...and frankly, it sucks.
I’ve had a happy football summer, happier than most United fans anyway. I put this down to the fact that I’ve largely ignored the transfer speculation. I’ve even ignored most of the contract renewals and the issue of departures, though that’s been harder.
But now we’ve announced Alex Greenwood is leaving, and frankly it sucks.
It’s told me something I didn’t want to know about United, and about its women’s team, and it’s told me something I didn’t want to know about myself as a United fan. Even if in reality, I always knew it.
Casey Stoney said we were building a team ready to compete at the top level in 3/5 years time. I liked that. I liked that we brought a lot of our own young players back, poached a few local players, snagged a couple of exciting prospects from rivals, and hired someone widely respected and with massive experience of the women’s game as manager. We had a great first season relying on those principles.
Our summer recruitment might not have been the most exciting, but it made sense for where we’re at. Even the departures made sense – for the young players who needed matches as well as for us – even though I was a bit sad to see some good prospects go. I thought I’d come to terms with the idea of short contracts, but I honestly thought we would only lose players for reasons beyond our control.
Now, maybe Alex Greenwood’s departure really does come into the category of “beyond our control.” Lyon are at the pinnacle of club football, she must be delighted to get that offer. But somewhere in the back of my thoughts comes a question: how hard did we try to keep her? Did we at least match the money on offer, even if we couldn’t match the immediate trophy prospects? I guess we may never know the answer, but it actually sucks to have to ask it.
Which is where reality sets in and frankly it’s like a bucket of cold water. After the innocent joy of watching United Women play last season, suddenly we’re looking at the facts of football life. I suspect we didn’t even match the financial offer, whether because of the FA rules on wages, or because of our team budget (including any issues it might create with other squad members). Which means the idea of steady progress or, as Casey Stoney described it, the “we crawl, we walk, we jog and then we run” mantra, has just had this Alex Greenwood shaped hole driven through it.
Of course, I already knew what this means about where we sit in the women’s football pecking order. But that’s where my attitude as a United fan kicks in, I want us to spend money to keep our best players. I don’t mind that we aren’t chasing after the WWC winning players, or fighting Lyon for the signing of Nikita Parris - well I do mind, but I ignore that feeling because I know it's unreasonable.
However, it turns out that I mind a lot about us losing one of our best players, and it reminds me of just how fragile all our plans can be. It makes me look at some our other players, the ones with high potential, and the ones who are already top class, with trepidation as well as hope.
I guess that for the future of the women’s game, it’s a good sign that I’m actually so pissed off about this. Football needs the ability to annoy and frustrate, as well as delight, if it’s to build the kind of fierce loyalty that makes us spend our money on tickets and travel, or go to a match on a wet Wednesday in Leigh. That doesn’t make the feeling any better though.
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TLDR
Losing a good player sucks.
I’ve had a happy football summer, happier than most United fans anyway. I put this down to the fact that I’ve largely ignored the transfer speculation. I’ve even ignored most of the contract renewals and the issue of departures, though that’s been harder.
But now we’ve announced Alex Greenwood is leaving, and frankly it sucks.
It’s told me something I didn’t want to know about United, and about its women’s team, and it’s told me something I didn’t want to know about myself as a United fan. Even if in reality, I always knew it.
Casey Stoney said we were building a team ready to compete at the top level in 3/5 years time. I liked that. I liked that we brought a lot of our own young players back, poached a few local players, snagged a couple of exciting prospects from rivals, and hired someone widely respected and with massive experience of the women’s game as manager. We had a great first season relying on those principles.
Our summer recruitment might not have been the most exciting, but it made sense for where we’re at. Even the departures made sense – for the young players who needed matches as well as for us – even though I was a bit sad to see some good prospects go. I thought I’d come to terms with the idea of short contracts, but I honestly thought we would only lose players for reasons beyond our control.
Now, maybe Alex Greenwood’s departure really does come into the category of “beyond our control.” Lyon are at the pinnacle of club football, she must be delighted to get that offer. But somewhere in the back of my thoughts comes a question: how hard did we try to keep her? Did we at least match the money on offer, even if we couldn’t match the immediate trophy prospects? I guess we may never know the answer, but it actually sucks to have to ask it.
Which is where reality sets in and frankly it’s like a bucket of cold water. After the innocent joy of watching United Women play last season, suddenly we’re looking at the facts of football life. I suspect we didn’t even match the financial offer, whether because of the FA rules on wages, or because of our team budget (including any issues it might create with other squad members). Which means the idea of steady progress or, as Casey Stoney described it, the “we crawl, we walk, we jog and then we run” mantra, has just had this Alex Greenwood shaped hole driven through it.
Of course, I already knew what this means about where we sit in the women’s football pecking order. But that’s where my attitude as a United fan kicks in, I want us to spend money to keep our best players. I don’t mind that we aren’t chasing after the WWC winning players, or fighting Lyon for the signing of Nikita Parris - well I do mind, but I ignore that feeling because I know it's unreasonable.
However, it turns out that I mind a lot about us losing one of our best players, and it reminds me of just how fragile all our plans can be. It makes me look at some our other players, the ones with high potential, and the ones who are already top class, with trepidation as well as hope.
I guess that for the future of the women’s game, it’s a good sign that I’m actually so pissed off about this. Football needs the ability to annoy and frustrate, as well as delight, if it’s to build the kind of fierce loyalty that makes us spend our money on tickets and travel, or go to a match on a wet Wednesday in Leigh. That doesn’t make the feeling any better though.
---------
TLDR
Losing a good player sucks.
If I can be this annoyed by the idea of losing a player (or to be more precise by the fear that we might not even have tried to keep her) then that's a good thing for the future. I'm not proud of the fact that part of my reaction was "what did we offer her?" but I am conscious that we're late arrivals at this party, and catching up is hard if you lose the players you need to keep.