The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Manchester City crowned champions as WSL season wraps up – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: May 19, 2026

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Sophie Downey and Marva Kreel to review the 2025-26 WSL season

This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faker others and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly and breathe. The Barclays WSL has reached its conclusion and its congratulations formally to Manchester City, who were crowned champions on Saturday. Arsenal finished second, securing automatic Champions League qualification while Chelsea have to settle for third. There were some fond farewells across the league with big names leaving. We're going to analyse how each team fared this season. All that, plus we'll take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

What's a panel we have today? Susie Rack, how you doing? What you've been up to? Being nurse to my, I was going to say hernius, but it's still there. It's just closed up, husband. So missing all the fun, not hungover or anything like that. Like, you know, none of our panellists definitely are.

Is that a dot, dot, dot. Sophie Downey? Thanks for out to me there, Susie. Yeah, I've been at the WSEL Awards last night, which was a good night all around, a good celebration. It sounds it. We will tease more information out of you as the pod goes on. Marva Creel wouldn't go and do something so unprofessional, would you, Marva?

I would not. I was playing five-aside though and I've got an injured ankle now. So, yeah, feel like I'm hung over from that. Oh, no. This is why I just don't partake anymore in sport. I am far too injury-prone. I want to know how our predictions have gone, but we'll go through that in a bit. The 2025-26, Barclays WSL has come to an end.

It's felt like it's been the longest season in the world. Manchester City, officially crowned champions in Dagenham on Saturday. We spoke last week about the fact there wasn't much jeopardy on the final day, but there was a spate of last minute goals, lots of goodbyes as well as teens prepare for what's going to be a busy summer ahead. The plan is that we're going to delve into each team and how they got on this season. So we'll do that shortly, but let's quickly run through the final day results for you in case you missed them. Arsenal secured automatic championship qualification. and second place after a 3-1 victory against Liverpool at Anfield.

Alessia Russo took her tally to 13 for the season, finishing a second top scorer. That meant that Chelsea had to settle with third, despite Sam Kerr signing off in style at Stamford Bridge. She scored the winner against Manchester United in her final game for the Blues, leaving as their joint all-time top goal scorer alongside Frank Kirby. Sonja Bonpastore's side, that means they're going to have to go through qualifying for next season's Champions League, enter at the third round stage. Manchester City got the party started in front of their travelling fans. It was a 4-1 win in the end over West Ham. Bunny Shaw's brace saw her tally go up to 21 WSL goals for the season.

There was also a finish for Laura Coombs in her final ever league match. Tomphe got off a fine season under Martin Ho, the first one under him. They had a comeback win over Brighton. They took the lead at the Annex, Brighton, by the way. but Olivia Holt and Toko Koga struck late on, taking home all three points. A 93rd minute winner for London City lionesses meant that they came from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 and sealed a sixth-place finish, which is incredible in their first season in the WSL. And finally, Maz Pacheco struck in the 96 minute of Goodison Park to earn her Everton side victory over Lester,

who still have their playoff against Charlton to come, don't forget. So we're going to look back on how we think each club has done this season. Just so nobody gets upset, we're moving from top to bottom. Okay, there's no alphabetical, there's no favourites, there's no nothing. We go top to bottom. So Manchester City, first league trophy in 10 years. Andre Jugglerts described lifting it as being a little bit unreal. He was named the Barclays WSL manager of the season as well.

And, you know, to bring instant success to a team must feel a little bit surreal in some ways, Susie. We've talked about their season a lot over the last few months. But where did they get the margins of success from? New manager. I think they just needed some change of some kind. If anything, without wanting to bag too much on Gareth Taylor after like a really good season at Liverpool, ultimately it's quite hard to lose with a squad of that talent. And obviously he had lack of Champions League football and things,

which I think really helped them this season and a pretty settled squad, a young squad. And I think it just needed that shift in culture. And that's what they got with Yeglerts. He's quite a relaxed guy. He spoke after the game on Saturday about how difficult it can be to manage a side with such massive personalities and big egos and things like that. But he said it's not that's also like there's huge positive.

to that, it's players that are really driven that know what they want, that know what they need to do to be the best and to have the best sort of brought out of them. So I think having someone who kind of sees that as a positive as well as a negative, which many would potentially just see it as negative is huge and really gave them the freedom to play the way they want to play. And that makes a big difference. I think that was key as well as getting the best out of the partnership of Miedema and Bunny Shaw, like we kind of thought that that wasn't a formulation that worked under Taylor last season. And this year, you really notice the difference when one of them is absent, which is, I think, a testament to Yeglitz and the coaching staff are finding a formulation

that works. And now you've found it, why wouldn't you want to keep hold of it, in my opinion? Because at the minute, it looks like it's not going to stay together because Bunny Shaw's future obviously is the biggest question that they have hanging over them going into the summer. Her teammates, her manager, clearly want her to stay. She has said herself, Manchester is her home. But obviously, Marva, if they can't come to an agreement on her contract, what does the off-season look like for City trying to replace her? It's not that easy, is it? It's not easy at all. I mean, for me, she's the best in the world. It's just so weird, to be honest, that they wouldn't have just given her everything that she wanted. I can't think of a player

that deserves it more. And I don't think it makes that big of a difference in terms of then, okay, other players then feel like they deserve more, etc., because this is an exception. You do this, big clubs, do that for your star player, your star striker. And I think in this market where, you know, a world-class striker isn't easy to come by.

And then you have to consider Champions League football. As Susie said, I think it really helped them this season that they didn't have Champions League football. And so when you're preparing in the off-season for that, you're already having to not quite double up your squad, but basically. So if you're having to replace, even if she wasn't going, you'd be having to really look into the transfer window and make some really big moves. And with her going, that adds such an extra level of work that is going to really put pressure on them.

And then, of course, if the rooms are true and she might be going to Chelsea, it's almost like an extra loss of a signing because it's going to a direct rival. and I just don't think you have many players that you can directly replace in Bunny Shore. It's a bit of a baffling one, but interesting to see from a neutral perspective. I would quite like to see the drama of it all. However, I just think for Man City, it's going to be really, really tough to not only replace her, but then build up that squad for a Champions League. Because we want to see this Manchester City sides really challenged for Europe.

I think they could be the next big institution in Europe. I see the backing of the men's side. We've seen what they've done in terms of training facilities and they were the first out there really to fully do that. This could be a team that really pushes on from here and it's not just a, oh, we're just happy with this one WSL title. It should be now we can push on and become a really big institution that challenges Chelsea in that same way. But that's going to be really hard to do if they don't get this transfer window, right. I love that you outed yourself as a bit of a fun. fire starter.

Always. The trouble going on behind the scenes. Listen, no such trouble for René Slager's side this season in terms of cohesion. They had a great season.

Arsenal, but would have loved to have won the league, that's for sure. In terms of silverware, not what they would have hoped for. But second place and a semi-final in the Champions League are still good achievements for Arsenal,

and they have played a lot of football this year. How do you think they're to look back on it all? I think they'll be disappointed because I think there was such high hopes at the beginning the season in terms of both the league and the domestic trophies and not to come away with anything for another year. I think domestically, obviously they have that Champions League and the Champions

Cup, but the Champions League from last year, like in recent season, it's been a bit of the dry spell, I guess, for them in terms of that's kind of silverware. So they'll be disappointed in that respect. I do think there are mitigating circumstances. So when they look back on it, like squad size, squad depth. injury issues, the fact that they had two basically fit midfielders for the final stages of the season with Kikara Kourini Cross being back in Australia. They didn't have that kind of depth. They were having to overuse Kim Little Mariano-Kedente. Victoria Polova was always struggling to get a bit

up to speed, I think. So we were already struggling with numbers. There's been injuries in the backline as well. They've had to shift everything around. And I also think like the amount of loading that was put on them towards the end of the season was a bit crazy. You know, they play seven games in 20 days. That is the most in WSL history in terms of the amount of loading that's been put on one singular team. So I think the league has to kind of look at protecting its teams in Europe. And that's not just because of Arsenal, I think, across the board.

Any team of English teams that's in Europe needs to be protected a bit more. But I think they lost one game or season. They lost to Manchester City at home in October, away in October at the Joy Stadium. That was, you know, and then they suffered because of a couple of drawers here and there. you know, City lost three games. So you're talking about very fine margins throughout the season. So if they can clean that up over the summer and work out how to fix that, I think you've got the foundations of a very, very good football team under René's Leggars.

They play some lovely stuff. I think the likes of, like, Alessia Ruta, come on no end. She keeps just developing every single season. Her output when she's being split between two positions as well is really, really good. So they've got the makings there. They just need to find that extra margin next year, I think. And I think with the summer off and a summer of transfers, that will help everyone across the board. Yeah, and they're going to need a good transfer window because they've got some big characters leaving.

We mentioned Beth Mead leaving last week. It was also announced on Thursday that Katie McCabe's going to be departing the club after over a decade of service. How do you sum up McCabe's impact and how do you replace her, Susie? With great difficulty. I mean, I think there's the footballing element and the talent there is. like undeniable and I think she's had an incredible season both for Arsenal and for the Republic of Ireland and there were moments in that that game at the weekends that were really really strong and then you also you know kind of have this dogged in a slight fighter which I think Arsenal will be

really lacking so yeah if as you know we've reported and others are reported Georgia Stanway comes in I think you bring a little bit of that through her because she's got a little bit of that sort of battling spirit. But Arsenal have sort of been lacking that, generally speaking, and I don't think one player is enough. They needed a more similar profile of player to Katie in terms of attitude and grittiness on the pitch as well as, you know, the insane footballing quality. You know, we just spoke about Man City and the cultural piece and how significant that is. And, you know, that's also something that Arsenal have been grappling with for some time is, you know, kind of getting the culture in a really, really good place. And, you know, sometimes you have to

make changes to be able to do the things you want to do culture-wise. And sometimes that means letting go of players who have been there a very long time and very, very embedded into what you do. So I kind of understand it from that point of view. I'm very, very sad about both her and Beth Mego and I think they've both had phenomenal seasons and it's really hard to see how they feel those holes. But you hope that the business is being done for that to happen. Let's talk Chelsea, because it's been a really frustrating season for Sonia Bonpastor and her team. I think it's fair to say. Obviously, they had the League Cup success, but they're not going to be happy overall with their campaign, surely Marva. What do you think were the key reasons for the problems they had? I mean, I think it's a difficult one. It's interesting looking actually at the comparison of like Liverpool men, because I think you can find some similarities there in that we often talk about transition season of a new manager and think that the first season is going to be the more difficult one. But actually, I think it's sometimes that second season where you really see the problem starts showing through because you, you.

I think what often happens is you've got the basis of everything that was structured and organized and everyone's used to with a bit, you know, a really long era of a manager when a new manager comes in. And so then you've just got the fresh ideas on top of that and it can actually work really nicely. But then the second year, you don't have that same basis. Things start to change. People start to realize that things have changed. And it can also affect confidence as well. And I think confidence has been a bit of a thing here because when you look back at last season with Chelsea, it wasn't like they were playing. playing amazing football all the time. I remember us being on the pod quite a lot saying,

oh, they sort of got away with one there, but that's what Chelsea do. They just managed to pull it out the bag and they just managed to get it over the line. And this season, when it's those fine margins that you're playing with and you're not getting it over the line or you have a few games where you haven't got it over the line, that doubt starts to creep in a lot. And then I think we also have to consider, look, they've had missing strikers for basically two seasons now. And that, of course, plays a part. I think Sam Kerr's now, they're the job. WSL top scorer this season, which shows you in terms of how much she was missing. And that last game of the season against United is the perfect example of it.

They weren't playing amazingly. Yes, not much was on the line at this point, but they weren't playing amazingly. But Kerr comes up with the goal when it's needed. And that's what they were able to have for the last few seasons, whether it was Kerr, whether it was Myra Ramirez in that really good season that she had. And Aguibir Jones had a really great start to the season, but just didn't quite carry it through. And then they've had defending issues as well, centre backs. A lot of them have been injured after spending a lot of money on them as well.

So I think there have been some very genuine reasons why they haven't performed the level that we would have expected. But I think next season is really going to be the tester of, okay, was this just a little glitch, a little bump in the road, or are these much bigger problems in terms of the transition of a new manager? Let's discuss Sam Kerr because as Marva said so, Chelsea are going to have to go through a little bit of regeneration this summer still. It's a really interesting point actually on that second season syndrome. But she had her Stanford Bridge send-off, Sam Kerr. Didn't come as a surprise probably. She's not played that much football this season.

But what impact has she had overall on English football in her time here? Oh, that's so hard to sum up. I think she kind of changed the game a lot in a lot of ways of. over here. And I remember back, it makes me feel very old with all of these players leaving, I remember back six and a half seasons ago when she signed. She came in as this prolific striker, but she didn't really necessarily hit the ground running. There's always those kind of murmurs, you know, when people don't quite adjust to the league straight away, they start saying, are you really, all you're cracked up to be? And then she just kind of turned, well, she found

her groove and turned it on. And boy, did she become all she cracked up to be. I think she took the league by storm. I think it makes her very proud that she came. was able to come to England and kind of rack up the numbers that she has to leave. As Chelsea's joint all-time goal scorer alongside Frank Kirby, I think, is incredibly an incredible achievement, especially given what that side have achieved in the last, you know, 10 years or so. So she'll go with a lot of records, a lot of history books. I think it's a really sad thing that she's leaving. I would hope that she stays in England, but I doubt she will.

And I think that, you know, Chelsea missed a trick. still, you know, despite her injuries, despite everything that she's gone through in the last two years, she's still up there as one of the best strikers in the world when she's fully fit. And she's showing that in the second half this season. She's showing the impact that she can have. And I would have kept her personally. Same. And I wanted to share a really, really, like, nice anecdote that Fran Kirby told me when I interviewed her last week ahead of their FA Cup semifinal, because I couldn't get it into the piece. I didn't have enough words to fit everything in.

And it was just so lovely because I asked her how she felt about Sam breaking her WSL record. And obviously now they're joint Chelsea top scorers, it's very fitting because she said she was like loving that Sam had done it. And she said, oh, it's so nice because the goal scoring record should always be held by a number nine without a shadow of a doubt. And she said that she spoke to her when she tied it and she sent her a message. Fran sent Sam a message saying, oh, here she is.

and that she absolutely deserves it for everything she's been for and everything she's done from the club and said she was so proud of her and everything that she's overcome to get there. But then she said that Sam sent her really nice message back, which she is sure she wouldn't mind their sharing, where she said to Fran, I really wish we could stay on the same number

because it would just be so fitting. And Fran said that it speaks volumes for her as a character. And Fran was like, no, no, you've got to go and do it. And, you know, just spoke about how lovely it was to have her as a partner and a teammate at Chelsea. and, you know, hoping that she goes on to, like, smash it. And it's quite nice that they finish level with Sam leaving, given that that is kind of what she wanted to happen,

that she, like, have so much respect for Fran and that relationship that she wants that to happen. I thought that was just a really lovely story. It was never going to see the light of day unless she said it to someone else, which she probably would at some point. But, you know, you get the point. It didn't make it into the piece. It was only going to appear in her book when she writes one.

By the way, more Fran Kirby on the TV. Yes, please. as a pundit, wonderful, absolutely brilliant. And one of literally the most likable characters and lovely people in the game. And we always want to see those kind of people succeed. That's such a lovely moment. Manchester United next, Susie. Obviously, such an achievement when they first got Champions League football last season.

They would have loved to have cemented it again this time round. like they were nailed on for it, pushing for the title at one point, but where did it all go wrong? Yes, tough one, isn't it? I think just too many games. We've said season on season on season that whenever they've got Champions League, that their squad is not deep enough to cope with the number of games. And I think we saw that a really strong start to season and then tailing off as the games ramped up. And I don't think Mark Skinner and his coaching staff are maybe tactically like adaptable enough and with it enough to really respond to the kind of changes that are needed to get through an entire season.

So I think maybe a little bit of disappointment with the signings as well, not kind of delivering in the way that maybe they would have hoped, particularly, you know, when you have Leah Schiller come in and Ellen Wangeheim, who came with such sort of like high expectations, they've not really hit the ground running, but I don't think that's necessarily totally their fault. If a team is sort of struggling a little bit, if, you know, players are particularly tired and feeling a bit overplayed,

like then you're not maybe getting the service to them that you want. they're kind of both in and out of the team, you know, struggling to find the sort of favoured starting 11. So I think it's like a combination of factors, but like ultimately culminating in a lot of games and not a deep enough squad for me. And that's a big problem. And Mark Skinner's future, you know, sort of almost constantly up in the air and like being questioned by fans and stuff. And, you know, you kind of have to like start asking the question like, what? change is needed to improve things. I mean, obviously they need, you know, kind of a deeper squad and a much stronger squad, but we know Champions League football next season. Like, they could,

if they properly invested, go on and do a Man City. But whether the things there have stagnated to the extent that that would be really, really difficult to do, I don't know. It's a tough one, because I think Mark is genuinely a good guy with good ideas about what he wants a football team to be, but I don't know, like at some point, things just get a little bit too stale, don't they? So I think it's a really tough situation. And, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what kind of business they do over the summer, particularly with no Champions League football, right? Like, now they've not got that, they don't need a massive squad to the same extent.

But at the same time, like, you've got to build for the long term. So it's a really weird position for them to be in and a bit of a massive step backwards. I feel like every year he has to almost go out with his hands out, Oliver style. Please, sir, may I have some more and, you know, not always forthcoming, is it? this is what he had to say. In my mind, we need four or five players that will make us better and give us the depth in order to compete in the competitions we'll be in next year. In my mind, you know, that in itself almost kind of dictates that, you know, or suggests, should I say, that the club don't necessarily feel that way, although it's just semantics, by the way,

not reading too much into it, but we've seen that kind of before. What else do they maybe need to get back into the top three, Marva, in your opinion? I think we hear quotes like that from Mark Skinner quite a lot. I feel like each year we're sort of hearing, oh, we just need like three more players or four more players. And then there was one season where they did get a lot of players. And then he was like, oh, it's so many players, it's difficult to deal with. But I'm not down playing that obviously his job is very difficult when it comes to that board. Because we know that they do not invest in that women's team in the way that they could be doing, especially when you compare it to, we've spoken about Chelsea's depth and even they have problems. But you look, you look. at their sort of second starting 11 and it's a good enough team to be challenging for the WSL where as Manor Knight just have not had that this season. But I think where it's difficult with Mark Skinner is

one of his weaknesses I think is his ability to rotate and how he does rotate and when he does rotate. So I think the reason why his jobs often up and air is because it's hard to keep demanding for more players but then when you do get some good signings, you're not utilising them properly or not feeding them into the team properly, because then the fans will say, well, then we might keep getting signings, but what will you do with them?

I think it's a bit of both. Like Susie said, I think this next season will be interesting because without Champions League football, if they had gone and carried on in that run that they were the beginning of last season, or beginning of this season, and didn't then have all the Champions League football to contest with it, I think they would have still been right up there because they were really in a good momentum. So they might be able to do a bit better next season. But then again, it feels like a little bit of a cycle because then if they get into Champions League,

are we then just going to see the same problems? So I think, you know, the board really need to look at what they want for this club. Do they want to just be in and around third and fourth place every year? Or do they want to fully be challenging for the title? Spurs finished fifth, an impressive first year in charge for Martin Ho. They were 11th last season, by the way. So that is quite impressive. What has he brought to the team?

Sof? Oh, a hell of a lot, I think. I think they're a completely changed outfit. I'm very excited by the Spurs project now. I think they're very exciting. They've brought in some really class young talent. I think Toka Koga is one of the signings of the season. She completely cemented herself in that back line alongside Claire Hunt. Claire Hunt obviously got injured for the last bit of the season, so that caused some destruction. I think their defensive side is a bit that they need to concentrate a bit more on. I think going forward, they look phenomenal. senior Galp said in the middle she's going to be like incredible next season

once she properly settles in this league and gets up to speed like she's still so young and she's already becoming that driving force in the middle. Her morrowding runs, you know, she's a proper box to box player. She just like can take the ball on at her feet and it just sticks to her like glue. So I'm so excited to see what she can do.

Olivia Holt as well as being a standout. They're building something very, very fresh and exciting and I think Martin Ho is known for his tactical side. It's acumen in kind of the game plan but also in terms of his player management I think he's very gets him all to buy into the project and they're very excited about that and I'm sure he's going to bring in some some players over the summer as well I think he has great connections say in the Swedish and Nordic leagues as well so I wouldn't be surprised if you head over from there but I think it's very exciting

listen it's Tuesday as we record this as always and the pod comes out but if you're listening to this on a different day how much is Tottenham men's side potential relegation, how much could that affect things? Similar question with West Ham in part two, Susie. Yeah, I mean, they're saying that it won't. You know, that's the messaging and you would hope that be the messaging. And I think to a certain extent it won't in that like they will, and I'm pretty sure that this is the case that they are, they like are ring fencing the women's budget and set up. But the thing is, I think it's the wider knock on impact. You know, when a club goes down, there's inevitably going to be ramifications across the entire club.

You know, if you're looking at say, and I'm just like being completely hypothetical here, but say, you know, a marketing team, right? Like, say a marketing team experiences a cut to personnel because the men's team have gone down. And then, you know, they're responsible for both the men's and women say, then what then becomes the priority and how is that focused then divided? because that I think is where you will see the kind of cuts that could happen at Spurs if that were to happen. It's likely that they stay up now. So I don't think it's a big hypothetical. But at the same time, I think that that is like regardless of how ring thinks

the budget is for the women's set up, you know, when a club like experiences that hit, I think you get then the ramifications of what cuts could potentially mean in the departments that are shared. And that is the thing that I worry about slightly. Yeah. What about Kirsty Hansen arriving in the summer she's been reported to be going there? They're obviously going to be looking to reinforce, aren't they? Oh, definitely. It's a really interesting thing, right?

Because I think a lot of Spurslands will be kind of slightly bemused, you know, confused about Beth England being let go, given the number of goals she scored this season for them. But at the same time, I think, you know, the best managers know when it's time to move a player on. She's had her injury problems even though, you know, she's still been scoring goals to them. And I think the recruitment policy at Spurs has been so strong that there can be a lot of confidence in the type of player that they're going to bring in and the ambition for the project. It's quite obvious that they're not wanting to take any kind of step back. They're only looking to take step forwards at the moment. So I think there's exciting times and they can be ambitious, right?

Like I was even thinking, I know that, you know, this is wildly like out of the question. Like, Samco is likely going to the states as, you know, many expect. and Bunny Short, I mean, at this stage, I think she probably will stay at city just because of the optics of how bad it would look if she goes, but could end up at Chelsea or somewhere like that. But I feel like Spurs are starting to reach a level where they could have the ambition of going

for some of those players like that. But I feel like, you know, there is a legitimate interest now in the Spurs project and what is being done there and that players are starting to take it seriously and that they can be quite ambitious in the players they're looking for to strengthen. So, like, I also love that

they're kind of getting all these young players and stuff, you know, kind of coming into their side and are doing great things. And Toka Koga, like, I agree, like arguably the signing of the season. Yeah, I think they can be really ambitious and there's exciting times. And so I think whilst players are outgoing, like I'm not too worried about what the future looks like for them in terms of signings. It's going to be fascinating, isn't it? Right, we've got seven more teams to go through. That's it for part one of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly in part two. We will look at the rest of the Barclays WSL.

Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Let's carry on with our mini report card. London City lionesses up next. Freya Godfrey's 93rd minute goal made sure that they got a six-place finish for their first season in the top flight. Despite that achievement, not always been the smoothest of campaigns. You'll remember they sacked Jocelyn Prasure and appointed Edna Maestra. What have you made of their campaign overall, Susie? Successful.

Like to finish, that high up the table in your first season in the top flight I think has to be viewed as a success. Yeah, there's a big gap. It's at nine points, I think, between them and spurs in fifth, but like to have sort of set your stall out as, you know, that kind of middle table team in your first year is incredibly strong.

Do I think they should have got rid of, for sure, when they did, no. Do I think they've been okay since Eda came in? Yes. But like at the same time, I don't think that was a change that was necessary. I feel like they just need some kind of like consistency to their signings. If Piteyos rocks up, then that will be obviously like a dramatic shift in their ambitions in terms of like the level of player they've been signing. And they're just such an unknown, right?

Like what the hell is going to happen this summer? I've got no clue. I don't know what team rocks up next season. Is it going to be another team of like slightly disjointed, slightly aging superstars? with some fantastically good talent, or is it going to be a focus on some of the sort of future, you know? I almost think it's like the antifacist to Spurs project in that Spurs are really kind of building for the long term and a team that is going to kind of like really deliver for them over years and years, whereas Loner City are going for the team that is going to deliver

something now, but then what it looks like beyond a year, two years, like that squad will be completely different. So it's a really like interesting like opposites. Yeah, yeah. I know exactly what you mean. Another team looking for the long term and they have been for a while is Brighton. Unable to build on last year's fifth place finish, but they have made progress because they've made history reaching the FA Cup final for the first time. Lots of buzz around the team in recent weeks. So as you would expect, how do you rate their season overall and how excited should fans be about the summer they have in prospect and of course that wonderful new stadium. They should be excited about the project going forward.

I do think the season has been up and down and I am probably not as hoped about them as many other people. I think they've shown a really strong finish to the season and that's really positive going into the summer and foundations built. But I do think they were a bit too up and down in those first six months or so. I know there is context as well with the death of Darry Fidicich's father. in the spring or in February, so that that had a huge impact and you have to take that into account. But I do think they need to start looking.

I think they've got some really good ideas. We know the way that Dario likes to play football. He is starting to find players that really implement that style of football. But it's more about the consistency side of things and they are absolutely desperate for a striker. I think that's been the huge problem this year. As soon as Michelle Adjerman got that ACL and they did. didn't replace her at Christmas. They really, really struggled in terms of goals.

And they were using Fran Kirby up front. We know Frank Kirby is brilliant. Kiko Seke had a lot of the burden put on her. She is brilliant as well. But you can't rely on one or two players. You have to have that number. Neither of them are out and out, number nine. So you have to kind of, I think that's their main key in the summer.

And if I were there, I go after someone like Bethany England. I think that would be a very good match. She's very good friends with Frank Kirby as well. They played together for a long. time at a club and I would think that would be quite a good idea. Yeah, that's a good fit for sure. Talk to me about the Toffies, Marva. It topsy-turvy, I think it's fair to say. There was a point where we kept getting you on only ever after losses and I felt really guilty about it. But Brian Sorensen was sacked in February. That feels like such a long time ago, by the way.

Scott Fieland took over in the interim role. He said that they've not been, they've not had any discussions over his future yet, which is surprising. When you kind of look back on it with these kind of lenses, was an eighth place finish actually a success? And has he done enough to get the job? Or do they need to be looking further afield? I think it's hard to say it's a success when I know the club a lot more ambitious than that.

You know, you look at the move into Goodison Park, even the way they've switched up how they've run the club and what they're aiming for commercially as well for the women's team. This isn't a club that wants to be. finishing eighth or is aiming to be finishing eighth or is even putting in the amount of work that they're putting in doesn't show that it should be an eighth side. But when you consider that yeah, we were in amongst it for relegation playoffs and for, you know, a good part of the season, then of course, yes, I'm grateful that we're not in amongst that. But I think that kind

of sums up the club and where we're at at the moment, both men's and women's is that the focus really this season has been on stability after so many years of turmoil. I think Scott Finn has given the club a lot to think about, which is, yes, a positive thing. I really don't think they were planning to keep them on long term. But I think he's brought in that stability that is needed. But then he also hasn't sort of been so incredible that it's just a definite yes. And I think you could maybe argue that actually him coming in and showing what these players can do is more of a sign on what Sorensen wasn't doing towards the ends there,

rather than just like how brilliant feeling is. But I do know that he is very sort of well respected and in amongst the club, even sort of former men's players as well talk about working with him in the academy and just what a great coach he is and just a great guy he is. So I know he is very well respected there,

but I think to really push on whether they decide they want to do that next season or maybe the season's after, I'm not sure he will be the person for the job. But if they want another year of just a bit of stability, I think he can offer that. They need some goal scorer. don't they as well? I mean, like, you look at the top 20 WSL goal scorer. There's not a single

Everton player. And like, not only that, there's not a single one in the assist charts, either the top 20 for assists. They're the only WSL team to not have a player on either of those lists. I feel like we've been saying that for about three or four seasons, though. We have. That's the problem, right? This is where Sorensen does come into it because it looked like Kelly Gaggo was completely out. And I think, honestly, Kelly Gaggo is one of the top strikers in the WSL. She went to her top club. I don't, you know, I think. think she would get into a lot of starting 11s. And she really fell out with Sorensen and his team.

So the fact that it was looking like she was definitely going to exit and then feelings come in and she's, she's, you know, been back playing. I don't know if we'll keep her. I think it's unlikely. However, again, it just kind of goes to show a lot of the difficulties that were there. And it's a shame because I think she's such a top talent and it feels like we've,

that's a talent we've kind of squandered. Another team who feels like it's maybe squandered some talent is asked Villa. It's been a really strange season for them, Susie. Sixth in terms of goals scored, but we're only second to Leicester in terms of goals conceded. So surely those stats suggest that consolidating the backline has to be the focus over the summer. Yep. And, you know, like Kirsty Hanson, I think we've mentioned that her future at the club is in the air, there's Bob going to be loads of team sniffing around her after the seasons that she's had. So then you also need to think about where the goals are going to come from if she goes as well.

because they can't just rely on the one player for that, as we know. So, yeah, it's going to be a really, really interesting summer. They've got a great sort of set up there, Maggie Murphy, in charge of things. You know, I think they've got a very good coach, albeit one that, you know, hasn't had the most consistent as seasons. But I think there's real promise with Aston Villa. And I think that's what we said, again, every single year for the past like four years since they kind of, you know,

were on the cusp of breaking into the top four and then had that disastrous campaign the following year, I feel like every single year we've said, well, there's real potential in this squad. And I think, yeah, shoring up the back line, but then some, you know, kind of decent attacking options that really kind of can develop in that side is really, really critical.

If they keep hold of cancer, and that would be the dream as well. I mean, she's been phenomenal. I interviewed her a few, two seasons ago now, I want to say, and she talked about wanting to add goals to her game and finishing on 12 goals, you know, one behind Alessia Russo, is ahead of Mirdema, Blackstanius, like that's just hugely impressive. Goal of the season as well? Fantastic goal too, like really nice goal.

Well, like such a beautifully worked corner routine rising into the top corner, it's beautiful. It's a really nice goal. I've watched it a few times. Yeah, like, again, another really interesting summer. They need action. They need like to. really kind of put their money where the mouth is and deliver the players that are going to

kind of elevate that team up again. But it feels like there is a base there to build from. West Ham, where is that base? They obviously had another managerial change halfway through after Rianne Skinner left. But how did the arrival of Rita Guarino change their fortunes? So, have you seen enough to get excited about the future? And similar question that I had with Spurs because actually it looks more likely that it's West Ham who are going to be relegated to the championship in the men's game. Yeah, so I worry about the club as a whole at West Ham because they don't give enough attention to the women's side. And I think we've seen that from board level up. I don't think that reflects on the squad itself or the, you know, they've been through kind of a manager of Merricko around in recent years.

They've got like had a manager for two years. They sat them. They never quite put the investment into the playing squad. I remember when Rian Skinner was in charge and she said, we really need to stop signing players in one-year contracts because you can never have a summer without turnover. If you're going to have people on really short contracts, they need to start building something for the future.

And I think she did start to change that when she was in. I think there is excitement for the future. I think Rita's brought a breath of fresh air. They play with real structure. I was watching them, I was on the touchline watching them against Man City at the weekend. And despite the score, they stayed in the game for like, a good 70, 75 minutes of it until Bunny Shore did Bunny Shore things. But they, you know, they responded well to going behind to an early goal. They're really energetic in midfield.

Una Sarin is a really good player. She's really, you know, brings the tenacity and energy and drives them forward. And she's been ever-present. They've probably got a bit to work out in their backline. I think a lot of where their season went wrong early doors is they didn't take the chances that they did create, you know, they were creating opportunities in front of goal that she, should have been goals. And for me, that was, you know, when your tactics are working, but you're not quite like getting it over the line, that's on kind of the player side of the mentality side. So that probably needs a bit of work over the summer, but they've got a talented squad. There's no doubt there's talent in there. I'm sure Rita will start to build and

find she's got a lot of links to Italy, you know, and she's well known in the game. So I think there is hope for the future for a better year next time. I hope as well for Liverpool, obviously a club and a team that have been through so much in the past nine months after the loss of Matt Beard. Securing their safety by some margin was a huge relief, I'm sure, for Gareth Taylor. How do you reflect on their season within the context of everything that's happened, Susie? Arguably, like a big success, you know, given sort of how the first half of the season went to, you know, kind of climb substantially above Lester in the end. I think is a huge achievement. And to only be sort of two points off West Ham,

three off Villa, like even just six off Everton. Like given where they were, it's a phenomenal turnaround. And I think that Garrette Taylor has done a remarkable job after being given a little bit of money in January to bring in some players. And I think they were really astute with those players.

Denise O'Sullivan, Jennifer Falk, I think in particular, have been hugely influential in sort of turning around their season. But there's, you know, such a big, job to do there. And you hope that the boards really back Garret Taylor after the kind of second half of the season and how he's shown what he can do when he's given the resources to a small extent to be able to make a difference. The fact that they made a semi-final of the FA Cup as well, like huge, huge achievement and really, really pushed Brighton all the way in that game as well. So, yeah, really good. And some like indication that they're already like doing that in that they've

already announced their first signing in Vivian Enderman as well, young attacking German talent from Wolfsburg. There's clearly the ambition to do something there, how they cope with the loss of Gemma Bonner in particular, who was obviously so influential, both on the pitch, but also sort of in terms of legacy and, you know, off the pitch and like culture and things, I think is a big one. But if they give him some resource, I think they could have like a decent season next year. It's going to be really, really tough with the teams that are coming up who are spending so ambitiously. And the ambition of the likes of London City lionesses and spurs and things like that, it's a difficult, difficult place to be. But there's no reason why they couldn't be doing better than they are and did this season if the club back them.

But that has historically been a problem with Liverpool for no clear reason. Yeah, and as you said, I think the huge context behind this is the loss. of Matt at the beginning of the season. I think we underestimate how much grief can affect people, but also teams and how you bring that together. So I think it's actually quite remarkable how they managed to turn it around in January and find a way forward because, you know, I was at the WSL Awards last night and Matt Beard was inducted quite rightly

into the WSL Hall of Fame. His brother was there and it did a speech. And it just reminds you how much pressure these managers are under. and I think it's just a good reminder for all of us. We all, you know, we do these podcasts and it's our job to commentate on the game, but just thinking about the humans at the bottom of it is still really important, and all too often I think that gets forgotten. So there was a really strong message last night from his speech about that.

There wasn't a dry hour in the house, and I think it's still just good to remember that this season has been hugely defined by what happened at the beginning of the year in terms of, a lot of players and a lot of coaches and a lot of us had relationships with Matt Beard and it's really been a defining moment and I think that's a context behind everything. As you said earlier, so same for Brighton, right? Like the impact of Dario losing his dad, them losing a member of the coaching staff mid-season clearly had an impact and obviously Beardee's legacy and relationship with so many players like not just at Liverpool but like across the

league as well. Like it was just so huge. And it is horrible having to do our job sometimes and criticize managers for the job that they are doing. Like no one else really has their work so scrutinized publicly to the point of which it can be the difference between whether they get sacked or not. And I think it's so like particularly hard in the women's game where the scramble for resources is so real. And the discrepancies across leagues, across teams is so, so vast that, you know, often you're criticising someone for something that is just not their fault, is like out of their control, that you're,

you know, that they are doing the best they can with the bare minimum. And it's one of the things I always like try and put that context in because it is like, I just cannot imagine what it is like to try and do a job. You know, when you look at, say, Rianne Skinner at West Ham previously or, you know,

there's just so many where you're, you're trying so hard. And there comes a point where something has to try. and the player's morale is so low because things aren't going right, the manager almost has to go. But at the same time, they have just not been given the right resource to be able to kind of give them a chance and to show what they can actually do.

And I just like, yeah, I think that context is so important. And it's such a tough job to do and well to operate in. And these aren't managers being paid millions and millions like the managers in the men's game are at the top level. Like they are not earning a lot. A job isn't always around the corner. And a lot of them have families. A lot of them have to move their families,

you know, a huge expense and upheaval in a way that the men's don't experience. Yes, they have to make those moves, but they have the resource to be able to do it. Yeah, I just think everyone, fans, us, players, need to have much more kindness towards managers and the situation they're in. Yeah. Very well said.

both of you. I feel uncomfortable then switching into talking about Leicester City and what's been a disappointing campaign for them. It was a bright start, but they fell away, not won a game since December. What do you think with the core reasons for them struggling so badly, Marva? I think it's squad depth, squad talent. I mean, when you sort of looked at their team on paper at the beginning of the season, a lot of us predicted that they would struggle. And actually, they outperformed what a lot of us expected in the beginning bit of the season. But I think that's really where the troubles have come in, because when you look at the beginning of the season,

even in games they were performing actually quite well. I think defensively, they were pretty well structured. And they were bringing it to teams. It wasn't like they were shipping seven goals like we then saw towards the end of the season. But the problem then was that they didn't have that, you know, even Shakira Martinez or players like this for West. Tam and that, or Olson who popped up with some really crucial goals for Liverpool, they didn't have that striker who really could just give them what they deserved in terms of their overall

performance. O'Brien, I think,'s been really good towards the end of the season, but also when you look at, we spoke about relegation for the men's team and Lester are a team we haven't included in that, but back-to-back relegations for the men's team, I think,'s really contributed. You look at the selling of Ruby Mace, their fans were regarded to lose her, and it's such a young talent to sell for a big fee. And I think that's, it shows kind of where they are as a club in terms of what they have to do and where their priorities are. It's a shame for them, but obviously it's a year where there is a playoff. So it's not all done just yet. But difficult for them

because I think they did start well. They did do kind of what they could. But I think overall, when you look at the squad that thing, comparing their January transfer windows as well, I just think it was just a bit too much of a challenge for them. Yeah, light at the end of the tunnel, though, So they faced Charlton at the Valley on Saturday for that final spot in the WSL. We did mention this game the other week and how losing out on the final day and the Barclays WSL 2 might affect Charlton mentally. But what are you expecting from the encounter overall? I think player for player less to have the better squad.

So I do think they are favourites to win, especially given Charlton's form. We talked about it before, right, is dipped off the edge of it. of a cliff in the second half of this season, having had that really, really strong points lead in the WSL2 and the lack of morale that comes with that dip in form. Obviously, Charter will be giving it absolutely everything and they do have quality in their squad. But I think when you look at the likes of Emily Van Egmond, Hannah Kane, you just got like Shannon O'Brien, as Marva said, you know, who's been having a brilliant season, Unina Likesik,

they've got quality within their ranks who can be able to be able to. able to do it. But that 96 minute winner for Everton will have been an absolute dutter because I think they could have taken a lot from that draw, especially given the last few weeks. And I think they could have taken a lot from that loss to Chelsea, the 3-1 lost to Chelsea that came so quickly after that 7-0 defeat to Arsenal. It's about building on those things that have been positive and focusing on them. And, you know, it's been a really hard job for Rick Passmore, I think coming in, sacking a manager 10 days before the start of this season really disrupts everything.

And I think you had a bounce a little bit at the start of the season and a knock-on effect from that kind of came later. And they just need to get the job done. Then they can think about next year and try and build. I would expect them to win this game. Minister of Mayhem, Marva is even without her neutral hat on going, oh, ha, Everton still had the last laugh. Also on Saturday, by the way, it's the Champions League final.

Leon taking on Barcelona. You're heading out to Oslo. Susie, what are you expecting from this one? I've got absolutely no idea. I've seen these teams play. Hopefully we just see a really good at game of football. I've seen these teams play three times in Champions League finals. It's been different every single time.

Jonathan Tjardez, who delivered Barcelona second Champions League trophy as manager of Barcelona is now at Leon. They look a completely different beast to sort of where they were last season. and, you know, playing some really, really wonderful attacking football. If you were going to highlight a problem with Barcelona, it would probably be defensively. So there's a really exciting matchup here. I remember that 2022 final where Leon won and beat Barcelona 3-1, and it was very much against expectations for that game, I'd say.

Like, it was, you know, everyone thought the Barcelona going to retain their crown, that Leon's, like, dynasty was over. And then they had that incredible three goals within the first half an hour or so, slightly more than half an hour. Hegerberg scoring, Omri scoring, Macario, and totally blew them out of the water. And I could see that potentially being a case this time because they are a really, really potent attacking force at the moment, playing so well. Dormorne has been phenomenal, arguably one of the best players in the world at the moment. So I think it's going to be a really, really exciting contest, and I'm looking forward to it. And it's kind of nice not having any skin in the game this season.

Yeah, you get to enjoy the spectacle, so to speak. You'll also hopefully get to enjoy a couple of England games coming up. The squad was announced this morning for the final set of World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Ukraine. Just a reminder for you, the lionesses are still the only team who've won all their games so far, but they have to secure first place in order to qualify automatically for Brazil. Tom Gary has been at St George's Park and can tell us all. Hello, Faye and all the team. Tom here at St. George's Park,

where we've just heard from the England head coach Serena Vigman. She's recalled Ella Toon, Freya Godfrey and Agi Biver Jones after injury to her England squad before the qualifiers against Spain and Ukraine that are coming up in early June. England, of course, in pole position at the moment to qualify all. automatically. Sweenna Vigman did say that she was, it was really nice to have Ella Toon back, but she wasn't 100% sure yet if the Manchester United Mifolder could play a full 90 minutes at the highest level, but she's got a couple of weeks to show that in training between now and the Spain game. Vigman was also asked a lot of questions about the future of some of her top players. The futures of Beth Mead, for example, who the Guardian understands is close to a move to Manchester City. Serena Veeman said that actually for a player like Beth Mead, her next move is very important in terms of her chances of going to the World Cup. Beeman was clearly sort of sending a little message out that match minutes and regular playing minutes next season is going to be crucial for all those players who want to go to the World Cup in Brazil.

So she's keeping a keen eye, I think, on the summer transfer movements of some of her top players, as they all hope to try and play at the World Cup in a year's time. And England will speak again in a couple of weeks time as they're prepared to play Spain in Mallorca, knowing that a draw or a win would see them qualify automatically for Brazil. Brilliant stuff. Thank you very much. Tom. Right. Do you know what? I actually think in terms of the Barclays WSL that our predictions were better than they have ever been. I'm not sure whether that is necessarily a good thing for the league. We like it to be topsy-turvy. And actually, I feel like our identity has been stripped from us. But, you know, you can pretty. much work out that teams who don't have Champions League football might have a better chance

of winning the league. Well done Manchester City. It has been a pleasure as always. Marva continue to make mischief. See you soon. Thank you. We'll do. So always lovely to see you. Great to be on. Susie Wrax. See you soon for a coffee. It's going to happen. It's going to happen before like. I saw you last week. I know, but we've not like met up independently for a coffee yet have we across the entire season I mean we had plenty of like coffees and lunches and things at events but I feel like if we return to the podcast ahead of the new WSL season and we haven't done it then we deserve like you know to be a slagic by the by the

podcast fan base when I'm back from from North America it's on I'm taking a lot of time off after that. Right, keep having your say. Send in your questions via X or emailing us at theGuardian.com. Until then, this is also your reminder to sign up for our biweekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search moving the goalposts sign up. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iodale. Our executive producer is Joel Grove. This is The Guardian.