The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - WSL shake-up, managerial changes and goals galore – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack and Sophie Downey to break down major developments in the WSL and Championship, managerial departures, and a weekend packed with goals.

This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faker Rothers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well, it's been a bit of a week, hasn't it? League expansion plans, no relegations some big developments. For the future of the WSL and championship on the table, we'll delve into all of that. Liverpool and Crystal Palace have parted ways with their managers. Chelsea have dropped points with the weekend turning into a bit of a goal fest. And it seems like forever ago, but we'll analyse the Lionesses big win over Spain in the Nations League as well. All that plus we'll take your questions

and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well we have a little mini panel today. I don't know why I put that voice on, I've absolutely no idea. Susie Rack hello. Hey hey, apologies for my croaky voice. I've got my like Phoebe, well no, I was going to say Phoebe face, smelly cat voice but it's not particularly sexy it's just really really grim. I didn't even notice what I did notice was your amazing green Yoda style blanket coat is that the right description? Oh it's actually Homer Simpson amazing. It's Homer Simpson

fading into the bush on a giant hoodie. Amazing Amazing. I love it. I love it. Sophie, you're in the hut. I brought you a Christmas. I am. It's debut for the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. That makes me very happy. Very happy indeed. Right. Let's crack straight on, shall we? Just the three of us today. And we're going to start with some news that's dropped over the last few days surrounding the future of the Barclays WSL and Championship. Let's give you with some news that's dropped over the last few days surrounding the future of the Barclays WSL and Championship. Let's give you a bit of background first of all in case you've missed what's been going on. So on Thursday the Guardian broke a story that the WPLL had developed a proposal to stop

relegation from the WSL from the 2026-27 season as part of a plan that will see the WSL and the championship expand to 16 teams. That was then discussed at a quarterly shareholders meeting on Friday. Further reporting from The Guardian on Sunday revealed that promotion from the championship would continue to grow the numbers of teams involved and then relegation could be reinstated in the 2030-31 campaign although that's actually not guaranteed and that's the crucial part. Susie, obviously you know big news to report on, can you expand on the details and give us a little bit more about what we know so far and maybe a little bit more about the thinking behind it?

Yeah, I mean, we don't know a huge amount in that these board meetings are private board meetings, I say board meetings, shareholder meetings, private shareholder meetings that happen quarterly to the WPL and involve representatives from all the clubs which are the shareholders and then the directors and stuff as well. And obviously Dawn Arey is chair of the board who continued in her role at the FA in a similar capacity and we don't know who attends those meetings on behalf of the clubs and we don't know, you know, kind of who attends those meetings on behalf of the clubs. And we don't know kind of how they vote or what decisions are made or what's on the agenda or what the minutes are, which I think is like quite concerning myself that opinion piece on that yesterday that went up this morning,

that basically just questions who is sort of in charge of the decision making process in the women's game and where is the accountability there because, you know least under the under the guardianship of the FA you had a layer of sort of accountability in that you know at least these meetings had to report back to the FA board and the FA council more widely and they also did you know very good sort of press briefings and things like that that were important and you know give strategy updates and things. So that for me is what is concerning is that we know so little information, it's all from leaks. And obviously anyone who leaks stuff from a meeting has their own sort of agenda. But you know, obviously we have numerous

sources, not just one or two, we reported on this kind of stuff, which helps us create the picture. But it still means that the detail that we have is like the minimal detail, right? So yeah, the plan, like you say, is to grow up to 16 teams, one team promoted a year and no relegation, which for me feels like really, really wide of the mark in terms of, you know, what kind of fans want to see, what players want to see, like it removes Jeopardy from the game, moves us towards a US style system. And I think that part about relegation being reinstated after the four years not being guaranteed is really, really significant because, like I say, when there's a lot of self-interest

now in the game, when clubs kind of prioritize their own commercial interests above the growth of the game as a whole and above the pyramid, then that's when things become a problem. And we can't trust the clubs because we've seen sort of the kind of decisions that they make in the men's game through the Premier League, through the European Super League, things like that. They are not to be trusted. I think we could say with some certainty that Nikki Doucet and the sort of team around her that run the game day to day are very, very well-meaning and care about the growth and development

of the game, but they lack women's football experience and the shareholders meetings as a whole lack women's football experience and that is what is concerning for me. There's no sort of connection there. So yeah, it's sort of year by year growth and part of the reason for that is because they need to sort of see what the impact of a Club World Cup would be. And if and when the Club World Cup is introduced, which has been delayed according to my colleague Tom Garry's reporting, friend of the pod, then that is a further complicating factor. If that decision is delayed, we don't see the impact of the Club World Cup, it makes

it harder for them to expand the league because they don't know what the impact is going to be on scheduling. So then it becomes more complicated again. So basically the idea is that slow one-team growth is partly to reach a point where they could be 14 teams that means that within two years which they think they can do alongside the Club World Cup, and then they can grow to 16 depending on sort of the way the Club World Cup impacts the development of things and the number of games people have. So yeah, it's controversial proposals, little accountability, and I hope there is significantly more conversations. That's why the consultation, that's it, before the end of the season, between now and the end of season, when they're taking this vote. Yeah, I just want to kind of make a point on that, just to balance

it slightly. There is women's football experience on the leadership team, just not the kind of legacy experience, if you like, from people that have been at the forefront of the women's game for a long time if that makes sense. There is women's football. Where? Well, Zahra El-Kudsi worked at... One year. One year at Chelsea. I mean, we're talking not much experience here at all. She had one year at Chelsea, all of the other rest of the leadership team. There may be amongst the wider staff, you know, we know the press officer, Emma Norris. I think they've got 35 people working on it.

Well, exactly, that, you know, that there are people who have worked there, but in terms of leadership, there is very, very, very little women's football experience. Even Dawn Airy, who comes along from the FA's board as chair, only joined the FA in 2019 as chair of the FA WSL and Championship board, right? That's not that long to be in the women's game. We've not got any sort of... Debra Nelson has just taken on a role of board observer, obviously part of Football Beyond Borders. Yeah, but she's not wielding power in this. She's a board observer and she's a young person. She brings huge, huge value and it's a fantastic appointment, but she has not worked in women's

football in any kind of senior position. She does grassroots and in schools and programs with girls and things like that, hugely important contribution to make, but she is not someone who is sort of influencing the running of the game in any way at the top level and that is where the experience is lacking. There is none. There is none at the top, top decision-making level. I think some of the shareholder representatives, some of the club representatives will send their women's football leads to the meetings, but my understanding is that is like minimal and when you've got the likes of some of those very very senior club executives and owners

at the meetings that is actually quite an intimidating thing, right? Like they are they come with huge reputations and power and financial resource and you know, like it's not necessarily going to be hugely balanced in that respect. So whilst I hope in the wider team there is a lot more experience and that is able to have its say, amongst the leadership is what concerns me and there is none bar particularly day-to-day running, Zara's one year at Chelsea, which for me doesn't really count as in anywhere near enough. Let's hear from some of you who've emailed us. Jim Hearson says, I've no desire to see the permanent end of promotion and relegation in the women's game, but could it serve a purpose in the short term? I appreciate why clubs may be more willing to invest if they know

they aren't going to get relegated. So pausing relegation from the WSL and championship for a few seasons could facilitate this. At the same time, many people appreciate that the WSL and Championship should grow, so why not promote sides from the Championship and National League but don't relegate anyone? That way teams have stability to invest while the leagues can grow the desired level before resuming promotion and relegation. What are your thoughts? Soph, what are your thoughts? I mean that's very reasonable. It is, but I'm still really, really nervous about everything because I'm going to come at it maybe more from the ideological point of view in that relegation promotion.

And I know it doesn't always work in football. I know capitalism in football has meant that things have taken over in terms of, you know, the wealthier clubs always do pretty well and can buy up assets and all of that in terms of players and stuff. But there is still a meritocracy involved in English football and you earn your way to a title and you earn your way to a championship, you earn your way to promotion and if you fail you get relegated and you know you have your, that's where you get your magic from. Yes the magic may be you get relegated and you know you have your mad that's where you get your magic from yes the magic may be More rare these on these occasions on these days But there is still the possibility that if I mean I hate to go back to men's football

But there's still the red possibility that you could have a lester city winning A wsl title or the main title. They still spent a lot of money They still spent a month, but they still came through the tears. It's not really about that. They came through the tears and they got the promotion and relegation. And being facetious. So I think the fundamental thing about this for me is that the lifeblood of English football is built on the foundations of kind of that meritocracy and the kind of promotion and relegation and so I have a real problem with the stopping of it even if it's

temporarily. Four years for me sounds like way too long. I don't like the idea that potentially it then needs another vote to get reinstated because why on earth were clubs in a closed league vote for relegation to kind of hurt themselves because then they have the possibility of failing and going down or and that stuff. But I also really worry about that period of time in terms of the rest of the football pyramid, in terms of what we're thinking about, in terms of the grassroots of the game. I was at Tottenham the other day and I interviewed Ella Morris, and she is a player who's come up from Tier 5 all the way up to, I know she signed for Tottenham in in the summer. Can't say Tottenham anymore by the way. Can't say it.

I'm saying it but she signed for Tottenham from Southampton in the summer and you know she's worked her way up and she's had that pathway to work that way. What happens at that pathway now and I think it's mixed with the whole BT team news for me as well. This kind of idea that they're trying to make the WSL teams and lower down the championship teams, but that top two tiers, the top dogs in women's football, which they are, but I think you have to be preserving that football pyramid and working hard to make sure the grassroots and that pathway exist. We aren't America. American models don't work over here in terms of football I

don't think so that does really concern me. There's been strong reactions Susie obviously across the board I can I can see where you and Sophie are coming from as well but are the fans and others right to be concerned I mean obviously they're right to be concerned but is there enough in there that provides what was the word you used Sophie that I thought was spot on a backstop almost for you know because to me it still looks as if there is the possibility that that could be the model going forward and they have the choice in 3031 to decide whether or not to remove it? Yeah, I mean, like, I think fans are, and others are very, very right to be concerned. We're looking at the key decision makers in the clubs being the same types of people who made

decisions over the European Super League and make very self-interested decisions in the Premier League week in week out. Like, I've repeatedly asked pretty much in every single meeting briefing we've had since the split off from the FA was mooted onwards what checks and balances are in place to prevent self-interest from rearing their heads and the more commercially successful the league becomes, the more money is at stake, the more those interests are going to rear their heads, right? Like, that's not fanciful, that is like reality. And the thing I've constantly asked is what checks and balances are in place to prevent that.

And the only real answer I've ever got is sort of a like, along the lines of everyone who's at the table now is like really committed to the growth of the game across the board, like they see the bigger picture, blah, blah, blah, which was far like, that's fine. Everyone might be on the table at a particular moment in time, although even then, I'm like, you know, kind of off the record reports are that that isn't necessarily true either. And then you've got this issue of when we reach four years down the line, when teams are very, very happy in the position that they're in, and you know, sort of the safety of the lack of relegation, and you

know, don't want to change things, then it's going to be very, very hard to get that put back in, I think. And that is what's's concerning and I think that also we shouldn't be afraid of worry and criticism like as scrutiny like I think that's really important for the league as it moves forward both for the I say this in my opinion piece both for the WPOL in terms of helping provide some checks and balances right because like fan feeling is one of the strongest things they have in their favour if the WPOL in terms of helping provide some checks and balances, right? Because like, fan feeling is one of the strongest things they have in their favour if they're trying to push back against some of the self-interests of the clubs. The biggest strength they have is like, publicity and fan feeling. But then also you've got this level of scrutiny driving

your ability to convince people that what you're doing is right, right? Like, the best way to refine your ideas, your position, your argument is to be criticized for it and tested and asked questions and queried and like that, like you have to win people. They need to convince us that this is the right thing to do. We're not being convinced at the moment because they're not really telling us, they're not really going out and having that consultation with the masses at all. You know, there may be little sort of backroom chats going on with clubs and things at the very, very top level, but there's not sort of a widespread consultation. Most people are getting the news from leaks to the press from these

meetings and not from them having widespread consultation and discussion. And so if they want to shift the narrative, they have to speak directly to fans, be that in widespread fan meetings, closely through supporters clubs, but not just with the leaderships of those support clubs, with the memberships as well, and through the press, right? They have to get that message out. And at the moment they're not getting, whatever the message is, they're're not getting it out and so the narrative is being filled by the vacuum. Last one for you Tofonit before we go into other questions the people have sent us in the report also brought up that with an eye on future

expansion the WPLL has had informal discussions with other Premier League clubs whose women's sides are lower down the pyramid. So the likes of Nottingham Forest, AFC Bournemouth and Brentford. Is that concerning? Are they getting preferential treatment? I think that's what in the reporting stood out to me as a bit of a worry in terms of if you're thinking about expanding future expansion and it just kind of I don't know if I'm looking at the FAWNL at the moment the Women's National League hashtag united at the top of the Southern Premier they're leading what happens to them if they are you know they've won the league and they're in terms of promotion but they're getting talked over in favor of Premier League clubs and I think this is where for me the of, it kind of really doesn't make sense that much because we have for a while started to align ourselves with Premier League clubs,

mainly because that's where the money is in football. And that's been the decision by a few. So by Michelle Kang and Durham, who are independent within the top two divisions, it's pretty much been aligned with, you know, bigger Premier League clubs that have a stature on the men's side of the game. And that's been the feeling because that's where the existing money is. So it's kind of an easy win in terms of investment. But it's just in terms of like, when you're thinking about it working in terms of competition, for me, at the moment you

have a series of clubs that are coasting and I don't understand who are willing to do the bare minimum to have a women's team in the WSL and they want it because it gets these owners the kudos to have a high profile women's football team. But beyond that, beyond trying to push the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, as long as they're safe, they're happy. So for me, you're just going to add more of those kind of owners into the mix rather than having a mix of kind of, I guess, independent or a mix of ownership models, where you have people who really, really do care about investing in the women's game and its future. And that's where it doesn't quite make sense for me. I don't know if I expressed that well enough.

But. No, I think you did. A couple more questions that have been sent in that we've picked out. Hi, Faye, Susie and Sophie. This is from Graham. Given the impending vote on closing off the WSL in championship as a somehow serious attempt

to bolster women's football structure in England, I have to scratch my head in confusion. The WPLL leagues do not exist in isolation without any jeopardy at all. What incentive is there for a team to try to break into the big WSL3? Do we really want to see Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City fight it out between themselves without a hope of change? We already see teams like Spurs and Liverpool under invest in comparison. Surely the lack of jeopardy isn't going to get them moving. Where does this leave every team in tier three or four? The clubs that are investing in their women's sides. There are loads who are trying hard to climb up through the one up one down bottlenecks.

But if you can't even get to the top, then why bother? And what about teams that might attract independent investment away from the Premier League backed clubs, which is what you were saying, Sophie, and looking to challenge the status quo? And without the lower tiers, where are the future players coming through for the top clubs? Not every player starts in the Arsenal Academy. Foundations can't be cut adrift if you expect the structure to stay standing strong for any length of time. What is it about governing bodies and a fundamental failure to understand the full ecosystem of a sport? Frustratedly, Graham. By the way, loving

watching AFC Bournemouth women climbing out of Division 1 Southwest. So, you know, he's even attached to a side that's attached to a Premier League club and still feels like this. Yeah, that's the key, right? We've seen what happens. It's not like this is an alien concept. We've seen what happens when the Premier League split away from the rest of the English football pyramid, right? And even then, you've still got promotion and relegation between those leagues. But there's a real danger there that you create gaps that are just impossible to bridge, that all the money goes in at the top, that impacts the rest of the pyramid. Without promotion and relegation, you are basically cutting off a financial lifeline to many clubs.

Be any ambition that they could have to sort of move up and sort of financially gain through success and yeah, be your hugely impacting the part, see your hugely impacting the pathway. It's a really controversial decision, as Soph said earlier, in the context of sort of like what English football is and like what people expect from it and yeah, like really concerning that it would have huge impact on all of the things that Graham mentions. Just finally, Glenn sends us an email saying I'm the only one in my friend group who avidly follows the women's game having followed the Lionesses since the days of Rachel Union and Karen Carney and following Spurs to match my fandom of the men's team when they came in.

However, there's a growing sense of frustration and potential apathy with the way the Super League's going again with a gap between the top four and the rest continuing to grow and what seems to be an impenetrable ceiling and with only one team going down for a significant chunk of the teams in the Super League there isn't much to play for. With news of there potentially being no relegation in order to expand the leagues, appreciate this is only a proposed measure at this stage, the League Cup only ever being won by one of three teams and if you include potentially being no relegation in order to expand the leagues. Appreciate this is only a proposed measure at this stage. The League Cup only ever being won by one of three teams.

And if you include Manchester United into a big four, the FA Cup not being won by a team outside of this group since Birmingham City in 2012. This just furthers the argument. Any team that gets close to joining or threatening this group either dips significantly the following season, have their players taken by the big teams or the interest is not there to push on. I appreciate owners should invest more as discussed by the pod to help bridge the gap and whilst I agree with this, I can understand why some might not when you look at it through this prism and the loss leading nature as it stands of the women's team for the clubs. I don't expect to be constantly winning or in contention

for trophies." I mean you're a Spurs fan so I'm really glad you've worked that out. He said I wouldn't have chosen Spurs on my team if that was the case. Oh, I inserted the joke and you did it yourself. This is a case of the women's game becoming closer to the men's game but should the WPLL be considering this within their part of maintaining fan interest and growth within the women's game? With the introduction of a women's equivalent of the Europa League or Europa Conference League help drive further investment, engagement and interest for both fans and club owners alike and stop people just having a passing interest. Or would it take a Leicester City style miracle win to break the monopoly?

Oh, hefty email. I know, thank you, Glenn. That was brilliant. That's why I read the whole thing out. I mean, I don't, that was brilliant. That's why I read the whole thing out. I mean, I don't just take bits out of it, you need the full context. So I think for me, the problem is

that we're only getting small details of bits and that it makes it really hard to shape a bigger picture. We're only being told what the Guardian have found out, essentially. For me, there are so many other opportunities that you could look at beyond before thinking about scrapping or becoming a closed league. For me, there are options like seeing how the Europa League figures out in the women's game that's coming in next

season, I think, how that expands and how that could drive investment, how having more opportunity to fight for places in Europe could inspire competition within owners. But I also think there are things within the domestic game where we could also try and up the competitive nature. I know that for a lot of the bottom half of the table, once they get safety, there's not much to play for in a season. And you're looking at someone, I guess, like Everton right now, who are looking looking pretty safe and until till May they've got not much to play for but then you could have something like a plate competition or you could introduce playoffs in the championship to get that second

promotions spot there are the ways of like upping the competition levels without having to just go immediately to the closed league model which I think has the dangers attached to it and I do I do understand that for owners you know they're investing in something they don't want to see it lost or their money go away but at the same time these clubs aren't actually investing in the grand scheme of things it's not a lot of money you know they these clubs we're talking about Premier League outfits here, they all have money to spend and they're all doing, well, not all of them, but some

of them are doing the bare minimum to make it to that level. If you look at, we've got onto Liverpool and that beard, you know, later, you know, they have the fourth lowest budget in the league. That's Liverpool Football Club. And they have the fourth lowest playing budget in the league. And for me, that's the fundamental problem, it's not the system of going up and going down. Yeah no I was just going to add that one of the things that I think really frustrates is that you know we're sort of given an indication that well you know this is the way we

expand the league, we you know put one team up have no promotion across a four-year period, but we all know straight away that, well, you could have the same impact if you put two up and had one go down and you have the same effect. So then you're looking at the reason why, and overwhelmingly the reason why seems to be, from what we're told, that you know, it would drive investment amongst clubs because without the threat of relegation, they would feel more willing and able to invest. Now that as an argument doesn't stand up because we've seen it,

right? We've seen clubs be given the opportunity to jump into the top of the pyramid, if you're looking at the lights of man united coming in into the second tier, West Ham as well being given the chance to jump in. And we've not seen, despite them jumping into the top, them investing significantly for having been rewarded for jumping in, right? They're both really low playing budgets, really low transfer spends. I'd say, arguably Manchester United are overperforming given their budget as much as some of the other clubs are performing relative to their budgets, probably pretty comparatively. So, like, you've got this situation where we've seen it, right?

We've seen what happens when teams are sort of gifted an opportunity to kind of progress progress in the women's game outside of sporting like, propriety and, you know, like winning your way in. And it hasn't led to further investment. So why are we expecting it to now? Because, because they tell us it will. Do we trust these clubs? Like I say, they these are the clubs that, you know, have for all extensible purposes ruined the Premier League and, you know, kind of really thought that they were going to push for a European Super League. Like we can't trust them that's the thing.

Right look that's going to rumble on and on isn't it and as we say it is just proposals at the moment. We'll hopefully find out what was said in that shareholders meeting on Friday soon enough and find out whether or not this is going to become a reality but thanks for all your questions on it keep them coming in women's football weekly at theguardian.com. Right that's it for part one in part two we'll look at all the WSL results from the weekend including some big management news as well catch up on the latest championship action as well and take a quick look back on a big victory for the Lionesses. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So in the Barclays WSL, Chelsea dropped points for only the second time this season.

They were held to a two-all draw by Brighton in Crawley. It was Dario Vidicic's side who impressed in the first half despite falling behind to a superb Sandy Baltimore volley. Marissa Olis-Lagos and Vicky Lasada responded quickly to send the Seagulls in ahead at the break. Chelsea though salvaged a point through a finish from Lauren James. Replays though showed she was actually offside. Oh they almost lost didn't they? But they preserved that unbeaten run. But for a team that have been struggling so far in 2025 that promised so much at the beginning of the season it was really impressive display from Bryce and Susie and they had chances

to make their lead more comfortable at 2-1 as well. What did they get right and where did they go wrong? Yeah, I mean, I think we saw them start to click back into place in the same manner that they had at the start of the season. Like, you know, I think when you've got a new manager in things aren't going to be well, unless're Chelsea a like straight line upwards right in terms of progress there's going to be dips there's going to be hiccups you're going to have injuries that are going to impact things you know having Frank Kirby back is a huge boost she was player of a match you know like you can't argue with her contribution she's such a key creative force Nikita Paris was excellent they were

really well organized at the back. So yeah, like really strong performance could have gone 3-1 up at various points. Vinicic said that he thought that there was a mental and physical aspect about being 2-1 up against the champions and that was something that they needed to learn. So I think, you know, it wasn't even necessarily that they can't take points off the champions, it was more, yeah, more that aspect of the of the game that did it. But, yeah, really, really solid. One of the things I was thinking about with some of the results

across the weekend is perhaps how the the international break ruptures the momentum of those like at the top. I think we saw that a little bit with some of the England players. Obviously, they expended a huge amount of energy in that Spain game in particular, like, you know, huge physical and mental effort to get that, that victory. And we saw, you know, some of those players sort of kind of maybe slipping up over across a couple of the games this weekend, you know, particularly when you look at sort of the Arsenal and Chelsea and in, in terms of Chelsea, you know,

Millie Bright getting caught out of position, Lucy Bronze being pulled all over the place a little bit, even Lauren James being offside for the goal that shouldn't have stood right, all of those kind of speak to little little errors creeping in that I think are potentially a hangover from that you know that switch back into club football and back into that kind of intensity straight away, I think is maybe a little bit much. And when you go from, you know, Spain world champions to Brighton, a team that hasn't been playing particularly well, you may be going with not complacency, but a little bit less energy because you've expended so much a previous week and then sort of get caught off guard a little bit and those mistakes start slipping in so I think maybe that's had an impact too. I was just going to say that

that rings true of Arsenal, we'll get onto that game in a sec but a quick one on Chelsea Sophie because they looked a little bit out of sorts it felt, is that the reason why as Susie said it's kind of nowhere near the best that we've seen from Sonia Bonpastor's side. What particularly did they struggle with? I mean, they do have a few injuries as well, which also will hamper a few things, but then it's Chelsea and they have a squad like Chelsea have, so you can't really use that as an excuse. They're still putting out a starting 11 of that competitiveness.

I think it was interesting. It was Naomi Goma's debut. It was her first run out in a Chelsea shirt. They tried to earn a back three. I'm still not convinced that that's the way forward. Also when Lucy bronzes the other, the right side is center back. It just all looked a bit makeshift and a bit like it wasn't really going to plan. It wasn't quite... They hadn't had the time to maybe instill the ideas of the new tactical formation, but equally I'm not sure whether those personnel, including Germer herself,

are made for a throw at the back. So it's going to be one to watch, I think. So I think it was just a bit disjointed all over the park, I think, without Erin Cuthbert as well in that midfield. Erin is an absolute driving force and you can really tell when she's not on the football pitch. So they will hope to get her back very, very soon. Yeah, good point. It was a real goldfest in the late WSL kickoff. It finished Arsenal 4, West Ham 3 as René Slager's Arsenal hit three goals in eight minutes to come back from 3-1 down and make sure they stay within the Champions League places. Amber Tiziak hit a quick-fire brace to send Rianne Skinner's side into a shock two-goal lead. Chloe Kelly pulled one back for Arsenal before

the break. That was her first since her return in January, but Shakira Martinez once again extended the Hammers lead just before the break and it was then that Arsenal kind of shifted through the gears. Katie McCabe, Leah Williamson and Mariona Caldente turned the game on its head in the end and it was quite the comeback wasn't it Suzie? Maybe something they might not have always done in recent years. How did they turn the game around? I mean it was a mad game right? Like it was fun. Completely. Well I mean less fun for the Arsenal fans in the room, I would say.

As a neutral, I loved it. No, I actually really enjoyed it. I thought it was really fun. And we've said it repeatedly on the pod, right? Like that West Ham have a really good team on paper and, you know, that they could do things if they click the right way. But yeah, from an Arsenal point of view, I think it was, it needed half time, and it needed Chloe getting the goal just before the break to sort of give them that boost going into the second half. And then sort of from then on in, it was very much like a we need to score, right? Like, you know, clearly the defense wasn't up to it. The fact

that they conceded again, you know, shows that they were just off colour. I thought, and I hate to say it, but I thought that Kyra Cooney Cross was missing and Kim Little looked a little bit off pace and, you know, that change there maybe disrupted things a little bit. And yeah, I think that there is a resilience there and a fight there that pulled them through it, but it's not the way you want to be winning football. You don't want to be in that position in the first place so you know to go from one of the strongest defenses in the league to you know kind of conceding three will not be something they'll be very happy with and yeah I mean it's it's moved them from you know

a very very good position in terms of goals conceded to third behind Man United and Chelsea, which is not a position you want to be in, especially when the gap has been closed slightly to five points. You need those goal difference margins as well as you get close towards the end of the season. So they'll be very frustrated with that. But like, yeah, I mean, I can't really believe that they got the three points in the end after such a wild ride. Yeah, West Ham will be a bit gutted, won't they? So how will they see this game? Yeah, they will be gutted. I think there will be so many positives for them to take from

it in terms of the way that they started the game. I think there will be frustrations in the way that they couldn't quite get the mental side, I guess, back together after conceding to Katie McCabe's goal. I think that's when it kind of, you could see the kind of wheels come off that kind of everyone started to panic a little bit as Arsenal were just one goal out from them. And I think that was kind of illustrated by the penalty, which I mean, I don't know what, I'm sorry, Kirsty Smith, but I don't know what the defender is doing in that position, just putting your hands up to your face because it's going to be a handball.

And I think that just shows kind of where they were at, but I think they can be very, very proud. I think they've been showing over recent weeks how much they are coming on as a team. I think the front three, I know Rico Uekui didn't start, but I know when they're on the pitch, her, Shakira Martinez and Viviana Sae are looking really, really, really dangerous. And the more time that they get to play together,

I think is going to be really valuable for them. And I think what Rian Skinner will take real comfort in as well is that they fought right until the end. I mean, when you think about it, in the injury time, there were two goal line clearances and a big save from Daphne Van Domsler. So they were fighting to salvage that point and they kept going and yes they didn't quite get it over the line, mainly stopped by Arsenal's brilliant goalkeeping and I think Beth Mead with an absolutely crucial goal line clearance, I think she's hurt her hand in the process of doing that because she was just, you know, kind of do or die I guess. But I think that's where and they can take massive positives from is that they kept fighting.

Yep, they did. Two managerial changes dominated the headlines last week. On Thursday, Liverpool announced they'd parted ways with Matt Beard. Assistant Amber Whiteley has stepped up on an interim basis. This is the statement from the Liverpool Women's Board. We've all experienced some fantastic moments with Matt as manager of LFC Women and we express our gratitude for his significant contribution. Our priority was to return this team to where it belongs and we collectively achieved that in 2022 by winning promotion to the WSL. We need to build on that momentum and

although this has been a difficult decision we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for future success on the pitch. Was this a surprise, Soph? Yes, for me. I know some people said they were kind of expecting it but for me I was totally surprised. I actually spent most of last week being baffled by various things that were happening in women's football but I do think, and at least till the end of the season, I think there are fundamental issues with Liverpool at the moment in terms of the investment that they're providing the team or not providing the team. I mean, their record signing Olivia Smith basically slashed their signing budget, their transfer budget completely. And she walked, she cost £250,000. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a lot.

And the fact that they couldn't buy anyone permanently, there was no budget to buy anyone permanently in the winter window, just shows exactly where they are at in terms of that investment. They could only bring people in on loans. So I think it's really unfair. I think where Liverpool haven't been having a good season, especially compared to last season, but you know, before too long, they could be in fifth place if things go their way

so it's not exactly you know really bad either yes and I think this side of the year their forms really turned a corner as well so I felt it was super harsh on Matt and we all know what Matt is you know his legacy in this game I still believe he is a fundamentally underrated manager. I think he's one of the best this game has seen and I really hope he finds another job very soon. Yeah, agreed. So that was Thursday, then Friday, Crystal Palace announced that manager Laura Kaminsky was going to depart with immediate effect. This is what chairman Steve Parish had to say. This has been an extremely difficult decision for the club to take.

Laura's made a fantastic impact since arriving in the summer of 2023, getting the club promoted to the WSL for the first time in its history. Laura's given her all on and off the pitch and she leaves here with all of our thanks and best wishes for the future. Less than 24 hours later, Norwegian manager Leith Smerrudd was revealed as the new permanent manager of the Eagles, which is a very quick turnaround from Palace, Susie. How did you clearly planned it? How surprised were you with that decision?

Again, incredibly surprised by both decisions and disappointed as well. The way I described it to someone yesterday was it's like some of these managers are being asked to pull a rabbit out of a hat but they're not being given the hat or the rabbit. Like that is the extent of like the situation they're in. Like they are so chronically under-resourced and under-supported and like you know by a number of accounts like Steve Parr Parrish is genuinely interested in the women's team. But to look at what Laura Kaminsky has done with that team so far this season and the promise they've shown and to not stand by that, I think is really, really disappointing. Same for Matt Beard.

I completely agree with Soph on how good he is as a manager and I long for the day when he is going to be at a club, a big club, who is going to give him resource and I would love to see what he could do if he was given a team and money to properly build a team that is going to really, really reflect the way he wants to play and what he can do. He's very well-liked Guy and similarly Kaminsky this season has shown that there is real potential there in her ability to build a cohesive unit and to get the best out of the players that she has available to her. We had a lot of her low knees from the big clubs go back to their parent clubs in the January transfer window and I think that has an impact too, obviously some with

injury. So it makes me slightly disillusioned with the game when you see these kinds of decisions being made. Like Sophie said, in a week we've had the sort of WPLL news breaking as well, that this short term is creeping in. And it's not like these managers are going to get million and million pound payoffs and, you know, essentially be able to retire on their payoffs like we do in the men's game. So, you know, they're basically out with, you know, families and, you know, not necessarily the ability to move out of schools and areas very easily without the financial resource to do so. I think that's incredibly sad.

I mean, obviously, that impacts a manager that is bad or good in the same way, and that is sad. But when it's managers that you don't think necessarily should be out and should be given more time and a chance and give them the money to do it, give them the rabbit in the hat for God's sake, like give them a chance or give them one of them at least, you know, right? Give them a hat so they've at least got something to pull the rabbit out of, you know? I just find it really, really depressing at the moment. Yeah, Abracadabra.

It was a bit of a mess as well because they were playing each other, weren't they, on Sunday? Palace in desperate need of points at the bottom of the table, but they were beaten by Liverpool by a goal to nil, thanks to a 10th minute finish from Jasmine Matthews. By the way, I did hear Matt Beard speaking this week that he'd actually been in contact with Laura Kaminsky a couple of times and was really surprised by Crystal Palace's decision. So, you know, at least there's support going on, which is vital. Let's look at some of the other games quickly. Across London, Robert Villahams Tottenham hosted Manchester City in a competitive encounter at Brisbane Road. It finished Tottenham 1, Manchester City 2 in the end.

Manchester City kept up pace with the top three. Viv Meadomar on the score sheet again as she put Gareth Taylor's side into the lead before Bethany England levelled the score. Ioba Fugino marked another fine display with an eventual winner for City. And it was a gutsy display from Spurs, Susie, despite the result. One of their best maybe this season. Pour some love on Tottenham, I know you want to. No, it was a fantastic performance.

I really like Tottenham. I said it and it's been clipped up and done the rounds before. Like they're a great team. I don't have the same biases that I do in the men's game. I just love Arsenal. And yeah, I think they're a great team. I don't have the same biases that I do in the men's game, I just love Arsenal and yeah I think they're a great side. I thought Beth England's finish for the equaliser was phenomenal. Man City are just a superior team, they have extensive talent at their disposal that they can lean upon and Viviana Miedema I thought was on fire as well which is always bad for Spurs. Absolutely Manchester United earned their seventh consecutive league win to

narrow the gap to Chelsea at the top of the table it finished Manchester United to Leicester City nil thanks to first half goals from Melvin Mallard and Leo Galton. Mark Skinner was impressed with his side's performance even though they dropped off. He said, winners find a way to win and we've done that. Leicester manager Omandee McKell meanwhile lamented her side's first half showing and they were much improved after the break. She said, we didn't do enough in the first half, clearly we were better in the second but it wasn't enough. We gave ourselves troubles alone, we were late, we didn't move as a block and we opened up options for them which made it easier for them to score. Fair assessment of the game, Soph?

I think so. I think when Miki came on in the second half it changed the game for Leicester City. It just gave them a bit more control. I do lament the defending especially for the first goal where Manchester United literally passed in a straight line straight through the middle from, I think it was Letizia to Eletoon and then to Melvin Mallard and literally there was nothing stopping them. It was a direct line. So I think they'll look back at that and be disappointed at that. I think maybe in contrast to maybe Suzie's point earlier about the disruption of the international break

I think that for Leicester City it came at the wrong time They've just been getting some momentum and they obviously have a couple of the Japanese players Who are out and loading so Mamiki herself, you know They've been out in the in she believes cup and stuff so that you have to manage that kind of loading and travel and stuff So I guess they weren't at their fully resourced best. But I don't think they'll also worry too much about it because it's Man United and they wouldn't have probably expected to go in expecting to try and win. But, you know, of all of the games, it's kind of a free hit in a way.

And to keep it to 2-0, I think is a massive positive in that second off. Yeah that's really key for sure. Listen away from the field, we had some breaking news about Jaycee and her situation at Manchester United. The Brazil international posted on Instagram after the game, staying in a place where we don't feel happy is an agonising and lonely feeling. Every day seems heavier and the simple fact of being there becomes a burden the environment which should be welcoming becomes a field of discomfort where inner peace is difficult to find this feels as if we're getting an exit looming if you like Tom Gary has reported that there's hope a loan deal to Gotham is going to be concluded soon she's had a few issues behind

the scenes. She was away at her brother's funeral recently as well by all accounts. It's not a brilliant situation, Susie, for her to be in. And, you know, another instance when we think to what happened with Chloe Kelly of a player feeling that they have to make a statement in order to get themselves out of an unhappy scenario that they're in at a club. What do you make of it all? Yeah, I mean, it's just incredibly sad, isn't it? Like you've got a grieving player having lost her brother, who clearly is kind of miserable and no one ever wants to see that. And clearly there's been some kind of breakdown there. And I just hope she gets a move that makes her happy. I think that's the key, right? Like when we're dealing with people's mental health and ambitions and if they're not kind

of happy in the environment they're in, then they should be given the freedom to move on and hopefully that is the case here. Yep, absolutely. Right, final game. Everton moved up to eighth with the win over struggling Aston Villa. It finished Aston Villa nil at Everton 2 at Villa Park thanks to goals from Mara Mielda and Hanaka Hayashi. Everton under pressure for a really good period of the match, Soph, but were clinical when it mattered, which is something that we've not been able to say about them for quite a while.

But not the easiest start for Natalie Arroyo at Aston Villa since she took over. They're still just four points clear of Crystal Palace at the bottom. What did you make of this game? I think Brian Sorensen will be incredibly happy. I think they scored with their only chance at the first half. So they're finding that clinical nature and it just shows what has happened since Christmas, since the turn of the year, in terms of the way that squad is feeling on the Everton side of things, I would be really worried for Aston Villa. I think she needs to be given a chance, of course, and it's going to be teething

issues, but the next WSL game they face is Crystal Palace. That is absolutely huge, because there's four points difference between them at the moment. If they lose that game then they're right back in the mix and Crystal Palace have a lifeline. So I would be a bit concerned. I'd be a bit concerned about the fact that you are well positive that you are dominating games. You're dominating possession, creating chances, but concerned about not taking those chances right and there has to be a point where you start you know being a bit more clinical in those situations so I think it is a worrying time for the club hopefully they should I mean when you look at their players they have enough quality in there to keep them out

of trouble but you just never know in this sport. Yeah exactly right let's look at the championship Portsmouth made history on Sunday. They earned their first ever Barclays Championship win to tighten the relegation battle. It's a 2-0 victory over 10-player Sheffield United, which means that Jace Hadler's side are now within a point of the blades and two points of Blackburn, who are in ninth.

Blackburn fell to a defeat to league leaders Birmingham. Second place London City Lionesses dropped behind in the race for promotion but they did salvage a point against Charlton. Katie Bradley's penalty had given the Addicts the lead but a 90th minute equaliser from Kostavari Aslani made sure that the spoils were shared. Elsewhere Newcastle United edged past Bristol City in a five-goal thriller, a late goal from Deanna Cooper winning that one, while Sunderland returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over close neighbours. Durham all go in the championship as always and I

know I promise you every single week that we're going to do a championship focus. We are! It's just there's so much news going on all the time that we can never catch up fully and you know we also can't catch up. feels like forever ago by the way we've got to take a quick look back at what was a brilliant win in the end at the end of the international break England's massive 1-0 victory over Spain, Jess Park's goal just the difference it was really competitive affair at Wembley and it was exactly the performance that the Lionesses needed Susie after that draw with Portugal. It was just phenomenal. It was one of the most satisfying England performances I've

seen in a long time, possibly ever. It was just really gutsy. And I don't know what I would say, ever. I don't mean literally it was the best performance ever. I was going to say that there's been a few that challenge it, I'd say. One of the best ever. Yeah, like it was just so gutsy. There was so much like heart and fight and resilience in the performance. And I was saying afterwards that even if England had lost that game, like I would have been happy with that performance. I think that's what we forget sometimes

is that not everyone can win football matches, right? Like not everyone can win tournaments, not everyone can win trophies. What you wanna see is you wanna see someone fight like their life is on the line. You wanna see gladiators in the arena battling to death, right? Like that's what people like to watch.

And that was a performance fitting of that kind of stage and that audience and yeah it was just it was just great. Speak for yourself I'm not that bloodthirsty I'm not sure if I'd have wanted to live in those times I'm not gonna lie. Listen it's been an absolute joy having you both you've done a lot of heavy lifting rabbits out of hats and all kinds of all kinds of things are you going to join the magic the magic circle next so so Scott the rabbit we could we were yes oh my goodness me how on earth did I not reference that at the time there was so much to talk about oh so plenty of hats you have oh my god oh my god I literally missed a tap in what is wrong with me? Unbelievable. I teed you up and you skied it. I failed. Oh Rosette, embarrassment. You are embarrassing. So Suzy you are not embarrassing. I will see you both very soon.

Keep having your say as well. Thanks so much for all the messages that you sent into us this week. Continue sending in your questions via social media or emailing us at womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. A reminder as well for you to sign up to our weekly 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 Iredale. Our executive producer is Salamat.