The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - How will new signings shape second half of WSL season? – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: February 4, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Emma Sanders, and Chris Paouros to discuss WSL deadline day, Arsenal’s seven-goal thriller with Manchester City, and Chelsea’s growing dominance

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. Deadline day drama as two lionesses make big moves. We'll discuss the fallout from Chloe Kelly's transfer to Arsenal and Keira Walsh moving to Chelsea. We've got a thriller at the Joy Stadium to dissect, a catch up on the championship and we'll talk about what's going on in Spain. All that plus we'll take your questions.

And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well, what a panel we have today. Suzy Rack, hello. Hey, hey, how are you doing? I'm all right, thank you. It's been quite a fun week, hasn't it? Yeah, a little bit. A little bit's gone on.

Yeah, just quiet, you know. Emma Sanders, I'm sure, has just had her feet up, slippers on, you know. As usual. No work going on, quiet. Yeah, I've literally done nothing all week. It's been great. Not. Chris Powerhouse as well, you know.

God, you never do anything, do you? Nah, I've just been lounging about for the week as well you know God you never do anything do you? Nah I've just been lounging about for the week as well I tell you what I am loving the luminous green ensemble you are wearing today

where are your glow sticks? I'm getting proper 90s rave vibes well you know sometimes on a gloomy morning you want to wake up and decide today I'm going to direct traffic. Brilliant. Right. Direct some of this traffic for us, because 11 o'clock on Thursday evening in the UK, the transfer window finally closed after one of the most dramatic deadline days to date went down to the wire.

A few surprises along the way as well. Barcelona accepting an offer from Chelsea for midfielder Kiera Walsh and Chloe Kelly finally forcing a move out of Manchester City and arriving at Arsenal. We're going to go through the kind of nitty gritty in a second, Susie, but how do you sum up this transfer window?

Exciting. I mean, it's been dramatic and slightly chaotic and I think it's the first time where I thought this feels a little bit like a men's transfer window in terms of like particularly for January in terms of like big players moving and big money being spent and yeah like proper strengthening it feels like there's a little bit of a shift towards business being done in this window in a way that there hasn't necessarily been before I mean don't get me wrong they have been big deals done but not not maybe like to the extent that they have before yeah I know what you mean I know exactly what you mean yeah let's go through it all,

shall we? Because for about an hour on Wednesday, it looked like Keira Walsh was going to be the story of deadline day, but the Chloe Kelly saga ended up dominating. In case you missed it, I'll give you a rundown of what happened on Wednesday night. We read from Chloe Kelly on social media. It's a long one, bear with me. A message from me. For a long time, I've tried to work through professional challenges privately, not commenting publicly. But with my situation increasingly being debated in the public domain, I feel it's time to be open and transparent and that you heard it from my perspective. A key lesson I've learned in my life is that whilst I can't control someone's negative behavior towards me, I can control how long I'm prepared to tolerate it.

From day one, I felt so much love from my teammates and the fans. With my contract expiring in June, I've accepted my future is not at this club beyond then. With the Euros fast approaching, this summer is a huge one and I want to be in a position to give it my best shot to represent my country, something which has always filled me with such pride and is a true honour to do. However, to be dictated whom I can and can't join with only four months left of the football season is having a huge impact on not only my career, but my mental wellbeing.

The situation has dragged on too long, it's disappointing and not right. I'm at a pivotal point in my life and my career is so important to me and it's very disappointing that the sport we love can make you feel this way, especially after there's been so much growth. This is why I'm posting this, because I want you all to be aware that we as players dedicate our lives to our sport and our clubs,

but dreams can be crushed whilst we live in silence. I'm human and I have and will give everything to the game that I love. Ultimately, I just want to be happy again. So that was a statement from Chloe Kelly. Reports then followed that Manchester United and Brighton were interested throughout deadline day until reports then came through that Arsenal had had an offer of a loan move accepted by City, which was eventually confirmed at 11 o'clock on Thursday night. But then there was more. It continues. Kelly released another statement saying

so disappointed to find out tonight that people at the club are briefing journalists against me if I'm to sign at a club before the window shuts. They've called reporters to assassinate my character and tried to plant negative stories about me in the football media. I mean, wow. I always feel uncomfortable when things are played out in the public domain like this. However, it feels as if she had no choice but to play it out in the public domain. It was a really dramatic end to everything, Emma. What do you make of it? I'll ask you what she's going to add to Arsenal in a minute, but let's go through all of that first.

Yeah, I mean, it was wild, really, wasn't it? The whole process. I think there's so many different narratives and facets to this, isn't there? I think firstly, Chloe Kelly's point of view, it's important that she got her point of view across and she was able to do that. We don't get to see that often. I always applaud players who speak out and speak up for themselves. Whether or not you agree with what she put or not, I think is kind of irrelevant because it's, you know, like I say, it's all about her sort of sharing her side of view and her point of view.

So I think that was made quite clear. She obviously wasn't happy there. She obviously wanted to move away. She felt she wasn't getting the opportunity to do that. So if it means putting pressure on the club in a public sense and that's obviously the decision that she went down obviously the club themselves chose not to release any public statement obviously there was you know that talk from Chloe there about there being reports off record to journalists obviously I won't comment on that but I think the fact there wasn't anything publicly from Man City I think was quite poor if If there were briefings, then it's not the way to go about it.

I think if you want to directly address anything that Chloe Kelly said, I think you have to do that publicly. To ask journalists to do that off record and to report as their understanding, as was claimed by Chloe, then I think that's just not, you can't do that. It's defamation of character for anyone in the media to do that. So, you know, any person that's a journalist would be breaking the law. So that in itself was just not, you know, you can't, clubs can't be doing that. So there was just a lot going on, I think, in the situation. I think in the end, the outcome is the absolute right one, is that Chloe Kelly has moved.

Manchester City have obviously been able to release a player that clearly wasn't happy. All parties have sort of ended their relationship now. Yes, it's a loan move, but Chloe Kelly is not going back to Manchester City when her contract ends in the summer. There's absolutely no chance of that happening. So hopefully she'll go to Arsenal. Like you say, we'll come on to talk about what she can provide there.

But certainly she gets a new environment, some new energy. She's around a lot of the Lionesses as well. It's a club she's played at before. The fans seemed, you know, on board. They seemed pretty happy to welcome her in. So I think from her perspective, it's all big ticks in the boxes, isn't it? And I think from Gareth Taylor's perspective this week, it's quite clear that I think he wants to move on from the whole situation.

Yeah, well, I'm sure he does. We don't really see this much in the women's game Chris do we but it feels as if player power is is is actually coming to the fore social media we've spoken about before people can can own their own narratives um was it the right thing that that that she did I think she had to I think we've got to remember that there's sort of humanity at the core of all of this, you know, and I appreciate that, you know, we're talking about a transfer deadline day and what you're transferring are the assets,

which are the players. But regardless of that, you know, she said it herself, it's affecting her career, affecting her mental health. And, you know, as I say, there's sort of humanity at the centre of it. and it doesn't happen very much in women's football you know you rarely see women players force moves you know and you know you hear it sort of behind the scenes as well that if someone's contract's going to run out even if they do want to to leave they might sort of say well i'll just wait and see what happens rather than forcing something

but I think January is the time to do that particularly and contracts are short in women's football and all of those things that we know they all sort of build to the same thing which is like you've got a short contract what does that mean about where your value is anyway so if there's something that you need to do to say I have to force something for what's right for me and my life I think that's really important she clearly wants to play and she backed herself you know and I think that's to be lauded rather than denigrated I mean playing devil's advocate ever so slightly in the like I feel like the club dictating where you go like that's the nature of football right like a club doesn't want you to go to a big rival that is a pretty standard thing men's and women's but having said that clearly

there's been such a incredible breakdown in relations like you've driven her to that point right like as a club you've allowed relations to become so untenable and it's reached a point where the scorer of the winning goal in a euros final is now still in the peak age of her career is wondering whether she's even going to make the next euros like you've engineered that to the extent that you have no right to dictate anymore so like there's you know if they were still looking after her as a as a player having an holistic view of the club going out and finding her a good club that is going to help her win her euros place back because they don't see her fitting into the team anymore fine but if you're treating her the way you're treating her to the point at which there's there was clearly you know a really

dramatic fallout you could just see that in all the players liking the tweets uh the the post on instagram and uh and and commenting and wishing her best of luck including her own teammates at city that that clearly things are broken down to such an extent that city had absolutely no right to have any say on where she was going so like slight devil's advocate in that like obviously you know a club has every right not to sell a player to their nearest rival if they don't want to but they had lost any right for that to be the case in my view in this circumstance because they had you know kind of soured relations so so significantly yeah i think that's spot on suzy i think that's not necessarily devil's advocate there it's like that's what the reality is but there was clearly just some really bad management there. I think there's, you know...

Welcome to the world, Chris. It doesn't have to be like that, Faye. It doesn't have to be like that, imagine. It does not, for sure. I tell you what, let's talk, when we talk the game, because obviously in strange quirks of fate in football, of course Manchester City were playing Arsenal at the weekend in the Barclays WSL. So let's talk about what Chloe Kelly can bring to Arsenal when we talk about the game. Let's continue focusing on deadline day because, you know, there had been rumours about Keira Walsh leaving Barcelona for

quite a while we thought she might be heading to to Arsenal plenty of interest from them but it was eventually Chelsea who got her signature and it's been a really statement window from the Blues hasn't it Susie this January but what is Keira Walsh going to add to a team which I mean doesn't really need her in in the nicest way possible you know what I mean they've got a lot of quality already yeah a lot of quality but not really in that position so to speak like I mean if you think uh Sophie Ingle is was there like probably most natural defensive midfielder and has obviously done her ACL so and then when you're looking at sort of natural replacements for her they don't really have one and we've still got players that can fill the role erin kufkin but can play a bit deeper and things like that but it's not a

like natural position for her so in a sense like i would say it's like one of the weakest areas of their starting 11 if you're being really really pedantic which when you're trying to win the Champions League you've got to be that pedantic over right like yes you may be cruising in the Women's Super League and the Cups and things without too much problem without any deficiency in that area being exposed but when you're going into knockout stages in Champions League that's when those little details really are going to matter so in that sense like I think she's like a really shrewd acquisition and needed for them but the fact that Arsenal didn't get her having gone in with a reported world record bid in like September and then she goes to Chelsea in January for like what looks

like less than half the price of what Arsenal bid in the summer is outstandingly bad business from an Arsenal point of view um and I just yeah I mean I think Chelsea are just absolutely you know obviously having recruited Girma like completely bossing the narrative um and setting the standard and yes inflating the market but the thing is is like if other clubs aren't willing to inflate the market then a team like Chelsea will and then you're chasing in that inflated market anyway so you've sort of got to be pushing the boundaries in a system which I think is shit don't get me wrong like I don't think ridiculous transfer fees and um pay should be a thing in women's football necessarily that just spirals and spirals and spirals and becomes like the men's game I think there should be a thing in women's football necessarily that just spirals and spirals

and spirals and becomes like the men's game i think there should be caps at the bottom and at the top and things like that but in this current state of a transfer world we're living in chelsea are utterly controlling the price of milk in in every single scenario and everyone else is scrabbling the pennies together to get the the to the new price we um we talked a little bit about this emma last week in terms of whether or not spending needs to be controlled friend of the pod anita asante said on the bbc she thought it was actually on the other clubs to up their investment where do you stand on it yeah i couldn't agree more with that because you know like Susie touched on there if other clubs aren't willing to invest I think it's it's a dangerous precedent to then you know flip it on the other side and say the club that is investing

is is the bad guy I completely understand it's not as black and white as that naturally as Susie says they're inflating the market that makes it tougher for everyone else in the league it widens the gap. But Chelsea haven't just invested in player transfer fees. You know, they've got a very good wellbeing programme. They've got a lot of support staff at the club. They could probably do with investing in the facilities a little bit more, but, you know, it's not like they haven't invested at all.

They've got great medical facilities. Obviously, you know, they invested in arguably one of the world's best coaches coaches so it's not like they've just gone out and brought a load of players and they're not invested elsewhere they're investing around as well and I think that's for me that is really really important that you're not just spending stupid money on players and not investing on you know the holistic approach to to kind of the support network around the players. So I think that is an important note because it means that Chelsea are investing full stop, not just buying players. So if I was other clubs, I'd be looking at that and thinking, OK, you know, Brighton are a great example of a club that are doing it the right way. They've invested in the facilities. They're looking to build a purpose built stadium. They've just started investing in terms of transfer fees in players. So they've done it that right way as well,

build the infrastructure and then invest in players. And it just takes time. So I think clubs realise it takes time. The problem is everyone's reacted so slowly, you could argue, that Chelsea have already got this gap. So is that the problem? Is it the system's problem? I think it's probably both but I think Chelsea spending money I think is really difficult to criticise because the opportunity is there for them if no one else is doing it then why should they be stopped doing it?

And I think it's too early in the women's game to bring in financial constraints at the moment just because clubs are investing the model's changing all the time. The business is changing all the time. We're just starting to attract sponsorships and commercial rights and all those kind of things. I think just putting caps on things now, I just think there's a potential

for it to sort of, I suppose, to slow down any progress. Put the reins on a little bit. More broadly across the January transfer window, Chris, any other deals stand out for you in particular? Obviously, those two took all the headlines. Anyone else who you'll be keeping an eye on? Well, I think, obviously, I think Spurs have made some three good signings, but I would say that.

I saw Tom Gary, a there was a quote about something how we're not shopping in the same supermarket as some of our London neighbours but we're steadily improving our squad which I think is probably about right you know Lisa Kopp from Leicester she was obviously going to be going somewhere else and already looks really well settled

Olivia Holt I think once she's fit is going to be sort of that creative spark that we need, sort of, you know, being that sort of metronome, but also producing things in the midfield. And Josephine Rebrink is a centre-back, but played at six at the weekend and looked quite tidy. I think Gago Everton, sorry if that's not how you say her name, it was a good signing and showed us that at the weekend.

So I think there's some interesting, the game has been upped. I think for a January window, I think Susie said it earlier, it was, you know, but you could sort of see how there have been a few injuries and the bar is being raised. And we've just talked about the bar being raised by Chelsea there. And so actually you're thinking, okay, how do I get in players that are going to be effective in the WSL where do I look if I can't afford to spend a million dollars on Naomi Germer

who by the way as much as it pains me it's like it's very exciting to see her in the WSL you know like what a player she is and you know to be able to sort of see her on a weekly basis is going to be a real privilege on the Chelsea stuff I mean I'm sorry to go back to it but I want to play devil's advocate slightly and I to the on the one hand I agree with everything that Emma just said right but on the other hand I just worry whether it's setting the standard or whether it's unrealistic because I don't want to hold women's football to a higher standard to say actually we don't want to get into the mess that men's football's got into financially but we know what a fragile state the women's game is even at the top level you know so at any moment because you've

got the same clubs that are making all these sort of enormous financial investments if you like in the men's game it's at any moment you're like okay well actually we think the women's footballs jumped the shark we're not going to invest anymore then what so there's something about how you make how you do make that sustainable i don't know what the answer is because you know on the one hand i think yes actually there should be some cost controls but then equally it's like why are we putting cost controls on women and not you know so again it's like it swims around my head having said all of that as a punter you just love the kind of drama and the mayhem and spending loads of money and thinking about the amazing things that you can then go and sort of do on

a football pitch so I'm sort of I constantly oscillate with this question but yeah there's some really exciting things and and as I say I think the next the next one I think is Gago at Everton there were you know there's a couple there are a couple of others but I think you know if anything Chelsea definitely won the transfer window and I don't think there's any doubt in that yeah I just wanted to just build on what Chris was saying there about Gargo going to Everton. I thought she was a brilliant signing. Is it Gago or Gargo? Have we decided yet?

I've heard it's Gargo, but I don't know. I'll go with you, Emma. You know better than I do. Let's say Gargo. I wouldn't say that. But yeah, I think she's a great signing. I was there when she made her debut against Aston Villa and she came on as a substitute for the last 20 minutes and absolutely ripped the place up.

So I think it's three goals in three games now in all competitions, maybe three goals in four games. So, I mean, she's had a brilliant start. But on the Everton theme, my signing of the transfer window, aside from Kira Walsh and Naomi Gerber, still remains Hayley Ladd to Everton. I just think that was such a brilliant, brilliant move for both her and the club. Brilliant. That's deadline day wrapped up for another January, at least.

Starts all again in the summer. How exciting. Worst month of my life. Oh, no, Em, you've done brilliantly. Honestly, there's been so much to unpick this time and so much to unpick in this game as well because it's time to look at the weekend's action in the Barclays WSL Manchester City

against Arsenal written in the stars isn't it they love just to help us with our jobs don't they the fixture schedulers Chloe Kelly obviously ineligible for this fixture, but no shortage of drama on the pitch. We were treated to a riveting seven-goal thriller

and it finished Manchester City 3, Arsenal 4. The Gunners raced into a 2-0 lead. Goals from Mariona Caldente. Was it like 28 seconds she scored? And Lotta Vuban-Moy as well on the score sheet for the first time in nearly a year. Mary Fowler pulled one back for the host before half-time, before Vivian Miedema inevitably struck once more against her former club. Parity for no more than a minute, though.

Frida Mahnum restored Arsenal's lead from the restart before a contentious Mary Fowler penalty leveled the score again with just four minutes later the eventual winner though came from none other than Stina Blackstenius which means Arsenal go above Gareth Taylor's side in the table it was a real classic Susie wasn't it what are your reflections on the game yeah end to end stuff and nice to watch it just as a fan we had Tom covering it so I actually got to like not in person but watch it on the telly uh and i can't remember the last time i actually got to do that um and everyone will be glad that they weren't sat next to me in a press box for that game but yeah i like thrilling um i mean city's defensive woes after losing uh alex greenwood

to injury just pile up don't they and the you know the confusion for the opening goal really really poor it's not totally Keating's fault she's played into trouble there big time but it's it's not good and they need to spend a lot of a lot of time on the training pitch working out how they shore things up at the back I think have rotating the goalkeepers can't be that helpful either I know they're sort of doing I know Gareth Taylor said that um you know Keaton had edged it in training it's sort of ahead of the game kind of thing that I don't think that's okay though I think you've got to pick a number one and back them and you know the fact that there have been quite big errors in this game and in the game against Man United, you just can't have those mistakes.

I think the result was fair in the end, especially given the penalty decision was absolutely appalling. But yeah, like a thrilling game. And I don't know about everyone else, but like I just wanted a result either way because I mean, it's bad enough that Chelsea are already completely running away with the league. If it had been a draw and they had pulled a couple more points clear at the top again, it just would have been so, so bad. you know whenever I say whenever when when the score was level for a brief moment I was just like praying for another goal because I just didn't want it to end in a draw no I don't think any of us did certainly not Gareth Taylor but equally he didn't want to be on the end of another defeat as well the injury crisis that they've had loss of form all the fallout from the Chloe Kelly story and the build-up to the match.

It wasn't the best preparation at all. And, you know, he said after the game, his side needed a pick-me-up and that the mood isn't great. Should he be under a lot of pressure, Emma? I think so. I think those things that you've listed are valid excuses, valid reasons. But have we been giving those excuses for too long now? You know, Gareth Taylor became Manchester City manager in May 2020. They've not won a WSL title. They've spent a lot of money.

Chelsea, up until you could argue the last 12 months, haven't really spent anything excessively on top of what Manchester City have. And apart from last season, I think it's really important to say, obviously Manchester City absolutely went toe-to-toe, only missed out on the title on goal difference. Could the conversation have been different if they'd won the WSL title then? Yes, absolutely.

But the fact of the matter is they didn't. So, you know, how much time can you really keep giving Gareth Taylor? You know, all big clubs get injuries all big teams have key injuries you look at Chelsea's injury list that they've had for a long period now it's terrifying and what they've gone and done is gone to the market and recruited players and they've recruited very well yes they brought in the big names Naomi Germer and Keira Walsh in January but you look at their summer spending a lot of the players were younger players maybe ones that we

hadn't heard of as much. You look back to last season when they brought in Soyik Nuskan, what a signing she was. They're very, very good at scouting players. I would argue, I know we discussed this the last time I was on the podcast, Manchester City's recruitment just sinks a little

bit all over the shop. It's a bit confusing. So, I think a lot of that is led by Gareth Taylor, from what I can understand. Obviously, there's people around him, but I do think he has a big say in who leaves the club and who comes. I know we've discussed before the amount of players that have left. And when you look at that goalkeeping situation,

they allowed Ellie Roebuck to leave. She was a former England number one Great Britain number one at the Olympics at such a young age clearly a fantastic goalkeeper was she perfect absolutely not did she make mistakes 100% but is she better than the other two that they have I think absolutely yes so just a lot of questionable things have happened and Gareth Taylor is the manager therefore he's the one who's fronting everything so should he be under pressure my answer is yes. Let's go a bit more positive shall we Chris? Mariona Caldente she was great wasn't she probably flown under the radar a little

bit as well as particularly when she's in the Spain squad and when she was at Barcelona. But she's added quite a lot to this Arsenal side, I feel. Absolutely. And I think, you know, Arsenal fans were sort of, you know, lamenting over the summer with letting Miedema go. But I think the reason they let her go, as I understand it, for budgetary reasons to get Caldente in. And what a player. I mean, you know, I mean you know she you know you could argue there was obviously there was chaos for the first goal but was it also great pressing from her she played a terrific goal for the fifth goal and the you know and then just everything like an incredible cross field ball for

the last one she's got it all you know she you know i've just talked about a press i've just talked about a through ball i've just talked about a cross field ball um and she seems also which is a is a good favorite of mine to sort of play all with a wry smile on her face it's like yeah i know how good you know almost like watching the ball as it flies through the air it's like yeah that was a great pass which you kind of like when you're good it's all right to be proud of yourself. And so, yeah, I think I think she had a she had a really, really good game and is a really top player. And, you know, is a good is is what they is what they needed, sadly, as much as I hate to admit it.

You mentioned, Susie, the penalty. I think I'm not even going to ask any of you what you will think. I'm sure Cheryl Foster will be disappointed. Clearly, when Fagino went down under a challenge from Steph Catley, it was outside of the box. It didn't continue inside the box. And obviously, what we get then is the inevitable cause for VAR. Is that actually the solution? No no good refereeing is the solution for me like I'm not being funny but the lines person is like really close to that um the referee's in a good position she's like it's not even tight she's really far out the box and also I mean I suppose you can see it given as a foul she's moving at quite high speed but the i mean the the touch on her back is is minimal as well so even that i think is slightly contentious in and

of itself that it's even a foul um but you give it based on the fact that yeah like i say she's moving at speed but it was a foul suzy it was a foul it was like so lightly brushed her like i mean when you watch the replay it is so so like faint and i'll give it because like i say at speed even the smallest touch can impact your your movement but like yeah i mean for me like giving it when it is so obviously outside the box is just like unforgivable and yes var would change that but like good refereeing would change that and that for me is the bigger thing like that was it was just a terrible, terrible decision. And it felt like it was maybe influenced by reaction rather than like actually using their eyes because everyone watching it, like in the stadium and at home were very much like that was outside the box. Like, you know, they're closer to the action. So actually the first time she can play because she's also cup tied for the FA Cup

fifth round match against London City Lionesses is in the North London Derby which I can see Chris Powerhouse getting not so excited about now shaking her head.

She'll be so like up for it it'll be unbelievable. I know which will be a week on Sunday if she comes into the team uh Susie what is she going to bring oh I mean well like it's a good question because she's not played for so long

that she may well be a little bit rusty obviously she's been training and stuff but um you know she's been such a bit part player for City just coming off the bench at best left out the squad entirely at times there might take a little bit of time to get going that said like you know after she came back from her ACL injury probably one of the shortest recoveries that we've seen a player make to have such a big impact at the Euros like I you know it's highly likely that she'll want to get off the mark very very quickly and have an impact straight away and really prove a point and make a statement to both City and to Serena, who has backed her despite her not playing for this length of time.

You know, she's really, really, really going to want to fight for that place in Switzerland. So, yeah, it's a great signing for Arsenal in that they're getting a player who is desperately hungry to do well, right? And it's interesting in that, you know, it gives England and Arsenal a little bit of a headache in, you know, kind of Beth Mead, Chloe Kelly battling it out for, you know, that position wide right. So you're sort of, yeah, you're really kind of getting a top level player, peak age and, you know, with a pointer proven some real hunger and desire to do well.

So, yeah, like taking her on loan is a no brainer, right? Like you would sign her, you know, you would sign her permanently if you could, I guess. It's a really kind of fortunate timed signing for Arsenal in terms of like the type of player and the desire that she's going to feel. Right that's it for part one in part two we're going to look at the rest of the weekend's action. 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.

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and the ability to preload the frame with photos and videos. Right now, you can get $25 off Aura's best-selling Carver Matte Frames by using promo code ACAST. Just visit auraframes.com. That's A-U-R-A frames.ames.com. Promo code ACAST. Conditions apply. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So Everton put their recent tribulations in front of goal to bed with a comfortable victory over Leicester, lifting them into eighth.

It finished Everton four, Leicester City one, thanks to a brace from new signing Kelly Gargo and strikes from catcher Snoyce and Honaka Hayashi. Shannon O'Brien got on the score sheet for the Foxes, but it feels, Emma, as if Everton have found their form in front of goal. We mentioned her earlier on was Kelly Gargo the missing piece of the puzzle I think so among you know a couple of other little pieces as well I think firstly it's just really great to see Everton actually you

know finding their feet again having had such a tough couple of seasons no investment serious injury crisis and not being able to do anything about it. Now they have had that investment. They've got the new ownership. They've brought in the new players and they're making a difference. So yeah, I think Gargo is a brilliant signing

from what I've seen so far. Like I mentioned earlier, she really excited me on her debut and everything I've seen from her since. She's got a great goal scoring record anyway, but you never know how that will translate into the WSL. So far, signs are very good. But look, let's be honest, Everton were at home against a Leicester side who struggled to score this season. Obviously, they got that win at Liverpool and the draw at Chelsea. But other than that, they've struggled for results and goals. So this is a game that Everton should be winning.

They would fancy themselves to be winning if they want to be clear of that relegation zone, which they are, I would think now. So, yeah, it was in their favour, but they did it in some style and they looked pretty comfortable. So good times for them. I'd be excited if I was an Everton fan. Yeah, except, you know, more bad news on the injury front. It was announced on Friday that their captain, Megan Finnegan, had suffered an ACL injury. We obviously wish Megan all the best.

A big loss for them, but they did recruit former Chelsea defender Marin Mielder on deadline day, which is a great signing. Disappointing day for Leicester, Chris. They're just three points above Crystal Palace in 11th now. And I feel as if Omendi Mikel is going to be a bit frustrated maybe at their lack of consistency at the minute. I think so. And I think, you know, they pulled it back.

They went 1-0 down and then pulled it back to 1-1. So I guess if you were a Leicester fan, you were like, OK, we're back in this game. And then Everton just turned it around in the second half didn't they so I think it's a tough one I mean I last time I was on here I was sort of saying that I don't think Palace are going to go down I'm still wondering whether Leicester are going to be are going to be the ones that suffer this season and I think you know a game like that could probably be a sort of a seminal moment, but I guess we'll see.

Manchester United and their fifth straight WSL victory with a narrow win over Tottenham on Sunday night. That sent them back up to second. It finished Tottenham nil, Manchester United won. It was a superb first half volley from Elizabeth Terl and Susie. And, you know, the game might have been played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but it certainly didn't really live up to the majesty of its surroundings, did it?

Any major concerns for United or is victory all that matters? I mean, ultimately victory is all that matters, right? Like they've got a really, really strong defensive record. Yeah, it's the best in the league, isn't it still? Yeah, yeah, just. And the finish for the goal was really really lovely but I mean other than that there was there was very little to say about the game I thought I had watching it back incredibly dull game overall

I feel sorry for Chris watching back-to-back games um but like what was it i'm like curious to know what chris thought it was like from the stands because yeah watching it back i found it incredibly tedious to get to it felt like time wasted of of my life well i think you know when you're a fan you kind of you get into whatever whatever the narrative is that's happening, right? So, of course, the narrative was, you know, I've never heard a player be booed as roundly as Celine Bizet was. And actually, she loved it by the looks of things. Saw her interview later. She was like, it's because they love me and they miss me.

So, actually, she took it. And it was quite pantomime. So, she took it in the spirit in which I guess it was intended. Look, it was quite a dry game. I guess I would say this, but I don't think we completely deserve the loss because it was, you know, that was the only moment in the game, exactly as you've just set out there. And it was quite cagey.

I guess from a Spurs fan perspective, quite positive signs that we're not being, you know, we weren't completely bullied by them not being, you know, we haven't, weren't completely bullied by them. Cause you know, you go one down after six minutes and you're like, oh my God, what's going to happen here. But it's frustrating that we continue not to get a reward,

any reward against Manchester United. We've never beaten them. But you know, Maya Letizia, like really just completely bossed that game. You know, like she literally won everything. Although our centre-backs I thought did that game. You know, like she literally won everything.

Although I sent her back because I thought it did really well. You know, it was the best game I've ever seen Claire Hunt play. Little fact about Claire Hunt, which is that she wears her hair in a ponytail when training and in a bun during a game. So if you ever watch any training videos, her hair's in a pony and it's in a bun at a game. You know, you heard it here first. Is that a superstition? I mean know you had it here superstition i mean i guess it

must be right because i don't know what the the or maybe just because if you're in a game you don't want to be fiddling about with your hair right so you just want it to sort of jam it in place once i might do that when i go to work where uh where it so in a ponytail when i'm doing the guardian weekly podcast wear it in a bun when I go to work. There you go. Just to illustrate the difference. I love the fact you don't see us as work. I love that.

That's what I took out of that. And the only thing I would, the only one last thing I would say is that I like, my optimism says that we had them worried because you rarely see Ella Toon at a corner flag with six minutes to go. And she, well, at 90 minutes, they were fiddling around in the corners. So there you go. Trying to find the positives in everything, Faye, you know. I love that. It's brilliant.

Not much to find positively in the next fixture either, I'm afraid. Crystal Palace, though, did take home a vital point from Derby Day in Crawley against Brighton. It finished Brighton 1, Crystal Palace 1. A bad error from goalkeeper Milamaj Majesari saw Lily Woodham's back pass hit the back of the net, putting Brighton ahead. The hosts were then reduced to 10 in the second half. Maisie Simmons saw a straight red. Palace left it late but equalised in the 88th minute through a my-Kato finish.

Laura Kaminski praised her side's character and resilience. Could be a really important point for them as well in their fight to avoid relegation. Dario Vidicic, though, was frustrated with the refereeing decisions in this game. Emma, did he have a point or should he be actually really putting the mirror up a little bit more at their lack of creativity? They only just had three shots on target. Yeah, probably a bit of both. I mean, I didn't see the challenge live. So I think whenever you see pitches or replays and it's slowed down,

it's difficult really to make a decision. I think it was, yeah, it was a rough challenge, whether or not there were more in the game, which was kind of his argument that if that was a red card, then there should have been several others. I can't really comment on too much, to be honest, because I didn't watch the entire 90 minutes. By the sounds of it, you saved yourself 90 minutes.

Exactly, yeah. I think sometimes there just needs to be more honesty on the pod, that some games are just terrible and they don't deserve too much analysis. That is for the, the technical teams to do back at base. So yes. And actually producer Sophie says, having sat through it live,

I concur. So there you go. Maybe we should just stop talking about it and apologies, Brighton and Crystal Palace fans. If you don't feel like you've, we've done your teams justice just send us a message it's absolutely fine equally if you sat through it at the weekend

tell us if you agree with us or not or give us the positives bearing in mind we're finding positives in this pod today. A positive for Sonia Bonpastor, Chelsea earning their 12th win of the season with a narrow 1-0 victory away at Villa Park. The Blues continuing that incredible run of form,

but it was an unfortunate own goal from Sarah Mailing in the 82nd minute that handed them the three points. And Sonia Bonpastor admitted it was a really lucky victory. This is what she had to say. When you're not able to perform at 100%, you always have to find a way to win the game. And the best teams have the power to do that I mean really disappointing from an Aston Villa point of view Susie wasn't it but

equally Chelsea had to put themselves kind of in those positions and force defenders into mistakes for it to happen which makes them makes them champions ultimately yeah I mean that's the thing right like the sign of champions is grinding out the results when you're not necessarily playing your best and that's what Chelsea are really really good at um you know it wasn't necessarily like a thrilling example of their football I thought Aston Villa played incredibly well um I thought Lucy Parker was brilliant and it was a really like well-organized defensive shift from them. But yeah, that little bit of luck, you put the ball into a dangerous position, sort of Mayling has to get a touch on it

because the forward is just behind her. So you can't blame Villa too much for the own goal. She's got to get something on it and obviously directs it into her own net, which is unfortunate. But if it's going to go in any way with the player just into her own net which is unfortunate but you know if you're gonna if it's gonna go in any way with the player just behind her then that's is what it is but yeah I'm just uh Chelsea march on right like it's it's sort of you know you kind of Chelsea gonna win the

league I sort of want the gap to be reduced just for the sake of like us being able to maintain any kind of argument that this is a really competitive league and that it's not another sort of Ligue 1 in France or La Liga in Spain where Barcelona and Lyon run away with it, with two competitive games a year or something. I just really don't want that to become the narrative here, but I feel like increasingly that is what is happening because ultimately to be a team that is going to challenge for the Champions League like Lyon and Barcelona

you have to have a squad that is basically going to completely walk it in the league and be able to fight on you know multiple fronts in like yeah various competitions to be able to have a team that is fit and ready and strong enough to compete in the Champions League. So I feel like it's inevitable at this stage, but I just really want the gap to close more. I just really want the gap to close more. Did you hear a friend of the pod, Robin Cowan, who, by the way, is hosting the Guardian Football Weekly

this week, if you want to tune in and listen to their pods. Our brother, our sister, sister pod? I don't really know how we describe the team. Sibling, sibling. Sibling, sibling, like it. That's better, that's better. Non-gender specific. Our sibling over on, well, still on the same pod, pod feed.

Oh God, I've really, I've fudged that. Anyway, Robin's on the Guardian Football Weekly. Go and listen to her. And she said the line that she'd mentioned on the pod before. There's nothing more inevitable than death, taxes and Chelsea winning. She obviously is a commentator and put it much more articulately than I just did. It was the first game in charge for Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo, though, Chris. What did you make of her managerial debut?

I thought she did really well and actually nearly caused a massive upset. It would have been interesting, you know, considering exactly what Susie's just said. If Hansen's goal had gone in, I mean, like that was some strike and it just hit the crossbar. And, you know, what would have changed in the narrative? You know, if Chelsea had lost their first gamebar. And, you know, what would have changed in the narrative, you know, if Chelsea had lost their first game? It was, you know, Arroyo's first game in the WSL. They were very close. It must have been quite an upsetting way to finish.

And I think she said at the end of it, it was cruel, but very much a welcome to the league. So I guess she understands where she's landed. My other thought on this game game and I don't know what your uh your take on this is what did we think of the beige kit I love it I wonder do you know what I wonder if it's quite on trend that's I at Christmas we took our nieces to Brandy Melville I've never heard of it before they went on about it do you know what Brandy Melville is sounds like a little village it's a brand for for 16 to 24-year-olds.

And it's the shopping comic garden we went to, and everything was beige. Everything. And it was just full of teenagers buying, like, beige, little beige T-shirts and beige vests. So I just wondered if that was part of the kind of Brandy Melville kind of trajectory that Chelseaelsea in this beige kit for someone rocking fluorescent it's a bold

i'm trying to look you know you know like when you go in and you're like picking paints um no i'm gonna say i'm not gonna say the brand i was gonna say a brand where they have like bonkers names for paints as if I use that brand. I do not. And I'm also not going to say it on the pod. But I want to know, you know, like sometimes they come up. So like the England men's kit, the away kit for the Euros was called Raisin. The colour of it was Raisin.

I'm trying to find out what Chelsea's... Cobham Cream. Cobham Cream. I've just made it up. No Cobham cream I've just made it up you have another career Chris Powers in naming paint colours I love it anyway if anybody knows the

official colour of Chelsea's beige kit please let us know I might have to just contact the team at Chelsea and ask them because these are the kind of things that I get quite obsessed with anyway the last game that we need to

dissect is Liverpool 1 West Ham 0 Matt Beardside getting the better of West Ham for the second time in five days and getting back

to winning ways in the league as well Leanne Kiernan scoring against her former club it was quite a tight game actually at St Helens but Liverpool are

now unbeaten in their last four WSL home encounters with West Ham. They'd beaten them 5-0 in the FA Cup in midweek as well, which might have given them the edge coming into this, Emma. Yeah, probably. I think I actually forgot there was one more game, by the way. I was quite enjoying the

colour chat. Yeah, I think it's Liverpool's first back-to-back win at home in the WSL this season isn't it which I think was really important for them because since that move they've they've probably struggled to settle a little bit at St Helens Prenton Park used to be a real fortress for them so yeah it's been a difficult season for them and after that result against Leicester I think they really needed this result because you look at their next fixtures Man City Palace, Palace away, Man United, Arsenal. So pray for Liverpool is what I would say. Pray for Liverpool. Susie, before I get you to drop some really important breaking news

onto the pod, talk to me about West Ham. Failed to register a shot on target. This is a problem now for them, isn't it? And Rhiann Skinner. Oh, yeah, huge problem. If they hadn't have got the two wins in the last five games, they would be in real serious trouble and you would be really worrying about them. We said it, was it last week,

when we said that they've got real talent in their squad in terms of you know obviously players like Kat Gori and Vivian Asai and things like that so the quality is there for them to carve out chances and create the fact that they've got 14 goals um like shows that they can create and score but they have to be doing it on a consistent basis if they want in if they're wanting to ensure their survival and really be fighting in that sort of middle of the table bunch. They're obviously five points above Crystal Palace at the bottom, so they're a way off, but you can't have games that you're kind of really struggling with that regularly.

Yeah, it's a big blow to lose to a team who you should be competing with a little bit better. I mean, I don't disagree with what Suze is saying about the talent in the squad, but could you argue that Liverpool's, Everton's squads, Tottenham certainly have got more talent? I would argue yes. I think West Ham are probably where they are. I think so, yeah. I think across the board, not just attacking-wise, I think from bottom to top. I think more balance to the talent in those teams, I would say. Like you say, across the board.

But in terms of standout top internationals, West Ham have a few of those that i would say i would argue are like making them look better than they are yeah you know that are being the difference and sort of dragging everyone with them whereas you could argue that everton and liverpool maybe don't have the superstars in the same in the same way but have more consistency across the board that is kind of keeping them going. So yeah, I don't disagree, but I think West Ham have been able to sort of rely on some shrewd acquisitions previously that are kind of keeping them there.

But there will be a point when those players want to leave because they're not doing particularly well. And loads of teams would have them in a heartbeat that's like the issue they've got really in the you know you've got to feel like you're going somewhere don't you if you're a big player like that. Susie I feel like we need some kind of breaking news stab. this comes live to you on the recording of the pod on tuesday morning suzy rack take it away what's going on chelsea's beige kit color is guava ice oh it is according to the club website, a lighter shade of orange, which brings a clean, youthful and on-trend aesthetic. Chris called it.

Brandy Melville. It's on-trend. Guava. It is on-trend. That's interesting. I didn't see it as kind of. Light orange. Like, it's not light orange, is it?

Do you think I need to paint my kitchen that colour, if that's on-trend? I want you to paint your kitchen guava ice. Please go guava ice. Yeah, guava ice. Yeah, I mean, don't go beige. Beige is so old-fashioned now. Yeah. Not cob and cream.

They missed the trick, frankly. They did miss the trick. Cob and cream, yeah. And, you know, grey is out. Grey is out. Guava ice is in. Absolutely love it. Right, this is the latest from the championship.

And, look, I say it every week, we are doing a Championship special, I promise. And I'm sorry we have to skirt over every week. Birmingham City beat Sunderland by a goal to nil to stay top of the league. Isabel Goodwin sent London City up to second. They beat Portsmouth by the same score. Drama

at St Mary's, where Newcastle salvaged a point despite being 2-0 down against Southampton. Amy Andrews levelled in dramatic fashion in the 94th minute and at Bramall Lane Sheffield United held Durham to a draw which could prove a vital point for the Blades if they want to avoid relegation. The other game that was scheduled Charlton against Blackburn at the Valley had to be called off for a frozen pitch about 30 minutes before kickoff, which, you know, we discussed at the beginning of January when we had that cold snap. Emma, just isn't really acceptable. It's far too late in the day.

Yeah, it is too late in the day. And to be honest, I don't know the conditions of the pitch. I obviously didn't see it myself, but it does feel quite strange that we're kind of at the start of February and games are still getting cancelled. I think, you know, this is just an issue across the board in women's football that just needs addressing. We can't be having games cancelled, you know, two months into the year. No, indeed. Right, we've got some any other business, because the trial of Luis Rubiales has begun in Spain.

If you recognise that name, this is why. He's the former president of the Spanish Football Federation. He's accused of sexual assault and coercion over the unsolicited kiss he planted on player Jenny Hermoso during the World Cup final celebrations in 2023. Hermoso took to the stand on Monday, said that the kiss had stained one of the happiest days of her life. Rubiales eventually resigned as president, you'll remember, after initially describing the encounter as a consensual peck. He denies the charges.

Staying in Spain, Barcelona players have spoken out about plans for the women's Supercopa to be played in Saudi Arabia. The Spanish Football Federation's been in negotiations with the Saudis to extend their agreement to play the men's Supercopa semifinals and final away from Spain until at least 2034 and include the women's competition as well. Midfielder Patrick Gallaro said taking the Supercopa outside of Spain and to a country that doesn't respect women, I don't see it. Do you see it, Chris? I think I've got a feeling what you're going to say about this situation. Well, firstly, I think it's what's really good is that you can sort of see that. And it's probably relating to some of the Rubiala stuff is that, you know, women from the playing in Spain have really found their voice to be able to talk about this stuff with kind of confidence which i think is terrific and you know i totally understand

that sort of solidarity with women in saudi and stand up given the women's rights but and we talked about it at the top here like how do you reconcile that with that's where the money is and if you're trying to continuously get and that's what you know i saw that in in the in the articles about this it's like what do you do when you want investment in the game and that's what, you know, I saw that in the articles about this. It's like, what do you do when you want investment in the game? And that's the only place where the investment is. You know, it's a really tough one. And I also think that it just comes back to the basics of like, what about the fans? And if you've got a Spanish Super Cup, it shouldn't be anywhere but Spain.

And that's not because, you know, this isn't like planting a flag. that's not because you know this isn't like planting a flag there's not a little England planting a flag but it's like you know that's where the fans are you've got fans who kind of follow their teams all over and then suddenly you you take the you take it you take the game to a place where that isn't necessarily accessible so I think it's really really important that the cup stays in spain and it's really really important that the the women's players can come out and talk about it but then we do also have to address where's the investment going to come from because it's complex right but the fact is is that you know you you are talking about a country where we're

you know women are only allowed to drive in 2020 in saudi arabia so i think we need to be really careful about what it is that we're doing but equally to not sort of you know add our values to it etc and say okay well we can maybe hopefully drive some change but i'm not sure this is going to do it and i think the cup needs to stay in spain and it's good that that they're speaking out it's complex yeah lgbt rights are important as well yeah absolutely within the within the conversation um listen on in the spirit of this pod which has been great fun by the way thank you so much let's end on a positive shall we huge congratulations to chelsea goalkeepers acira musavich she's announced that she's expecting her first baby uh so she's going to miss the rest of the season so congratulations uh to her uh oh it's been a pleasure i've thoroughly enjoyed it

chris as always lovely to hear from you lovely to see you get you get to your rave is it is it lunchtime rave today oh every day's a rave fay that is true every day's a rave for emma sanders i mean she just barely leaves the house she just sits there raving in her slippers on her sofa barely working no travel i know i'm just gonna be scowling instagram waiting for musavich's baby to be wearing a beige kit. That's all I'm going to do now for the next nine months. Not beige. Guava ice. Oh my goodness me. I just wanted you all to say it.

That was all. We did a breaking news on it, for goodness sake. Susie Rack, that's the kind of journalism I want to see every week from you. That's really vital, isn't it? Yeah, important, important for everybody um i will see you next week uh see you all as well very soon uh keep having your say send in your questions sorry we didn't get to any today it was such a busy pod wasn't it but let us know via social

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