Alex Greenwood - joins City and that's a double derby double

jojojo

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An England international and according to Casey Stoney, "Signing Alex was very significant for us. She is an experienced international and has one of the best left foots in the game that will be vital to the way we want to play.”
 

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Born in Liverpool, played for Everton but a Liverpool fan and came from the Liverpool team. Along with 27 caps for England, she's quite the coup. The connections both Stoney and Kirk have, along with the pull for the players returning to United proved invaluable it seems.
 

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Never thought i would be saying this but i quite fancy the United captain.
 

RedPamie

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Her signing is a coup for us definitely. Relatively young but plenty of experience. Member of the current England NT! Good decision to make her our captain.

Some already writing her off for the next World Cup though. Saying dropping down a tier is bad for her.
 

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An England international and according to Casey Stoney, "Signing Alex was very significant for us. She is an experienced international and has one of the best left foots in the game that will be vital to the way we want to play.”
Any relation to Mason?:wenger:
 

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Oh. How come?
I'm sure I read something on here about them having some problems last year with managers or something. Can't remember the details.

This is also my third post of the day so that's me done!
 

jojojo

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Liverpool won the League in 2014. Yes, I know how odd that sounds. :smirk:

But they lost their manager soon after (he moved to the US) and it was about the same time as City came on the scene. Liverpool stood still, just at a time when other clubs (particularly Chelsea, City, Arsenal, but also the new wave like Reading) were starting to get more serious. They've not made it into the top 4 since. Last season there were rumours that the players no longer believed in the manager, nor the administration of the club (promised contracts not materialising, organisational troubles).

How accurate were those rumours? As usual, we don't know, except we do know that a lot of players were happy to leave them - including Alex, who is potentially risking her England role to join us. The Liverpool manager has now been replaced and they're busy making their own new signings, so maybe our arrival has woken them up as well.
 

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Decent player but has sometimes looked out of her depth playing for England. Can be very frustrating on the ball. She has a lot of experience though and I have no doubt she will excel in the championship.
 

Grande

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Decent player but has sometimes looked out of her depth playing for England. Can be very frustrating on the ball. She has a lot of experience though and I have no doubt she will excel in the championship.
She’s young yet still one of the more experienced players in the squad. I think she’ll be important in building a culture for the younger once to learn from. And we need angood left foot!
 

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jojojo

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So the captain assisted our first goal in a decade and apparently had a belter of a free kick also. How did she play apart from that, anyone knows?
Good all round performance, her setpiece taking is particularly good. Growing as a team is obviously the big thing now. The defence needs time, and the link through the left with Hanson/Galton and Zelem/James needs time, but a good start all round for her, seemed like there's some real attacking potential there.
 

jojojo

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Alex is in the England squad for the Wales and Kazakhstan WC qualifiers. Siobhan Chamberlain isn't called up (which is not a surprise).

These are the final matches of the campaign. Wales have only one match to play, the one against England, and they lead the group by one point. If Wales win they take the automatic qualification place. If England win, England qualify instead. A draw and it will come down to England's result in Kazakhstan. There is a playoff competition for the best four runners up.
 

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I remember her from watching England a couple of years ago, I think maybe in the 2015 world cup? She was very good and I remember her attacking well, a bit like Luke Shaw if I'm not mistaken.
 

jojojo

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I remember her from watching England a couple of years ago, I think maybe in the 2015 world cup? She was very good and I remember her attacking well, a bit like Luke Shaw if I'm not mistaken.
In the Liverpool game she looked very good on the ball, some good passing play and a nice setpiece taker. Defensively we looked a bit iffy at times and players did get through on her side, but it's a new team so you expect that, particularly when the fullback is supporting the attack. It'll be a big season for her, she's got a fight on her hands with England, but she looks at home with United and as captain, despite the scouse accent.
 

RedPamie

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I think she's solid vs Liverpool. Although i noticed some nervy moments when Satara Murray was able to dribble past her. We were lucky some of Satara's final balls were not good. Same can be said with RB Kirsty Smith.

Maybe the team was nervous. It's quite the occasion.

Agree with @jojojo her link up play, her set piece and her leadership on the pitch are on display.
 

Grande

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I remember her from watching England a couple of years ago, I think maybe in the 2015 world cup? She was very good and I remember her attacking well, a bit like Luke Shaw if I'm not mistaken.
Maybe Leighton Baines is a better comparison? She’s got a good footballing brain, leadership skills and a good delivery, unlike our dear Luke.
 

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jojojo

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Is that a reflection of the standard of our players compared to those in the top division, or Neville not looking much beyond that division? I only started watching the women's game this season, so don't really know.
It's a fair reflection, we've a lot of high potential young players and a couple of young senior players (like Zelem) who can't be far away from the squad but who maybe need to show how good they are in WSL1 before they can get picked. Because it's world Cup year there's not a lot of room or even incentive for Neville to experiment.

Personally I'd love to see England give Lauren James a try, but she is very young. It may just be that she's not ready physically or temperamentally to be thrown into what's basically a squad that's focused on the summer WC. I guess potentially there's another factor as well - the women sign England contracts alongside their club contracts, and the financial constraints are fairly tight. Maybe just taking "one more youngster" along for the ride on something like the Qatar training camp or to the "She Believes" tournament just isn't a practical option.

We do have a couple of players in the Scotland squad (Lizzie Arnot and Kirsty Smith) - but so far no call-up for Kirsty Hanson. Which surprises me because I really don't think they've got someone better or even someone who could do similar things to her if called on as a sub.
 

Andersons Dietician

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but so far no call-up for Kirsty Hanson. Which surprises me because I really don't think they've got someone better or even someone who could do similar things to her if called on as a sub
this is honestly a travesty because for us I think she has been awesome, I’d even say more influential than Arnot for us currently.
She is for lack of a better way to put it an absolute weapon who is good on either side, off either foot, Great dribbler, passer and finisher. I’d say she has been one of the best players for United this season even. She really has to be going.

The only thing I can think is that Christie Murray might be used more out wide and just allowed to drift about.
 

Grande

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this is honestly a travesty because for us I think she has been awesome, I’d even say more influential than Arnot for us currently.
She is for lack of a better way to put it an absolute weapon who is good on either side, off either foot, Great dribbler, passer and finisher. I’d say she has been one of the best players for United this season even. She really has to be going.

The only thing I can think is that Christie Murray might be used more out wide and just allowed to drift about.
Impressive enough that capped players like Greenwood, Arnot and Smith chooses a club on the second level, but it’ll take something extra for players like Katie Zelem, Lauren James and Kirsty Hansonto play their way into those teams from there.
 

jojojo

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Just a bit of random chat while I'm watching the Sheffield derby on the telly. Alex's partner, Jack O'Connell, plays for Sheffield United and was being linked with a few different clubs (including PL ones) with his contract running down. The good news for us is that he's renewed with Sheffield, so there's no new pressure on Alex to move.