The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Five-star Old Trafford show and Chelsea strike eight – Women’s Football Weekly podcast

Episode Date: December 6, 2022

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Anne-Marie Batson and Sophie Downey wrap up the latest weekend of WSL action

This is The Guardian. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Eight goals for Chelsea, five for Manchester United and some more landmarks reached. Just an average weekend in the WSL then. Arsenal stay in touch at the top thanks to Miedema while Reading and Liverpool give themselves some breathing space at the bottom. We'll round up everything from the WSL and beyond.

Take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well, what a stonking panel we have today. Susie Rack, first and foremost, I hear your book has been translated into Japanese. I mean, that is pretty awesome. I know, right? It's really weird. I mean, I've got some copies. I feel like me having four copies is probably, you know, three too many because I can't read them. So, you know, I'm one of James's little friends at school who goes to Japanese school every weekend. I was thinking of giving her a little copy. So, yeah, it's pretty weird. I speak fluent Japanese, so, you know, send it my way. Can I test you on that? That sounds like you don't believe me. Sounds like you might have known me too long. Anne-Marie Batson, a pod debut. It's so lovely to see you. Hello. Hello. Thank you for having me on. It's a joy to see you and hear you all.

Excellent. Sophie Downey, it's been a little while, but how have you been? Busy, I assume? Yeah, travelling around left, right and centre. But yeah, all good. All good. Glad to be back. Right. Well, I'm delighted to hear where you've all been this weekend because we talk about landmark weekends a lot, but they felt like there were like quite a few, you know, 300 games in charge for Emma Hayes, 200 appearances for Arsenal, for Leah Williamson, record at Old Trafford. It felt as if there was just

more and more landmarks again this weekend. And we'll start at Old Trafford. Manchester United 5 up, Aston Villa 0. A demolition really in front of 30,000 fans or more. Goals from Katie Zellum, Leah Gal galton alessia russo on a batcher and rachel williams meaning it was a pretty comprehensive result in the end and

they just seem to be growing in confidence every week suzy yeah the most exciting thing is that they are scoring goals from everywhere at the moment, five different goal scorers. I think that's the big difference on last season. Goals weren't spread that thinly, or were spread that thinly last season, and this time around the load is being shared much more. I thought Onyebata was absolutely phenomenal. A couple of assists, possibly three, I can't remember. They all blur into one, and then the stunning goal shows just how important she is to that team.

She was obviously injured for a bit of the start of the season and now is back. And you can just see how important she is to that team, which is cool. She's a fantastic player to watch, really, really fun to watch because you're just constantly thinking forward, constantly trying to find space. And the goal sort of spoke to her importance and really capped off what was a pretty special one. Yeah. And Marie, she is the kind of one that really makes it click for United, isn't she? Yeah, very much so. And I think, like Susie said, they missed her when she was injured and she comes back out flying. And I think she kind of encapsulates what I think about Manchester United right now and

I've thought this for some time they very much for me a team that are absolutely fearless they don't fear anybody and they will come at you and the fact that Susie mentioned that they can spread the goals around the team which is a massive bonus and I agree with Susie there's been a huge mentality shift and I think that's just been building since the days of Casey Stoney for me Manchester United I think are the team since day one that has wanted to break that top three deadlock and now you're starting to see that very much so I believe for a little while that maybe Tottenham or Brighton would be that team even Reading would be that team but now you can see Manchester United and they're just riding the momentum. And Mark Skinner, I think, has done a wonderful job.

I think they're very astute in the summer with their signings, the strength and depth that they've got out of that squad. And they were out of the box face so quickly within those first few minutes of that game against Villa. I think that really sends a message to the rest of the league, how ruthless they can be in front of goal. Yeah, Sophie's nodding along as well and it is a real statement isn't it especially because of how we were waxing lyrical about Aston Villa at the beginning of of the season and what they managed to do in their opening few games it was a real statement of intent it was yes I agree with Anne Marie as well like what they did in the summer if you look at that squad it's absolutely stacked and they've got people on the bench that can come on and our game changes which is so important because we've seen other squads in the league that maybe don't have that

kind of depth to them that can make those changes when they get to what 60-70 minutes I think the interesting thing for Manchester United this season will be if they can carry their form on you know through January because that's where they fell down you know before you know they've managed to go against everything I thought already uh this season so you know why not they can do it again but you know January is a big time for them traditionally they do sort of have a little trough um so whether Mark can keep them going through that is interesting yeah so if you were Aston Villa did have a little bit of success was down United's flanks with the Manchester derby looming and Lauren Hemp back in training for City Chloe Kelly which we'll talk about shortly on really great form is is that perhaps where

they're gonna look to attack for that huge derby? I think you think of City's strength. They've got, what, Bunny Shaw up front, who's absolutely lethal this season. But those wide players are their key. That's where they deliver those crosses in. So I think it's something United have to be aware of, for sure. I think that they do give up chances.

And Aston Villa on that day could have probably got a goal or two. You know, it was just that they scored more than them. Yeah, I mean, it's interesting that the two games where United have conceded significantly and have been caused problems have been against Chelsea, which they lost, obviously, and Arsenal conceded too, obviously won that game 3-2. But against teams that take their chances, they aren't that solid at the back. And that's the risk. I think that's why Mark Skinner was so sort of almost surprisingly downbeat at full-time after quite a comprehensive victory.

Because I think he's very, very well aware that City are up next and there were holes to that performance. And it's rare that you hear a manager, actually slightly reminiscent of the way Casey Stoney was after every single game, win or lose. But you could see the holes in that performance. Villa tested them. They had the goal disallowed for offside.

It's very, very, very close. And the angle on the pitch, it's hard to tell because the camera angles aren't great for the WSL and Fred Gregory had a great chance too probably should have scored so there are gaps there he can see them and City are just so dangerous that's where United's title credentials are going to be really really tested is against the teams that will take those chances much more ruthlessly than Aston Villa or one of the other teams beyond the top three or four will do.

Yeah, and those teams that could take the one, two, three spots of the Champions League that Manchester United are trying to get. Manchester City 3, Brighton 1, an early flurry for City with a Viettriki Sarri own goal. Julie Blackstead diving header. Laura Coombs with a screamer as well, a late consolation for Brighton, thanks to Lee Hyun Min. Laura Coombs, Susie, has started every WSL game for Manchester City this season.

Only Bunny Shaw has more goal contributions for them. How important has she been for G gareth taylor as he begins to or began even because we are now at december to rebuild that midfield yeah super important i think when you've got someone who has been there a little bit longer than the people around her they're going to stand out a little bit more because they're a bit more settled um you know she's playing in the middle with hasagawa and castellanos and you know two new players and you know two very good attacking players um and she can feed off of that as well um so it's sort of almost reward i suppose for patience and being given her chance um you know it's taken a few players moving on for her to sort of get the regular game time.

And she's repaying that big time. Her goal was really nicely taken as well. She's getting in the right areas all the time, providing great balls for the wingers up front as well. So, yeah, really, really strong season so far. How far have City come, Sophie, since that defeat to Chelsea back in September because it's six consecutive WSL matches in terms of wins for them now only Chelsea have got a better

winning streak actually but there's always a caveat all of those wins have come against sides in the bottom half of the WSL and if we're kind of holding Manchester United up to the same kind of standards we should hold City up to them as well. I think that's a good point I do think if you look at them last season though and you know they were in trouble a little bit at this time of year and they weren't getting those wins against those sort of mid-table teams they have been doing this season their form at home is outstanding I think that was a ninth home league game win and it just shows that they're kind of building a lot of confidence amongst the players Gareth Taylor did say pre-match it's like they've had more time together now the longer they he feels that group are together the more that

they're consistent they get the more contributions they have to each other's play he was pretty positive post-match he was a bit grouchy, maybe a little bit. He was a bit like, we could have done better. I think he just wanted more goals in that second half because they really did take their foot off that gas. Brighton were better, that's for sure, but City took their foot off the gas. But Chloe Kelly was unbelievable. She is just unbelievable, isn't she? And she's going to be the one to watch in the Manchester derby next week, Anne-Marie. It could be a really definitive game for both of them.

How do you see it going? I'm so excited. I'm not even from the North West. I cannot wait for this because I think there's some serious bragging rights going on. I'm sure City fans will look at the table and cannot believe that United are above them right now. So that's going to give them some serious impetus going into that game. Both teams are coming in with wins, of course, so their confidence, momentum is going to be bouncing off the charts.

United will want to make sure that they keep a step ahead of City. City will want to make sure that they want to be a step ahead of United. There are so many stories that could come from this match-up and I think it's probably one of the most exciting matches that the WSL is going to see this season. I hope it delivers. It's going to be goalless now. After all that.

So do me a favour, guys. Score goals, please. And if you look at the stats, actually, it's kind of weird because you talk about City. I feel that City have just gone on with their business very much under the radar so far in the last few weeks. So much so, I think much more eyes have been on what Arsenal are doing and Chelsea are doing and Chelsea are

doing and United are doing in the bottom of the table and City have just gone about it but the stats are not really in their favour if that makes sense in terms of they're not keeping as many clean sheets as United in terms of they're conceding more goals than United so I think it's going to be very tight and I think it's going to be down to very fine margins. And I'm hoping for lots of goals. So please deliver, please. Literally nailed on that it's going to be a goalless ball draw. Susie, you're nodding along. Yeah, I really hope it's a good game. It's the Etihad.

It's the final day of the season before the winter break. You hope it delivers a performance worthy of the lengthy lengthy trip north for us southerners for a 12 30 kickoff um but yeah like what is really interesting for me as well i think particularly for city is the the winter break and actually how important that can be for teams like cities where there's so many new players involved because actually like you generally find in the women's super league that with that winter break it really really gives some teams some time to work on the training pitch you know it's not all time off they do get time off obviously for the holidays and stuff but there's quite a lot of work done behind the scenes on the training pitch and

that's a really important time it's almost like another little mini pre-season and that's where you get you know teams like City who like I say have so many new players gelling a little bit more and it'll also be interesting to see if they make any moves in January because when they've had so many changes and bedded them in will they you know start to kind of reopen the door again to any any more bodies or will it be no we've got to focus on bedding these players in I think there's a few teams sort of desperate to claw over the line to that winter break, but then there's also teams that are really, really going to benefit from that time too,

which is really interesting for me. I agree. I wouldn't expect us to see many come in over the winter transfer window just because they don't have that many. Yes, Lauren Hemp's injured, but she's coming back now. Actually, for a City team, they're probably the least injured that they have been in recent years, seasons. So I'd expect a bit of solidity in that transfer window, just because that summer was so disruptive.

And the amount of change that we saw, I just don't think you'll want to really do much again. Arsenal are the side who've struggled with injury this season as well, aren't they? But it was a 1-0 win over Everton over the weekend, avoiding what could have been a tricky match. Miedema on the score sheet. Maybe could have been a few more goals as well, Susie, but this finish from Vivian Miedema was just gorgeous,

wasn't it? Is she back to her best? Can we even say that? Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think she's benefited from a bit of time off you know they gave her a little bit of a break around the international uh window just before it and then during it uh negotiated with the dutch fa and the coaching staff there and i think that's really benefited her and you've seen that for a few players leah williamson was

talking afterwards about uh her injury but also sort of needing a break away from the pitch too and it's having benefited her in that way so um there's a lot of players who i think are quite tired from the euros and the hangover and um and then playing a lot of matches straight in the new season um and we're sort of seeing her a little bit refueled i suppose and yeah i mean great. It was a game that sort of needed something quite special to open it up because Everton actually defended pretty well. They were pretty solid

and it was really, really hard to find space and create decent chances within the box. A lot of efforts had to come from outside the box. So yeah, Viv's strike for that goal was was was pretty special and I think speaks to the importance of her as a player because you so like sometimes you need someone to do something special to unlock it that said I mean Arsenal dominated from the off like they sitting in the press box I never thought Arsenal were going to lose that game there was maybe like five nervy minutes at the end where you know Everton kind

of sensed a little bit of blood sense theyed they could maybe get something out of it. But it was just such a dominant performance. And coming straight off the back of the Man United defeat, they really needed to see that. They really need to see a performance that was worthy of title contenders, because otherwise your head can drop. If Arsenal beat Aston Villa which you know it's a fairly safe assumption that they should do that they'll go into the winter break with having only dropped three points this is the kind of period in recent seasons where they've

really struggled or crumbled um last year they dropped two points but then dropped five um in the new year also really really struggled in the Champions League around this point. Then the season before that, they had dropped seven by Christmas and then dropped eight in the new year. So it's a real, real important time for them. And they've actually weathered the storm quite well so far. So they need a winter break, but they are in a far better position than perhaps maybe they have been in recent years when they've

had to weather the storm of a lot of injuries. Interesting Anne-Marie because Leah Williamson got some minutes which was great news 200 appearances for Arsenal. Raffaele was on the bench are we going to see a different Arsenal in the latter stages of December now that they're both back fit? I think so I think they've both been a big miss. I think Kim Little's also been a big miss for them, for Arsenal as well. And the winter break, I think, is going to be really, really key. You know, we've seen over the last few seasons, injuries have played a massive part in Arsenal's trajectory in the WSL.

It's something that I'm sure Jonas Inaval does not want to repeat again and again, a team that wants to keep up the pressure on Chelsea. So to have their players coming back from injury, I think will help build that confidence back up again. Seeing Vivian Miedema ask for that beautiful goal that she did and creating that space around her. Again, it just builds that confidence. I feel more, I don't know, I just feel this season for me,

between those three teams at the top, you know, Chelsea and United and Arsenal, I think, again, it's going to come very much down to the wire who is going to be sitting at the top of the table. It just takes one game and it all changes. And I think Arsenal want to be that team that really does keep up the pressure on Chelsea and they need their best players to do that. Yeah, absolutely. Interesting, Sophie, that Susie mentioned Everton defensively in this game because I'm wondering whether Emily Ramsey,

who's on loan from Manchester United and made a number of really big saves this season, has actually been covering a little bit for some defensive issues that Everton might have? I think she was superb on Saturday. She made that double stop on the line of Miedema, which really kept them in the game, kept it 1-0. She's a goalkeeper that United have put a lot of hope in and they kept her on the books for a reason because they see her going out on loan, getting this experience is key to her development for the future. I do think Everton have had defensive maybe frailties,

but they've also had injuries in that back line as well. Rika Sveg just came back from injury. So, you know, it's about trying to get that game time on the pitch together, trying to read each other. They do have some fantastic defenders like Gabby George. I still rate as one of the best in the country. I know she kind of dropped off the radar for a bit because of the injuries and stuff,

but I still think she's got that quality. If she gets consistent game time, to be absolutely superb. So I think it's positive. But we know Everton is an attacking team, an in-possession team this season. That's what they want to be be so it's kind of a different element to their game that we saw maybe at the weekend because we know

that he wants them to have the ball and to go through the midfield and you know he wants them to be on the front foot all the time so when they're having to stand up against the wall that was a good test for them Absolutely That's it for part one, in part two we're going to look at the bottom of the WSL.

Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Welcome to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So the title race is hotting up, but the relegation fight is looking pretty cold. Leicester now seven points adrift after wins for Reading and Liverpool over the weekend.

Leicester conceded eight. Guru Wrighton, Jesse Fleming, Fran Kirby, Niamh Charles, Sam Kerr and Bethany England all filling their boots at King Power Stadium. It finished Leicester nil, Chelsea eight. Susie, a suggestion in the WSL talking points that at the very least, this eight nil loss to Chelsea was better than last season's 9-0 loss, which on paper, yes, that is correct.

However, bearing in mind this is no longer Leicester's first season in the WSL, is it better? I mean, it's the most generous of comparisons to make, isn't it? I mean, it's pretty, pretty dire to concede that many. And so quickly as well in the fourth minute, Wrighton was just absolutely unplayable throughout. And I think Leicester's fate is pretty much written already, which is disappointing.

They're really struggling. I think they were just way too open. It wasn't a very organised performance. It was almost like they were trying to attack Chelsea, which if that's your strategy, having suffered such a heavy defeat last time out, then that's a worry, isn't it? I mean, yeah, you need to be doing a little bit of damage limitation there rather than sort of trying to trying to

beat Chelsea at their own game um that for me was the the biggest mistake obviously Willie Kirk's not long in there so you sort of have to kind of be a bit generous and give him time he's not had transfer windows or anything to sort of make his mark on the team um and the backing from the board in that sense um to be able to spend and do something to shape the squad into something that is capable of competing even at the bottom end of the Women's Super League at this stage.

But you get the feeling that January is going to be incredibly important for them in that sense and is the only way they're going to be able to get some points on the board. How are they going to do that, Sophie? Because, I mean, look, Willie Kirk has fantastic contacts within the women's game, so surely that's going to help him in January going forward.

But what can they do? It's going to be a tough sell. I think maybe look at the loan system and go, you can come here and you can get 90 minutes every week and really get that experience. I think that could be quite a key useful mechanism for them because I'm not sure they're going to attract the big stars um as it were to Leicester I mean they've got a really good setup behind the scenes that's the thing but it's just on the pitch you know it's not looking good and you probably would

probably expect them to go down the season I'm afraid. They don't have a lot of hope at the moment, I don't think. Their performance against West Ham, the game before last, was really, really good. They just couldn't hit the back of the net. They should have won that game. But yeah, their defence against Chelsea on Saturday was just, you know, not good enough at all. You know, you expect them to lose to Chelsea probably, but to let through those kind of goals, for me, was just not up to the standard of the WSL. No, and Guru Raitan had an absolute field day, Amarie, didn't she? One goal, four assists.

That's nine assists now in nine WSL matches. I mean, I've always thought she was absolutely superb and I love watching her for Chelsea, but she maybe flies under the radar for many other people, perhaps. I agree. I could wax lyrical about Guru Raitan all day, every day. And again, you know, I talk about City just, you know, playing under the radar. I think Guru Raitan is a player that does that as well. She just gets on with the job and she's such a complete player as well when she's running down the flank the crosses that she does going for the goal at times even having to defend such a complete midfielder a key part of Chelsea's midfield as well and just so happy you know just you know the steely look of determination when

she's when she's running down the flank and she's so focused and so dialed in and then she gets the biggest smile ever when she scores a goal. And I hope her name is on the list of players nominated for the season come the end of the season in a few months' time. Yeah, I agree with you. Right, Reading 1, Tottenham 0. Very unfortunate own goal from Amy Turner, ending up being the decider here, Susie. But a bit of a surprise maybe that Tottenham just didn't really create anything in this match at all.

I mean, you say that, but they've not really created much all season. I'm thinking about Ashley Neville, who's pretty creative. I don't think you can say they've not created anything this season. I said not created much. Much. Quantify it, Susie quantify it I say much bar the occasional

Ashley Neffel or True Spence goal they've not created a huge amount that you know they've not won back-to-back league games this season

which is pretty telling really lacking in consistency they looked really sloppy against Reading like it's interesting because when

Rhian Skinner came in they really looked like they had a plan um and we're all singing from the same hymn sheet and there seemed to be a real focus there and you could sort of see what they were trying to do right like there was a bit of a vision and it looked like it was going in the right direction you know the recruits that came in seemed to strengthen that but this season that sort of seems to be a little bit out the window you can't really tell what they're trying to do it's not that organized and then they've not really got a kind of high quality uh center forward to get them out of trouble as well so it's another one where i think that january is going to be really important because they really badly need a good center forward they've had a lot of injuries to be fair as well but not as many as some other teams and

i'm sort of forgiving of the you know of teams where they've got a load of injuries but it's more that it's really really hard to see what the vision is at the moment and the way Riyan wants the team to play, which is quite worrying, really, for Spurs. You can't see how they're going to turn it around at the moment, which is tough going. And they've sort of not had it come in. I mean, that's a bit harsh, but they've been so lacking in bite up front that eventually a mistake was going to bite them bite them in the arse basically and that's what happened early on but how do they go Anne-Marie from the highs of an 8-0 win over Brighton to back-to-back losses because you know we talk about that lack of fight up front and I know Brighton were obviously going through their own troubles at the time anyway.

But how do you go from scoring eight goals to then really struggling full stop? And it's a question I think the players are probably struggling to answer themselves. I don't understand it. Listening to what Susie was saying and I was nodding my head, the word I was thinking of was regressing.

I feel like Tottenham have been regressing over the last few months or so. And when I watched them at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and Chelsea scored that first goal, there was nobody on the pitch going, oh, come on, let's go, let's try. There was no energy. There was no fight whatsoever. I felt like they were going through the motions. And me you know when like Susie was saying we and Skinner came on board let the manager bounce it was all fine and dandy they were getting the results and then just the start of this season I just feel they've been very up and down and I agree Susie when I'm watching them I'm thinking who is this team who are Tottenham Hotspur I have

no idea because I cannot figure them out at this moment in time. Look, they'll stay in the league for sure. I can't see them going back down into the championship, but it must be frustrating for the team to try to figure out who are they? What type of team are they? Who do they want to be? And to go from having those big wins and then have a team that is also struggling and have a significant win against you is going to hurt. So I like Rhian Skinner as a coach, but she needs to figure this out really, really quickly. And I think January should help with that.

Quite telling, isn't it, Sophie, that we've ended up talking about Tottenham at the top of this match rather than Reading, who got their first clean sheet of the season, which Kelly Chambers will be absolutely delighted with, I'm sure. And she just, for me, transforms this team with this real sense of belief, keeping going. You know, when the chips are down, they just keep fighting. I think they deserve all the credit from that game. You know, they really took it to Tottenham and it would have been quite easy to, you know, sit back.

They were flu-ridden. They were out without some key players. A shout out to Emma Harries, who captained the side for the first time. She's Reading born and bred and she's a young player and she wasn't quite fully fit. She's come back from a long term injury and then she got another niggle earlier on. So she's getting back that full fitness. But I just think she's such a bright future for them.

And they are developing these young players that, you know, have really, really good quality. Tia Prima is another one in the midfield. She been a star for them this season for Reading is about momentum I think and you know they're starting to pick up these results now they changed the system a bit to fit the players better Kelly Chambers realised what she had to do to try and make it you know a bit stronger at the back and then also give them an outlet going forward. For me, they had to make that adjustment because Deanne Rose is out for the season and the whole attack, you know, before that kind of pinned around Deanne Rose and her speed. And she would have had an absolute field day against Spurs at the weekend. There was so much space down that right-hand side and the left-hand side. I think

she would have torn Tottenham to shreds but I think now for Kelly Chambers it's about killing these games off if they had their chances to get that second goal and not make it nervy in that last five minutes they should have put it to bed and on another day they could have suffered from that but I think it's going in the right direction for them that's for sure

Yeah it really is and literally as well because they've replaced Brighton and switched into 10th so they are going up the table as are Liverpool. 2-0 winners over West Ham, who were all at sea in the first half of this game. Goals from Kerry Holland and Katie Stengel giving Liverpool only their second win of the season after that opening day victory over Chelsea. It's been a long time coming this, hasn't it, Susie? And it feels as if we have kind of been building to this for Matt Beard. Yeah, it's been a long time coming. We know Matt Beard's a good manager. You know, Liverpool put in some good performances and not necessarily sort of walked away with the points from games that maybe they sometimes have deserved. And they've needed goals from open play as as well a few more anyway so yeah really

good performance really good win early goal obviously makes a huge difference to that um I think having Van der Sanden fit and in the side makes a huge difference she just injects so much energy into the um right hand side real real electric player, pinpoint crosses. I think I said it last time that watching her in any form just makes me think of her at Lyon and just how brilliant she was there. But literally every time she gets on the ball, she's looking forward and she's looking across. And I think they really needed someone with that focus in there so it was great to see them walk away from a game with three points and a clean sheet I thought that was really really important. And they'll be looking for back-to-back wins Sophie as well

because they have Leicester visiting them next weekend which could potentially you know I don't want to write Leicester off completely because we are still in December but if they lose this surely that's the final nail in the coffin you would think so it's going to be incredibly hard I mean I still I look at it now and there's seven points you know between them and then the next place up and I I just struggle to see where that that comes from at the moment even if you do pick up a draw or a win here and there. I think the other two teams around, well, other than Brighton, the other two teams around you are picking up some kind of form and really getting their points on the board that they need. You know, that draw that Liverpool and Reading played out the other day,

yes, they would have both wanted a win, but actually a draw for them got them that cushion that they needed. So I think it's a real issue for Leicester. And yeah, back-to-back wins would be really good for Liverpool, I think. I think they showed us at the start of the season what a quality side they had. They just needed a bit of time to get used to the WSL level again, because they've been playing in the Championship. And it's a different physicality of a league.

It's a different game altogether. But I think you're starting to see now, Katie Stengel, wow, you know, she's third top goal scorer behind Bunny Shaw and Rachel Daly. That's kind of the leading woman that you want. I think you can't underestimate the power of pulling away from the bottom as well and what that does mentally for a team. You know, getting those couple of draws back to back and then the win against uh West Ham really really do a lot for the sort of like internal pressure the players

feel every time they step on a pitch you know like having just that that cushion away from the pack at the bottom now is hugely significant for them mentally. I want to put something to you Anne-Marie that's quite interesting, particularly because we're kind of considering relegation is pretty much done or dusted this season already and what are we on? 6th of December. This is a suggestion from friend of the pod Tim Stillman. Please, please, please, can we at least have a playoff between 11th in the WSL and second in the championship? Too many games in both divisions

that don't mean enough. Championship deserves a potential second spot and WSL needs more jeopardy in the second half of the season. What say you, Anne-Marie? Oh, goodness. What a great idea. Do you know, as you were saying it for help thinking actually

it's a good shout it's a good shout i'm not entirely sure about the wcl not having enough jeopardy because i think there's not a lot of room to maneuver within the wc it takes a couple of games and you're sucked back into the relegation zone if you haven't got points on the board early so i think there is that element of jeopardy maybe it could go up a level i don't know but i like i kind of like that idea actually and for for some time i was thinking we need to have that conversation about relegation and promotion of the wsl and the championship having only one team go down and one team go up at what point are we going to have that difficult discussion that conversation say how can we move this forward in terms of having two teams come up and two teams go down and increase that element of jeopardy that Tim's talking about.

So I like it. Let's discuss it. I don't think, you know, let's have a conversation about it. I quite like the idea, actually. I agree. It adds maybe a jeopardy that we haven't seen before. But actually, if you look at the last two seasons or so, you know, we've had a relegation battle. This season is the first season that it's pretty much done. We had Leicester and Birmingham last year.

We had Bristol clawing their way out of trouble the year before and just about missing out on staying in the WSL. I think we have to talk about expansion first. I think the league needs more teams. I would go to 14 personally. And I think, you know, the problem at the moment with the championship is when you drop down, that's a massive drop in a way because you're going into a semi-professional league. And yes, the ones that have gone down have done pretty well and come back up again or, you know, have kept their investment to kind of rebuild.

But you might not always see that. And I always worry when a team goes down what the future will be for that team because you are going into a league where there's only one promotion place. So if you don't get out that season, will they keep that support behind the team if you don't get it the first season? That's my worry. For me, the biggest problem with the league is the discrepancy between the number of games

for teams at the top and teams at the bottom because you've got the likes of the Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, City, depending on which year it is, competing in numerous competitions across the entire course of the season, playing three games a week and that kind of thing. Really being able to test and stretch their squads and give players game time and work their players hard.

And if anything, they've got a little too much. And at the bottom, you've got teams with not enough games, not playing regularly enough to really build any kind of consistency, to keep players in form, to give the squads of these sizes the game time they need so for me like expansion would help with that side you've got to find a way to make it work for the teams at the top as well but the biggest problem is i don't think that the teams at the bottom are getting enough game time to be able to experiment because at the moment every game really matters it's a really tight league every point

matters there's no really sort of in between games where you can just push things a little bit other than the Conti Cup which you also if you're at the bottom that's your only chance of really progressing in something and keeping some games going so there's a pressure there too. I think my only issue with it with expanding is then there could be a bigger gulf between the WSL and the Championship if that happens. And that to me is a worry because I think we need two really strong leagues in this country. And when you look at the table, actually, and I'm going to go through the results from the Championship very shortly, it's really tight at the top. You've got London City on 21 points,

Bristol City with a game in hand on 20, Charlton on 19, Southampton on 19, and then bubbling behind are Birmingham and Crystal Palace. So it's a competitive league in itself. Firstly, I agree with that. But then you look further down the tiers and you've got teams making some pretty good investment in the WNL, FAWNL,

who could more than, you know, last season it was between Southampton and Wolves. And both, I think, should have come up because they were both putting the support behind their women's side. And there's others in there, you know, Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Oxford United, they're all... Newcastle. Yeah, Newcastle as well well so there's a lot of options to fill out the spaces and I would argue that you probably should expand the championship as well and have two 14 team leagues to Susie's point I was speaking to a lot of the managers about kind of loading and injuries before the last set of games and it was quite interesting the difference

in comments between you know the top of the league and the bottom of the WSL and people like Kelly Chambers and Willie Kirk were very much like we need more games we have too much inconsistency where we go from you know a three-game week and then we have three weeks off two weeks off and then we're back into a three-game week whereas I think you know you look at the top of the table and they are playing every three days because of the Champions League so it's an issue that needs to be addressed that's for sure. Yeah definitely I feel like we could do an entire pod on it actually so maybe we'll kind of asterix that and put that on for the beginning of next year. I will rattle through the championship

results Bristol City and London City slight slip-ups this weekend both drew 1-1 to Durham and Southampton respectively. Crystal Palace revenge for last week's Conte Cup loss to Lewis beating them 1-0 in the league while Charlton got a 1-0 win over Sheffield United putting themselves back in the title race contention Birmingham kept in touch thanks to

a 2-0 win over Blackburn and Sunderland beat Coventry 5-0 which leaves Coventry very far adrift at the bottom of the table. Right, that is it. What are we all looking forward to this week? What are you up to? Very quickly, Susie Rack.

Oh, Champions League is always fun, isn't it? So I'm at the Emirates and then covering the Chelsea game off TV. So two midweek games and the Manchester derby. What a way to head towards Christmas with living the dream and a little bit of um Japanese uh teaching training is that right you're learning a new language yeah no um yeah alongside writing two books I'm not learning Japanese I am learning the guitar that's a shame okay a shame. Okay. I could have taught you.

I could have taught you everything I knew. Anne-Marie, what are you up to? Because I've got this cold, I think I'm going to take a few days and just enjoy watching matches from my sofa this week. Champions League, I'm really excited to see how that's going to pan out. And given that I've given it a massive big up

at the beginning, the Manchester derby, I'm excited for that. Soph? I will be joining Susie at the Emirates and then I will be hopping over to Madrid for about 20 hours to catch the Chelsea game. So I'm looking forward to that one. If you're going to go anywhere for 20 hours, of course, pick Madrid. Wonderful. Anne-Marie, feel better feel better Soph lovely to see you Susie get some sleep I'm also off to get some sleep that is everything

from us this week we will be back next week for the final weekend of WSL fixtures before Christmas and if you are watching the Champions League don't forget Arsenal play Juventus on Wednesday Real Madrid Chelsea is on Thursday The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Lucy Oliver and Jesse Parker-Humphrey.

Its music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Sal Ahmed. This is The Guardian. 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.