by Emmanuel Faith (20/6/24)
Above: Millie Bright (left), Emma Hayes (centre), and Sam Kerr (right) with the WSL trophy at Old Trafford on the final day of the 2023/24 season. Photo: Barclays WSL.
About a month ago, Emma Hayes and her Chelsea team celebrated their fifth successive WSL title, but as the season entered its closing weeks, it almost looked like it wasn’t going to happen.
When Gemma Bonner nodded home the seventh goal of the match, the fourth for Liverpool on 1st May, Chelsea’s world seemed to have collapsed. It looked to be a fatal blow to their title hopes.
Even head coach Emma Hayes said in her post-match media conference that she didn’t think the ribbons attached to the trophy would be Chelsea blue this season.
Two days later, Manchester City, who were six points (having played one more match than Chelsea), and seven goals better off than the West London side, were in pole position to win their first WSL title since 2016.
They were hosting Arsenal at home and were tipped to win. Lauren Hemp’s 17th-minute goal raised the hopes of Manchester City fans, and they continued to look for opportunities to add more. Arsenal however defended resiliently to ensure the first half ended with just a single goal deficit.
The second half started in a balanced way, and Arsenal who were still fighting for a European slot, made a triple substitution in the 63rd minute that changed the dynamics of the game. Some expected that City boss Gareth Taylor would respond immediately, but he didn’t.
He was rather laidback, watching his team soak in continuous pressing from Arsenal before making an 87th-minute sub, bringing in defender, Alana Kennedy for a fatigued Kerstin Casparaj. It seemed a perfect time to make a defensive sub and hopefully run down the clock, but was it a little too late?
A corner that was dealt with carelessly in the 89th minute gave Stina Blackstenius the chance to equalise. In fact, City had not been decisive in defending corners throughout the second half. The sky-blue fans suddenly looked edgy, and the players were at a crossroads.
Should they defend the one-point they have and hope Chelsea drop points at either Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United, or do they search for a winner in the added time – a lengthy nine minutes?
Arsenal, having their fate in their hands while twisting City’s pinned their opponents back with immense pressure for the next three minutes, and breached their defence again with a 92nd-minute goal from Blacksteinus, one of the best poachers in the WSL.
The ambiance in the stadium at the 99th minute spoke a lot of volumes -Taylor’s team had opened the title’s door and Hayes would walk through it again.
A few hours later, Hayes at a packed Kingsmeadow, marched out with her blue army to face already-relegated Bristol City, ready to take advantage. There were two tasks at hand, a victory that reduced the six-point gap to three with a game in hand, and to reduce the seven-goal advantage City held on goal difference.
Two first-half strikes, were followed by six in the second half meant the fate was back in Chelsea’s hands.
Neither a wounded Tottenham or a morale-buoyed Manchester United was going to stop them and the 6-0 victory at Old Trafford on the final day of the campaign was a symbol of Hayes’ era of domestic dominance; Chelsea always win when it matters.
When you see on paper that Chelsea has won the last five WSL titles, you might think it has come easy; in fact, even when the title race seems very tight and competitive, it has never seemed like Chelsea would fail to win it.
From the famous 4-2 win at Manchester United in 2022 where Arsenal needed Chelsea to drop points, to an illustrious 6-0 win in 2024 where Manchester City needed their neighbours’ help but didn’t get it, how is it that Chelsea managed to see off their closest competitors?
The few points below are a couple highlights.
Recruitment
Hayes always knows the right players to bring in at the right time, and always does her transfer business early. She bets on talents even when they do not seem ready, and she has the budget to back this up. She is also willing to bet on a player even when it seems they are not match-fit, just to get the best of them.
Signing Lauren James back from Manchester United, then giving her almost a season to recuperate, signing Catarina Macario, and waiting for her to heal completely before playing her is a major pointer backing up this proposition.
For instance, there were questions regarding if Arsenal really needed Alessia Russo with the array of options they had in the attack. In fact, one of the biggest debates for the North London side last season was who should start between Blackstenius and Russo, and how they can play together.
Manchester United faces a similar challenge. Having splashed funds on attacking talents like Geyse, Miyazawa and Melvin Malard, Marc Skinner spent half of the season seemingly trying to work out how to use his array of stars and get the right mix to produce desired results.
Sometimes it is not just recruitment, it is buying a player that will fit into your system. Or one that can be a multi-purpose player when called upon, or a killer player with a specific duty — to get your team the desired three points. Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez come to mind.
Replacements
In football, everyone is bound to leave someday. How clubs, especially managers, handle these departures and navigate their replacement is crucial to the long-term success of the team. This is another place where Hayes has excelled.
Chelsea has been hit with major departures over the years. The most recent being the exit of one of Magdalena Eriksson who was the team’s captain for three years, and Pernille Harder.
However, succession planning was in place. Aggie Beever-Jones was called back from loan, there was a potential debut for Macario and a return for Hamano to fill Harder’s gap.
Another proactive replacement was Hayes swooping to sign Nathalie Björn in January and paying a record fee for Mayra Ramirez, a player who had a major influence on the crucial win that gave Chelsea that fifth successive title.
A direct opposite scenario is Gareth Taylor not buying an outright forward after Ellen White’s retirement in 2022, with the team relying heavily on Khadija Shaw for their goals. Manchester United also didn’t directly replace Ona Battle, a very pivotal element in their title run during 2022/23, nor did they find an Alessia Russo kind of player in his attack this season. These actions might seem inconsequential, but the repercussions are major.
Resilience, Tactics, and Players showing up
I recently started learning chess, and one of my favourite parts is the end game. Having navigated the difficult part of openings, and the slippery slope of mid-game battle, the best chess players are often alert to very minor moves that could lead to major wins and are often successful at the end games. A game between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Makamura comes to mind.
Hayes’ Chelsea are the queen of end games and have repeated this model over the last five years.
In 2023, the West Londoners scored 17 goals in three games (West Ham United, Leicester City, and Everton) between game weeks 17 to 19 to clear out an 11-goal difference their closest rivals Manchester United had (having played two games more). This year, Chelsea scored 15 goals in three games to clear out a seven-goal difference that Manchester City had (having played a game more). Are you seeing a pattern?
While some succumb to exhaustion, Chelsea rise to the pressure and dig in to get the desired results. A very important element worth mentioning is how different players show up.
In 2022, it was Sam Kerr leading everyone to battle. In 2023, it was Pernille Harder coming back from injury and Guro Reiten thriving in the double role of creating and assisting.
This year, it was Reiten rediscovering her old form having been in a slump during the first half of the season due to injury and inconsistent run of games. Youngsters like Aggie Beever–Jones and Maika Hamano stepped up when they were called upon, and a perfect recruitment – Marya Ramirez showed the world why Hayes splurged a record fee for her.
Compare this scenario to the other clubs that have been in the title run. For Manchester City, no one could really fit in Shaw’s shoes in the last four matches this season, and last season, Manchester United’s attackers could simply not keep up with Chelsea in terms of goals scored.
The Blues also played three different formations in the last three matches, adapting to the strengths of the available players unlike Gareth Taylor and Marc Skinner who stuck with their usual formation of 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 during their title run-ins.
A perfect mix of the winning mentality, tactics, and resilience depicts the identity of Hayes’ Blue Army.
Where now?
All eras come to an end, and Hayes’ tenure concluded. The club has also witnessed the major departure of leaders like Ann-Katrin Berger, Fran Kirby, and Maren Mjelde who the Blues boss often referred to as “mother hen” because of her leadership and nurturing abilities.
Sonia Bompastor has been announced as Chelsea’s new coach and as we know, with new coaches come new approaches, new tactics, and new systems. All these nuances will time to adapt to, opening up spaces for the rivals to come in and overtake.
This might be an opportunity for Arsenal on a rising pedestal and Manchester City. The question is, can they exploit this adjustment period?
Vivianne Miedema departed at the end of the season, and it appears that Mary Earps is still indecisive about her future at Manchester United despite winning her first silverware with the team. Khadijah Shaw’s injury has shown Manchester City how important it is to have a reliable back-up striker. For Chelsea, the case is different.
While key players and team leaders like Fran Kirby and Maren Mjelde have departed, burgeoning leaders like Erin Cuthbert and Niamh Charles are ready to take over the mantle and the last few matches have shown that while no one can replace Sam Kerr, Chelsea can manage just fine as she returns from injury.
An array of attacking talents like Ramirez, Reiten, Macario, and the PFA’s players’ player of the season, Lauren James alongside the pair of promising youngsters; Beever-Jones and Hamano are a perfect blend of a team rearing to go again and Kerr’s recent announcement of confirming a new deal is the icing on the cake.
Hayes has drilled a winning mentality into this team, but now that she has departed, will we finally see another ribbon colour on the WSL trophy or will the blue army continue marching? Only time will tell.
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