Can the Manchester United Women’s team break into the top three?
After an impressive first season in Women's Super League Manchester United Women will be looking to push on and challenge for a Champions League position in just their third year as a newly reformed team.
The United team winning the Women’s Championship and securing promotion in their first season. Flickr / James Boyes
After an impressive first season in Women’s Super League, Manchester United Women will be looking to push on and challenge for a Champions League position in just their third year as a newly reformed team.
Last season, their first season in the WSL and their second season as a newly re-formed club, the Manchester United Women’s team managed to break into the top four, losing just five times in the league and winning half of their games.
There was still a clear gap between themselves and the elusive top three, however, as Casey Stoney’s team finished thirteen points behind Arsenal, with Manchester City and Chelsea ahead of them in second and first, respectively. The London team, who did not lose a game in the league, took the top spot ahead of City after the final league table was decided on a points-per-game basis due to the suspension of the season.
Arsenal, City and Chelsea have dominated the Women’s Super League in recent years, with the teams retaining the top three positions since 2015 and all three having won at least one title in that period.
To have a chance of improving on their fourth place finish, and grabbing one of the two Champions League spots, United will have to improve their results against the top three.
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Manchester United manager Casey Stoney. Wikimedia Commons / James Boyes
United lost all the games they managed to play against the League’s top three before the season was suspended, although they did beat local rivals Manchester City in the Continental Cup back in October.
The opening fixture of the 2020/21 season, however, saw United rescue a draw against reigning Champions Chelsea, with the game finishing 1-1.
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The game also saw an appearance from Pernille Harder, who signed for Chelsea this summer for a reported world record fee for a female player.
While United do not currently find themselves in the position to attract the same calibre of player as Chelsea and other successful teams––Stoney herself says that she and the club are committed to building the team at their own pace––they have made six signings this month in an attempt to push on in their development.
The summer singings include English internationals Lucy Staniforth and Alessia Russo.
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The club will also be joined by the experienced and two-time World Cup winners Tobin Heath and Christen Press, who won managed to get their hands on the trophy with the United States back in 2015 and 2019.
Heath will bring the more experience to the Manchester team, having won 168 caps for her country and two National Women’s Soccer League titles with the Portland Thorns. She was also shortlisted for the Women’s Ballon D’or in 2019.
Press, however, has previously played in Europe and managed to reach the Champions League Final with Swedish team Tyresö FF back in 2014.
The two Americans are not the only additions to the WSL from across the Atlantic, as this summer also saw World Cup winners Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle join Manchester City and, what is likely to be the most high profile deal in the history of the WSL, World Cup Winner and US co-captain Alex Morgan sign for Tottenham on loan.
This summer has shown England to be an attractive location for some of the best and most high-profile talent in women’s football, but it remains to be seen if the fledging Manchester United can keep up with those around them and pose a challenge to the veterans of the league who stand ahead of them.
After a convincing 5-2 win against Birmingham in their second game of the season, next up for United is Brighton on the 4th of October.
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Transfers: Manchester United reportedly secure deal for player they nearly signed YEARS ago
Danny Jones
There appears to be another turn in the tale of Manchester United’s summer transfer window saga, as it’s claimed that the club are soon set to sign a player they’ve long been linked with and that they nearly bought years ago: Youri Tielemans.
Yes, more than seven years after he was first linked with a Man United move, Tielemans now looks like he could finally be making his way to Old Trafford, with several sources stating that the deal is all but done.
The Belgian midfielder, now 29 years old, has only just exited the World Cup following their defeat to semi-finalists and reigning European champions Spain, having scored twice before having to miss their last game after picking up an injury in the warm-up.
But now it seems as though he’ll be linking up with another team of Red Devils when he returns to club football next month.
WHATTTTTTTTT THE FUCKKKK???? WHERE HAS THIS COME FROMMM???
Said to be a hamstring problem, United fans will obviously hope it’s nothing severe, as the versatile box-to-box player isn’t a stranger to the physio bench, leading some supporters to question the still yet to be announced transfer.
The most serious setback of his professional career came this past season, when he was out for a total of 112 days of football – missing a total of 23 games across club and country – but prior to that, he’d never been out for more than a dozen matches.
Nevertheless, plenty of people have labelled the prospective deal ‘a bargain’, with former Leicester City star and current Aston Villa squad member thought to be making his way to the red half of Manchester for around £35 million.
Perhaps the most prevailing reaction seems to be that MUFC should have done this deal “years ago”, with several posts on social media joking that this feels like the 2019 summer window, dubbing it everything from “random” and “out of nowhere”, to “shrewd” and “a steal” at the reported price.
Many others are worrying whether they’re getting a player who’s potentially leaving the peak of his career, but it’s no secret that the club want multiple reinforcements in the middle of the park for 26/27, with Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos having now been teased by the club.
While Santos is now over the line, it’s worth noting that nothing official has been shared by United regarding Tielemans, and that’s a key thing to note given the recent U-turn made regarding recruitment.
INEOS were all but nailed on to sign another Brazilian midfielder in Atalanta’s Ederson, who also received a late call-up to the Brazil squad for this World Cup, but it was revealed earlier this month that the transfer has now been cancelled.
This comes after medical tests revealed new information regarding a knee issue in the previous campaign, which looks to have taken the deal off the table.
All that being said, the board are still expected to bring in another midfielder if possible, with a return to the Champions League and a new term with two cups meaning lots more games to play and more strength in depth required. Fears over perceived panic buying and back-up options still remain, though.
On the other hand, you could very well see another academy graduate brought through should transfer spending be limited; after all, they’ve got that big, shiny new stadium to pay for…
Road to Victory is turning Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl into the latest World Cup fan zone
Danny Jones
Manchester’s smash-hit Road to Victory is bringing its first-ever open-air World Cup fan zone to the city, as the event is set to take over Castlefield Bowl.
With England’s place in the semi-finals secured, it’s now a matter of just how far we can go…
The famous amphitheatre might be fresh from the 2026 edition of the annual Sounds of the City festival, but now they’ve decided to keep the ‘doors’ open for something equally special.
Norway was too soon, but now we’ve made it past the Scandinavian side, Castlefield Bowl will be welcoming roughly 9,000 fans for the semis against Argentina, AND (touch wood) the final.
Announced just before the tense quarter-final victory, the Road to Victory (RtV) team – backed by production company and promoters AIX Live, who specialise in multi-sensory, immersive fan experiences – have now confirmed moving into their latest Manc venue for the upcoming fixture at the very least.
Having started over at Depot Mayfield before moving to the likes of Diecast and most recently AO Arena, they’re planning to make the most of the ongoing heatwave by securing the beloved Bowl.
With the Manchester Storm ice hockey team returning to the Arena, they’ve had to vacate ahead of preparations; on the upside, it now means that we’re looking at one of the biggest outdoor supporter parks in the country, let alone just the North West.
Just imagine the vibes with the sun shining well into the late evening before the dusky sunset skies are filled with limbs and flying pints.
Here’s how it looked the last time we were there to cheer on the boys at the event:
Obviously, how many Road to Victory dates we get here all depends on whether or not Thomas Tuchel’s side make it past the reigning World Champions, Argentina.
Yeah, you know, just the world’s greatest-ever footballer in Lionel Messi and a team who have won back-to-back Copa America trophies. No biggie.
The demand was obviously expected to be huge from the off, with more than 40,000 joining the party for the 2022 World Cup, and the previous Euros final in 2024 sold out the AO Arena, so it’s no surprise that tickets are already selling out fast.
With that in mind, we’d say be quick on the draw; plus, make sure you get down early with doors from 5pm, as the Road to Victory pre-show will kick things off pronto, alongside live DJs, entertainment and bars – all of which promise to deliver an unparalleled festival-like matchday atmosphere.
You can grab yours right HERE and, in the meantime, if you’re still wondering where the best places to watch England vs Argentina in Manchester city centre are, you can find our round-up down below.
Kate Jackson -
14th September 2020 
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