Best manager
This was a tough one, and an honourable mention has to be given to Martin Ho, who, despite only two summer signings, has taken Tottenham one point past last season’s 20-point total with half the season to play. However, Andrée Jeglertz arrived at Manchester City after managing Denmark at the Euros, where his team failed to pick up a point, and has had an instant impact. City look a different beast under the 53-year-old. The league leaders’ opening-day defeat by Chelsea is firmly in the past: they have won all 10 games since, have scored eight more goals than any other side and have built a six point lead at the top. Where previously City had struggled to kill off matches against title rivals, this season there has been a ruthlessness epitomised by their late winner in a 3-2 defeat of Arsenal, after they had twice given up the lead, and a comprehensive 3-0 win over Manchester United. SW
Best team
There can be only one answer here: City. They are playing like potential champions and have used wide areas to great effect. Khadija “Bunny” Shaw is scoring at a rate of more than a goal a game, Lauren Hemp, Aoba Fujino, Kerolin and Kerstin Casparij are at the top of their game and City even coped well despite their captain Alex Greenwood’s recent injury, the sort of absence that might have prompted them to capitulate in previous seasons. Sydney Lohmann and Grace Clinton have settled well, and Vivianne Miedema has created an impressive 22 chances in 11 games as a No 10. TG
Best signing
Centre-back was a position where City had to strengthen and they opted for a youthful choice with the 22-year-old Canada defender Jade Rose. Amid the team’s flurry of goals at the other end, Rose has gone under the radar but done a really mature, steady job for her age, defending well with 42 clearances but also threading through balls and carrying the ball higher up the pitch. Honourable mentions go to the 19-year-old Tottenham centre-back Toko Koga, Jess Park for her form after signing for United and Ellie Carpenter’s excellent performances for Chelsea, while Beata Olsson has done well for Liverpool with five goals in nine games. TG
Best player
Shaw continues to underline why she is one of the best strikers in the world at the moment, if not the best. After her last campaign was interrupted by injury issues, she has found her groove. Her scoring ability is second to none: she has 12 goals, seven more than anyone else in the league. Not content with bringing up her 100th in 120 appearances for Manchester City against Aston Villa, she went on to get her 101st, 102nd and 103rd. She does not only score goals, however, but is integral to the way City build. City have caught the eye with their dynamic attacking football and her ever-developing connection with Miedema has been a joy to watch in these opening months. SD
Biggest disappointment
After Arsenal’s stunning and battling run to a second European title, expectations were high. However, they are eight points adrift of City, one defeat and four draws (against Chelsea, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Tottenham) leaving them only a point ahead of United and two ahead of Tottenham. What’s clear is Arsenal’s squad, the oldest in the league, needed an overhaul in the summer that didn’t come. Injuries have taken a toll but they are no excuse with the depth in their number. Meanwhile, dressing-room disharmony has been a factor. At the very least, they need to rediscover the doggedness that powered them to victory in Lisbon in May, and changes in January could reset things. SW
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City Women | 11 | 22 | 30 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 11 | 13 | 22 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 11 | 11 | 21 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 11 | 0 | 20 |
| 6 | London City Lionesses | 11 | -7 | 15 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 11 | 1 | 14 |
| 8 | Aston Villa Women | 11 | -4 | 13 |
| 9 | Leicester Women | 11 | -13 | 9 |
| 10 | Everton Women | 11 | -8 | 8 |
| 11 | West Ham Women | 11 | -15 | 5 |
| 12 | Liverpool FC Women | 11 | -13 | 3 |
Biggest gripe
Scheduling has long been a contentious subject as leagues and broadcasters try to find the right window for fixtures that will suit both TV viewership and spectators. The decision, however, to move most games to a noon kick-off has caused ructions among WSL fans. Midday is a time wholly unsuitable for match-goers – unless it is a local derby, it increases the difficulty for travelling fans and cost. The fact that viewing figures on Sky are struggling too – only 71,000 tuned in to watch one of the biggest games of the season between Arsenal and Chelsea – compounds the issue. In addition, many of this season’s matches have been held at the same time, leading to a lack of momentum throughout a weekend and a misunderstanding of the fact that a strong proportion of the women’s football fanbase watch more than just their own team. WSL Football has said it will reconsider in the summer but you can’t help but feel it has hindered potential growth off the back of the Lionesses’ summer success. SD
Hopes for second half
No further anterior cruciate ligament injuries after eight WSL players endured that fate in the first half of the season, including Brighton’s Michelle Agyemang, the Liverpool duo Marie Höbinger and Sophie Román Haug and most recently Tottenham’s Jessica Naz. On a lighter note, it would be welcome to have a reduction in the number of unofficial tactical timeouts managers are enjoying while goalkeepers receive treatment, usually bang on the 22-minute mark or when their side are under heavy pressure. And purely for the sake of the morale of women’s football fans on Merseyside, it would be nice to see Liverpool and/or Everton finally win a home league game. TG
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