6th November 2023
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The Women’s domestic football season is over for another year, and it has been a mixed bag for Liverpool FC Women. The team finished in 7th place, failing to truly find their form.
Liverpool Women started the season in a new stadium, now playing their home matches in St Helens Rugby Stadium. They were missing lots of the key players who helped them hit 4th last season, which quickly became evident. The team was plagued by draws, and lost the first of a hat-trick of games played at Anfield. There were some moments which instilled confidence like a strong away win to Aston Villa, and new signing Olivia Smith finding her feet. However, the team didn’t have many stand out moments prior to Christmas.
The biggest shock of the season came in February, with the sacking of manager Matt Beard. While the team hadn’t been on excellent form, fans did feel it was harsh. Beard led Liverpool to their two previous WSL titles, and had been a great servant of the club. Amber Whitely was interim manager for the rest of the season, and did a good job at steadying the ship.
Where Liverpool were able to put in some strong performances was the FA Cup. The giant slaying of Arsenal in the quarter final was a real season highlight. Unfortunately this could not be replicated against WSL winners Chelsea. Undeniably the most dominant team in the English game, the loss to Chelsea particularly stung. I think it is a shame that financial rules have allowed Chelsea to become so dominant. The teams near the bottom of the WSL simply cannot afford the prices Chelsea are causing the market to demand. A trip to Wembley would have been a crowning moment to a forgettable season, but alas it wasn’t meant to be.
Without a doubt, my highlight of the season was the 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Anfield in March. There was a great atmosphere at the match, and it was incredible to see the team scoring at the club’s home (especially against Man U). It felt like a moment in the club’s history, and I hope now we’ve overcome the hurdle of winning at Anfield this can open the floodgates for more wins.
The freezing cold defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. No doubt about it. The game was frustrating, most of all due to the poor referring decisions, and it felt like the team let Everton get in their heads. This was repeated during the reverse fixture at Anfield. My main hope for next season is that we can finally break our streak of losing to Everton in the WSL!!
There can be no debate, this year’s player of the season is striker Olivia Smith. During a sluggish season, Smith was able to inject life into games and score some big goals. Smith especially played well in the face of constant attacks from the opposition team, who targeted her relentlessly. She has been a fantastic addition to the team on and off the pitch, and I look forward to more goals next season.
This season, Liverpool Women have said goodbye to 4 fantastic players. Club Captain and LFCW legend Niamh Fahey has retired after an excellent career. Fahey spent 7 years at Liverpool, and captained us during promotion back to the WSL. She leaves the club a hero for Liverpool, and the women’s game in her home country Ireland.
Two of the club’s most adored characters Yana Daniels and Jasmine Matthews also depart. The pair have been excellent servants to the club, participating in many of its greatest moments during the last 7 years. Daniels has also made her mark with The Woodcycle, her own business making beautiful items out of handmade wood.
Finally, Australian Goalkeeper Teagan Micah leaves after two seasons at Liverpool. She only made 14 appearances, as Rachel Laws continued to be first choice goalkeeper. I can understand Micah’s departure as she has the skills to be a starter at a different team next season.
The key question which needs answering ahead of next season is who is going to be our manager. After the sacking of Matt Beard in February, there has been no suggestion of who might be his replacement.
Amber Whitely has been moderately successful as interim manager. The seasons stand out victories against Arsenal and Manchester United coming under her tenure. The club hasn’t announced that Whitely is taking over on a permanent basis, and given the ample opportunity to do so I doubt she will be taking on the job full time. I would not be disappointed to see Whitley take on the role, but would question what caused such a big delay in this decision.
It is still not clear who could take on the manger job permanently. There aren’t a huge number of managers looking for clubs. I personally haven’t seen any rumours or suggestions of who could be manager, which has left me feeling stumped.
It’s hard to look towards next season when we have no idea what style of football we will be playing, and who will be leading us. For now the focus of women’s football turns to international competitions, so domestic clubs have time to rebuild in the shadows. I hope this period can be used for strong recruitment of a new head coach, and players who can strengthen our current squad. Liverpool FC Women have a relatively strong group of players, but we need new individuals to help us find a steady run of form. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for announcements from the club to see what is next for Liverpool FC Women.
All images are the author’s own.
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