WSL 23/24 | United v Bristol - 12:00 Sun 17 March

jojojo

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Another match with less than great timing for matchgoing fans. Not bad for TV watching fans though.

We beat them 2-0 in the away fixture back in November. Hinata and Parris got the goals that day. Overall, we had 72% possession and most of the attacking moves. Bristol are currently bottom of the league with 6 points in 15 matches and a 6 point mountain to climb to get level with West Ham who are directly above them.

So, a foregone conclusion then? On the face of it, a decent performance from us and we've got this. But we drew with West Ham in our last WSL match and of course nothing's guaranteed in football.

Malard's performance in the Cup means I'm eager to see her lead the line for us. Geyse will be back from international duty. Rivière looked like she may have picked up another injury on Sunday, but I've not heard anything on that.

Match is live and free to view on FA player in the UK and some other countries.
 

jojojo

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Charlotte Healey did the press conference this week as Marc Skinner is with his wife, awaiting the birth of their second child.

We did get injury and availability updates. Rivière and Geyse are available for Sunday. Leah Galton is out with a thigh injury.

 

FlexoRodriguez

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Emma Watson is on grass? Huh, kids today...

Seriously though, Geyse and Riviere back is great, looking forward to another confidence booster on Sunday. And if Skinner is away we might see some bold tactical changes and subs during the game!
 

Demon Barber

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Team v Bristol City

Earps
Riviere
Turner
Le Tissier
Blundell
Zelem (c)
Naalsund
Malard
Toone
Garcia
Parris

Subs: Tullis-Joyce, Evans, Mannion, Rabjohn, Aherne, Guerrero, Ladd, Geyse, Williams.

@jojojo ... I thought you had forgotten!
 

Grande

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Demon Barber said:
Team v Bristol City

Earps
Riviere
Turner
Le Tissier
Blundell
Zelem (c)
Naalsund
Malard
Toone
Garcia
Parris

Subs: Tullis-Joyce, Evans, Mannion, Rabjohn, Aherne, Guerrero, Ladd, Geyse, Williams.

@jojojo ... I thought you had forgotten!
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Geyse on the bench … too short restitution time after flying back from Brazil?

I wonder what is keeping Irene Guerrero out of the team. I thought she would be a nailed on starter by now if not for the injury.
 

Eric_the_Red99

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This has surely got to be another comfortable win, at home against the weakest team in the league. Third place is almost certainly gone now, but if somehow Arsenal mess things up we'd be kicking ourselves if we're not in a position to take advantage. And fourth has to be the absolute bare minimum acceptable this season. Anything less would be a disaster.
 

Eric_the_Red99

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1-0. Great solo goal from Naalsund, dancing through the Bristol defence and a nice finish.
 

Scanny

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Eric_the_Red99 said:
This has surely got to be another comfortable win, at home against the weakest team in the league. Third place is almost certainly gone now, but if somehow Arsenal mess things up we'd be kicking ourselves if we're not in a position to take advantage. And fourth has to be the absolute bare minimum acceptable this season. Anything less would be a disaster.
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Should be a comfortable win but not sure there is anything to play for in the league now other than finishing above Liverpool.
 

Lightbringer

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Scanny said:
Should be a comfortable win but not sure there is anything to play for in the league now other than finishing above Liverpool.
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We need to win all our games and Arsenal lose 2 to beat them on goal differential. Probably impossible as we need to win City away and Chelsea at home. But you can bet Skinner is not ruling it out! His job depends on it!
 

Scanny

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Too slow and decision making in the last third is poor.
United making hard work of this.
 

Lightbringer

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Scanny said:
Too slow and decision making in the last third is poor.
United making hard work of this.
Click to expand...
Considering goal differential is the only little chance we have a getting the 3rd place in the league, Skinner better sort this out at the break, we need to win this at least 4-0 or 5-0 if that goal difference chance is going to be alive!
 

Scanny

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Lightbringer said:
Considering goal differential is the only little chance we have a getting the 3rd place in the league, Skinner better sort this out at the break, we need to win this at least 4-0 or 5-0 if that goal difference chance is going to be alive!
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You have more faith in the management of this team than I do.
Slightly quicker this half but still not direct enough. Bored of constant pointless non-progressive possession.
 

Scanny

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Look how some direct running causes chaos there. Bristol City hitting the woodwork.

I swear Guardiola has ruined football. I want to go back to the days when an attacking player had a go and got me out of my seat in anticipation.
 

Eric_the_Red99

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United have been so poor since taking the lead. Bristol have been organised in defence but we’ve looked aimless and very sloppy. We’ve played like this too many times this season, which is why we are where we are.
 

Eric_the_Red99

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That was awful from Williams there. Had two teammates open and they could have tapped it in but she selfishly blasts it over from the edge of the box. Sums up our play since taking the lead.
 

StretfordEnd78

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Isn't working going forward is it? I fear a performance like that next week at the Etihad.
Set pieces dreadful.
That said Mary doesn't need to wash her kit.
 

Lightbringer

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Demon Barber said:
How thoroughly uninspiring.
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When Demon says this it must be quite bad. The general feeling among social media seems to be that many fans wished Bristol had equalized if it had meant that Skinner would be more likely to be booted after the season.

How is the feeling in the stands among fans?

From what I see the girls are working hard, Williams as usual was putting in an insane work ethic which rubbed of on others. But the strategy from the manager does not seem to be working anymore and its pretty boring to watch!
 

jojojo

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Lightbringer said:
When Demon says this it must be quite bad. The general feeling among social media seems to be that many fans wished Bristol had equalized if it had meant that Skinner would be more likely to be booted after the season.

How is the feeling in the stands among fans?

From what I see the girls are working hard, Williams as usual was putting in an insane work ethic which rubbed of on others. But the strategy from the manager does not seem to be working anymore and its pretty boring to watch!
Click to expand...
I can't wish poor results on the team, but I understand that mood. We're out of contention in the League and I don't think many matchgoers believe Skinner is the man to take us forward. No one would have been surprised if Bristol scored and yes, a lot of fans would have seen a silver lining there.

It's not a unique situation, it was there at OT with Van Gaal during his final months - it didn't stop the fans cheering the FA Cup win though. Personally, I'm hoping for the same outcome :smirk:

Most fans think the players are good enough to compete. Most believe Skinner is not up to the people management task of confidence building or the tactical issues around the way we play and the way we adapt when the plan fails. He talks about systems and ways of playing but either he can't pick a team to play his system or his system is faulty. I don't believe a bigger budget is the cure for that, though obviously better players always gives you a chance to get a better result.
 

Demon Barber

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Lightbringer said:
When Demon says this it must be quite bad. The general feeling among social media seems to be that many fans wished Bristol had equalized if it had meant that Skinner would be more likely to be booted after the season.

How is the feeling in the stands among fans?

From what I see the girls are working hard, Williams as usual was putting in an insane work ethic which rubbed of on others. But the strategy from the manager does not seem to be working anymore and its pretty boring to watch!
Click to expand...
I don't do social media but I can imagine what the responses are - which is largely why I avoid it. You and jojojo post everything I need to know on here, so ... thanks.

There is quiet and reasonable chatter at the games or in the pubs. Nobody is calling for a public lynching of Skinner. There is an appreciation of what he has done, but also an acceptance of his limitations. As with the men's team we want to win and be entertained. We just seemed a bit flat against Bristol City, despite the victory.

jojojo said:
Most fans think the players are good enough to compete. Most believe Skinner is not up to the people management task of confidence building or the tactical issues around the way we play and the way we adapt when the plan fails. He talks about systems and ways of playing but either he can't pick a team to play his system or his system is faulty. I don't believe a bigger budget is the cure for that, though obviously better players always gives you a chance to get a better result.
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I agree with this. Our players are more than good enough to compete. We certainly did last year with Russo as our focal point. Take Kerr or Shaw out of Chelsea and City and they still play the same way. We dither and dally and tinker. When I see our teams announced I have no idea who is going to play where. I suspect many of our women feel the same way.
 

Scanny

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I genuinely do not know what our “pattern of play” is this year. Players look lost. Slow build ups with too much passing for passing’s sake and a lot of the time backwards.

I’ll be very disappointed if they renew Skinner’s contract this summer.
 

Grande

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Scanny said:
I genuinely do not know what our “pattern of play” is this year. Players look lost. Slow build ups with too much passing for passing’s sake and a lot of the time backwards.

I’ll be very disappointed if they renew Skinner’s contract this summer.
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Maybe Martin Ho had a bigger role than suspected?
 

FlexoRodriguez

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Lightbringer said:
When Demon says this it must be quite bad. The general feeling among social media seems to be that many fans wished Bristol had equalized if it had meant that Skinner would be more likely to be booted after the season.

How is the feeling in the stands among fans?

From what I see the girls are working hard, Williams as usual was putting in an insane work ethic which rubbed of on others. But the strategy from the manager does not seem to be working anymore and its pretty boring to watch!
Click to expand...
I think the feeling in the stands is leaning towards frustration, it felt like there was a 10-15 minute period in each half where we kept doing exactly the same thing - passing around the middle third and not getting anywhere. In control, but no real threat. I think it was telling that Lisa's first goal came from being a bit more direct, taking players on with speed. Geyse brought the same energy but I think she missed Parris being in the middle with her movement. In terms of Skinner, I would ask why are the team not able to change plans when they are hitting dead ends for such a long period?
 
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