Man Utd Women have had a turbulent summer; key players including Mary Earps, Katie Zelem and Lucia Garcia have left the club at the end of their contracts; the women's team have been forced to use temporary training facilities; there are also concerns over their priority for owners INEOS
Wednesday 24 July 2024 08:25, UK
It’s been a summer of discontent at Man Utd Women. More key player departures, a move into temporary training facilities - including the use of portable cabins - and fresh questions over where the team ranks in the overall priorities of their new owners.
It is perhaps unfair to lay all of the blame at INEOS' door, with the club often demonstrating their disregard for a women's team.
In 2005, the Glazer ownership scrapped the team as it 'was not part of their core business'. Unrelenting pressure and criticism led to a side being reformed in 2018, ending Man Utd's status as the only Premier League club at the time without a women's team.
It was a decision begrudgingly made. Several sources have told Sky Sports News that the feeling of the women's team being unwanted or forced upon the club still lingers.
It is understood that John Murtough, the recently-departed football director, had been invested in a strong set-up. But his enthusiasm was not shared by the Glazers and it was hard to get sign off on several signings and improvements.
The club will point to their £10m revamp of the training facilities for Man Utd Women and the academy as a counter - an example of them financially ensuring an elite environment.
However, with renovations taking place at Carrington, the men's team will have priority use of that state-of-the-art building this season.
The women's team and academy will use portable cabins for meetings and as dressing rooms when schedules clash - described by the club as 'well-equipped modular buildings'.
Man Utd felt this was the best decision to cause as little upheaval as possible. The women's team and academy had already operated in a similar manner while their new base was being constructed, and so they would require the least assimilation.
There was an intense look at around five external sites that could have accommodated the team, but the nutrition, conditioning set-up and pitches of those venues could not rival Carrington.
It is understood that the women's team also have access to a better pitch and gym this season, which has not been widely reported.
Still, there is discontent.
"The high turnover of key players is not an accident, it is an indictment on how Manchester United treat the women's team," an agent said, referencing the exits of Mary Earps, Katie Zelem, Lucia Garcia, Alessia Russo and Ona Batlle in the past two summers.
They have all left for free at the end of their contracts, with Russo joining direct rivals Arsenal last summer with no financial compensation for Man Utd.
The agent continues: "When they compare their situation to their mates at Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, they realise how much they are being disregarded. The issues that were raised by players in 2021 are still a concern now.
"It is also just extremely bad business to let so many contracts run down and to have a lack of clear communication, support, and negotiation structures. It has felt like the women's team is an area to cut costs instead of actually rewarding your top players.
"There has also been a high turnover of coaching and sports science staff in the past year. There are red flags everywhere."
Whichever angle you come from, the optics don't look good for Man Utd.
And while the situation is more nuanced than it looks with the club planning on making key additions this summer, it's also fair to say the spine of the team has been removed.
Earps' departure in particular is a huge loss for Man Utd and the WSL both on and off the pitch. She moved to PSG because she felt Man Utd were going through a period of change and not yet in a position to win trophies consistently.
The England No1 could have decided to leave when she could talk to clubs abroad in January, but instead gave United time to sell her the vision of the new ownership.
Unfortunately, that vision didn't pass the eye test and Earps signed a contract at PSG worth no more financially than she was offered by United.
It's not that the club isn't looking at player contracts early. They started discussions with Earps more than two years ago. Sky Sports News also reported that Man Utd and Russo were discussing terms over a new deal for 18 months before her departure, but the club only reached the forward's contract expectations on the last week of the season, at which point it was too late to entice her to stay.
And senior players want the women's team to have the prestige and success the name of the club carries and doubts remain about how that will be achieved.
United spent big last season, with six-figure fees spent on Gabby George, Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Geyse Ferreira, all of whom are being backed to have big second seasons at the club.
The high turnover of key players is not an accident, it is an indictment on how Manchester United treat the women's team... There has also been a high turnover of coaching and sports science staff in the past year. There are red flags everywhere.
They have already added Dominique Janssen, who has more than 100 caps for the Netherlands, and Norway forward Elisabeth Terland. She scored half of Brighton's WSL goals last season, with more players planned.
But head coach Marc Skinner, who is effectively on a one-year 'prove it' deal at the club, has consistently called for more investment in order for his team to develop.
And one employee associated with the women's team admitted: "It's hard not to feel like an afterthought; not just behind the men but the academy too."
Sky Sports News has been told that the club are conscious of the turbulence caused by all the squad and staff changes. Man Utd reiterate a commitment to creating a competitive but warm environment.
They are working on implementing greater support structures - collective and for individuals, and will be streamlining their negotiation processes with Dan Ashworth now through the door. Part of his remit is to strengthen the framework around the women's team and introduce more stability.
Ashworth's arrival, and the presence of Omar Berrada as CEO, are seen as huge positives for the women's team given their history of believing in and backing the women's game.
There is not just a mountain of work that lies ahead but relationship-building and trying to erode poor optics.
It has been established that the women's team were not an immediate priority for INEOS, crystallised by Ratcliffe's comments to Bloomberg that 'resolving the first-team issues' had been 'pretty full-time for the first six months' and the source of his focus.
We haven’t gone into that level of detail with the women’s football team yet. We’ve been pretty much focused on how do we resolve the first-team issues, in that environment, and that’s been pretty full time for the first six months.
It has been noted with irritation that the 'first team' in this instance related to the men's team, with Ratcliffe also admitting the same 'level of detail' had yet to be applied to the women's side.
Ratcliffe and his No 2, Sir Dave Brailsford, also chose not to attend the Women's FA Cup final, instead opting to watch the men's side play Arsenal at Old Trafford. They were in attendance for the men's FA Cup final a few weeks later.
And despite this clear and public indication of where the women's team stand, the current staff are preparing for next season with budgets, transfer targets and training plans in place.
The thinking has been that if the main operational structure of the club is enhanced and the biggest problems - the culture around the men's team and recruitment - are remedied, then everything else will come together more smoothly.
And for all of the challenges, Man Utd Women have had success. They were FA Cup winners last season, beating Chelsea along the way, and have now played in two consecutive cup finals.
They also finished second in the 2022/23 season, earning a Champions League place for the first time. After years of near misses, Man Utd are one of the first teams to have broken the 'big three' stranglehold on the top WSL places, and continue to consolidate their position among the top four or five teams in WSL after just six years in existence.
Both the U21s and U16s won trophies last season too, with youth development remaining a key outlet for the club.
But the fact remains that Manchester United, by their own doing, are playing catch up to their rivals.
Patience may be required - but better treatment should be automatic.
