Since reforming its women's team seven years ago, Manchester United have been working towards having weeks like this. On Friday night, they face champions Chelsea in a huge clash at the top of the Women's Super League. Then, five days later, they host Valerenga in their first-ever game in the Women's Champions League proper. So much work has been done to get the Red Devils to this point, where they are in Europe's premier competition and battling for the top domestic honours, and yet, it just doesn't feel like they are ready for the challenge ahead.
Over the course of the next three months, United will face some huge fixtures and extremely demanding weeks. The middle of November stands out, when Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Old Trafford is followed four days later by the first Manchester derby of the season. Just for good measure, United will then travel to Germany to face two-time Champions League winners Wolfsburg three days after that.
But it's not just the games with the big names that are important. All of these two-game weeks are vital if United want to progress in Europe and challenge in the WSL, with them needing to bring their top level every few days in order to get the results needed to do so. It's a schedule that only a well-built squad can manage and, unfortunately, it's hard to say that United have that at this moment.
Getty Images'Man Utd have let the women's team down'
Last week, when the Red Devils travelled to Merseyside to take on Liverpool, they had just five players on their bench, one of whom was a goalkeeper. It wasn't a one-off, either. Through the early weeks of the new season, United's list of substitutes has been bereft of experience, with there only one occasion on which they've been able to name more than four senior outfield players to their bench. In the early rounds of Champions League qualifying, they had to make do with just two.
"I think Man Utd have let the women's team down this year," Carla Ward, the Ireland manager, said while on punditry for for the clash with Liverpool. "There's an opportunity to bring more bodies in. They're in the Champions League, they're playing across all competitions. That's such a small bench. It's a thin bench."
AdvertisementGetty ImagesA touch of bad luck
A key issue has been injuries. United have been hit with a lot of small niggles and knocks through the early weeks of the new campaign, meaning 10 senior players have already spent time on the sidelines, at various points. That's significantly more than any other side in the WSL and especially more than their rivals for the top spots.
However, those situations have only served to highlight the lack of depth in this United squad, particularly as they prepare to make their debut in the Women's Champions League proper.
Getty ImagesLagging behind rivals
Let's take Chelsea as an example for comparison. It's not an entirely fair one, it must be said, because the Blues have one of the biggest squads in all of Europe and that is why they have been one of the continent's premier clubs over the last five years, as well as the dominant force in England. But, in other ways, it is also a good yardstick, given this is the team that has set the bar for everyone else to reach in the WSL.
On Sunday, Chelsea travelled to West Ham without Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Naomi Girma, Mayra Ramirez, Niamh Charles and Kadeisha Buchanan. Yet, their bench was still full, with eight of the nine players senior internationals. Mara Alber, the talented 20-year-old German signed from Hoffenheim this summer, was the only exception.
United, meanwhile, had five names missing at the weekend and yet, that reduced their bench to one of five names, including a goalkeeper. Both of these teams will face off on Friday and then be in Champions League action in midweek. Both have ambitions of fighting on four fronts. Yet, only one feels set-up to do so.
Even Manchester City, who are not in Europe this year, were able to name a nine-player strong bench for their clash with London City Lionesses last Sunday, despite missing all of Lauren Hemp, Kerolin, Iman Beney and Lily Murphy. Seven were senior players in City's first team and five of them were senior internationals.
Getty ImagesDisappointing summer
United boss Marc Skinner has had his fair share of criticism since taking charge of the team back in 2021. Some of it has been justified, some of it has not. This, though, is not his doing. Throughout the summer, Skinner made it clear that he felt he needed more recruits, especially if his team made it through Champions League qualifying. "We then have to maintain two high level games per week," he noted, a few days before the transfer window shut. "We're probably going to need a couple more senior players to make sure that we have that balance week in, week out."
Skinner's belief was that they needed another two players, particularly in the forward areas. However, the only business United did before the window closed saw them let Grace Clinton go while adding Jess Park, thus not improving the depth of the squad. That it came with Clinton saying "the future of the club and I aren't on the same page" in her farewell message will have left fans disappointed with the club, while Skinner's comments that they weren't able to compete with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and London City Lionesses, who all surpassed the £1 million mark with transfer fees in the summer, will have surely been disheartening too, given the stature of a club like Man Utd.
