's usually Sophie and some kind of warmer clime. But today I come to you from Tenerife. How have you defrosted yourself in East London?

Well, I've just rolled out of bed, having gone back to bed after getting the sun to school because it's my day off. And the work of a journalist is never done on their day off so i'm on the podcast um so that's how i how are we both working on our days off that's that you know the guardian bosses take note here are two dedicated professionals working on their days off one on holiday and one on a very rare day off very rare very rare i've got some more work to do later as well so I might have to cancel it as a day off but hey yeah Sophie Downey never has a day off I love the fact that you're wearing a beanie I'm wearing a baseball cap I think that kind of you know determines where we

are in the world yeah it sums it up sums up the weather it's like the cowboy hat last week I was obviously in Nashville so um yes we can determine where we are I should be wearing a sombrero in that case, if that logic works, but I just don't think I'd suit that really. I think it'd be a bit OTT maybe for the last day of my holiday. Jamie Spanger, hello, a debut for you. How are you doing? Hello, very good. No complaints here. Definitely cold as an Australian in London, but excited to be here. Thanks for having me on. You're perma-cold as an Australian in London. For anyone who doesn't know your work, tell us what you do. You work for 90min predominantly, don't you? Yes, I'm a freelance women's football writer. So I write for 90minutefootball and I'm in and

around the press boxes, but I also run my own volunteer outlet, The Halfway Line, and we cover women's football across England and as much of the globe as we can. Well, you are a perfect podcast in that case, and we are delighted to have you with us. Right, the Adobe Women's FA Cup returned on Sunday. 32 teams looking to book their place in the fifth round. That's where we're starting today. The WSL teams entered at this stage,

but the weather, of course, caused plenty of disruption. Seven fixtures in the end, falling by the wayside because of frozen pitches still plenty for us to get our teeth stuck into those some big score lines as well in case you missed any of them because I definitely don't want to miss any teams out because we'd be very unpopular so I'm going to read all the scores Manchester United 7-0 winners over West Brom Fulham were beaten 5-0 by London City Lionesses. Exeter City fell 7-1 to Sunderland. Manchester City beat Ipswich Town by three goals to nil. Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest played out a good game.

1-0 Newcastle United in the end. That ended. Cheltenham Town nil. Wolves 2. Brilliant scoreline for Wolves. London Bees nil. Rugby Borough 6, brilliant, Chelsea 4, Charlton Athletic 0, Aston Villa 9, yes, you heard that in brackets.

Anything after 7 goes N-I-N-E. Well, of course, or E-I-G-H-T if it's 8, because otherwise that would be weird. Bristol Rovers, I think I've over-explained that, haven't I? No real FA Cup sets, Susie, but Nag has asked on X, thanks for sending questions in as always, Nag, were there any performances that stood out to you

in particular over the weekend? I think we know that Nag is a Wolves fan, so I think I know what they're alluding to. Yeah, there's a fair few. It's hard when so many of the games are such big score lines you know only one game separated by one goal so like it's difficult to necessarily like select a team performance let's say but there has been some like solid individual performances I mean Rachel Williams coming on and scoring a hat trick I think she

came on in the 59th minute or something again though you know it's against West Brom a team they should be comfortably so you know you've got to take that into allowance May Moncaster played a great role for Rugby Borough involved in four of the goals you could say both Ellen and Ellen Jones for Sunderland like they scored four goals and three goals apiece beat exeter 7-1 i have to shout out exeter because they are the only losing team to have scored a goal in this round which i think is pretty damning i mean when you look at i wrote about this but when you look at um the eight games that were played between teams on different levels of the pyramid it was 42 goals scored for winning sides and one against and

we don't see cup upsets in women's football because the gap is so big because you know in the men's game at least you know the national league and stuff offers some level of professionalism and semi-professionalism at the very least um and have done for such a long time that you've got a level of fitness and athleticism that means you can at least keep up even if you're not technically as good or as well coached or wherever it may be or have the biggest stars as you know the premier league and the and the championship in the women's game you're basically playing complete amateurs against people who have been playing it either semi-professionally or professionally for quite some time now. And I find that gap really disappointing and it's not getting better as well. That's what makes me kind of sad because, you know, all the investment pretty much is going in at the top rather than into the National League,

which is just going to make that gap grow. So, yeah, there are some like stand-up performances of individual players but it's really hard to pick out like the performances of teams when it's just such a massive massive massive gap between like the women's super league women's championship and the rest look that gap is evident obviously but there's still you know the magic of the fa cup for many of these sides and three of them made history on sunday regardless of the of the FA Cup for many of these sides and three of them made history on Sunday regardless of the scorelines. National League side Cheltenham Town, fourth tier Bristol Rovers making their first ever appearances

at this stage of the competition. It's also been a really long time since fifth tier Fulham reached this stage of the competition as well. Look, the scorelines obviously, as Susie has mentioned, so for a huge, but it's still really important, isn't it?

Even being in the fourth round in terms of their development. It is. And these teams are all on a journey. You see, like Cheltenham Town, they came into the FAWNL Premier about three seasons ago, I think, two or three seasons ago. And they've now made history by getting to the fourth round. They had a home game. They got, you know, over 500 people at Kate Lane. And I think that is really important to remember

to be grounded to kind of where they are on these journeys as well. It doesn't happen overnight. And they are building and they are making progress. The same with Bristol Rovers as well. They came into the National League this season. So it's kind of, it's all about part of that progress. And for Fulham, I was at Craven Cottage on Sunday

and it was a really special occasion. They got overulham I was at Craven Cottage on on Sunday and it was a really special occasion they got over 2,000 fans there into the Craven Cottage you could see how much it meant to the girls to be playing there to be playing on that you know turf and in that scenery and environment and I think it was really interesting the Fulham manager said afterwards said yes we lost 5-0 you know that's actually pretty respectable in a lot of ways London City dominated the game but it was all about the learnings both on and off the pitch and he said that the London City Lionesses staff had come in and really helped them in terms of how to host this game all of the stuff around the game that you know you need to do as kind of a professional outlet they had the BBC there as

well doing the game on TV so you kind of yeah it's all part of that process and for a fifth tiered side like Fulham to be able to have those experiences at the stage where they are in their journey. And they have huge ambitions, I know, as a club to move up the ranks again and be right back up to the top. So, yeah, it's all bits of learning. Yeah, and important, I think, for the growth of the game all round. National League side Ipswich put in a really good performance away to Manchester City. Resilient, I think, is the best way to describe it.

But it was Viv Miedema who kind of stole the headlines late on. She scored the host's third goal. Back from that knee issue that's kept her out of action since the start of October. Brilliant to see her back, Jamie. And actually, how important is it for City going forward? Because they've got so many injury problems at the moment. Oh, it's absolutely crucial, isn't it?

A player like Vivian Amidama, we know how good she is and she's been so good for so many years. I think, you know, Gareth Taylor and Manchester City at the back end of last year's WSL season, they really fell apart when Bunny Shaw got injured and I think he's a bit too reliant at times on star players and I think when you've got a player like Shaw, we don't really know where she is with her recovery. It's hard to bounce back from that.

And I think for me, the biggest thing with watching Viviana Miedema on the weekend is Bunny Shaw's out. So she's had to play this natural nine position. And over the last couple of years, we've seen her, okay, is she playing as an attacking midfielder? Is she playing as a false nine? Because she's voiced her opinions on how she maybe prefers that at times. And we've kind of seen her hinder in my opinion. and I think we've seen her play her best football as a nine she's obviously the all-time leading goal scorer in the league so it was it was a really vintage Viviana Minima performance where she dominates from the the top of the field yeah it was another returnee hitting the headlines as well was Ella Toon she's been out of course with a calf injury for two months that's gone quite

quick I feel I feel like it was only yesterday we were talking about that. She got her first goal of the season, came off the bench, arguably as well it was the pick of United's seven goals. Really interesting post-match as well, Susie. She talked about being back in her happy place. So difficult for these players when they're out for a prolonged amount of time. But do you think actually the break might have done us some good? Yeah, definitely.

I mean, she lost her dad as well so like there's that factor that will obviously have been like made it a particularly difficult time for her above and beyond just the injury and being out and things like that and I imagine being back on the pitch is a therapy in a lot of senses but also like Mark Skinner has you know spoken previously about how difficult it is to get her to take breaks because she's just one of these players that always wants to play and all she wants to do is football and she lives and breathes it and she doesn't want rest she doesn't want to be sat on the bench she doesn't want to be you know kind of given time out to recuperate or you know give her body a rest she wants to train she wants to play and so like get

it he's previously said that getting her to understand that you know your body actually needs this like this is how you develop and grow and get better um has been a bit of a challenge so like the break will have done her good in that sense if she's coming back and feels happier and has been through a tough time while she's out and which obviously is you know horrific to be able to come back in and enjoy football for what it is but also you know hopefully understand that your body needs those breaks now and again and eventually if you know if you don't take those breaks when you know your body is sort of getting tired or you're not taking the rest in between trainings and that kind of thing then injuries happen and like the best way to stay in the game for as long as possible is to find that balance.

So like, yeah, I think it will have done her good. And it's great to see her back on the pitch and scoring and yeah, like happy again. Yeah, absolutely. Look, usually we do see some rotation from the WSL sides in the fourth round of the Cup, but actually both Mark Skinner and Sonia Bonpastor in particular named strong starting lineups what do you think that is Soph is it a bit of a signal of intent

maybe or or using it as an opportunity like we've just seen to get key players back up to speed after the break I think probably a bit of both I think it's really hard to manage this three-week break in terms of the return to play and I know Chelsea were in Portugal for a warm weather camp, but you don't get much game. There's nothing that can replicate match time right for players. So it's really important to get your players. They're going to have a big three or four months ahead to get them back up to speed as quickly as possible. And that means that they have to play football matches. But I also, I actually really like it.

It's a level of respect for the competition as well, I think. It's not just the fact that they feel that they need to do it it's it's treating you know it really as an important campaign to get involved in and also I think it it shows for the sides that they were playing you know that they're there you've got I don't know some West Brom player playing against you know Ella Toon or Melvin Mallard that's going to be absolutely huge for their experience and not something that they get very often. So it's really important for them. And I know it swings maybe the balance a little bit more

than what it might be if you had some rotation in there. But actually, I just really like it. I think it just adds to the competition. Yeah, I agree. The draw for the fifth round made on Monday night at Wembley Stadium fixtures scheduled to play hopefully

at the weekend of the 8th and 9th of February as it stands although there obviously are postponed games still to be played but Rugby Borough and Wolves

are the sole representatives at the moment of the FA Women's National League in the last 16 Wolves are going to host Manchester United and Rugby Borough will entertain West Ham or Liverpool,

which is just a brilliant achievement for both of them. Great fixtures as well, Jamie. And a real opportunity, I think, for both sides. Yeah, absolutely. And that's the beauty of the FA Cup, isn't it? You have clubs from lower divisions who are working their way up. They're given this big opportunity

to play bigger sides and WSL sides. And like Sophie just said, it's a big outing for these players. It's an experience that they can't duplicate. And I think for a club like Wolves as well and Rugby Borough, they're both hosting these games, which adds a different layer because their clubs can really get around it. They can market it.

They can bring in fans through the gates. And it's really, really important because it takes time, doesn't it? The growth of the game takes time. And for a team like Wolves as well, you know the men's side are in the Premier League and you're hoping that they're going to be getting a trickle down of of you know investment and attention from the club that's unlikely to be as much as we'd hope but a game like bringing Manchester United who are one of the biggest global names in football not just women's football to their own ground test themselves

against the best and I think it's just it's the beauty of the FA Cup you don't see this year round you see it in this competition I think that's why fans just love it so much but yeah it'll be a brilliant opportunity for the players the managers fans the entire clubs. And loads of eyes on them as well articles written by you know the likes of the wonderful Sophie Downing and Susie Rack and perhaps Tom Gary as well. Proper spotlight shown on them, shone on them even, which is really important. The other fixtures, by the way, Chelsea host Everton or Tottenham, depending on who wins that rearranged fixture.

Manchester City will entertain Leicester or Stoke. Arsenal or Bristol City will play London City Lionesses. Blackburn or Portsmouth will host Sunderland. If it ends up being Pompey, I mean, poor Sunderland, another long potential journey for the Blackcats. Palace or Sheffield United will play Newcastle. Finally, Aston Villa will entertain the winner of Brighton and Durham. Difficult to kind of focus on which games stand out when there's so many question marks over who it's going to be. But anything else stand out for you Susie? I mean obviously the Wolves and Man United game is a particular highlight but I really like when championship sides go up against WSL sides and we get to see

how big that gap is whether it's closing what teams in the championship are really starting to step up a gear and then you know we know, we know, we regularly say that the Championship is, you know, such an incredibly exciting league. How they're able to use this competition and playing against some of these big sides as a bit of a testing ground for them going back into the league and carrying it into their league performances and what they can learn from those games against teams that are just that step up. So, you know, you're looking at, say,

the winner of Arsenal v Bristol City playing London City, Lionesses. The winner of West Ham, Liverpool, playing Rugby Borough is a bit of a bigger gap. I suppose Aston Villa versus Brighton or Durham. If Durham were to get through, I think that would be such a coup and such a great game. So, yeah, I mean, I think until some of those,

obviously, rearranged fixtures are played played it's hard to pick out others so Susie hasn't left you many to pick from I think it's a um a real opportunity for Sunderland um I think they will be looking at that draw and go you know whether we get Blackburn or Portsmouth we have a real chance of getting through to the quarterfinals of the competition, and that's going to be huge for them. They're, you know, they're above them in the league, in the championship, so they'll be feeling pretty confident, I think, about that draw.

And then, I mean, whoever goes to Manchester City, whether it be Leicester or Stoke, I think that's always a big game, always a good, big, you know, opportunity to pit yourself against, you know top one of the top teams in the league so that would be one that catches my eye too. Jamie? I'm gonna say the winner of Palace and Sheffield United's gonna host Newcastle I think you know we assume Sheffield aren't doing the best in the championship this year so we maybe assume Crystal Palace will be the victors of that game and I think it'll be a really nice game to display what the gap is

between the WSL and the championship right now because Palace are obviously struggling a little bit but they're still picking up some you know more positive performances so I think if they're going to play against Newcastle who may be seventh in the in the championship but there is five points separating eighth and first so they're well in the race I think it'll be a nice game to display where that gap is and how Palace are competing in the WSL compared to the Championship. Yeah, very exciting. Susie, we have to mention the postponements. The weather, obviously, this time of year tends to wreak a bit of havoc, but it feels like there were some really late decisions to call off games, which is where the problems start to come in. As an example, Durham travelled down to Brighton, which I checked earlier is 330 miles.

It's a minimum four hour journey, you know, probably much longer than that in a coach. And then it was, you know, called off three hours before kickoff. Sheffield United, as an example, as well, had to wait until Sunday morning before they found out that they're going to need to be back in London on Tuesday, which is today, for that rearranged fixture to take place. I mean, there's nothing you can do about the weather specifically, but what else can maybe be done to try and solve these issues and help clubs out? I think, again, it's the issue of the huge gap

between investment at the top tier and lower down, like even championship level, but also lower than that like that's the the big big problem and what do they what do they do about it i mean it's a hard one it's where investment needs to go for me it needs to go into pitches it needs to go into the facilities to keep those games on or you need to like change the scheduling of these fixtures so they're played at a later time when those pitches aren't going to be frozen if if we can't guarantee they're going to go ahead over this period then they shouldn't be played in it like i in that the issue for me is like

it's every year it's not like it's a one-off here or there you know we haven't had sort of you know serious snow down south this year but we've still had frozen pitches call off games like whereas you know obviously last year it's the snow was a lot heavier so it's every single year so there needs to be a solution to it and whether that is the logical thing would be investment in grounds which involves you know the fa and clubs like stumping up the money to do it or it involves shifting fixtures and changing the schedule a bit because at the moment it's not working and then we lead to you know a heavy fixture pile up in the next few weeks that is you know potentially going to be quite impactful particularly for teams that are in particular battles either say in the Champions

League coming up you know then they go into sort of weeks and weeks and weeks of midweek games potentially and also for you know those teams battling in the Championship like Jamie said there's a massive number of teams in the running for the the top in the championship like Jamie said there's a massive number of teams in the running for the the top at the moment like they're so few points separating them and you know they could do without midweek fixtures like getting in the way so I just something needs to happen and I'm not totally sure what that is for me it would be throw money at the problem and like put under like sort some of these pitches getting under floor heating or under pitch heating or whatever they do like make sure that they're

able to get those games on ensure that fan safety can be kept stuck to at the very least more notice like that is the minimum the bare minimum is more notice that's what i was going to say too is the notice i think is a real issue we all want these games to be played but I think there has to be some reasonable I don't know treatment of the three teams who are kind of traveling all that way Durham traveled down I think on Friday morning they didn't learn until Sunday Saturday lunchtime that their game was off they now have to come back for that game at some point I think it's on the 29th I might be wrong so they're coming back to London for that one they're coming back to London next weekend for a tie against Charlton in the league.

And then they're coming back the week after for the Subway Women's League Cup quarterfinal game against Chelsea. So they're now having to make, well, they're going to have made four trips down to London from the north of east of England in the space of, what, two weeks, two and a half weeks? That's a bit mad for, you know, a club where, where yes they are a fully professional outfit but it's you know they're traveling by coach it's not easy an easy proposition to do that four times in the space of two weeks yeah absolutely something has to be done about it um and i still i still can't help but laugh at subway they've got to travel down like i can't help it anyway that's it for

part one of the guardian women's Football Weekly. In part two, we look at the latest in the transfer window and some big manager announcements. No, don't get excited. Not Arsenal yet. We'll also look ahead to the return of the Barclays WSL. have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So we are almost halfway through the January transfer window with a number of teams making some moves.

Susie, last week you and Tom Gary suggested it was going to be a busy period for Everton and so it has been. Hayley Ladd signed on a permanent transfer from Manchester United. They've also brought in Barcelona's Martina Fernandez and United's Emma Watson on loan. How many shoots of light are they going to provide

for Brian Sorensen's side do you think? Plenty like to be honest I think they could bring in anyone and you know that would be a big step but the quality of the players they're bringing in is clear you know we all know that Emma Watson is like really really highly rated Hayley Ladd is desperate to do well ahead of the Euros and get proper game time and hugely experienced. And it's also been slightly surprising to see her not get as many minutes this season for United. And, you know, when you've got any kind of player coming from Barcelona, you know, they're going to potentially deliver something special.

So, yeah, I mean, they just so badly needed it. They just so badly need players. And, you know, hopefully players that don't come in and get injured straight away would be a big help. So yeah, as long as that doesn't happen, then I think they'll be okay. But having said at the start of the season that surely, surely Everton can't have an injury crisis like they did last season and then immediately sliding straight into one,

I hesitate to say that this is good signs for them because I don't want to be a jinx and my predictions are crap. So let's assume they're going to tick along, doing terribly for the sake of Marva's heart rate. And maybe, maybe, maybe we'll see some ink a little bit better from them. Oh, Marva Creel's had some week, hasn't she,

with the departure of Sean Dyche as well from the men's team. It's all happening week, hasn't she, with the departure of Sean Dyche as well from the men's team. It's all happening up at Everton. It's all been happening at Manchester United as well. Plenty of talk in the first half of the season about the situation there. But as well as the players that we've mentioned leaving, they've been pretty busy as well with some incoming players, Jamie. Grace Clinton's had her contract extended.

They've also brought in England under-23 goalkeeper Kayla Rendell from Southampton. And friend of the pod Emma Sanders reported on the BBC on Monday that Jade Riviera is on the verge of signing a contract extension as well. So it feels like there's positive signs to come maybe. Yeah, those are three massive, massive signs of positivity for Manchester United, as well as the fact that they've sent out a couple of youth players on loan. That's really beneficial as well. But someone like Grace Clinton, you want to build your team around her for future years to come. So you really need to trigger that extension clause and keep her at the club.

And I'm sure there'll be ongoing negotiations on that side. But for me, Kayla Randell is an excellent signing. She was Southampton's first ever player to get a senior England call up. That just shows her quality, especially as a goalkeeper, because there are English goalkeepers in the WSL. And she was called up to the England squad by Serena Vigman ahead of them. That's really positive signs for the future of her. She's an exceptional goalkeeper.

And I think she'll definitely be biding her time. Felon Tellus-Joyce has showed us how good she is. I think she's probably the highest performing keeper, the most clean sheets right now. So, look, I think she'll be biding her time at Manchester United, but for 23 years of age, she's got time to grow

and I think it's a good place to do it. So yeah, very, very impressive. And again, Jade Riviere, another young player, high ceiling, Manchester United, a long-term contract for her is exactly what fans will want to be hearing. Yeah, most definitely. A theme of the window so far

seems to have been the kind of shuffling around of younger players on loan moves. Some are being recalled from clubs where they're not getting enough minutes, which is understandable. Others being loaned out or back out to clubs to boost their development. I feel like we're seeing a little bit of a transition. It's always been important, the loan system, but is it it becoming more important do you think for for both the clubs and the players absolutely and i think the academy game is you know developed so much in the last couple of years where it's become really important for clubs to start you know developing their own players and finding ways that they can do that because the gap between the kind of pga league and under 21 league and the senior side is quite big so they've been needing to figure out how to kind of do that. But it's really positive for me. You know, as you know, I'm big into the kind of the youth pathways and especially with the England youth pathways

and to see players getting their opportunities. And all they need really is kind of game time. There's so much talent out there within the ranks of the academy system, but you just need to get them that game time. And I think where out there within the ranks of the academy system but you just need to get them that game time and I think where we are with the women's game where you do have maybe a difference in terms of investment that with that comes kind of opportunities because it allows you know championship clubs to take up you know players that they might need from academies in the WSL and gives those players real opportunity to play 90 minutes every week really tough football we know what the championship is about um and i think it's actually really important for

clubs like chelsea this this week if we're called what two three players um they've realized that where they went on loan for the first half of the season wasn't working for their young players so they're it shows they're really playing like paying close attention to the development of these these youngsters and and trying to ensure that they get the best possible position to then step into the first team when that arises. And I think we'll see a few more. There's a few in the Arsenal Academy at the moment who are probably waiting for some loan moves.

I look at Leila Harbert, who's just signed her first professional deal. England under-17 captain, absolutely superb. I think she's one of the top prospects for England coming through the ranks, but she needs game time. So I keep my eye on her. Yeah, it's exciting, that's for sure. West Ham have been one of the quieter clubs in the market so far, but the long-term contract extensions of Anouk Denton and Amber Tisiak are significant, aren't they?

Rhian Skinner, very vocal in the summer at needing to lessen turnover. Susie, it looks like the club are finally listening. Yeah, I mean mean she's been super critical of sort of the one-year deals that have meant that she's yeah had a load of players go I mean in the summer we saw how Sissoko go on a free Emma Snell, Honoka Ashi, Risa Shimazu, Mackenzie Arnold and a couple of others all go on freeze and you know that's like obviously a huge blow to them last season to this i mean they brought in some decent talent and like actually looked like a fairly good side at times this season um there's quality in that squad so if they can pin some of those players down to longer term contracts they need to get some of the um

the sort of more senior internationals on that kind of you know those kind of longer term deals and it'd be a big step forward but you know we've known historically that the the club have under invested in the women's team and not necessarily back the manager um and i think you know rianne skinner's comments have been like pointed because of that um you know i really think she's trying to get them to step up and match her ambitions. So it's a good step. How serious they are about properly backing the team remains to be seen. Let's see some of the big names signed on to longer-term deals and having their contracts extended and not being allowed to go for threes.

And then we can start thinking, OK, maybe something's changing here. Big news out of Canada. The women's national team has announced that former Manchester United boss Casey Stoney has been appointed their new head coach. You'll remember it's been a really tumultuous time for Canada soccer from the funding dispute between the players and the association to DroneGate. You'll remember at the Olympics last summer, which ended up with Bev Priestman and others being relieved of their duties. Kevin Blue was appointed as the new CEO back in March and oversaw the investigation into the accusations of spying. I mean, it certainly feels as if they're turning a corner, Soph, but what do you make of this appointment? Was it a surprise to you? This is what Kenneth Uyibemi has asked us on X.

How's this going to go? What does she give the Canadians? What does she give the Canadians? I think it's a super astute signing by Canada soccer, Dobrynka Estonian. She is one of the most exciting young coaches in the game, I think. She's got a high ceiling in terms of where she can develop to as well. She's not the finished product. But you see what she did with Manchester United and then with

San Diego Wave basically building clubs from from scratch and getting them success almost instantly I know the way that she left San Diego Wave wasn't ideal for you know either party but I think um you just look at her record there in terms of winning the Shields and all of that with a club that was basically non-existent three seasons ago. So I think Canada have done themselves really well. I think there is kind of a light at the end of the tunnel now in terms of all of the bad stuff that was happening with Canada soccer. The change in leadership at the top, I know, has been received really positively from the people I've talked to. And there is hope that they can now move forward into kind of a new era away from all of the kind of scandal and controversy that was kind of plaguing them for a while.

And I think with Casey, she always puts players first. That's her, you know, she will make a player-centred programme for her Canadian players. And I'm excited to see how she makes that transition into international football it's very different from the club deck game I think it probably suits her with you know her family stuff as well having the kids and things so it probably is quite a nice balance for her to have I know Emma Hayes has talked about it in the past Carla Wars talked about it needing you

know that balance between your home life and your your kind of work and yeah I'm really interesting to see and I really I just wish her the best. Yeah, Tanya Roxby as well. It feels like a bit of a trend at the moment, doesn't it? It was also announced last week, former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall has been appointed as the new manager of San Diego Wave. The Guardian had already reported it

and we mentioned it as well on this pod, but he's given some quite frank interviews since, Jamie, discussing his departure from Arsenal and the lack of support he felt he had to help him do his job what did you make of his comments and how do you think he's going to get on in the NWSL? Yeah there was a lot to unpack I thought of all the words that Jonas had said about Arsenal I think look as a manager you want to be supported by your sporting director and we don't know what's going on in the back room but clearly there is or he believes there is a gap in what he deserves in terms of support from the club and planning and whether that's transfer windows whether that's just supporting

the backroom staff so look I think we don't really know the situation at Arsenal and whether sporting director Claire Wheatley is actually supporting Jonas Eidevall and was and whether that lack of support has come but I also think there was bigger issues there. And Arsenal fans were very vocal about that. I think he made a comment about, you know, Viviana Miedema and Arsenal's choice not to extend her contract past its expiry date was the breaking point. I don't know if it was the breaking point. I think perhaps some underperformance was what riled Arsenal fans up for a couple of

seasons. And that was probably just the nail in the coffin. So I think the comments were maybe a bit misconstrued, but you know, it's hard to take those too seriously. You kind of got to take them with a pinch of a salt when, you know, it's just, it's fresh blood. It's just happened. He's probably still, you know, a little bit, not scorned by it, but he's left Arsenal after a few seasons and there's always going to be comments made. And I don't think fans or Jonas Eidevall should take those two seriously. But in terms of being the San Diego Wave coach, I actually think he's going to do really well in the NWSL.

I think we've seen Jonas over the last three seasons at Arsenal. He's very good at the micro stuff. He's a good tactician. He just really struggles on the macro level. And he really struggles with, you know, building that culture, getting the players out of crisis when things happen. I think that's happened a lot off the players' own back in terms of motivating themselves. But he's a very good minor tactician.

That's why he's so good in the bigger games. So for a league like the NWSL where to win, you have to enter a playoff season and a playoff, you know, structure. I think he'll really thrive in that because he likes the bigger games. And it'll be interesting to see how he gets on on and I do wish him the best because I think he has some real strengths in terms of managerial skills yeah I agree I mean I think that um like I agree with all of those points I think that um well I actually feel quite sorry for him and like particularly his comments around Mir Dema and the um the you know the fact that her going impacted the fans and then the

results on top of that sort of like fed into like a narrative of discontent and things like that I think I feel sorry for him because like if there had if he had been allowed to give more clarity around why Mirdama had gone um then I think less of that angle would have been directed at him and maybe you're going into the season with a little bit more leeway towards him than perhaps he got because of that so like you know I think that you know

if he had been allowed to say we're hamstrung financially we wanted to bring in Caldente and we couldn't we had to make a choice this was the position the club put us in then it would have been a different kettle of fish and that angle would have been directed more at the club

and the club let it be directed at him and i think that was a mistake on their part that said the club is always going to protect themselves and are going to do that and they're not going to want their manager to say uh that so i think that you know like almost he's sort of been let down there because it's not his fault that she's gone necessarily although obviously like he will have played a part in that decision. Like he is, you know, far from the cause of it and probably would have, you know, wanted to keep her if things have been a little bit different and they had the money to. So like, I think on that basis, then he deserves a little bit of credit.

Also on the decision to resign, because I think he said at one point that he could see that um uh the way things were going and how the fans had shifted and that kind of stuff and that he chose to step back and that not many managers would do that in that situation and sort of almost let the team go that he could see he recognized that like in order for them to progress uh like he had to go because they could no longer do it under him because the players weren't with it either, were feeding off the fans, the fans were feeding off the performances. And I think, obviously, we can give him too much credit

in that the performances weren't great and there were consistent problems over years that kept coming back. But fair play to step down when you do and recognise that the team is going to be better without you because I think there were a fair few around the club that were quite shocked at his departure at that moment

so I don't think it was necessarily a done deal at that time if he hadn't resigned. I don't think it was a jump before push scenario necessarily in the immediate but yeah I think he'll do a decent job in the NWSL as well. Still no news on his permanent replacement.

Rene Slager is still in interim charge of Arsenal as the Barclays WSL returns to action this weekend. We've got a full schedule of fixtures after a month's break. Liverpool opening up the action on Friday night at home to Brighton before Everton host Aston Villa on Saturday. Tottenham play Leicester in the early kick-off on Sunday before Arsenal face Palace and West Ham entertain Chelsea.

The weekend closes out at the Etihad with the first Manchester derby of the season, which is always exciting. And it could actually, Sophie, be a pretty significant game for both sides. Yeah, it's going to be really interesting because City are still in this kind of injury crisis at the moment.

We don't know where Bunny Shaw is in terms of her recovery. I think Gareth Taylor said last week she's back training on her own, so that doesn't make it sound like she's that close yet to quite a return. It's going to be interesting to see how they match up. A big game at the Etihad.

Obviously, big implications for both sides because if City win and then Chelsea drop points, they've closed the gap at the top. And then if United win and Arsenal drop points, they can move up into third place. So pretty important first fixture back for both of them. I think Manchester United will take so much confidence from that game against West Brom.

Yes, they were playing West Brom, who are low down in the leagues than them. But, you know, to get seven goals, to be that ruthless and to have your kind of different goal scorers scoring, people coming off the bench scoring, I think they'll take a lot of confidence from that. City, I think, you know, came up against quite a resilient, it was which town, so they had to work out how to break them down.

Maybe didn't look at their best, but then they were without Yui Hasegawa in that match, who when she comes in is, you know, absolutely superb and kind of changes the dimension

of that team. So I think it's going to be, yeah, I can't call it right now. No, and we haven't been able to call the relegation battle fully either, have we?

We've mentioned it in previous episodes. It's really brewing. Six points separating Spurs in six from Crystal Palace at the bottom, just to remind you. Many of the clubs in the bottom half of the table, Liverpool, Everton and Villa, prime examples, will obviously have been hugely disappointed with the way that their campaigns have panned out so far, Jamie. Are you expecting to see improvement from them at the turn of the year? Yeah, I think there'll definitely be improvements from some of the sides.

Like Susie was speaking about earlier on Everton, they've obviously injected their squad with some really, really impressive talent. And although the call-off of the FA Cup game against Tottenham, it's not ideal by any means, but it's probably given these newer players some more time to get themselves acquainted with the club because they'll be wanting to play this weekend. It's obviously Everton are in a big game in that mid-table battle where they're near the middle

but they're near the bottom so look I really I really see an improvement coming from Everton I think Brian Sorensen is very underrated manager I think he's a very very impressive manager and he deserves to you know deal with more than he has been over the last couple seasons in terms of club support so I'll be interested to see that. Crystal Palace, I'm not too sure about. And I think Laura Kaminski is an exceptional manager and she has a lot to offer this league. So it is very disappointing to see them struggle a little bit because we have seen them put on positive displays,

but they haven't done as much movement in the transfer window as they probably would have liked at this stage. I know it's early days. So coming up against a team like Arsenal when they've obviously lost to Man City and Chelsea, who are also at that top of the table by very large margins, it's hard to see them turn it around. And West Ham, you'd hate to come out after the Christmas break

and have to face Sonia Bonpastel's Chelsea side right now. So it'll be interesting. It'll definitely be interesting. I reckon we'll have a bit of a turn, especially a team like Leicester City as well, in the January transfer window, coming up against a very gettable Tottenham Hotspur side. Yeah, really good points. Listen, I don't know if you know, Jamie,

but this pod are renowned for their terrible predictions. Terrible predictions. I actually can't remember. I probably should have looked, shouldn't I? Sorry, that's just me sunning myself on my holiday and I should have checked. But I'm wondering whether anybody's predictions have changed at all. And actually, Jamie, you can buck the trend if you'd like and give us a winner

and the team that's going to be relegated as we come to the halfway point. Oh, this is interesting. I'm going to make a rogue shout. I'm really hoping for Crystal Palace to turn it around. I'm going to think Leicester City might struggle a little bit if they don't get those key players back. I'm going to say they're going to be my relegation pick. It might be a hopeful choice. And winners, I don't think there's any closing the gap on Chelsea right now, especially with the talent they have on their bench.

Their ability to rotate is just unparalleled. Soph? I can't remember what I said, but I know I said Chelsea to win, and I still think that's the case. And I do think Palace are I've been so impressed by them at points this season but just not getting the results when they need to and I it's going to be really interesting what they do in the next couple of weeks whether they bring any players in because I think that's going to be big in terms of kind of they didn't have many

well they had gotten some players on loans who got injured but they didn't have many injuries in terms of people to come back from injury in the next few months. Whereas when you look at Leicester City, I think Sam Tierney and Leonard Pittman are already back on the training field. So they add some impetus to them. So, yeah, it's going to be, I do worry for them. OK, Susie, changing, staying, what are you doing? I can't remember what I said, but like it'd be absolutely stupid to bet against Chelsea, wouldn't it?

Based on the first half of the season. So Chelsea, obviously. And then I feel like Sophie and Jamie have done my head and my heart over Palace. I think they will probably go down, but I don't want them to go down. And I think they're like, I really like Laura Kaminski,

really like what they're doing. They look organised. They look like they believe. And I just think a few players in January could make the difference. So I'm going to say Leicester as well and let my heart win with Jamie. But my head is screaming that they're going to go down.

I'm pretty sure one of us predicted Everton were going to go down. And Marvel was very upset with us. I'm pretty sure one of us did. I'll have to go back and have a listen and report back. I'm not giving my predictions because they're always wrong. So it's completely pointless.

Let's touch on some extra news, shall we? It has been reported that the FA's investigation into the death of former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack is now complete. It's being independently reviewed, and so the report will then be shared with a coroner by the end of this week, and then a pre-inquest hearing has taken place today.

A full inquest has been set for the 16th and 17th of April. So we'll keep you updated on that. It's the end of an era for two Irish centurions in terms of their careers. Both Niamh Farhey and Diane Caldwell have announced their international retirement. Both defenders stalwarts, of course, of the Republic of Ireland national team. 17 and 18 years respectively, they've plied their trade for their country. Both represented Ireland at the 2023 FIFA World Cup as well. And Steph Horton, Alex Scott, Gilly Flaherty and Rebecca Welch were all officially inducted into the Barclays WSL Hall of Fame at an event last night.

Congratulations to all of them. Just a final story that I'd quite like all of your opinions on. It's something that we mentioned before, because actually the chief executive of the Women's Professional Leagues Limited, WPLL, I always put an extra P in there, don't know why. Oh yes, I do know why, I remember. Nicky Doucette confirmed that trials will be taking place to allow alcohol in the stands. Four women's championship clubs are taking part in a new pilot scheme,

which starts in January, allowing fans to drink in the stands. So Bristol City, Southampton, Birmingham and Newcastle are all taking part for either four or five matches in the second half of the season so basically supporters at Ashton Gates, St Andrews, Kingston Park and St Mary's can drink alcohol in view of the pitch. Now the in view of the pitch part is really important because that's what is not allowed in the men's game. Drinking in sight of the pitch banned in the top five tiers of the men's game but the legislation doesn't cover the women's game i'm wondering what everybody thinks of this why not i mean like you know why not try it like i think the the women's game is a naturally more family

friendly space because people can afford to go to it and people just inherently behave slightly differently when there's more children and women around as whether we think that's a right or wrong thing um so you know it's it's generally a nicer environment so why not give it a go i mean like you know what's the worst that can happen like it doesn't quite work and the trial gets you know withdrawn um and doesn't go any further so like yeah i think it's a good idea it's a usP that the women's game could have over the men's that makes it kind of attractive, a bit more of a day out for different demographics as well. And a lot of other countries and other sports are able to drink at games and grounds and arenas

and behave perfectly well. And if we can encourage that kind of like you know sort of sensible enjoyable like kind of drinking at games I think that's fine I think it's it really kind of as you say maps the women's game maybe a bit separately but when you go to Europe you can you can drink in grounds and when you go to Germany you can drink in grounds I spent my summer in the in the US for the NWSL and you can have all kinds of I don't know different kinds of cocktails and stuff because of the weather and everything and it just makes it more of a an experience that offers different things for different people as you say Susie I also think maybe it's I don't I don't know how controversial this is but I think it might be a bit antiquated you know I do sometimes think that the the lack of alcohol at games encourages

uh mass binge drinking beforehand and afterwards and I do wonder whether as a whole football needs to look look at it you know it was brought out of the trouble football had way back when and maybe we need to start thinking about how how that can change across the board yeah it's kind of about it's about setting the tone isn't it it's about encouraging how we can implement responsible drinking at football games growing up in Australia all our sports grounds permit alcohol use in the stands I've always grown up with like people watching Australian rules football carrying beers and spilling them and and all that so I came to England I was very quite taken aback I was like I didn't realize and then I got to know you know men's football environment it makes a bit of sense but like you

said Soph it's kind of discouraging people from going to the pub and you know binge drinking before the game but like I just think yeah why not try it see how it goes like Susie said I agree it might offer a different perspective it might bring in fans that you know I'll, I'll come, I'll bring my family, we'll have a beer. So yeah, why not try it? See how it goes. And then if it fails, it fails. Yeah, let us know what you all think as well. And of course, we'll report back on how it's going as well.

Keep having your say with us. Send your questions in via social media or email us at womensfootballweeklyattheguardian.com. Also a reminder for you to sign up for our weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts sign up. Jamie, it has been a fantastic debut from you. I hope you'll return. Absolutely.

Thanks so much for having me on, guys. Heaps of fun. No worries at all. Sophie, lovely to see you. I hope you get warm or have booked your next holiday soon not quite yet but um on the on the cards for sure on the horizon as always suzy enjoy the rest of your day off yeah i'll have to do some work no no i'm off poolside Last pina colada of the holiday. Back to the cold tomorrow.

Thank you, as ever, for joining us as well. 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. This is The Guardian. No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected.

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