Women's Team - 2021/22

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Cotontoquinn said:
The only reason we finished 3rd was the very easy run in and that Manchester United had to beat Chelsea in their final match.
3 home games against Leicester City, Brighton and Birmingham City and a final away game at Reading = 4:0, 7:2, 6:0 and 4:0.
You could not have had a better set of matches.
If we’d had to play Chelsea we’d have lost…….oh we did in the FA Cup Final.
This ageing City squad is going to have to be dismantled and I really worry for next season. Champions League could be a disaster.
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Revisionism at its best. Easy run in? I think we played all the teams, home and away, just like everyone else so, by definition, we must have had a difficult run somewhere. Also, if Utd had beaten Chelsea, we would still have finished third.
 
K-Bo said:
I think Jill Scott inferred that all the players hate Taylor or at least a sizeable do when she left, and given city seem loyal to Taylor no matter what some players might be considering options. Could be unrelated I guess but still
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There was certainly some truth in this - I know Jill wasn't keen and was being frozen out, only brought back in due to injuries. Not sure if there were issues with other players though.
 
I thought Jill did well at centre-back, and thought that could have been the future for her with more experience in that position, and it could have lengthened her playing career. It certainly helps having players with her passing ability 'playing out'.
 
Beckie and Stanway gone. Who's next? These are two players that any team should be hanging on to! Top scorer off to pastures new. Is it money or is there summat else goin' on at The Academy. The women's team always seem to be under the radar when 'ins 'n outs' are on the move! Very disappointed that Georgia has gone. I wonder if all that buggering about at full back tipped the balance.
 
Laertes said:
Not sure we've been watching the same team if this is what you think she does, from where I sit she's the only one in midfield who can be trusted to be given the ball under pressure, in tight spaces, and keep it going rather than being dispossessed. Weir can do it on her day but hasn't been as consistent this season and likes to go for a dribble anyway which is more risky, Losada has the technique but not the agility, and Stanway falls over. The likes of Coombs etc aren't on the same level and it shows when they try to cover for her.

I'm not sure what more you're looking for in terms of moving forward when she's playing at the base of midfield distributing it to virtually everyone (backwards, sideways and forward) from deep and getting assists. It'd be like criticising Fernandinho for not making KDB-style passes a few years ago or pumping it forward, it's just not part of the job. If they wanted to replace her, they'd either need to change style massively or throw money at someone like Lia Waelti.

I don't entirely disagree with you about tempo being an issue fwiw, but that's that's a team issue, not a Walsh issue, - Alanna Kennedy passing it between herself and Alex Greenwood, the wingers refusing to hit crosses early, strikers holding up the ball rather than facing goal etc. That's where the coaching comes in though, we've never had a top coach and it shows.
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Your last paragraph sums everything up nicely for me. If Walsh leaves she will be a big loss. That so many of the first team are either out of contract or appear to be looking elsewhere would perhaps indicate a little unhappiness behind the scenes. Taylor himself hinted, when asked about Weir that 'we only want people who believe in what we are doing and are committed'. Walsh and Stanway are still young players. It will be difficult to replace them.
 
On a positive note the team had to evolve as the core were getting a little stale. Seems to be happening at other clubs too. I have to hope that they have a plan which they stick to. Further recruitment will be key and the two players rumoured from Atletico look decent but Taylor has to get more out of the players he already brought in. Losada, Raso, Mace, Shaw, Blackstad & Angeldhal are good players but he didn't use them enough or in the right positions. Losada for example is more than capable of running a midfield just make sure she has the right parts around her. She was unlucky to get injured but when he put her in, the system due to other injuries, was all wrong as were the tactics - I do hope she stays fit next year.

The way he used Lavelle and Beckie didn't sit well with me - I just hope he's learn't from that and will play a more attacking possession based football rather than the slow build up, low risk stuff we saw at times this year. No denying they went on a great run but still some of his tactics were a tad questionable.

I'm not surprised both Stanway & Weir are going to try overseas football and this maybe a little controversial but I actually think both were great scorers but often the choice of final pass they made was wrong or delayed. Wish them the best of luck but we move on.

The club have seemingly chosen to stick with Taylor and I guess he just about deserves a chance to build the team but it must be on a short leash. It will be interesting to see if he can get the best out of both the newish and new players.
 
Dave Ewing's Back 'eader said:
Beckie and Stanway gone. Who's next? These are two players that any team should be hanging on to! Top scorer off to pastures new. Is it money or is there summat else goin' on at The Academy. The women's team always seem to be under the radar when 'ins 'n outs' are on the move! Very disappointed that Georgia has gone. I wonder if all that buggering about at full back tipped the balance.
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Have you seen the stuff about Walsh possibly leaving too? We could be watching an entirely different team next season, could end up with an even early champs league exit!
 
Taylor hinted that they only want those players who believe in what we are doing. I think this is the main issue. Could it be that quite a few of the top players do not believe in Taylor or his style of play and want to get out before the club implodes. If City had relieved Taylor of his duties much earlier ( ie sacked him) we would not now be in the position that we will loose some very good players and be left with what Taylor brought in.. poor substitutes for skill and tenacity.
It hurts to keep on about this abject Manager but the truth is hard to accept some (most) times.
 
blue whippet said:
Your last paragraph sums everything up nicely for me. If Walsh leaves she will be a big loss. That so many of the first team are either out of contract or appear to be looking elsewhere would perhaps indicate a little unhappiness behind the scenes. Taylor himself hinted, when asked about Weir that 'we only want people who believe in what we are doing and are committed'. Walsh and Stanway are still young players. It will be difficult to replace them.
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It'll be interesting to see if this is addressed by any of those who do go, there's been enough rumour about it and it wouldn't be a huge surprise, but it's been hearsay so far far as I can tell. It'd definitely be harder to explain away Walsh leaving the way it might be for those whose contracts are expiring.

Mr HJ said:
On a positive note the team had to evolve as the core were getting a little stale. Seems to be happening at other clubs too. I have to hope that they have a plan which they stick to. Further recruitment will be key and the two players rumoured from Atletico look decent but Taylor has to get more out of the players he already brought in. Losada, Raso, Mace, Shaw, Blackstad & Angeldhal are good players but he didn't use them enough or in the right positions. Losada for example is more than capable of running a midfield just make sure she has the right parts around her. She was unlucky to get injured but when he put her in, the system due to other injuries, was all wrong as were the tactics - I do hope she stays fit next year.

The way he used Lavelle and Beckie didn't sit well with me - I just hope he's learn't from that and will play a more attacking possession based football rather than the slow build up, low risk stuff we saw at times this year. No denying they went on a great run but still some of his tactics were a tad questionable.

I'm not surprised both Stanway & Weir are going to try overseas football and this maybe a little controversial but I actually think both were great scorers but often the choice of final pass they made was wrong or delayed. Wish them the best of luck but we move on.

The club have seemingly chosen to stick with Taylor and I guess he just about deserves a chance to build the team but it must be on a short leash. It will be interesting to see if he can get the best out of both the newish and new players.
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The problem is it's not just one issue though, is it? Taylor hasn't inspired much confidence but even before he came in we fell short a few times and the club didn't seem in a hurry to change things. Cushing was a good coach but he was never at the level of Hayes, management just seem to be happy with stability and a challenge rather than really pushing on like the top sides.

Then there's the recruitment, we're good at bringing through young players, sure, but we've fallen behind Chelsea and Arsenal because they sign top players and integrate them well (Miedema for Arsenal, Kerr/Harder for Chelsea) and our big signings (maybe Mewis excepted?) just don't seem to get going, so we're left relying on younger players to come through and make the difference. That sort of strategy only really works if you're signing your key players to long-term contracts and iterating season after season, but we stick with 2/3 year deals and keep making the same sort of signings.

Really hope we can get it right but not at all convinced we have enough in place on the women's side to evolve the way we would on the men's.
 
Aren't there a couple of freebies from Athletico meant yo be coming our way? Women's football seem to be a merry go round of short term contracts. Stanway, Weir, Bronze off to Munich, Madrid and USA
 
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