Welcome to the Conversation
The Women’s Super League season kicks off tonight with London City Lionesses versus Manchester United. Suzanne Wrack has been reporting on women’s football for the Guardian since 2017, appears on our Women’s Football Weekly podcast and is the author of the award winning A Woman’s Game: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Women’s Football.
She is answering your questions live now.
Key events
Is coverage going backwards?
FrankfurtView asks: The BBC have removed their Women’s football show from linear television. Already it was being shown in a broom cupboard, later than Match of the Day … Have BBC gone backwards in women’s football coverage?
Suzanne: Their approach to coverage is changing across sport more widely. There seems to be a drive towards social platforms, as shown by the launch of their women’s football Youtube channel and expansion of their content on their TikTok account. Whether that strategy will drive audiences will show over time.
The loss of the Women’s Football Show is a big one, in my view. It needed a better slot and greater investment but it provided fans with the most accessible week-by-week analysis with clips and highlights and it will be interesting to see whether the new 15-minute Women’s Football Fallout will be able to deliver enough depth for fans wanting game-by-game analysis.
Can Man United surprise ?
Laughable asks: Do you think Manchester United can surprise people? How far can good tactics, high motivation and an attacking strategy take them? I think there will be new signings that fit Eva Olid’s style of play in the January window and that they will they do quite well this season and perhaps break into the top three within three years. Am I wrong?
Suzanne: Interestingly, I did a profile of new manager Eva Olid when Hearts, the team she left in the summer after leading the Scottish side to the SWPL title, had five games of the season remaining. Having known nothing about her I got an incredible impression from the various interviews I read with her about her coaching philosophy and her time coaching boys in Spain and managing in the women’s game. My fear is that United won’t give her the resources required to punch as high above their financial weight as they will need to be doing to be competitive in the WSL. Yes, she worked wonders at Hearts, having arrived with the team having finished at the bottom of the league (only avoiding relegation thanks to the expansion of the SWPL), but Hearts did increase their support for the women’s team alongside her shrewd coaching and player development during her five years.
Arguably, their transfer window was one of the most disappointing of all the WSL teams this season. Their four signings are promising, but they see some high-level WSL experience leave in their seven outgoing players. They will benefit from no Champions League football, but I don’t think they have the squad to be able to ‘do a Man City’ and take advantage of that significantly in the league, not when so many mid-table teams have looked to have strengthened really well. I hope I’m wrong, I would love to see United do well and Olid be really successful there, but without a greater commitment from the club from the top down, not just financially, I struggle to see much to be excited about. The League Cup is a great opportunity for silverware though, with no City, Arsenal or Chelsea involved, but others will be sensing that opportunity too.
Will failing to cover Miedama come back to bite Man City?
trinder19 asks: How much will City’s failure to sign an attacking midfielder to cover for Miedama cost them? Benítez would have been quite the coup and they should try again for her next time. My view is that just about any side would miss Miedema’s intelligence and ability but if there’s one thing City have an abundance of, it’s attackers. Her absence will give Beney and Fowler a chance to shine in that central role, and of course Mead can play there too.
Suzanne: Losing Vivianne Miedema is of course a huge blow for any length of time and I think her absence towards the end of last season coinciding with City’s slight faltering and lack of rhythm wasn’t a coincidence. As you say, you could view City’s lack of action in that area in the transfer window, bar the late attempt to Fiamma Benítez as costly, or you can view it as an opportunity for the likes of Mary Fowler or Iman Beney to step up and really make that position their own. Is that a risk or not getting Benítez a blow? Maybe, but I think I personally prefer players being given a chance rather than cautious clubs recruiting and blocking the route to starting games for those younger talents.
However, if City didn’t think Fowler or Beney or anything else is ready for that role and they really wanted Benítez then they should have gone harder for her much much sooner, because Miedema’s injuries issues haven’t been a secret in recent years.
Arsenal: weaker or stronger after transfers and letting Mead and McCabe go?
FuzzyDunlop1982 asks: Arsenal: weaker or stronger after their big free-transfer spree but having released Beth Mead and Katie McCabe?
Suzanne: Beth Mead and Katie McCabe are huge players and personalities to lose, particularly after the excellent seasons they both had last year. Arsenal’s handling of the McCabe situation showed they must feel they may be making a mistake in letting her go. That said, Arsenal’s recruitment has been very strong, Georgia Stanway in particular brings the battling spirit they lose with McCabe’s exit.
Are Arsenal stronger? In my view, yes, given the players coming in and a refresh of the group. The biggest regret will be less about letting those two players go, but about where they let them go to (not that they had a huge amount of control over that with the players being free agents and able to join whoever they wanted) because, while Arsenal are stronger, Mead and McCabe strengthen their two main rivals.
How will London City Lionesses grow attendance?
Dfic1999 asks: You said in one of your club previews ‘with no men’s club supporter pool to draw from, London City Lionesses will have to be inventive.’ How can they do that, especially given all the other London clubs in the WSL? Is their ‘galactico’ strategy sustainable without the matchday attendance to go with it?
Suzanne: Great question. Every club, even those with a men’s club supporter base to draw from, is trying to find that golden goose of a formula to build a large, vibrant, consistent and active audience. In the case of those that do have a parent club with a large men’s fanbase, I think a part of the problem is that club marketing teams have not had to work very hard to fill their stadia. In fact, many men’s teams could fill their stadia two, three… 10 times over with zero effort from their marketing teams. Those marketing teams play different roles for their men’s teams. When they are tasked with having to connect with people and get them to make the decision to physically step into a stadium and do so on a regular basis, I’m not sure they know what to do. With no blueprint for how to do this, that’s where they need to be inventive.For London City, who don’t even have that big men’s fanbase the club can ping an email to and instantly reach tens of thousands, they have to really lead the way in being inventive. In terms of what that means? For me, it’s about having an activist mindset and getting physically out into communities, schools, local clubs, pubs and community centres. It’s about finding ways to support transport for those that might struggle to get to grounds, it’s about reaching parents, it’s about speaking with people directly on the values team sports, women’s sports and engaging with it. Then, it’s about working towards a vibrant supporters’ club and working with it collaboratively to help them create the environment they want and that will attract others. It’s lots of things, I don’t think there is a magic bullet of an answer.
Welcome to the Conversation
The Women’s Super League season kicks off tonight with London City Lionesses versus Manchester United. Suzanne Wrack has been reporting on women’s football for the Guardian since 2017, appears on our Women’s Football Weekly podcast and is the author of the award winning A Woman’s Game: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Women’s Football.
She is answering your questions live now.