WSL 20/21 | Everton v United | postponed - Everton have too many players out
- Thread starter jojojo
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Looking to get some payback after the League Cup defeat, but never underestimate Willie Kirk and his squad
Yep. It's a really critical moment as well, because a win on Sunday will help consolidate our position as genuine title contenders (and current leaders).
Leaving us in a good mood to play Chelsea, last year's champions, on Sunday 17th. To make it even weirder, the men play Liverpool later that afternoon...
However! This thread is about this weekend and us playing Everton and I'm not really sure who is available. I believe some of our players went home for Christmas - Jackie Groenen (we think) was on the last train possible.
I suspect we won't know who's actually available until Casey tells us the team on Sunday, but if anyone's picked up any Twitter gossip or Instagram photos on who is training - that would be great to hear. I did see training photos of Ona (did she go back to Spain?) and Alessia (back from injury?) But couldn't tell if they were old or new.
And I think this is a new photo of Tobin Heath, taken by Christen Press wandering down a soggy, deserted Manchester street with a coffee in her hand
Leaving us in a good mood to play Chelsea, last year's champions, on Sunday 17th. To make it even weirder, the men play Liverpool later that afternoon...
However! This thread is about this weekend and us playing Everton and I'm not really sure who is available. I believe some of our players went home for Christmas - Jackie Groenen (we think) was on the last train possible.
I suspect we won't know who's actually available until Casey tells us the team on Sunday, but if anyone's picked up any Twitter gossip or Instagram photos on who is training - that would be great to hear. I did see training photos of Ona (did she go back to Spain?) and Alessia (back from injury?) But couldn't tell if they were old or new.
And I think this is a new photo of Tobin Heath, taken by Christen Press wandering down a soggy, deserted Manchester street with a coffee in her hand
A couple of extra bits of info courtesy of the Barmy Army on twitter.
For UK watchers it's on BBC red button (as well as FAPlayer) and a nicely random fact - we've played Everton 5 times before but only once at home, and we're away again!
For UK watchers it's on BBC red button (as well as FAPlayer) and a nicely random fact - we've played Everton 5 times before but only once at home, and we're away again!
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The caption says - "The first winning team pic of the year"
Tobin Heath, Jane Ross, Martha Harris, Tara Bourne, Ella Toone (?), Millie Turner, Hayley Ladd, Emily Ramsey (?), Ona Batlle, Kirsty Hanson, Fran Bentley - I might have got some wrong.
Don't the runners up get a team pic too ? A coment from Jess Sigsworth on Twitter suggests she was on the losing side. Katie Zelem has also posted a tweet about first training session of 2021.
Apparently, they are currently training at Carrington.
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I live only a mile from the park in which Everton play in . I had this game bookmarked for a while to go to but now with a complete lockdown I am not sure that I will be allowed anywhere near the park . Can use the excercise card to have a glance I reckon
The game is apparently off (not yet officially confirmed but United have said it's off and BBC have announced they are showing a different game) due to Covid cases in the Everton camp, despite Willie Kirk claiming this morning that they had no cases. Disappointingly some of our players were among those who went to Dubai but, as usual, Casey showed the decency and intelligence to apologise in a really considered manner unlike everyone else thus far.
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So to clarify the players who had it have been training this week but aren't fit to play? That's a load of bollocks, they're not injured and they don't have Covid yet Birmingham, who have 10 fit players, are still meant to be playing. The handling of everything this week within the women's game has been a joke, it's a really bad look.
Apparently so.
That said, I remember when Zelem had covid at the start of the season. Casey said that the club doctor had them follow a protocol (a bit like when a player comes back from a concussion). Only gradually letting them do things in training, keeping heart rate low etc.
A couple of Newcastle (men's team) players took a long time to recover. Going back to training may just mean they can pass a covid test and they can jog around the field.
If Katie was there then she was taking one hell of a risk with her health.
I guess with the Dubai trip they probably all read that it's a no-quarantine travel corridor - and thought that meant it would be safe. Zelem may even feel like she's at less risk than most people, having had covid before.
It's a foolish mistake for the players to make, but I can understand why they thought they could do it and still be back safely in time for training. If City and Arsenal hadn't needed to cancel matches because of it, maybe it wouldn't have been so widely reported (after the Instagram stories were deleted)
Just shows outside the club itself there isn't really anywhere that is safe.
No doubt it's far from ideal but that's surely not what the protocols were for, it was surely for players who have to be isolated due to Covid otherwise how long can teams just keep delaying games due to players still feeling the effects? They can at least be on the bench even if there's no intention to bring them on otherwise City and Arsenal could pull the same stroke next week, especially City who are without Mewis and Lavelle at the moment.
I think that's why Casey's statement - you have a squad, so you play - is an important one. If you've got a squad (or a youth team) - play the match.
It's deciding what you do if a team do say they can't play I guess, and making that fair. Bristol were told to play. Birmingham are being told to play. City, Arsenal, Everton are allowed to cancel. Looks suspiciously like a pattern.
You're absolutely right that it looks like a pattern and it will be a real shame if clubs who are not attached to big Premier League sides (many of whom have supported the women's game for a lot longer than the likes of ourselves) keep getting poorly treated. The 14 player rule should be fairly easy to enforce, it's more difficult in the Arsenal and City situations because it's bringing in academy players from outside of the bubble and the logistics of doing so but with Everton they clearly have enough players who could be in a match day squad and to allow them not to play sets a really bad precedent because surely now teams who are down to 14 or 15 players can easily find a couple of remaining players who aren't quite fully match fit to get a game postponed.
It is now a massive farce 