Skinner´s Man Utd flying under the radar in WSL

While Sonia Bompastor and Renee Slegers have been taking all the Women’s Super League plaudits this season, Marc Skinner has been quietly going about his business, leading Manchester United to second in the table.

Since Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover of United, there has been some discontent among fans surrounding the direction of the women’s team. Last year, star players Mary Earps and Katie Zelem voted with their feet by seeking pastures new.

More controversy followed in pre-season when Ratcliffe and INEOS decided to move the female players out of their bespoke building at Carrington to accommodate the men’s team, while their training ground undergoes major redevelopment.

The only sign of stability in this tumultuous period saw Skinner sign a one-year contract extension in May 2024, containing an option for an additional year. That was a reward for leading United to their first-ever major domestic trophy, the FA Cup, last term.

As United garnered attention of the wrong kind, it would have been understandable if the 2024-25 campaign had been one of transition, rather than trophy challenges.

However, the Red Devils have made light of those difficulties to enjoy a promising campaign, with Skinner now hoping to build on their FA Cup success and compete on all fronts.

Fortress

Three teams are undefeated at home this season in the #BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/6VoZZ7c1js

— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) February 10, 2025

Shades of 2022-23?

United’s women’s team have been on an incredible journey since their 2018 reformation, promptly winning promotion from the FA Women’s Championship in their very first season under Casey Stoney.

They have been in the WSL ever since and have not looked back. Skinner took over in July 2021 and in the 2022-23 season, he led them to their highest-ever finish, as they were runners-up to Chelsea by just two points.

It was a remarkable feat, with United becoming the first side since 2014 to break into the WSL’s established top three. The leading positions had been occupied by Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City in various combinations for the previous seven seasons until United forced their way in.

It could have been even better for United, who led the WSL standings for five weeks from March 25 to May 21, when they dropped to second.

Across 22 WSL games in 2022-23, United scored 56 goals (only Chelsea had more with 66) from just 36.03 expected goals (xG). The Red Devils fired off 355 shots that campaign, with a 15.77% conversion rate.

Of those goals, 29 came from big chances (they had 46 overall, giving them a 63.04% conversion rate).

United were also magnificent at the other end of the pitch. They conceded just 12 goals across the whole campaign, the fewest of any team in the league, and that was not a case of positive variance or good luck, as their actual goals conceded tally was largely in line with their 13.34 expected goals against (xGA) from 180 shots faced.

They averaged 2.5 goals per game and conceded just 0.5 per match in 2022-23, with Leah Galton and Alessia Russo – who scored 10 goals apiece – among their star performers.

United are putting together a similarly impressive campaign in 2024-25. In 13 games this season, they have scored 24 goals from 19.44 xG, having 171 shots in the WSL (14.04% conversion rate).

They have already faced 140 shots worth 14.27 xGA but have conceded just five goals – the fewest in the league. They are averaging 1.8 goals per game and conceding a measly 0.3.

United have won each of their last five WSL games, keeping a clean sheet in four of those victories. Since the beginning of last season, 79% of United’s WSL wins have been accompanied by clean sheets (15/19) – a greater proportion than any other ever-present side in the division.

They also remain unbeaten at home in the WSL this season, winning four of six games (two draws), and they have a chance to avoid defeat in their opening seven games of a top-flight campaign for the first time.

Like the vintage of 2022-23, United’s class of 2024-25 are tough to beat and clinical with their opportunities. Chelsea may be the runaway leaders, but a second-place finish ahead of Arsenal and City – and European qualification – is a realistic aim.

According to the Opta Supercomputer, United have a 29.1% chance of finishing second (up from just 7% at the start of the season), while the probability they finish third is 41.2% (up from 18.6% ahead of the season). They finish fourth in 29.3% of projections.

Marc Skinner – underrated and underappreciated?

Skinner’s reign has not been entirely smooth, with the United boss attracting stern criticism from supporters at times.

His contract renewal – like that of since-departed men’s manager Erik ten Hag – came amid uncertainty over his position, after United finished fifth in the WSL, ending 2023-24 with back-to-back losses.

Skinner also came under fire from fans before Christmas, despite his new-look United team being unbeaten in the league. On that occasion, he was accused of defending comments from Ratcliffe that suggested the success of United’s women’s team was less important than that of the men.

But is any on-field criticism of Skinner justified and what do his numbers say, compared to others to have held top jobs in the WSL?

“We did the game properly.”

Marc was thrilled with the way his players applied themselves against Wolves #MUWomen || #WomensFACup

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) February 8, 2025

Skinner has overseen 79 WSL matches at United, winning 49 of those (62.03%) and averaging 2.06 points per game. At his former club, Birmingham City, Skinner averaged 1.77 points per game, winning 17 of his 31 WSL matches (54.84%).

Only Chelsea (67), Arsenal (56), and Man City (56) have won more WSL matches than United since Skinner took charge of the Red Devils.

Of ever-present WSL teams, only Chelsea (seven) and Arsenal (12) have lost fewer matches in the competition than United since Skinner took over (14), and only those two sides have kept more clean sheets than Skinner’s Red Devils in that timeframe (40).

Since the start of 2017, Skinner ranks third in the WSL for games managed (118), behind just Kelly Chambers (126) and Emma Hayes (149). Only Hayes (116) and Gareth Taylor (73) have won more WSL matches in that time than Skinner.

He has faced Arsenal and Chelsea on 10 occasions each. He has claimed three wins against the Gunners but has never beaten Chelsea, losing nine times to the Blues. Perhaps Skinners’ record against the top sides is one area in which criticism is valid.

But overall, Skinner has shown he has a clear understanding of what it takes to manage at the highest level and, having also put some silverware in United’s cabinet, he may just deserve a little more credit.

The run-in

With just nine games remaining this campaign, United are at the head of the chasing pack, with Chelsea’s healthy seven-point lead making them hot favourites for the title.

No game in the WSL is easy, but United will hope to take advantage of a favourable upcoming set of fixtures, such is the difficulty of their run-in.

United will face Chelsea, City and Arsenal in their last three games of the season, so picking up as many points as possible prior to that stretch could be crucial.

But how do United match up to their closest rivals this term? The Red Devils (24) have scored fewer goals than both City (30) and Arsenal (29).

They also have the lowest xG total (19.44) of the three teams, though they have overperformed those figures by the biggest margin (+4.56, City 28.67 xG, Arsenal 25.95 xG).

United have also had the fewest big chances (36) but have a higher conversion rate (scored 15 – 41.67%) than City (scored 17 of 43 – 39.53%) or Arsenal (scored 19 of 51 – 37.25%).

City and Arsenal have the two highest average possession shares, with Taylor’s side topping the charts with 68.5%, while the Gunners have had 58.94%. United have the fifth-lowest possession average in the entire WSL, at 46.65%.

But United’s strength has been their defensive record, with Arsenal conceding four more goals than the Red Devils (nine) and City almost four times as many (18). City, though, have faced the fewest shots in the league (106), with Arsenal allowing 116 efforts and United 140.

Games at the top level are often decided by fine margins, though, and United have not made a single error leading to a goal this campaign. While the Red Devils have played a mistake-free, if less adventurous, style, City have given up four goals through errors and Arsenal have conceded one – Taylor’s team, in particular, have been undone by that tendency in recent weeks.

United’s new look

Skinner’s success has come despite United rebuilding the spine of their team, and several key additions have proven their worth this season.

Defensive midfielder Dominique Janssen, who joined from Wolfsburg, is one of just five players to have featured in all 13 games this season, with Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier also ever-present at the back.

Janssen has recovered the ball 74 times and made eight interceptions, while she has made the fourth-most tackles in the United squad (26 – level with Le Tissier), winning 13.

Only Turner (16) and Le Tissier (10) have made more blocks than Janssen’s five. Janssen has gone in for more duels (112) than both centre-backs, winning 50. Despite contesting fewer duels, Le Tissier has won more (57 of 86), while Turner has won 47 of 83.

Many feared the loss of England goalkeeper Earps – who joined PSG – would be a major blow for United, but Tullis-Joyce has shone since claiming the number one spot. Her five goals conceded in the WSL are the fewest by any goalkeeper to make more than three appearances in the competition this season.

She also boasts the best goals prevented figure (7.45) in the league, having faced 12.45 expected goals on target, and the best save percentage (88.37%). Only Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton, meanwhile, can match the American’s nine clean sheets.

Another star arrival has been former Brighton striker Elisabeth Terland, who is United’s top scorer this term with five goals. The Norway international also has four assists, with only Celin Bizet (five) registering more.

Never afraid to take aim, Terland has had 39 shots in the WSL this season (at least 18 more than any other United player), but has the lowest shot conversion rate (12.82%) of any player to score more than once. She has had the third-most shots in the league overall, behind only Khadija Shaw (43) and Russo (41).

She has also linked up well with Bizet, United’s other ever-present player, who has created the third-most chances (12) among the Red Devils’ players.

Of course, some familiar faces have also impressed this campaign, including England international Ella Toone. Only two midfielders have bettered her four goals in the WSL this term – Chelsea’s Guro Reiten (seven) and Arsenal’s Frida Maanum (five).

Should she start against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Toone, a true United icon, will become the first outfielder to make 100 WSL starts for the club. She would be the 70th player to reach that milestone overall in the competition and the eighth-youngest (25 years, 167 days).

Sunday’s meeting with the league’s bottom club should represent an opportunity for United to maintain their forward momentum, having crushed Wolves 6-0 in the FA Cup last weekend.

The Red Devils have won each of their 11 WSL games against promoted opponents, making them the only team to hold a 100% record in such matches.

Another triumph would strengthen their already promising position even further. If they carry on like this, United and Skinner will not be slipping under the radar for much longer.