The Barclays Women’s Super League delivered a thrilling spectacle throughout 2023, leaving fans excited on what 2024 has in store for the title race. Here we look back at 2023 and highlight the winners, losers, pantomime villains, biggest shocks, funniest moments, and honourable mentions.
WINNERS
Liverpool – The turnaround from Liverpool since the start of 2023 has been nothing short of remarkable. Their year began with a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village, but ended with a 2-1 victory in the same fixture against their rivals. Their progress can be put down to various factors; Matt Beard’s reputation grows season by season, their training facilities have massively upgraded, and it’s difficult to find a team who have done better transfer business with the likes of Marie Hobinger and Fuka Nagano joining the club in 2023. They have also recorded impressive wins against both Arsenal and Manchester City in what has been a brilliant year for the Reds.
Mary Earps – Is there a goalkeeper who has had a better individual year than Mary Earps in 2023? She has been raking in the awards left right and centre, including England’s Player of the Year, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and the WSL Golden Glove. She was also named goalkeeper of the tournament at the 2023 World Cup, registering three clean sheets and saving a penalty in the final. Many of the Lionesses have become household names since the Euros last summer, with Beth Mead and Leah Williamson in particular being spotlighted. After this year, Earps can certainly be added to that list.
Arsenal’s marketing department – Arsenal have enjoyed a solid year on the pitch, but they’ve been even more impressive off it. Their fanbase has grown throughout 2023, with attendances rising and games at a busy Emirates stadium becoming commonplace. Two standout highlights were games against Wolfsburg and Chelsea, which set attendance records for an English women’s club side in the Champions League and WSL respectively. Much of this is down to a highly successful marketing campaign by the club, appealing to the ‘one club’ aspect of supporting a football team through consistent, high-quality media content and advertisements. Their Stella McCartney exclusive women’s kit is lovely, too.
LOSERS
Anterior cruciate ligaments – Why do they have to ruin everything? So many of the world’s top players have missed huge chunks of 2023 with possibly the most dreaded injury in football – a ruptured ACL. Several WSL stars fell victim to the ACL curse this year, such as Arsenal duo Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither, with many players forced to miss the World Cup this summer. The only silver lining of there being so many cases is that further research is being made into why female athletes seem to suffer ACL injuries so often, so hopefully this won’t be as big a problem in 2024.
Manchester United – It hasn’t been a bad year for Man United. In fact, there are many positives – their fanbase is growing impressively and they have solidified themselves as one of the WSLs top sides. However, they spent too much of the year playing second fiddle to those around them. They lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea, before also losing out to the Blues in the league by a point. They even succumbed to a direct rival during the transfer window, losing star striker and poster girl Alessia Russo to Arsenal. In 2024, they need to regain some form and retain some players – starting with goalkeeper Mary Earps.
Reading – Reading were relegated from the WSL in summer after a torrid run of form at the beginning of the year. The club has endured numerous issues off the field and were operating on a shoestring budget compared to most top-flight clubs. Since their relegation, Reading’s owners have made the women’s team part-time, and they now find themselves 10th in the Championship with just two wins in their opening 10 games. It’s a sad tale for a club with a rich history.
PANTOMIME VILLAINS
Katie McCabe – Spotted wearing a protective boot and using crutches after coming off injured against Bayern Munich in March, McCabe played the ultimate Uno reverse by showing up four days later to start in a key tie against Man City. Her pantomime villainy was in full effect during the game as the Irish winger got herself booked by bopping Chloe Kelly in the face with the ball, suspending her from the Gunners’ next game, only to redeem herself by lashing a stunning winner into the top corner. Absolutely box-office.
Emily Heaslip – Heaslip demonstrated her zero-tolerance approach to time-wasting by inexplicably sending off Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood 38 minutes into the side’s huge clash with fellow title-chasers Chelsea. Greenwood, who had already booked, evoked the ire of referee Heaslip by taking 26 seconds to take a free kick, earning her a second yellow card and an early bath. City clung on to their 1-0 lead in dogged fashion, and it took a second sending off for Lauren Hemp before Chelsea finally breached their depleted defence with a 96th minute Guro Reiten equaliser. Heaslip’s decisions may yet prove to have a decisive impact on the WSL title race.
Chloe Kelly vs United – Chloe Kelly was in fine form during November’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford. As Man City ran out 3-1 winners over neighbours United in front of more than 43,000 people, the England winger pulled out choreographed celebrations, shushed the home crowd, and topped it all off with an all-timer instagram caption taken straight from a Drake song. Kelly’s right – there’s never much love when she goes OT.
BIGGEST SHOCKS
Emma Hayes leaving Chelsea – It looked like being another near-perfect 2023 for the Blues before iconic manager Emma Hayes landed a hammer blow late in the year with the announcement that she would be leaving the club at the end of the season to take up the head coach position at the US Women’s National Team. It’s difficult to envision Chelsea without Hayes, who has been in charge of the club since 2012. Chelsea fans will be hoping Hayes will be able to end her reign with a bang by securing the one major trophy to have eluded her during her time at the club – the Champions League.
Liverpool winning away (twice) – Liverpool went the entirety of last season without recording a single win away from home. This season, the Reds faced the daunting prospect of taking on title-hunting Arsenal at a packed out Emirates stadium in their season opener. When the team sheets came out and Matt Beard’s side were shown to be lining up without a recognised striker and only five players on the bench, most Liverpool fans feared the worst. However, a Miri Taylor goal sent the away fans wild and gave the Reds their first three points away from home since their return to the WSL. They then repeated the trick with a 2-1 comeback win away at Manchester United in December. Football, eh?
Kristie Mewis joining West Ham – Okay, so maybe those tuned into the gossip columns weren’t overly surprised by this move considering the high-profile relationship between Kristie Mewis and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr. But in any context, a recently crowned NWSL champion who was part of the USWNT squad during their World Cup campaign this summer moving to a relegation threatened club, who from the outside look in disarray, is still quite a shock. The announcement of her transfer garnered huge attention on social media, and West Ham are sure to be boosted not only by her star quality on the pitch, but her ability to raise the profile of the club.
Kristie Mewis plays for West Ham, Stacey.pic.twitter.com/yeB0gEo6lH
— West Ham United US (@WestHam_US) December 22, 2023
FUNNIEST MOMENTS
The opening six minutes of Chelsea vs Liverpool – When Chelsea’s league game at home to Liverpool in January was abandoned after just six minutes of play due to a frozen pitch, it sparked widespread condemnation. Although there are legitimate concerns over such a lack of organisation endangering players even at such an elite level of the women’s game, those six minutes were objectively pretty funny. The pitch was like an ice rink – Niamh Charles looked like she was playing with heelys on. Thankfully nobody got injured and we can laugh about it now.
Steph Catley on daytime TV – Any WSL fans watching Lorraine on ITV in October may have noticed a familiar face. Arsenal and Matildas defender Steph Catley, who was identified as a ‘local St Albans resident’ was interviewed as part of a segment asking people what they would do with £100,000. Although she didn’t win the money, she did get a chant out of it, so that’s something.
Roebuck forgets about the 18-yard box – Man City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck gives the impression of someone who is completely stress-free on the football pitch. Although her ability to be chilled out is sure to be useful in many situations, it also led to a spot of bother when she faced Liverpool in May. With her side 2-1 down in the second half, Roebuck picked the ball up and strolled straight out of the box with it still in her hands. She walked with such confidence that most of the Liverpool players didn’t even appeal for a foul, but the referee noticed and gave a free kick, booking the keeper for her troubles.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Beth England – Spurs have been rightfully praised for their performances this season, particularly for their 1-0 win over rivals Arsenal in December, with manager Robert Vilahamn and striker Martha Thomas earning most of the plaudits. However, there’s a decent chance that Spurs wouldn’t even be in the WSL this season if it weren’t for Beth England’s start to 2023. The striker chose to leave Chelsea in January to be a starter at Tottenham, sacrificing the inevitable trophies that come with being part of the Blues’ squad. This brought dividends for the player, as she was recalled to the Lionesses squad for the World Cup, but also for Spurs, who relied on England’s goals to drag them away from the relegation zone. Where would they be without her?
Willie Kirk – Leicester looked dead and buried in the WSL at the end of 2022, but Willie Kirk’s arrival in November kickstarted a fightback which resulted in their impressive escape from relegation in 2023. Kirk took over as manager with the Foxes rock bottom of the league with no points from their opening six games and managed to steer them to safety. They recorded some impressive results this year, the highlight being a 4-0 win over Liverpool in April. They have started the new season brightly, sitting 8th in the WSL table, and will hope to continue their relatively good form in 2024.
You. Yes, you – Looking back at the good, the bad, and the comical in the WSL in 2023, we’ve highlighted some of the players and managers who have stood out this year. But without fans going to games, supporting teams, reading articles, interacting with content, and ultimately investing time, money, and passion into the game, it wouldn’t be here. So here’s to you! Let’s do it again this year.
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