WSL: Has Man Utd project hit its first major stumbling block under Marc Skinner?
Can Manchester United overcome a rough patch to mount a surprise WSL title challenge? Will they stick or twist with Mary Earps? Will other high-profile names leave? Is Marc Skinner's position as manager secure? Sky Sports unpacks the ongoing challenges at Old Trafford...
By Laura Hunter
Friday 19 January 2024 13:20, 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 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 short period of consolidation, were quick to challenge Chelsea at the top.
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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,
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