9 months ago
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There are few positive words to describe Manchester United's season so far - but 'consistent' might just be one of them.
That consistency, unfortunately, lies in the underperformance of both their men's and their women's teams.
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And both the managers are suffering for it.
Ten Hag's men are having a season to forget, and they sit eighth in the Premier League table having lost nine games so far.
And Manchester United Women, led by manager Marc Skinner, are not faring much better.
Their 3-1 defeat to Chelsea, thanks to a sublime Lauren James hat-trick, all but ended their hopes of a first WSL title, or even a top three finish this season.
It marked their third loss in the league this season - no team has ever lost more than two games and then gone on to lift the trophy.
As fans watched on in the crowd with signs of 'Skinner Out' above their head, you could also see their hopes of finishing in the Champions League spots fading into the distance.
An unenviable February schedule sees them take on Brighton - whose striker Elisabeth Terland has just broken the all-time goal-scoring club record - and Arsenal - who have just welcomed back England skipper Leah Williamson.
Not a prospect that will fill Manchester United fans with confidence.
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And if things were not already bad enough, they could soon seem themselves knocked out of the Continental Tyres League Cup too.
A loss to Manchester City in their final group game means only the two second-place best-finisher spots are now available to them.
But a bizarre mistake by Aston Villa, who fielded an ineligible player for the competition, could now see the two spots taken by Villa and Tottenham instead.
If so, the FA Cup will remain Manchester United's only hopes for a first ever major trophy.
It falls far below the goals the Red Devils set themselves at the start of the season - and Skinner seems to be suffering for it.
Skinner - the scapegoat?
In the 13 seasons the WSL has been running for, widespread calls by fans for a manager's departure have been almost unheard of.
When Tottenham manager Rehanne Skinner was sacked last season after a run of no less than nine straight defeats, you could hardly sense fan frustration towards her personally.
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Likewise when Everton manager Jean-Luc Vasseur was sacked in 2022, the women's side were largely having the sort of season people expected them to have - and there seemed to be no excessive fan discontent.
The direct anger of Manchester United fans at Skinner is something of a WSL first.
But the calls for his departure become more complicated in view of the fact that fans were unhappy long before the club's poor performances this season.
In summer - not long after Manchester United Women had just finished their best ever season - the Barmy Army Supporters Group wrote a letter to the club board laying out their concerns.
Clearly, a WSL second place finish, an FA Cup runners-up medal and a Champions League campaign was not enough to placate them and they said they were unhappy with the financial backing the women's side was being given.
They wrote: "It is our belief that since #MUWomen were reformed in 2018, the degree of investment and allocation of resources from the club, as well as the implemented organisational framework, have been inadequate in fulfilling the originally stated objectives.
"We strongly believe that the women’s team has been undervalued, disregarded, mismanaged, and frequently relegated to secondary status and an afterthought by the club’s hierarchy, which is a matter of great concern.
"Our sole request to the club’s hierarchy is that they accord equal treatment to the women's team, mirroring the level of regard and consideration bestowed upon the men’s team."
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It has to be admitted that Manchester United do not have a good track record when it comes to supporting their women's team.
The club's failure to retain Alessia Russo has proved reckless, with the Red Devils often struggling to find creativity in front of goal without her.
talkSPORT's Lianne Sanderson believes the episode was symptomatic of wider problems at the club.
She said: “The thing that concerns me about Manchester United Women is the fact that players seem to want to leave.
"The fact that Alessia Russo’s contract was allowed to go down all the way till it got to where Arsenal were able to get her is quite shocking really. I don’t know how they allowed that to happen.
“And Mary Earps, potentially, has been linked to Arsenal - she’ll go on a free (transfer) if they don’t re-sign her - which it doesn’t look like they're going to.
"My concern is why the players want to leave. They got to the FA Cup final last year, they seemed to be progressing."
Notably, the women's side was disbanded in 2005 due to claims it was not financially profitable, and it would take 13 years for that decision to be reversed.
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Now, the true damage done during their absence from the women's football stage is starting to rear its head.
A lack of financial support is a grave matter for a club that has just been announced as the second-highest earning women's club in the Europe (behind Barcelona), according to Deloitte's Money League study.
But discontent with Skinner, rather than with the club's administration more generally, seems incongruous with the complaints set out in the letter from the Supporters' Group.
Skinner, after all, led them to unprecedented success.
That he did so in spite of the lack of financial resource would surely speak to his quality.
Being unable to top his achievements last season with a depleted bench, a lack of financial support and the loss of star players should hardly be surprising.
Instead, he has seemed to attract the ire of many which might more naturally be directed at his higher-ups.
What about the players?
The current squad have remained quiet on their position on Skinner - although that has not stopped speculation.
After their 3-1 defeat to Chelsea, a video posted on social media appears to show striker Rachel Williams telling fans to put their "Skinner Out" signs down.
But not everyone appears to be quite so supportive.
Michael Kallback - agent of former United players Martha Thomas and Vilde Boe Risa - appears to have taken aim at Skinner on social media.
Boe Risa was the subject of a post by Atletico Madrid announcing that she had won an award at the new club.
Kallback replied to this post: "Thats what happen in a non toxic environment."
He made a similar comment a few days later after reposting a Guardian article which praised Thomas' start at Spurs.
He wrote: "You already know it. But if not...Thats what happens in a non toxic environment."
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Neither Boe Risa or Thomas were getting the playing time they would have liked at Manchester United - but they have both clearly made moves which benefit their personal careers.
Young midfielder Grace Clinton, on loan from the Red Devils to Spurs, has been outstanding this season, earning herself a first England call from Sarina Wiegman - but she has was never given any Manchester United minutes.
That is not to say that every player who leaves Manchester United has gone on to thrive.
For Russo, the story is not yet so clear: the England star is clearly at a higher-performing team at the moment, but her individual performances have not yet been exceptional at Arsenal.
Whether she will even match the 12 goals she scored with the Red Devils in her last season in the remainder of this season is uncertain.
Skinner: the man(ager) of the people
It is hard to know what to make of Skinner's response to all this.
When faced with heavy criticism, one might expect a manager to try to
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What few expected Skinner to do was to defend the very people who were calling for him to depart.
After their 3-1 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Skinner told Sky Sports: "The fans are absolutely entitled to do what they want. We are never going to silence any fan from having their opinion. They pay their hard-earned money.
"If my job as a leader was to deflect my attention away with every news story, I wouldn't be doing my job... Never, ever, will we stop any fans having an opinion, they're absolutely entitled to.
"My job is to stay focused on what I want to achieve with this team and that is success."
For now, United are unlikely to bow to fans' demands.
But if the bad results continue and the fan discontent grows - it will be interesting to see if Skinner is quite so receptive to the opinions of the fans if his job truly is in danger.
