Manchester United Women | Silly Season | Summer/winter 2025

Ubik

Nothing happens until something moves!
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Maybe needs a new thread for the summer but oh well.

Dare I say it, not a lot in the way of expected outgoings this time? Maybe Williams but that would be a more natural parting on positive terms.

I'm keen for us to add a top quality forward. We tried with Geyse, was a good idea but didn't quite work out in the end. Bizet was a very good addition to the squad but I'd like a true goal threat to add to Terland.
 
Ubik said:
Maybe needs a new thread for the summer but oh well.

Dare I say it, not a lot in the way of expected outgoings this time? Maybe Williams but that would be a more natural parting on positive terms.

I'm keen for us to add a top quality forward. We tried with Geyse, was a good idea but didn't quite work out in the end. Bizet was a very good addition to the squad but I'd like a true goal threat to add to Terland.
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I think you are right. I'd like to keep this group together as the team spirit is so good. Williams can stay for as long as she likes! But yes, the addition of another quality goalscorer would be my obvious addition.

We are in the WCL as well, so we could perhaps do with more defensive cover. Midfield is fine.
 
More defensive cover is an absolute must. George and Sandberg can cover left back ok, we look lost without Jayde and I shudder to think what happens when Maya and/or Millie are out for a few games. Indeed, as much as I love her, Millie is the weak link (if there is one) there to be upgraded.
 
We do have Janssen and Manion to slot in, and Blundell back soon ... but yes, another quality CB please. I think Lyon have just released a couple on free transfers. That could tempt SJR.
 
Well, we could start by getting ourselves a decent goalkeeper. :eek:

I'm totally kidding, of course: The keeper position is the least of our concerns. Seriously, though, I have to say that I find myself uncharacteristically devoid of opinions about this.

On the one hand, we have a solid squad composed of good to very-good players, two-deep at every position. The team seems to be a a tight-knit group in which the whole is better than the sum of the parts, and I wouldn't want to do anything to disrupt that. I agree with others that it would help to add more depth at center-back, or maybe another striker, etc., but it seems to me that this is just minor tweaking around the edges that would yield only marginal improvements.

On the other hand, when I think about the problem in terms of how to better compete with the "Big Three," I'm kinda at a loss. On paper, at least, we're the fourth best team in the WSL. (I feel sure that we would have finished the season in fourth were it not for City's injury debacle.) Adding a player here or there isn't going to change this. We're just not going to be able to compete with teams who have the likes of Guro Reiten and Beth Mead starting games on the bench without a total reboot. And I don't want a total reboot.

Somebody help me out here, please!
 
Lobster11 said:
Well, we could start by getting ourselves a decent goalkeeper. :eek:

I'm totally kidding, of course: The keeper position is the least of our concerns. Seriously, though, I have to say that I find myself uncharacteristically devoid of opinions about this.

On the one hand, we have a solid squad composed of good to very-good players, two-deep at every position. The team seems to be a a tight-knit group in which the whole is better than the sum of the parts, and I wouldn't want to do anything to disrupt that. I agree with others that it would help to add more depth at center-back, or maybe another striker, etc., but it seems to me that this is just minor tweaking around the edges that would yield only marginal improvements.

On the other hand, when I think about the problem in terms of how to better compete with the "Big Three," I'm kinda at a loss. On paper, at least, we're the fourth best team in the WSL. (I feel sure that we would have finished the season in fourth were it not for City's injury debacle.) Adding a player here or there isn't going to change this. We're just not going to be able to compete with teams who have the likes of Guro Reiten and Beth Mead starting games on the bench without a total reboot. And I don't want a total reboot.

Somebody help me out here, please!
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I'll try and help you out, in an amateurish way. To be the best we have to be ruthless, and that means not being sentimental.

I've said many times that Galton is my favourite player, but would Lauren Hemp improve us in that position - yes. The same can be said of several positions. But ... I really like how we are right now, and think the current squad could do even better than this season.

Would, say, Slegers or Bompastor imrove our current squad? Very probably. Investment certainly would. The "other three" teams can put out a top class Second XI. We cannot.

I'm rambling aimlessly. I haven't really helped, have I?
 
The first step is improving the first team. Improving the first team would see better players now on the bench

One of the main areas to improve for me is midfield with players who dont mind receiving the ball under pressure, who can keep it and find a good passing solution. Bringing Hinata into the CM helped this against most teams but against the best teams we had a few too many performances where she wasnt able to help solve it either.

Next we need someone who is creating goals. Terland had the 2nd most amount of assists after Celine Bizet which would be unexpected and with Hinata playing CM and Geyse leaving we have space for another wide player to fill that criteria.
 
First on my upgrades list would be the manager - but that's another story. Extra players only help if they appear on the pitch. Plus I remain a sucker for the original vision sold to us when the women's team started - that our home grown players would have a route to the first team. The only ones who have got there are the ones that Stoney brought in on day one.

So with that said - I think the tough thing is improving the "first choice" lineup. Terland is one of the top goalscorers in the WSL but we aren't a team that scores many goals (by top 4 standards). I don't think there's anyone around who can do better than Terland and Malard in that job for our team - and certainly no one who is likely to be available to us. And we're currently not a team where someone can grow into the job - in the way that Beever Jones has done at Chelsea.

So my contribution then. We need (at least) cover for the full backs and for the centre backs and I'm not convinced that's Sandberg, though Janssen might be. We need to remember that solid as our defence has been, they've needed a solid defensive midfielder sat in front of them all season and we pay for that.

Minata needs someone who complements her playing style - true top teams can keep the ball in midfield and allow the defenders to regroup and the attackers to move. They can slow a game down or speed it up. Can that be Clinton? I don't know - at the moment it's not obvious how to play Clinton and Toone together without losing what makes both of them good. I'm still waiting to see what Awujo can do, but without injuries or other forced substitution I'm not sure when we'll see her. To get into the team in our midfield you'd have to arrive as a ready to go starter and they're more or less guaranteed to be already at a top club.

In attack, I'm always ready for an upgrade and I'd love to see someone who can really add that extra flair and suprise the way Kerolin has done at City. But we do expect our wingers to do a lot of defensive work and that's a big thing.
 
Incidentally, in the spirit of silly season - twitter gossip has suggested that Barca are thinking about letting Ona Batlle go.
 
We could do with improving the first 11 with an LCB (long term starting partner to play with Maya preferably tall with recovery pace and left footed around 23/24), a proper starting LB, a new 6 (this is clearly not a priority for Skinner), an starting upgrade/replacement on Naalsund (upgrade the 6 and 8 to create a more physical, robust but still good passing midfield as we are too lightweight), a CF / 9 to at least challenge or be better than Terland (we need two for Europe), a LW (Galton's 31)

...and finally and most importantly a new manager.
 
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I mentioned manager and investment in my reply to Lobster11. Both are, I think, crucial. We need a second XI who are not simply there to make up numbers, but one that could genuinely compete for starting places in the first XI. And that needs investment and a manager who is not fixated on favourites.

Assume our current starting XI is:

PTJ
Riviere. Le Tissier. Turner. George
Miyazawa
Clinton. Toone
Bizet. Terland. Galton

That leaves our second XI as:

SMP/Rendell
Blundell Mannion Rabjohn. Sandberg
Janssen
Naalsund. Awujo
Barry. Williams. Malard

Now, whilst I like the players in our second XI (sentimentality), are any of them capable of competing for a start in the first team? Janssen maybe? Or Malard? Awujo?

Watson, Griffiths, Aherne, Simpson make up the rest.

Three or four key injuries to our main squad and not even the best manager would be able to shuffle the pack and compete. City are without Bunny Shaw and Miedema, but they've got Kerolin, Fowler etc.

Investment. Buy Batlle. Buy Russo. Buy Stanway. Offer Greenwood a tempting deal to come back to the club she once captained. Pipe dreams, I know, but I've made my point. I think.
 
Demon Barber said:
Investment. Buy Batlle. Buy Russo. Buy Stanway. Offer Greenwood a tempting deal to come back to the club she once captained. Pipe dreams, I know, but I've made my point. I think.
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Pipe dreams or not, this got me thinking that maybe we don't have to necessarily choose between ruthlessness and sentimentality. It might be possible to bring in some top players without disrupting the great team cohesion that we have and value. We just have to choose wisely, e.g. by bringing in players who (1) have had ties to United in the past and/or (2) have or have had relationships with some of our current players in other contexts. (Note that Geyse didn't fit either category, and we saw how that worked out.)

So, Batlle would be a great choice, as of course would be Russo in the highly unlikely event that we could get her. One thing I especially like about those two is that they were the players in the past who brought out the best in Tooney, so that would be like an extra free upgrade. Greenwood has ties to the club, as you noted, and both she and Stanway of course have connections with all the Lionesses on the team. (Plus, who doesn't want more Lionesses?)

One more thought: What about another Norwegian? Guro Reiten might be unhappy about her recent lack of playing time at Chelsea....
 
Dear Sir Jim

Is there any chance that you could sign Ona Batlle, Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway, Alex Greenwood and Guro Reiten.

Cheers love

Demon x
 
Demon Barber said:
Dear Sir Jim

Is there any chance that you could sign Ona Batlle, Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway, Alex Greenwood and Guro Reiten.

Cheers love

Demon x
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Dear Demon Barber,

Who?

Cheers love,
Sir Jim
 
As a casual fan of the women’s team (I check results and video highlights (I am in the US where is hard to see matches live)), could someone explain why so many feel Skinner needs replacing? FA Cup win last year, finalist this year, and 3rd in league seems decent on paper considering it seems Sir Jim isn’t putting any money towards the team. I see the opinion that he needs to go quite often and Im curious what aspects of his coaching would need improvement?
 
bgoodall said:
As a casual fan of the women’s team (I check results and video highlights (I am in the US where is hard to see matches live)), could someone explain why so many feel Skinner needs replacing? FA Cup win last year, finalist this year, and 3rd in league seems decent on paper considering it seems Sir Jim isn’t putting any money towards the team. I see the opinion that he needs to go quite often and Im curious what aspects of his coaching would need improvement?
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Welcome - well, we will all have slightly different opinions, but I'll air my views.

Skinner has done well and has perhaps exceeded my expectations this season. An FA Cup win last season and qualifying for the Champions League this season is excellent, but there just seems to be something lacking.

I think a lot of it is to do with the fact that he starts the same XI week in, week out, and the same formation and tactics regardless of the opposition. Last year he hardly played Miyazawa, but this year she has been a sensation, and her inclusion seemed more accidental than deliberate. Awujo isn't getting a look-in, but could be used to good effect.

I have warmed to him this year and think he has done well, but would like to see him be more creative in selection, rotation, in-game management and substitutions. There - I've said my piece.
 
bgoodall said:
As a casual fan of the women’s team (I check results and video highlights (I am in the US where is hard to see matches live)), could someone explain why so many feel Skinner needs replacing? FA Cup win last year, finalist this year, and 3rd in league seems decent on paper considering it seems Sir Jim isn’t putting any money towards the team. I see the opinion that he needs to go quite often and Im curious what aspects of his coaching would need improvement?
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I'm not going to wade into the Skinner debate --- at least right now -- but as a fellow fan in the U.S. I can say that I've been able to watch almost every match this past season. You just need to know where to look. I won't go into detail here because I can only speak to what was available this past season, and don't know if the same will be true next year.

In the meantime, though, I can tell you that you can watch the England-Spain Nations League match tomorrow on CBS Sports Network (plus, I think, some other streaming options).
 
bgoodall said:
As a casual fan of the women’s team (I check results and video highlights (I am in the US where is hard to see matches live)), could someone explain why so many feel Skinner needs replacing? FA Cup win last year, finalist this year, and 3rd in league seems decent on paper considering it seems Sir Jim isn’t putting any money towards the team. I see the opinion that he needs to go quite often and Im curious what aspects of his coaching would need improvement?
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I am a season ticket holder, so see a lot of Skinner debate on both sides. Apart from a very small pocket of fans, generally he has our support.

I think the general feeling is that he has done well to get us to where we are, improving on the standards laid out by Casey Stoney. The question is, is Marc Skinner capable of taking us up the next step? His tactical inflexibility suggests not. But in a landscape that includes Chelsea, is anyone really capable??

It will be very interesting to see what Arsenal and City do next year, with first seasons for new people in charge. Skinner is now the longest serving manager in the WSL if you can believe that! Whether he can compete with renewed competition is down to the summer window and what he does with the new players he is presented with.

A lot of questions, and not many answers yet!
 
Two departures.

Aoife Manning is leaving. She joined us from City in 2021. An ACL injury cost her a year but she still played more than 50 games for us. Mostly as a stand-in for Millie Turner or Jayde Rivière.

Alyssa Aherne, United academy graduate, is also leaving. She's spent most of her time since signing as a pro for us in 2023 out on loan - first with Everton (a loan that ended when she got injured) and then with Sheffield United.
 
jojojo said:
Two departures.

Aoife Manning is leaving. She joined us from City in 2021. An ACL injury cost her a year but she still played more than 50 games for us. Mostly as a stand-in for Millie Turner or Jayde Rivière.

Alyssa Aherne, United academy graduate, is also leaving. She's spent most of her time since signing as a pro for us in 2023 out on loan - first with Everton (a loan that ended when she got injured) and then with Sheffield United.
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Presumably that is Mannion? I'm genuinely sorry that she's leaving as she is good cover and seems to be a popular person around the team. I think she will be missed.

I don't really know anything about Aherne, but hope she secures a good move for her career.
 
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Shame to see Aoife go, but she has been plagued by serious injuries. Hopefully there's adequate backup at RB and CB coming in.

I'll never forget that performance against Arsenal when she came back from the ACL and shut them down completely.
 
AmarilloMike said:
Shame to see Aoife go, but she has been plagued by serious injuries. Hopefully there's adequate backup at RB and CB coming in.

I'll never forget that performance against Arsenal when she came back from the ACL and shut them down completely.
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Agreed. She was a beast in that game.
 
Demon Barber said:
Presumably that is Mannion? I'm genuinely sorry that she's leaving as she is good cover and seems to be a popular person around the team. I think she will be missed.

I don't really know anything about Aherne, but hope she secures a good move for her career.
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When auto-correct attacks :lol:
 
Skinner has been saying for a long time that he wanted to assemble a core group of "young and hungry" players who would stay together for a long time, and so far, so good. Much better than the last few years!
 
All of our rivals are signing big players whereas we are posting about last summer’s arrivals and highlights of a tournament that took place a couple of months ago. Oh and we don’t have a coaching staff in place. What else is new, eh?
 
top1whoisman said:
All of our rivals are signing big players whereas we are posting about last summer’s arrivals and highlights of a tournament that took place a couple of months ago. Oh and we don’t have a coaching staff in place. What else is new, eh?
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To be fair, we aren't posting about our top players signing with other teams, as has been the case in recent years. Progress?
 
top1whoisman said:
Guess we’ll have to take that as a win :lol:
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You and Lobster joke, but you're not wrong. We have a young, talented and hungry squad. The biggest challenge this summer is keeping them together. I am delighted that seems to be what is happening.

It is important to remember that we are not Man Utd, historical regular champions and the target club for most players. We are new, we've won just the one serious trophy, qualified for Champions League qualifying rounds twice and not yet made the competition proper.

If one of our players wants to play 'at the highest level', the fact is that for now, we are not that. Keep this group together and sprinkle a bit of stardust on it, and we will be I am sure. But not yet.

No noise about departures is absolutely brilliant news, frankly!
 
AmarilloMike said:
You and Lobster joke, but you're not wrong. We have a young, talented and hungry squad. The biggest challenge this summer is keeping them together. I am delighted that seems to be what is happening.

It is important to remember that we are not Man Utd, historical regular champions and the target club for most players. We are new, we've won just the one serious trophy, qualified for Champions League qualifying rounds twice and not yet made the competition proper.

If one of our players wants to play 'at the highest level', the fact is that for now, we are not that. Keep this group together and sprinkle a bit of stardust on it, and we will be I am sure. But not yet.

No noise about departures is absolutely brilliant news, frankly!
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I really like the current squad, but "a sprinkle of stardust" sounds good.
 
I couldn't remember if transfer stuff just happens later in the women's game due to the season starting later, but went back and looked at last year and we'd signed Janssen by this point with Terland already looking a done deal and Malard looking likely to turn permanent. Still relatively early and as mentioned above, there don't seem to be any big losses on the horizon this year so I'm not feeling doomy, but thought we'd at least be seeing more links than a midfield depth signing (which would still be a nice addition).

Then again, just remembered the Euros are on :lol:
 
Ubik said:
I couldn't remember if transfer stuff just happens later in the women's game due to the season starting later, but went back and looked at last year and we'd signed Janssen by this point with Terland already looking a done deal and Malard looking likely to turn permanent. Still relatively early and as mentioned above, there don't seem to be any big losses on the horizon this year so I'm not feeling doomy, but thought we'd at least be seeing more links than a midfield depth signing (which would still be a nice addition).

Then again, just remembered the Euros are on :lol:
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That hasn’t stopped our rivals from making statement signings.
 
I think the Euros may have affected the timing. Unless they were already lined up before the end of last season think we were stuck. There's a definite pecking order in women's football and we won't be high up on anyone's list as a great payday or as a place with guaranteed trophies. Some of our rumoured targets have already been recruited by others on that basis.

We've got a decent track record on picking up just under the radar talent like Tullis-Joyce, Bizet and Terland. So I'm hoping that's what's going to happen this year. I guess we might be checking our possibles list to see how they get on. Every chance that the players are wondering where they sit on the pecking order as well.

Any rate I doubt much will change this month. Would be nice to think we've already sorted out the coach replacements though.
 
Leicester, West Ham and United are the only clubs yet to sign a player in this window…
 
top1whoisman said:
Leicester, West Ham and United are the only clubs yet to sign a player in this window…
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Without being too cruel, I hope we're not shopping on the same shelf as them.

I'm still hoping to see some Euros talent heading our way. I'm guessing the obvious ones like Gaupset are already lined up by someone.

Anyone else added someone to their impulse buy shopping list?
 
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