Manchester City Women finished 4th in the 2022/23 WSL. Photo Credit: Manchester City
Once a dominant and multi-trophy winning side, Manchester City Women have found themselves in a rut in recent years, failing to finish in the top three places in the 2022/23 WSL season.
Here’s everything you need to know about Manchester City’s last season and what to expect this upcoming 23/24 season.
A Look Back at 2022/23
Starting their 2022/23 campaign with two losses to Aston Villa and Chelsea respectively, the Citizens remained unbeaten in the league until April – an impressive feat. Perhaps exits from the FA Cup and the Continental Cup knocked the confidence of City as the side went on to lose to Manchester United and Arsenal – two of their biggest competitors in the title race.
Trophies were quickly off the cards and securing Champions League qualification became the new fixation for the team. The crucial loss to Arsenal – which also ended their unbeaten run – proved to be the difference between 3rd and 4th place in the table.
2022/23, that's a wrap 💙 pic.twitter.com/7LDwIXyi0o
— Man City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 27, 2023
World Cup Stars Return
Manchester City’s 2023/24 squad boasts an illustrious 13 World Cup stars: Ellie Roebuck, Kerstin Casparij, Alex Greenwood, Laura Coombs, Mary Fowler, Lauren Hemp, Filippa Angeldahl, Esme Morgan, Jill Roord, Khadija Shaw, Yui Hasegawa, Alanna Kennedy and Julie Blakstad.
Among them, stand out young players such as Lauren Hemp and Mary Fowler performed while Khadija Shaw and Yui Hasegawa remained consistent for their national sides.
Although there are clear – and very valid – concerns over scheduling and the demands of the international windows, the World Cup has definitely given confidence and opportunities to a number of players within the Manchester City squad.
Transfer Window
The Blues have had a very quiet transfer window – far less busy than every other WSL side. Australian winger, Hayley Raso departed for Spanish side Real Madrid at the end of the season, the only other departure being that of Welsh defender Maria Francis-Jones who was already on a dual registration at Sheffield United last season.
However, Gareth Taylor’s side have only made one new signing, Dutch midfielder, Jill Roord returning to the WSL from Wolfsburg. Roord became a regular for Arsenal in the WSL between 2019-2021 but her return to the league comes as a shock, especially considering Champions League football was ruled out for her first season at City.
✍️🇳🇱 Jill Roord signs for Manchester City from Wolfsburg pic.twitter.com/SzYQ9vex40
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) July 6, 2023
Scoring four goals at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Roord’s statistics have been impressive over the summer and with eleven goals tallied for her former side Wolfsburg, it’s clear that the attacking midfielder has plenty to offer.
Switching from the Frauen Bundesliga to the WSL will be quite a stark change but given Roord’s previous stint in the league, it should be a smoother transition – a huge bonus for Manchester City.
The only question with City’s transfer window is about how the team progress. With only one recruit – and the loss of a key striker – it’s difficult to see how this this side could end up in the top three based of personnel.
Tactics and culture are perhaps the keys to success but given that Gareth Taylor has signed a contract extension at the end of the season, neither are likely to change. Potentially, with a few young players, one-year older, natural progression and development will have occurred to improve the side. However, the league is getting more competitive and sides such as Aston Villa and Brighton have had outstanding recruitment.
Targets
The fundamental change needed in this Manchester City side is improvement! For many years, the FA Cup final and a third-place finish were minimum targets but finishing the 2022/23 season without a trophy, reaching a final or qualifying for Champions League football clearly fell short of their ambitions.
This season, the Conti Cup – a trophy which City have lifted a handful of times – will certainly be on the team’s radar. With local rivals Manchester United securing a Champions League space, City will also be looking to get back above their enemies in the league.
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