Guardian writers’ predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) It was all-change at Manchester United during pre-season, with the departure of their head coach Marc Skinner after five years followed swiftly by the appointment of Eva Olid as a new era begins. There have been significant outgoings from the playing group, including the senior squad members Melvine Malard, Gabby George, Millie Turner and Lisa Naalsund, as well as the end-of-contracts exits of Leah Galton and Hannah Blundell, but the signings of the Spain youth international defender Andrea Medina, the former Germany youth international goalkeeper Janina Leitzig and the Sweden forward Monica Jusu Bah will give the squad a fresh feel. Missing out on the Women’s Champions League places by nine points last season was disappointing and after a summer in which other clubs have spent big, it feels more likely United will be looking over their shoulder at challengers coming up from fifth and sixth than mounting a title challenge.
Tottenham’s and London City’s ambitious recruitment mean they could threaten United’s position but United have not turned into a bad team overnight. European quarter-finalists last season, their squad retains a strong level of quality international players, despite the sale of Malard to Chelsea in particular. The England internationals Maya Le Tissier and Ella Toone are the senior leaders in a squad that also retains a world-class goalkeeper in Phallon Tullis-Joyce, the dynamic England midfielder Jess Park and the talented Sweden wing-back Anna Sandberg.
A top-half finish feels realistic and the club will hope for strong runs in the domestic cups. There is also understood to be a desire at the club to make the playing style more entertaining for supporters. As with the men’s club, the Glazer family own a majority stake and Ineos – led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe – has a minority stake but has control of football operations.
The women’s team’s financial history divides opinion in the sport; some argue United are an example of how to run a professional women’s team sustainably, having recorded a profit of £397,000 in their most recent accounts and a profit of £1.34m since reforming their senior women’s team in 2018, while others lament a lack of investment from the ownership compared with the budgets of their rivals such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Olid was appointed on 5 August on a two-year deal with the option of a further year. The Spanish coach, who turned 41 in late August, arrives after an impressive spell at Hearts, where she led the club to their first Scottish Women’s Premier League title in May.
That made her the SWPL’s manager of the season. It is understood she was chosen by United’s hierarchy because they feel her CV demonstrates a strong track record of developing and improving young players. Bah, who has 11 caps, looks to be an important signing for United from BK Häcken for a fee reportedly of about £400,000.
The 23-year-old helped the Swedish club win last term’s inaugural Women’s Europa Cup – European club-level women’s football’s second competition – and she said the opportunity to work with Olid was “perfect” because she wants to improve. She provided seven assists and scored 16 goals for her club last season and United will hope she can settle into the WSL quickly. United made a mockery of underlying data last season.
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