Can Manchester United overcome a rough patch of results which has seen them slip in the WSL table? Will they stick or twist with Mary Earps? Is Marc Skinner's position as manager secure? Sky Sports unpacks the ongoing difficulties at Old Trafford...
Thursday 25 January 2024 17:39, UK
Every football manager has experienced pressure. It comes with the territory.
Even the game's greats, Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman, have suffered through the squeeze. This is a results game after all.
Perhaps the Women's Super League is a slightly more forgiving arena but managers are far from exempt from the glare of criticism.
In a rapidly changing landscape, which has made for fiercer competition and tougher expectation, Marc Skinner is the latest manager to endure football's inevitable stress test.
The Manchester United boss became successor to Casey Stoney in July 2021 and inherited a team on an accelerated trajectory.
As a club, United were frightfully behind the curve when it came to a professionalised women's set-up, but the climb since their 2018 inception has been intentionally, and impressively, rapid.
Making up for lost time was central to the blueprint. United were promoted to the WSL at the first time of asking, and after a brief period of consolidation, set sights on challenging imperious Chelsea at the top.
Last season Skinner's side finished two points shy of Hayes' champions - the closest run title race in years - while also blazing a trail in FA Cup competition (eventually losing in the final to, you guessed it, Chelsea).
Teetering on the verge of success has naturally whet the appetite of fans, as well as those inside Old Trafford, who have been delighted with the execution of an ambitious, aggressive five-year plan. The going's been good, but here's where the narrative ambles.
The next phase, infinitely tougher than the first, rests on Manchester United chasing consistent silverware, on multiple fronts, in order to satisfy trophy-hungry stakeholders. As well as that, United must balance the needs of players with growing ambition: specifically, players armed with the means and capability of competing for championships elsewhere.
The rate of United's meteoric rise was always going to cause issues down the line: you don't become champions overnight. They took the fast-track route and are now suffering its after-effects. Plateau.
A sprinkling of anti-Skinner chants could be heard as United contested a friendly against PSV in Malta in early January, and again as they lost 3-1 to Chelsea last weekend.
On both occasions the cries of "we want Skinner out", which began resonating when United went a goal down, may have been purely pantomime: a playful expression of dissatisfaction at the scoreline rather than a call for immediate change, but United are indeed navigating increasingly tricky waters. And tides turn quickly on football's frontier.
Problems are beginning to mount for Skinner with United 10 points shy of league leaders Chelsea, locked in fourth with bitter rivals Liverpool, while also at risk of being dumped from the Conti Cup before the knockout phase.
And, to add insult to injury, the January transfer market remains open and United's shop window looks inviting. Their most prized asset, goalkeeper Mary Earps, is in demand and edging ever closer to the exit door, if not now then over summer.
Earps' performances, development and character have launched her career into another stratosphere.
Her personal trophy cabinet is fuller than most WSL clubs combined, and she has no shortage of interest having entered the last six months of her contract.
"Deja vu," United fans may well exclaim in unison. They'd be right.
Last summer the club allowed Alessia Russo to walk under similar circumstances. Negotiations reached an impasse before Arsenal swooped and secured her signature for free. The same happened with Ona Batlle, who left for Barcelona.
Earps has commercial as well as footballing value. She's a personal brand. And in an era of increased player power, that poses a problem for United.
Still, the club have deep pockets, and are willing to make Earps the highest-paid goalkeeper in the game. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25 per cent club stake and ownership of football operations also offers hope, but there's one thing money can't buy: titles.
"I feel we've jumped a level this season, but we want to improve again next year," Skinner professed last May, before losing the FA Cup final to Chelsea. Most of the momentum and optimism igniting that cause has since dwindled.
Skinner is now under fire. "I am absolutely secure in what I do and how I do it," he told Sky Sports after losing to Chelsea on Sunday, where 'Skinner out' banners were brandished in the away end. Seeds of doubt sown.
Belief in the United project, among the most high-profile players at least, appears also to be waning. A first-ever European foray ended before it had even begun in October, beaten in qualifying by PSG, while league defeats to big rivals - Manchester City in November and Liverpool in December - has cast further aspersions.
A player as talented as Earps - and it's not just her - deserves to be contending for the shiniest trophies the club game has to offer. Russo felt the same way and now represents Arsenal.
There's no doubt Manchester United, and manager Skinner, have made extraordinary strides in the past few seasons and should be recognised for breaking the proverbial glass ceiling. They are the only club who have come anywhere close to disturbing the established WSL hierarchy, and done so playing attractive, entertaining football that excites fans.
But it appears a crossroads has been reached. A pinch point. How spirited is United's bounce back? And how well-practiced is their poker face amid mounting complications?
Perhaps the most pragmatic approach is to sit tight: hope the second half of the season bares better results than the first and rediscovers a spark that entices big-name players to commit long-term.
The second - much less popular option - would be to allow Earps to explore options elsewhere in January, potentially opening the door for others to leave - Ella Toone would be in high demand - but, save face by recouping a large transfer fee.
Decisions, decisions.
The game of jeopardy, eh? It's never quite straightforward.
