Impetus had writers in five WSL media conferences this week ahead of another vital weekend of action. Their club-by-club reports of who said what is below (24/11/23)
Arsenal
by Rebecca Hall
After a Thursday night Continental Cup clash against Southampton, Arsenal already looked to their Sunday WSL preparations against London rivals West Ham. Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall shared his thoughts on the high level of competition in the WSL, injury updates, and the impressive progress of current loanees.
As expected, Thursday’s fixture saw Arsenal heavily rotate their squad butEidevall spoke of the quality throughout the squad, explaining that he “enjoys every opportunity to see them (the players)” and he also declared that “we don’t have any permanent team selection at Arsenal, we select for each game what we think will be the best team.”
Further discussing rotation and striking the right balance between flexibility and familiarity in a squad that now boasts substantial depth, Eidevall got almost philosophical sharing the proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.
He explained “The way forward is with a larger squad, otherwise you’re not going to be able to handle all competitions and the challenges that poses. But then comes that question to say how fast can you go now when you try to implement things, and you don’t only have to worry about 11 players that play with each other week in, week out”
Arsenal are currently on an impressive run of form, with seven consecutive wins across all competitions. “To win football matches, from a results perspective, is the most important thing. That doesn’t mean that just because you win, everything is good. And it’s the same thing when you lose football matches. So, our focus needs to be on how we do things, and there is always room for improvement. To find ways to win football matches is really important and to get that winning culture”.
On the occasion of the London derby with West Ham United on Sunday, Eidevall agreed that “every derby is special but as a coach, its three points and that’s the important thing. It’s a really competitive league, it’s a 22-game season”. The Arsenal boss specifically drew attention to West Ham’s performance against Aston Villa, which saw the East London side lose 3-2, describing them as unlucky to come away with nothing.
With discussions of London Derby’s, thoughts naturally turned to the 10th of December when Arsenal take on Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal have already sold an impressive 50,000 tickets but the Arsenal boss wants to push for more, joking to fans to “bring a friend, bring a family member, let’s get a sell-out”. Arsenal have sold out the Emirates before in a Champions League fixture, but selling out this would be a first for the WSL.
Eidevall also shared how pleased he is for Beth Mead as she is set to play for England for the first time since suffering an ACL injury last season, drawing poignant attention to the “highs and lows” and “individual hopes and dreams” of the player.
Lionesses fan-favourite Lotte Wubben-Moy did not travel to Southampton on Thursday but Eidevall assured fans that she was simply being rested and will be available for the WSL fixture. Captain Kim Little is still undergoing assessment but is not ruled out and the Arsenal boss is “hopeful”. Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius “picked up a very minor injury against Brighton and that will be a game-day decision” based on her progress.
Many Arsenal loanees have been shining in the Championship, with several being called up to the Under 19’s England squad. Eidevall shared how he maintains relationships with on-loan players, sharing that “we follow them on a weekly basis, watching their games and so on. With the majority of them, we also have them continuously training with the first team when it fits their schedule. They come in at different times, but that means that we have both the personal and the football contact with them”.
Aston Villa
by Emily Brown
Aston Villa manager, Carla Ward, and her side are under “no illusion of the task ahead on Sunday” as they face Everton at Villa Park. However, she believes her team is “in a good place.”
The claret and blues will be going into the match this Sunday, against the Merseysiders hoping to achieve their fifth win in a row after successfully winning their last two games in the WSL against Bristol City and West Ham United. They have also found success in the Continental Cup group stages, comfortably winning both matches so far in the competition.
The Conti Cup matches have been vital in building Villa’s confidence and momentum after a tough start to the season with Ward remarking: “We can’t underestimate the importance of the timing of those two games as well. I think it’s been between (these two) games that’s allowed us to get people’s confidence, get the team confident, implement the way we want to play, it’s been massive this year for us… It’s a cup competition we want to take seriously this year and we’ll continue to do so.”
Another positive coming out of their midweek game against Blackburn Rovers was that forward Simone Magill, made her return from injury. Not only did she make her return, but she made sure she didn’t go unnoticed, scoring her first goal for her club of two years.
On her performance, and as a player, Ward said: “She’s been excellent since she came in. Obviously, the first year was really tough for her because, coming to a new club and before she’s been in the building, (she) got injured. That was tough for her, and I think the way she was in that first year was brilliant and during pre-season, she was nothing short of sensational, putting herself in the mix. Then obviously we’ve been a bit gutted not to have her available for more games…”
“We knew that we could get her on the pitch for 30 minutes on Wednesday night and we did and obviously, she did what she does best and that’s score goals. But I think it’s a good moment for her to get her first goal.”
It just gets better for Villa as Ward confirmed that the previously injured Lucy Parker “is back on the grass today with the team, which is excellent news, but Sunday will be too soon” for her to be in contention. However, Magill is now “back available for more minutes.”
Looking ahead to their opposition and Everton’s manager, Brian Sørensen, Ward commended their performances so far amidst their rough run of results: “You can see what he’s trying to do. They’ve got a way of playing. I think that they’re better than their league position suggests. They’ve played some good stuff, I thought they were excellent against Chelsea.
“And what I would say is I think it would be very very very naïve to think that this is going to be an easy game because of their run. We know what football’s like, we know what momentum swings are like, but I think since Brian’s come in, he’s implemented a way and they’re never an easy team to play against, but they’ve got a lot of quality so we’re going to have to absolutely be at our best and we’ve said that to the group this morning. It’s really really important that we take this as a big challenge because that’s exactly what it’s going to be.”
Overall, after Villa’s recent change in performance the team seem to be getting ready to progress even further up the table, with Ward stating: “If we win at the weekend and results go our way then all of a sudden, you’re sitting seventh, knocking on the door of the top six.”
Everton
By Emily Brown
Everton manager, Brian Sørensen hopes his side become more “clinical” ahead of their upcoming matches before the Christmas break looking forward to an “exciting” game against Aston Villa at Villa Park this Sunday.
After the Toffees drew with Bristol City last weekend, it was announced that Danish forward, Nicoline Sørensen will be making an early retirement from both domestic and international football by the end of the year. The 26-year-old has spent two years with the Blues after taking the plunge to travel over to England to play in the WSL, leaving former Danish side Brøndby ahead of the beginning of Everton’s 2020/21 season campaign.
On the news, Sørensen said: “Yeah I was surprised… Nico’s a very smart girl and she’s a thinker so of course it’s something she’s been thinking about for a while and I think if you’re not happy… you need to do what makes you happy and of course, it sticks out because not many people make that choice (of early retirement) but as I said, she’s a very smart girl and she reflects over things and that big injury she had, (she) was out for 15 months and that changed something in her.
“She’s been trying, because football has been such a big part of her life, to find the motivation to get back but ultimately, she couldn’t. Every day here she gives everything she has because she’s a professional and I’m also starting the games with her because she’s just doing good still.
“She made her decision and we’re sad that she’s leaving but it’s her life and her choice and at the end of the day we can only back that up even though we don’t think it’s a good thing for us of course but we will respect her and wish her all the best.”
Everton have had a tough start to the season so far and have had a large string of injuries. As for those available to play this weekend both Elise Stenevik and Lucy Hope will remain out of contention through injury.
There was some positive news regarding those injured as Sørensen confirmed that Stenevik is “back on the pitch” so hopes remain high for a quick return for the defender. However, Blue’s number 17 is still “months away from being ready.”
It was disclosed that Aurora Galli received a knock in training yesterday so she will be assessed before the weekend to determine whether she will be available for the match on Sunday.
As a result of the injuries that the squad have picked up, many players have had to step up and make up for those absent. One of these versatile players is young Australian international Clare Wheeler. The 25-year-old has appeared in every game the Toffees have played so far this season and has taken up a new role in her position as a wing-back.
Her development at club level has already made an impact on her international performances. Playing for the Matildas over the international break, the Blue’s number seven scored her first senior international goal in Australia’s match against the Philippines in their first set of Olympic qualification matches.
After frustrations over the Bristol City game, the squad have come together and been “focused and spot-on” in training. The side has built up a lot of “hunger to come in and (have) a good game against Villa.”
Aiding this hunger is the fact that, a positive result to take from last weekend’s game, Italian striker Piemonte got her first goal for her new club Everton, adding to the team’s confidence.
Both Everton and Aston Villa are in similar positions this season and so Sørensen claims: “It’s going to be an exciting game on Sunday (at) Villa Park, in a good stadium. We normally do well in a good stadium, which I’m sure they also will so yeah we’re looking forward to (the game) it’s going to be a fun and exciting game and both teams really want to show what they’re made of and go for a win.”
Leicester City
By Genevieve Henry
Leicester City manager Willie Kirk and defender CJ Bott spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s test against Chelsea.
“We’ve gotta keep being us.” Kirk said when asked about his tactics against Chelsea. For this team that has scored in eight out of nine matches this season, a major improvement from the past few campaigns, it’s all about focusing on themselves and what they can do against the proven champions.
Kirk said, “I don’t really look at Chelsea tactically. They’re the best team in the country and they’re the best team in the country because they can win in so many different ways. They can build from the back, they can go direct, they can high press, they can low block. Emma (Hayes) and her squad have got everything under the sun in terms of ways to win a game. I think it’s pointless to look at Chelsea tactically, we’ve just got to focus on us.”
However, the Leicester City manager wasn’t the only one full of praise. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has reflected on Leicester’s style of play to the media in the previous days, saying that Leicester are a fun team to watch. For Kirk, that compliment is indicative that he is doing something right.
This season, Leicester have stuck it to some of the best teams in the competition. Unfortunately for them, that success has more often than not come in the first half only. Going in with a two-goal lead against Arsenal at half-time, then conceding six goals in the second half was disappointing, to say the least, for the Foxes, but Kirk says that critics are missing the point.
“Everybody is missing the massive positive of actually being in the lead against these teams at half-time and that’s not just scoring a quick goal after five minutes and losing it, it’s being the better team in the first half.”
One thing that has been both Leicester’s weapon and downfall is a high press. “We’ve let teams high-press us.” Kirk said, remarking that it was strange because that is their style of play as well. The Foxes boss spoke of how his players train against a high press every day, so the way they handle that particular tactic needs to be looked at and improved.
On that tactic, Bott shared that “it’s a risky style of play, but we’re embracing it.” The environment at Leicester has been one that has pushed and nurtured Bott to evolve as a player, with her describing it as a “high-performance environment” but also as a family, “without sounding too corny”.
As a team that has undergone many changes in personnel, this season is one full of firsts, or, as Kirk described them, “little landmarks on the way of the journey we’re on.” With new talents and personalities in the squad, the club has looked like a new team this season, capable of achieving high and competing with the best teams.
Against Chelsea, Bott and the whole Leicester defence will be in for the tough task of containing Sam Kerr, along with a plethora of other attacking talents Chelsea possess. “(Sam Kerr) is a great player. She’s incredibly strong on the ball and off the ball. She provides difficult challenges.”
But these are challenges Bott relishes. “We know how to eliminate players like her. We’ve got a team of incredible defenders, and we’re definitely all up for it…Strikers enjoy scoring goals and we enjoy stopping them.”
As a player with experience against many top players, Bott brings experience and strength to her defence, especially in games like this. “I love a challenge and I really show up against world-class attackers. I’m definitely ready for it.”
Luckily, for Leicester, no new injuries plague the squad, with a strong team ready to face Chelsea. For Kirk, there’s even a bit of a selection headache with the amount of hard-working, talented players on board. With players like Australian striker Remy Siemsen putting her hand up after returning from injury, the team is sure to be competitive and ready to prove their mettle.
Tottenham Hotspur
by Rachel Cohen
In his press conference ahead of this weekend’s game with Manchester City, Spurs manager, Robert Vilahamn talked about why clean sheets are not his focus, his excitement at going toe-to-toe with City, and confirmed that Spurs will be getting new players for Christmas.
The North London side are now on a nine-game unbeaten run, with their only defeat of the season coming on matchday one against defending champions Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge.
The last three WSL games have been 1-1 draws, but this was punctuated on Wednesday by a very comfortable 3-0 home win in the Conti Cup over Bristol City.
On Sunday the team goes away to Manchester City and Vilahamn is relishing the prospect. “I think we are ready for the next step. Can we actually compete against the top four teams? …They are a good team with really high-quality players. But you can also see that this league is more competitive. They lost against Brighton and they have had a few draws, so I think we have a chance and if we have a good day we can actually beat them.”
Reflecting on the two teams’ styles of play he identified both opportunities and risks. “I like to play against teams who want to have a build-up and try to have short passes because then you know that you can press them and if you’re good enough, you’re going to win the ball, right? So, for me, I kind of like to play against the top clubs that play that way. But then on the other hand, they press really high and really tough so we need to be really sharp there, otherwise they are going to score against us.”
Expanding on Spurs style of play and his aims for the team Vilahamn, asserted that he would rather the team won 3-2 than 1-0 and that for him the issue is how to score more goals, not how to keep a clean sheet. “You’re going to build self-confidence when you score goals or create chances and you feel the flow.”
Looking back at the midweek Conti Cup, game Vilahamn noted that Rosella Ayane, who scored a brace and won a penalty has some “X factors.” Namely “If you look at her GPS on her back when she is running, I’ve never seen anybody do those sprint meters in the game that she did the last game.” It was, however, Ayane’s “consistency to score” that has been “the thing”. In that context, he suggested that Wednesday’s game demonstrated potential.
Vilahamn also praised Ramona Petzelberger who played her first 90 minutes for the club after joining in the summer of 2022 but then enduring a series of injuries. “She worked so hard to get back in the squad and to get those minutes and she’s a great footballer and she’s a great person. She brings a lot of good stuff to this team. Like it’s really tough competition in those positions. But it was really nice to see those 90 minutes against Bristol and she almost scored in the last second as well. She’s a great baller.”
Finally, Vilahamn reflected on the ongoing role of Vicky Jepson, who was previously Assistant Manager under Rehanne Skinner and then Interim Manager at the end of last season. “She helps me a lot on off the pitch. She knows the league, she knows the country, she knows the players, she knows the opponents, she knows the stadiums. So having Vicky close to me is very much important to me to make sure I’m I can be myself.”
“She makes sure that all the staff members know what to do. She knows how I want to do it so she doesn’t really need to run to me all the time. She can actually take decisions and I know that she going to take the right decisions. She’s running sessions, she’s running feedback, she’s running set business. So for me, Vicki is a brilliant coach and I’m very happy to have her on my side.
In terms of injuries, Beth England and Olga Ahtinen are still out. In addition, Ellie Brazil was injured in a duel last week’s game at Leicester and will not be available for a few weeks and Drew Spence is “getting closer” but not yet back.
Thinking about personnel in the near future Vilahamn was clear that Spurs would be doing some business in the next international transfer window. “There’s going to be players in at Christmas. Absolutely.”
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Threads, Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok, and Facebook.
impetusfootball.org 