Mary Earps exit rumours, 'Skinner Out' chants and a fading WSL title challenge: Things could get worse for Man Utd before they get better

To go into the WSL’s winter break having dropped points in half of the games they have played is just not good enough for Manchester United. They’re now seven points behind leaders Chelsea and four points off the chasing pack of Man City and Arsenal, who occupy the other two Champions League places.

Each result has been frustrating in its own way. In October, United were moments away from a massive 2-1 win over Arsenal, but couldn’t see the game out and dropped two points from a great position against a title rival.

A week later, they had to come back to secure a point against a Leicester side that were in a relegation battle last season. That was sandwiched in between the two legs of a Champions League qualifier with PSG, which ended in defeat. The squad certainly felt like it was strengthened enough in the summer to cope with a three-game week, but to not get the business done in the league, against a team United would be expected to beat, was disappointing.

November’s 2-2 draw with Brighton was a game where the Red Devils didn’t take enough of their own chances and conceded far too many at the other end. A few weeks later came the worst of the worst, when they were soundly beaten by Man City at Old Trafford, Gareth Taylor out-thinking Skinner in his tactics.

They bounced back with wins over Bristol City and Tottenham, but Sunday’s loss to Liverpool was massive, United this time failing to create much while conceding two really poor goals at the other end. It leaves them well behind in the title race, with them seemingly out of contention already.

So, what has gone wrong? Well, the inconsistencies game-by-game could be, at least in part, attributed to the mass turnover of the squad in the summer. Nine new faces came in during the transfer window and, while the number of departures can be debated, loans and academy exits taking the total up to a rather bloated 22, around 15 of those were first-team players leaving the club.

It's a lot of change to have in one summer, with the departures of Ona Batlle, the best right-back on the planet, and Alessia Russo, who was United’s focal point in the forward line, particularly significant.

Injuries have given them some unwanted setbacks, too. Irene Guerrero has only made one WSL appearance after arriving from Atletico Madrid, with Emma Watson not even managing that due to an ACL injury suffered on international duty with Scotland. Gabby George was hit with the same devastating diagnosis after starting the season well following a transfer from Everton and Hinata Miyazawa became the latest star to drop out of the starting XI when she returned from the December international break with a problem.

When you’re already trying to adjust to a lot of summer business, to lose players is an additional blow, especially when all four of those mentioned are injuries to new signings.

The impact of Russo’s departure is probably not realised or noted quite as much as it should be, either. Yes, the England star only netted 10 goals in the league last season, but the way the United attack has been rebuilt upon her exit meant it was always going to take time for things to gel.

The Red Devils spent most of the start of the season playing with Geyse in the centre of the forward line, the Brazil international certainly a problem for defenders but not exactly a No.9. It meant that different partnerships and relationships had to be formed, with Geyse often drifting out of those central areas and needing a winger or midfielder to move into them so that someone was there to get on the end of that final ball.

But did it have to be like that? Perhaps that is how Skinner felt his team could be more of a problem for opponents, with the variation it would add to United’s play. However, the club did sign a player who thrives as a No.9, loaning Melvine Malard from Lyon.

Malard spent the majority of her first few months in England operating from the wing, which she can do as she is a quality, versatile footballer who still finds her way into goal-scoring situations, but the recent change to play her more centrally has paid dividends. The France international was unplayable against Spurs earlier this month and, despite her team’s struggles against Liverpool, she led the line well on Sunday, too.

Of course, putting Malard in that role earlier in the season wouldn’t have solved all of United’s problems and put them top of the table. The forward received such a lack of service against Liverpool, for example. But it did baffle many that she was shoved into a wide role given the abundance of natural wingers United have.

Another of the gripes United fans have had has been in the midfield. Katie Zelem, Hayley Ladd and Ella Toone have been the established trio in the centre for a while now, so much so that they were starting games together during the 2019-20 season, the Red Devils’ first in the WSL. In the four years since, attempts to strengthen the depth in midfield have not worked.

None of Vilde Boe Risa, Lucy Staniforth or Jade Moore could break into that area during their time with the club, while Grace Clinton didn’t set foot on the pitch last season in a United shirt after arriving from Everton. The youngster had a productive loan spell with Bristol City in the second-tier in the second half of the campaign and was sent out to Spurs this year, too, where she has been one of the stand-out players for a side only three points behind United in the WSL table.

Lisa Naalsund is the latest to arrive and try to break into the midfield, but she has started one league game in 12 months. Is she providing the competition and variety Skinner wants? Is she a player that he sees as a fit for his team? Is he simply giving her time to settle? If it is the latter, should the club be recruiting players who can immediately improve the starting XI rather than those who can do that over time, if they want to compete with Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City? Is having the same midfield trio as four years ago an example of the moving forward and pushing on that Skinner talked about on Sunday?

Injuries have impacted things this season, with Miyazawa having started games in midfield before her setback, while Watson and Guerrero have not even had the chance to do that. But the lack of minutes given to other players in this area during Skinner’s tenure make it fair to ask whether the competition and variety of options in that area of the park has been good enough to help this team improve.

If you look at the three teams above United in the table, competition is not a problem. Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal have squads absolutely stacked with talent, given they have been the established ‘big three’ in the WSL for several years now.

“We need to continue to invest in the market,” Skinner said on Sunday. “We’re chasing teams that are already established. I don't think you can stand still in any window. You're chasing teams that are continuously investing and we need to make sure we do that.

“The support is there, but we've got to make sure that we are continuously progressing into that because it's the hardest thing in the world. This league is the hardest league in the world. You look at Liverpool today and you look at Tottenham [beating Arsenal] yesterday, they can win on any given day now and that's a change from even last year, so it's constantly moving and you’ve got to move ahead with the times otherwise you can stand still. I want us to keep pressing and keep pushing forward.”

The difference between United and their title rivals, though, is that they need to be bringing in players that really strengthen their starting XI rather than their squad. The rest can afford to bring in players who might need a year or two to adapt, because the team is already at such a level that they have plenty of other names to call upon. United are still trying to reach that level.

Across his three transfer windows, Skinner has made 13 signings. Nikita Parris, Lucia Garcia, Maya Le Tissier and Jayde Riviere have become regulars in the first team, as has Rachel Williams as an impact sub. But Clinton has yet to step foot on the pitch as a United player, Naalsund has started one league game since arriving in January and the other six have all since left after failing to make a dent on the first team – four of them not even playing 100 minutes of WSL football.

The club has to be ruthlessly efficient in the scouting and signing of players in order to compete with those at the top of the WSL. There have been too many instances of United signing a player and Skinner then hardly using them before they inevitably depart. These players have to suit what the manager wants and needs, otherwise what is the point? There is such a smaller margin for error when you are the team chasing because you need to take bigger strides forward to compete.

Debates can be had over what Man Utd’s biggest issue is, whether it is team selection, tactics, the strength of the squad or something else, but at the end of the day, the Red Devils have simply not been good enough this season to be in contention for the WSL title.

“We lost on the fundamentals of football,” was Skinner’s assessment of Sunday’s defeat to Liverpool. “They headed it better than us, they kicked it better than us and the two goals are ridiculously bad from our standards. It’s a desire. We lost too many headers. [Liverpool striker, Sophie] Roman Haug had a field day in there and it bleeds into the performance. We weren’t aggressive with the football. It was a bad day for us. I don’t think we outperformed Liverpool or deserved anything from the game. You just can’t lose games on the goals we conceded. You just can’t concede goals like that.”

It's hard to argue with any of that – but the most damning comments perhaps came from the man in the away dugout. Liverpool had never even scored against United in the WSL before the weekend, never mind beaten them, but manager Matt Beard made the way his team ticked off both of those milestones sound so simple.

“Once we moved it quickly and we broke Man United’s press, there was so much space in behind for us and Sophie is game-changing because she never loses a header! So if they're going to stick a lot of players on us, we'll just bypass it,” he said. It made United sound so easy to play against – and, in truth, at times this season, they have been. Managers have found the flaws in this team and capitalised on them.

None of those comments look great for Skinner, not Beard’s quotes about how simple it was to get at United nor his own about his team being beaten by desire and the fundamentals. The 40-year-old is entering the final six months of his contract and it seems unlikely that he’ll be getting a new deal at this moment in time, with the Red Devils faltering so badly.

Could he leave before that? A section of the fans made their feelings clear on Sunday after the loss to Liverpool, though Skinner believes such pressure is “the reality of being manager at Manchester United”. “There’s pressure when we win, pressure when we lose and pressure when we draw,” he said. “You feel it every day you’re in the job.”

He might not be the only one set to depart at the end of the season or before, either. After all, rumours are swirling again about the future of Earps, whose own contract expires at the conclusion of the current campaign. Galton, one of the stars of this team, is in the same position. Given the ease at which Arsenal, a title rival, snapped up Russo in the summer, it would be a huge concern if more key players were to leave in 2024.

With that title chase and second-placed finish last season, it felt like Manchester United had really arrived at the top of the WSL and established themselves as a genuine contender for the top prizes. But it feels like they’ve only taken steps backwards in the last seven months, and it could well get worse before it gets better, too.