It has been a bruising couple of weeks for Manchester City. Only twenty days ago, they sacked long-term head coach Gareth Taylor ahead of a monumental run of four successive fixtures against Chelsea across three competitions. There was plenty of focus on what that decision would mean for those games in particular but in City’s accompanying statement, the real rationale was clear.
“Manchester City prides itself on competing at the top of the WSL and on its outstanding record of qualifying for European competition,” said Charlotte O’Neill, managing director of City Women.
“Unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard. With six games of the WSL campaign remaining, we believe that a change of management will breathe fresh life into our bid to ensure qualification for the 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League.”
In other words: forget about the looming League Cup final against Chelsea, or facing them in the Champions League quarter-finals, the primary aim is to finish third or better, and be in the Champions League again next season.
This is not entirely surprising. The best players in the women’s game want to play at European level, not just in the domestic competitions. Take, for example, City’s new signing Kerolin Nicoli, who…
