The WSL not technically but sort of way halfway season review

Ten matches played is the new eleven matches played when it's Christmas

So we are not technically half way through the WSL season with only ten of each side’s 22 matches played but with the winter break now upon us, I would say we are emotionally. Chelsea currently sit top, three points clear of Manchester City and Arsenal. Then four points below them are Manchester United and Liverpool. Manchester United being seven points off the top whilst still having to play Chelsea twice makes it feel hard to argue that they are in the title race. Realistically this looks like it is going to be a three horse race, made extra intriguing by the fact that only Chelsea have Champions League football to think about. 

At the bottom, Bristol City are in the relegation spot like many would have predicted but with potentially five more points than people would have assumed. Level with them are West Ham whilst Brighton and Aston Villa are three and four points above respectively. On the face of it, Brighton and Villa’s squads are far superior than Bristol City and West Ham’s but all of that could change in January.

Let’s take a team by team look at how everyone is doing so far. 

1. Chelsea (25 points)

Chelsea’s first half of the season was rocked by the announcement of Emma Hayes’ departure, released immediately after their most comprehensive win of the season, a 6-0 victory over Aston Villa. It has not seemed to overly perturb the four time consecutive champions and they find themselves top at Christmas. It looked like their early points advantage was going to be eroded as a result of their demolition by Arsenal at the Emirates but results in the North London Derby contrived to go their way and give them a three point buffer. 

Their season so far has been defined by a thrilling attack - they have scored six more goals than any other team and are yet to be awarded a single penalty - which is offset somewhat by a leaky defence. Defensive issues have not been helped by Millie Bright succumbing to the same knee issues that saw her miss the end of last season, but they have been boosted across the pitch by the uptick in form from players like Niamh Charles, Eve Perisset and Johanna Ryting Kaneryd. Lauren James is their top scorer with seven goals, her best ever return in the WSL, whilst Aggie Beever-Jones has been an entertaining super sub with five goals. 

2. Manchester City (22 points)

Back to back losses against Arsenal and somewhat more shockingly Brighton meant some had already begun to write Manchester City out of the title race.

With a settled squad allowing them to start the season brightly, they were unfortunate to drop points to Chelsea early on after Alex Greenwood was sent off for time wasting. The decision to start 19 year old Khiara Keating in goal has been a bold choice from manager Gareth Taylor. She has been statistically the best shot stopper in the league, saving 2.4 more goals than expected, but her error against Arsenal cost City three points. 

Bunny Shaw is continuing to score goals for fun, with two hattricks to her name already this season, and she leads the Golden Boot race with nine overall. Their only summer signing Jill Roord has slotted in seamlessly to their midfield, using her box crashing ability to great effect to score six goals. A big win in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford will have been a massive confidence boost but they do rely heavily on a set starting XI. We saw that serve Manchester United well last season but it will rely on players staying fit as the season goes on.

3. Arsenal (22 points)

Just when you think you might have got the measure of Arsenal, they confound you again. 1-0 down to Aston Villa at the Emirates as the clock ticked past 90, it looked like Jonas Eidevall was hanging on to his job by a thread, staring down the barrel of taking one point from their first three matches. But the turn around in this match kickstarted a seven game winning run, culminating in the spectacular win over Chelsea, their finest since a 5-0 victory back in 2018/19, incidentally the last time they won the title. 

It would be churlish to say all of that good work was undone with the 1-0 loss away at Tottenham, but certainly some of it was - not least the opportunity to go into this winter break level on points with Chelsea. A tendency to get frustrated in front of goal is a worry trend with a reversion to crossing or potshots the first signs of concern.

Beth Mead’s return to full fitness has been a welcome boost, although it remains to be seen exactly what role Vivianne Miedema is going to have in this side. There will also hopefully be the returns of Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither in the second half of the season with Eidevall promising incomings in the January window too. Alessia Russo has blown a bit hot and cold as their first choice striker, but Lotte Wubben-Moy has blossomed in a regular starting role at centre-back, as has Victoria Pelova in midfield. 

4. Manchester United (18 points)

It was probably always going to be hard for Manchester United to repeat their efforts from last year where they were in the title race until the final day of the season. Based on the underlying numbers, they were the fourth best team in the league with an expected goal difference per 90 of 1.02, and they then went on to lose their two best players in the summer transfer window as Ona Batlle went to Barcelona and Alessia Russo to Arsenal. 

Their expected goal difference per 90 so far this season is almost exactly the same - 0.96 - suggesting that Marc Skinner’s team are not performing that differently despite the changes they have dealt with. It is just now the margins that went for them are going against them.

The problem United have though is a current of uncertainty running through the club. Logically you would say that, from here, Skinner’s best bet is to really nail down who his first choice starters are with lots of rotation having taken place in the midfield and the attack. But he is currently in the option year of his 2+1 contract, with no indication as to whether he will stick around. Meanwhile Mary Earps’ contract also expires at the end of the summer with the suggestion being that she will leave the club. Until United have a coherent way of running the club, it is hard to see them significantly improving on the pitch.

5. Liverpool (18 points)

If United might be disappointed to find themselves on 18 points, Liverpool will be delighted. It has been a long road back to this point for Liverpool who have actually won the WSL more times in the last decade than Arsenal or Manchester City have. Having failed to get a single away win last season, victories away at Arsenal and Manchester United were huge confidence boosts for the team. 

The new look back three of Jenna Clark, Grace Fisk and Gemma Bonner gelled immediately whilst Marie Höbinger has proven to be an excellent creator. Her expected assisted goals per 90 of 0.35 ranks her fifth in the league of players to have featured in more than 50% of available minutes. This team is certainly not the finished product but intelligent recruitment in combination with Beard’s practical management has seen them significantly improve this season. 

6. Tottenham (15 points)

It is possible that Tottenham might have already had their season highlight with a first ever North London Derby victory being a deserved reward for their commitment to the principles embraced by new manager Robert Vilahamn and his side. That dedication has come with lows too - the 7-0 loss to Manchester City was their largest ever in the WSL but progress is rarely linear. 

Martha Thomas has been revitalised in a Tottenham shirt with seven goals to her name, whilst Manchester United loanee Grace Clinton looks like she has been ready for regular WSL minutes for a while. It has also gone overlooked that Tottenham have reached their current position (they are only three behind last season’s entire points tally) despite a raft of injuries. Star striker Bethany England has only just returned from a hip operation and they are missing all three of what was their first choice midfield at the start of the season (Olga Ahtinen, Eveliina Summanen and Drew Spence). There is a high chance they only get better as the season goes on.

7. Everton (11 points)

Everton feel like they are in a weird situation right now, not helped by the off-field turmoil that has surrounded the men’s side. Losing Gabby George at the end of the transfer window was a big blow but manager Brian Sorensen has quietly ground out results. That is despite them having scored the second fewest goals in the league, something that was not helped by the ban striker Martina Piemonte received. 

Piemonte has seemed like the kind of personality Everton need, someone willing to fight for the ball and not be intimidated, but it remains to be seen if she has the poise to turn that energy into actual goals. Their attack will be weakened by Nicoline Sorensen’s absence in the second half of the season after she announced her retirement, and with a whole host of injuries, the squad needs strengthening in the January transfer window. Whether they will get that support remains to be seen but being six points off the bottom certainly does not yet feel like home and dry territory.

8. Leicester City (10 points)

Leicester City’s bright start to the season where they took seven points from their first three matches has faded fast, with Willie Kirk’s team failing to pick up a win since the 8th October. The intensity of their tactics (they are the fifth highest pressing side in the league) unsettled early opponents but many have now figured out how open they are at the back. No one did that in more devastating form than Arsenal who came from two goals down at half time to win 6-2. 

It is that openness in defence that is really causing them to struggle. They have scored in every game bar one this season (against Manchester City) and that includes twice against Chelsea, twice against Arsenal and once against Manchester United. The question Kirk needs to figure out is are they able to have that same attacking threat if they make things a little more secure defensively, because right now the balance is not working.

9. Aston Villa (9 points)

Aston Villa have probably been the most disappointing team in the league this season so far.  There was an expectation in some corners that they might push on from their fifth placed finish, but even people who were more sanguine about that possibility would have been surprised by just how much they have struggled. Failing to win any of their first five matches led Carla Ward’s job looking very precarious, although they had scored first in three of the five. In fact, Aston Villa have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the league. This has been partly to do with their tendency to sit back as soon as they go ahead, inviting pressure on themselves, and eventually capitulating. 

Their 1-0 win over Brighton to close off this half of the season was probably their best performance yet but Ward has to decide how she develops this team from here. They are still only four points off the relegation spots but have a very high quality squad. She needs to give younger players like Ebony Salmon, Laura Blindkilde Brown and Lucy Parker the opportunity to become firm fixtures in this side, in order to develop the team for the future.

10. Brighton (8 points)

Brighton’s poor start to the year seems to have gone a little bit under the radar. They have picked up half of their points in two matches against the Manchester clubs - impressive in isolation - but have the worst expected goal difference per 90 in the league. Given the quality of player who joined the club in the summer, this feels more than a little disappointing from Mel Phillips’ perspective. Bright sparks have included Elisabeth Terland’s continued fine form in front of goal and Maisie Symond’s continued development in the midfield but far too often the Seagulls seem to be unable to keep hold of the ball for any length of time. Given the array of technical midfielders they have available, it feels reasonable to have expected something a bit more developed at this point of the season.  

11. West Ham (5 points)

It feels unfortunately unsurprising to see West Ham languishing at the bottom of the table, with the club seemingly desperate to do the bare minimum to stay in the league. After correctly getting rid of Paul Konchesky, the appointment of Rehanne Skinner felt hopeful to say the least, given the nine game losing run she went on as Tottenham manager last season. So far at West Ham, she has only managed to wrack up a five game run of losses but she has also only won one match in the league this season. 

The squad is nowhere near as developed as some of those around them, and they failed to bring in replacements for key players like Lucy Parker and Grace Fisk this summer. Riko Ueki and Viviane Asseyi have looked dangerous at points but there is simply not enough support around them to turn those one-offs into full performances. Whether January recruitment turns that around remains to be seen; they have already been linked to Australian midfielder Katrina Gorry. But ultimately this team is being run with little care by those in charge.

12. Bristol City (5 points)

Despite being bottom at Christmas, Bristol City have plenty to feel positive about with Lauren Smith’s side having shown they are definitely able to compete in the league. That is particularly impressive given they have predominantly relied on the core of players that got them promoted and have played most of the season with their third choice goalkeeper. Tight defeats to Arsenal and Manchester United have shown how well-organised their 5-4-1 system is, and they have done well to stay in most of their games this season, making it easier to nick the odd point here or there. The risk for Bristol City is that other sides simply outspend them in January in an effort not to go down, but regardless of what happens, they deserve credit for their performances so far.