The transfer window opens in January for one month (probably as you never knnow with the FA, they don't publish the dates), here are all the moves so far. Not included the loan return becaue there are a dozen. Manchester City In : Melissa Lawley ( Birmingham City) Out : Daphné Corboz Chelsea In :Maren Mjelde ( Avaldnes IL), Ramona Bachmann ( Wolfsburg), Erin Cuthbert (Glasgow City) Out : Laura Rafferty, Jenna Legg, Rosella Ayane, Ana Borges ( Sporting- loan ) Arsenal In : Kim Little ( Seattle Reign), Out : Natalia Pablos Sanchon ( Rayo Vallecano), Marta Corredera ( Atletico Madrid), Vicky Losada ( FC Barcelona) , Casey Stoney ( Liverpool ), Josephine Henning Liverpool In : Casey Stoney ( Arsenal), Out : Rosie White ( Boston Breakers), Emma Lundh (-), Mandy Van Den Berg ( Reading Women), Kirsty Hanson ( Doncaster) Birmingham In : Mark Skinner ( manager), Leanne Hall ( assistant manager) Out : David Parker ( manager), Marcus Bignot ( head coach), Melissa Lawley ( Manchester City) Notts County Ladies In : Out : Avi Luik, Sophie Walton, Sunderland In : Out : Emma Kelly ( Middlesborough Ladies) Reading In : Mandy Van Den Berg ( Liverpool) Out : Jade Boho-Sayo , Laura May-Walkley , Helen Ward, Lois Roche, Shelley Provan, Amber-Keegan Stobbs, Yeovil Town In : Out : Bristol City In : Out : Grace McCatty
hard to believe that Liverpool would give up one of their best players in Melissa Lawley" Not sure if she's had a first cap yet, but she was in Sampson's NT training sessions. If she's made it, then that will give Man City a total of 9 English NT's, to go along with 4 youth NT's, 2 Scott NT's, 1 Swede 1 Dutch & 1 Irish NT's not sure if Arsenal's only pick, Kim Little, is worth getting rid of the 3 Spaniard's plus Henning? But their getting back also Jody Taylor who was for the most part injured last season. Hopefully Little's play making wiz can revive the career of Oshoala, who seemed to be spending most of her time on the bench last season despite being one of the fastest players in the world. Chelsea made some good pickups with Bachmann & Mjelde. A few years back Bachmann was one of the world's top prospects in the Swedish League, beating out such luminaries as Marta & Christen Press for mvp of that league. Didn't quite shine as good at Wolfsburg. But that league is a tough one to score goals against though. Mjelde looked strong with Turbine Potsdam, but then switched over to the 2nd tier, Norwegian League. We'll see if she can make the transition over to England where it had at least two tough teams to play against. Is Chelsea getting rid of Hot Legs Rafferty? Umm......that's going to make a size able dent in Chelsea's 'male' viewership. Where is she heading?( So her former Chelsea male fan base can follow her)
well despite making a detour to visit Paris, Crystal Dunn signs with Chelsea(pic below). Along with signee Ramona Bachmann, that does makes Chelsea odds on favorites to win win the WSL once again. This might just be their starting mid/fwd lineup DM.......................Chapman MD......Dunn..............Ji...............Carney FW................Kirby..........Bachmann that means such standouts like Aluko, Davison, Spence & Bright will probably have to sit. Despite Aluko being the league's top scorer, Kirby scored a better goal to minutes average before her injury. Davison was close to 2015 mvp, but lost favor to Carney last year. Chapman's probably the most physical & dirtiest player in the world to boot(yet apparently the refs don't think so). You know she's be starting the major games. I personally don't like the super sub concept, it means exceptional or exciting players on the bench for most of the game
Latest update on transfers : Manchester City In : Melissa Lawley ( Birmingham City) Out : Daphné Corboz Chelsea In : Maren Mjelde ( Avaldnes IL), Ramona Bachmann ( Wolfsburg), Erin Cuthbert (Glasgow City), Crystal Dunn ( Washington Spirit) Out : Laura Rafferty, Jenna Legg, Rosella Ayane, Ana Borges ( Sporting- loan ) Arsenal In : Kim Little ( Seattle Reign), Out : Natalia Pablos Sanchon ( Rayo Vallecano), Marta Corredera ( Atletico Madrid), Vicky Losada ( FC Barcelona) , Casey Stoney ( Liverpool ), Josephine Henning ( Olympique Lyonnais), Emma Byrne, Rachel Yankey, Lucy Parker ( LSU Soccer) Liverpool In : Casey Stoney ( Arsenal) Out : Rosie White ( Boston Breakers), Emma Lundh (IFK Viksjö), Mandy Van Den Berg ( Reading Women), Kirsty Hanson ( Doncaster), Mayumi Pacheco ( Doncaster) Birmingham In : Mark Skinner ( manager), Leanne Hall ( assistant manager) Out : David Parker ( manager), Marcus Bignot ( head coach), Melissa Lawley ( Manchester City), Corina Schroeder, Alex Windell Notts County Ladies In : Out : Avi Luik, Sophie Walton, Sunderland In : Out : Emma Kelly ( Middlesborough Ladies) Reading In : Mandy Van Den Berg ( Liverpool) Out : Jade Boho-Sayo , Laura May-Walkley , Helen Ward, Lois Roche ( Aland United), Shelley Provan, Amber-Keegan Stobbs, Yeovil Town In : Out : Kayleigh Green ( Chietti Calcio Feminile), Ellis Hillmann, Emily Donovan Bristol City In : Out : Grace McCatty ( Durham Women),
I'm very impressed by Emma Hayes recruitment campaign so far, yes they still need top quality at the back but upfront they are terrific...even though they certainly will let one or two players go....can't make everybody happy.... I'm definitely expecting more from Arsenal and Man. City....last, did Byrne and Yankey decided to retire?
I feel that Dunn has made a fairly perfect decision.No need to adapt language and culture of England,Dunn will be comfortable in London. Emma Hayes must be happy to mad now. Many players even stars will face tough&huge competition. My guess: DM..............Bright..............Chapman MD......Dunn..............Ji...............Bachmann FW..........................Kirby
and keeping the likes of Aluko, Carney & Davison on the bench? It be funny(but possible) that the league's leading scorer of last year, Aluko, would be a bench player the following season. But then again, Aluko has been excluded from England's NT winter camp(not sure if she's gotten into an argument with the coach or her play been dismal as of late?) Carney's been the real bright spot for Chelsea last year(plus high on Sampson's NT list since scoring the game winner vs Belgium), but got to wonder if her faster paced type didn't fit all that well with Ji & Davison? who were the league's mvp in 2014 & 2015, respectively, but are a bit more deliberate, more technical style didn't complement each other that much since both of those had sub par seasons last year. With Dunn, you should be getting speed, and she just might be aiming for Ji's center/mid position, which I hear is what she likes playing the most
here's Sampson's NT for training camp; http://www.thefa.com/news/2017/jan/04/england-women-squad-mark-sampson-la-manga-norway-sweden as usual, short on midfield, but missing on the list are the likes of Alex Greenwood Beath Mead Lianne Sanderson Drew Spence Katie Chapman Natasha Dowie Eniola Aluko England's been unbeaten since last March, but Sampson style been often erratic, with parking the bus occasionally against lesser teams, at other times throwing his cb's way up there with only the one fb, Lucy bronze, running back as last defender/ Not sure if he's keeping up with the times of the faster paced/offensive styles that we've seen lately from other Euro countries like Germany, France, Italy & Austria. Oddly enough he has the speed to counter them with the players his ommited from his just picked squad
Greenwood is not fit follwoing her injury and is in rehab. Mead is not considered good enough by Sampson, which is fine by me, she is a bit mono-dimensional. Sanderson well... Spence only got one cap I think and that was a long time ago. Chapman, not called back recently for some reasons Dowie has a strong personality and doe snot get on with senior players so is a no-no which is sad Aluko well, her attitude is behind the reason for her not coming back apparently...
English lasses tend to be strong willed, but still, a bit too much conflicts between players & coaches. In Dowie's case, she's playing at full season right now in the Australian W-League, where she's currently tied as leading scorer in the league. Also missing Leah Galton of the Flash(US), as well Kristy Linnett & Mellissa Lawley. Both are from Liverpool, a team that was 9 points ahead of Notts County at seasons end. yet Sampso picked from NC, Tellford, Potter, R Williams & White instead btw.........Sunderland has announced they're turning into a part time club, which I take it means their players are going to take a pay cut!
FA Women's Cup draw for Round 3 : Blackburn Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur Charlton Athletic v Sheffield FC Aston Villa v Cambridge United Millwall Lionesses v London Bees Leicester City v Liverpool Marshall Feds Keynsham Town v Durham Coventry United v Oxford United West Bromwich Albion v Lewes Doncaster Rovers Belles v Watford Derby County v Nottingham Forest Brighouse Town v Everton AFC Wimbledon v Brighton & Hove Albion The FA WSL 2 teams enter at that level. The FA WSL 1 teams will enter in Round 5 ie they only have to win 3 games to reach the final at Wembley Stadium.
Spring series fixture list released, it is a big mess as usual with the FA. The big question going round among fans is out of 90 games, will there be more than 10 games postponed or less ?
Legend 🙌 https://t.co/ILuaBcQNGV— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 11, 2017 Not a surprise really, but still
Heather O'Reilly off to Arsenal. Well that makes 3 super teams, but goodbye to an balanced league. Still great to see one country's clun step up and spend so much money, but got to ask ourselves that same old question? Does having a league with a bunch of international stars, really help the home grown talent develop stronger? Well in the case of the men's EPL; best pro league in the world, but England's men's NT sucks!
These are the number of non english players in the FA WSL since it was created in 2011. I don't think top English talent is pushed away, after all City played a 17 years old for most of last year's season. But the medium level young English players are pushed away from big clubs to smaller WSL 1 clubs or FA WSL 2 clubs. Does it impact the England team, not really atm. The top players play on a regular basis for their clubs. Number and pourcentage of foreign players through the years 2011 to 2016 pic.twitter.com/UhyL5dKKAQ— Sylvain Jamet (@S_Jamet) January 5, 2017 Note : things will change with the Brexit and many foreigners will be forced to leave the FA WSL.
Latest update on transfers, believe it or not, the transfer window only closes on the 6th of April. 3 months window, then another 3 months window for the summer window. Manchester City In : Melissa Lawley ( Birmingham City) Out : Daphné Corboz ( Sky Blue FC) Chelsea In : Maren Mjelde ( Avaldnes IL), Ramona Bachmann ( Wolfsburg), Erin Cuthbert (Glasgow City), Crystal Dunn ( Washington Spirit) Out : Laura Rafferty ( Brighton), Jenna Legg ( Brighton), Rosella Ayane, Ana Borges ( Sporting- loan ), Alessia Russo ( Brighton), Anne Meiwald ( London Bees) Arsenal In : Kim Little ( Seattle Reign), Danielle Van De Donk, Heather O’Reilly ( FC Kansas City), Beth Mead ( Sunderland), Out : Natalia Pablos Sanchon ( Rayo Vallecano), Marta Corredera ( Atletico Madrid), Vicky Losada ( FC Barcelona) , Casey Stoney ( Liverpool ), Josephine Henning ( Olympique Lyonnais), Emma Byrne ( Brighton), Rachel Yankey, Lucy Parker ( LSU Soccer), Kelly Smith ( retirement) Liverpool In : Casey Stoney ( Arsenal), Out : Rosie White ( Boston Breakers), Emma Lundh ( IFK Viksjö), Mandy Van Den Berg ( Reading Women), Kirsty Hanson ( Doncaster), Mayumi Pacheco ( Doncaster ), Hannah Dale( Sheffield – loan) Birmingham In : Mark Skinner ( manager), Leanne Hall ( assistant manager), Jess Carter,Sarah Mayling ( Aston Villa), Ellen White ( Notts County), Out : David Parker ( manager), Marcus Bignot ( head coach), Melissa Lawley ( Manchester City), Corina Schroeder, Alex Windell, Kirsty Linnett ( Notts County) Notts County Ladies In : Kirsty Linnett ( Birmingham) Out : Avi Luik, Sophie Walton ( Doncaster Belles), Ellen White ( Birmingham City), Laura Jayne O’Neill (Forest) Sophie Bradley-Auckland Sunderland In : Out : Emma Kelly ( Middlesborough Ladies), Rachel Furness ( Reading), Beth Mead ( Arsenal), Brooke Chaplen ( Reading) Reading In : Mandy Van Den Berg ( Liverpool), Rachel Furness ( Sunderland), , Anna Green ( Malbackens IF), Brooke Chaplen ( Sunderland) Out : Jade Boho-Sayo , Laura May-Walkley ( London Bees) , Helen Ward, Lois Roche ( Aland United), Shelley Provan, Amber-Keegan Stobbs, Yeovil Town In : Out : Kayleigh Green ( Chietti Calcio Feminile), Ellis Hillmann, Emily Donovan Bristol City In : Millie Turner ( Everton), Lily Agg ( Brighton) Out : Grace McCatty ( Durham Women)
what on earth happened with Sunderland??? They only managed 7th place last season, and now all their top players have been ripped away from them. That's completely heartless, and that's coming from someone in the land of Donald Trump! Wonder if Beth Mead will do good or even start at Arsenal? At least she'll have Kim Little feeding her. Be sure to post any streaming link for the Arsenal/Bayern Munich game scheduled today
The men's team shut down the women's team money They are doomed, I bet they won't get a licence when renewal happens in the Spring.
I forgot to mention on the football side, why they finished 7th imo. They had a kind of mono-dimensional game plan that surprised everyone in the first season, defend deep, play on the break, hit Mead and she will score goals. In the second season last year the other teams adapted to it and they had no plan B. For example they played Arsenal in the cup, Arsenal got a player sent off for two bookings just in the 33rd minute. 57 minutes with an extra player, they had no plan B and Arsenal ended up wining 7-0. Scoreline was 0-0 when the Arsenal player was sent-off. Kelly Smith is pregnant and will manage her team but won't play in her celebration game in two eeks I'm delighted to announce👇🏻 https://t.co/Tgi2FkRQ8P— Kelly Smith MBE OLY (@kelly_smith10) February 3, 2017
Spring Series have started in FA WSL 2, newcomer Brighton got a draw at London Bees, Villa defeated Watford who got a manager on Monday only and defaulted on their FA Cup game the previous Sunday. Everton won at Oxford. Durham beat Millwall. 11/02 London Bees 1 Brighton 1 12/02 Durham 1 Millwall 0 Villa 3 Watford 2 Oxford 1 Everton 2 Sheffield v Doncaster P-P due to weather 18/02 Doncaster v Villa P-P due to FA CUP 19/02 Everton v Durham due to FA CUP