City go fox hunting! Leicester Preview.
written by joel
The season is drawing to a close and there are no trophies to be won. The squad is depleted. City’s form has not been good as a result. The new manager bounce didn’t happen. The fans are running out of ways to say, “We move.”
Yet the show still goes on.
There are positives though. City will be hoping their RB turned fox-in-the-box, Kerstin Casparij can outfox the Foxes and score for the third game running (This is the last fox pun, I promise). That’s not the only positive from the Dutch RB/RW/ST. Her celebration for the goal which involved her running to the corner and lifting a Mary Fowler shirt in support of the recently injured forward and kissing her trans flag armband to back the trans community in light of the recent UK Supreme Court ruling was a rare moment that showcased what we all wish the sport should be and what we want the players to represent, especially in a sport that is often used as a vehicle for transphobia.
Another positive is that the players are coming back. You might have to go through the injury news section where I stumble around looking for different ways of calling players injured to find the little positive news but at least it is not nothing.
The Teams
Now to the football, Manchester City travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Sunday afternoon. We come into this game needing to win to have a chance at making the Champions League. Recent form hasn’t been encouraging but there is fresh energy from players returning from injury.
Leicester City, on the other hand, come into this game needing a point to ensure safety. They will have reasons to be optimistic. Both teams have won once in their last five across all competitions against the same opponent, Brighton and Hove Albion. Amandine Miquel’s Foxes have also had a decent home record including a draw against the league leaders Chelsea.
Injury News
City will be without strikers Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Mary Fowler. Midfielder Laura Blinkilde Brown’s ligament healing prowess, which has come as a shock to everyone, might still not be enough for her to be available for this game. Long-term absentees Alex
Greenwood and Risa Shimizu are almost done with their rehab and are not expected to feature as is our dribbly Japanese winger Aoba Fujino. We also hope to see Tara O’Hanlon soon. The game most likely comes too soon for Jill Roord. There is good news on the injury front, which is rare for 24/25 Manchester City which is that Lauren Hemp is back! Nick Cushing has confirmed that he expects her to be involved at some stage in the Leicester game. I can’t wait to watch her play and this sport is better with Lauren Hemp in it.
Prediction
City created a lot of chances in the first half against Everton and they would have won comfortably had they taken a few of them. The second half turned out to be very flat as the players ran out of energy and they allowed Everton to get in the game. We defended very well and it was great to see Rebecca Knaak back pinging the ball across the pitch after her recent injury.
City are very likely to dominate the possession and will be hoping to take the chances they create this time. Having an attacker on the bench in Lauren Hemp to help our overworked attackers is a welcome change.
Leicester City aren’t a particularly high-scoring side, to put it mildly. They have created the least xG in the WSL and scored the least goals (alongside Palace). While that is encouraging, that hasn’t been known to stop 24/25 Manchester City from conceding goals. I thought it’s something everyone should know before the game.
Predicted Lineup
Yamashita, Casparij, Prior, Knaak, Ouahabi, Aleixandri, Hasegawa, Murphy, Coombs, Park, Kerolin
Predicted Score
Leicester City 0-3 Manchester City
Sticky Toffees Test? Will City get revenge for the last game against Everton? Probably not.
written by joel
After a good start to the season, the last Everton game is where it started to unravel for City. The attacking options were scarce. In the space of a few weeks, we lost Lauren Hemp (the top assist maker in the WSL at the time) and Vivianne Miedema who both had to undergo surgery for knee injuries. Then came the injury to Bunny Shaw (the top scorer in the WSL at the time). Even after those injuries, it was the poor defense that was telling on that day as Laia Aleixandri and Alanna Kennedy looked lost without the club’s taliswoman, Alex Greenwood, who had recently picked up an MCL injury.
City enjoyed a lot of possession (80%) but couldn’t create much and the little they did create was snuffed out by the strong Everton defenders who were much more physically imposing than Mary Fowler who was the striker on the day. On the other end of the pitch,we couldn’t find any answer to the ruthless counterattacks in behind their high defensive line and that turned out to be what killed them as they succumbed to a 2-1 loss.
4 months on and Alanna Kennedy swapped the rain of Manchester for the sunny beaches of California (good for her), Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp are yet to return, Bunny Shaw and Miedema came back and picked up new injuries, Aoba Fujino who started on the LW has picked up an injury and Mary Fowler got hit by the dreaded big 3 letter injury.
Tara O’Hanlon is yet to be seen.
The Teams
It is under these circumstances that City find themselves in the lead up to this game. We find ourselves in a situation where we need to win to stay in the race for top 3 if the other teams slip up. We also need to exorcise the demons of the loss in the Manchester Derby and generate momentum for the end of the season. Mary Fowler’s injury is a big blow because we have lost our only reliable source of creativity and goals across this season so we are desperate not only for the remaining attackers to step up but for those coming from injury to provide any help they can while making sure they don’t get injured again.
Both teams come into this in dire form. They have each won 2 of the last 5 with City’s being against Chelsea at home in the UWCL and Brighton away in the WSL. Everton’s on the other hand, are wins against relegation contenders Aston Villa and Crystal Palace with defeats to Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United strewn in between.
Injury News.
City will be without Laura Blinkilde-Brown, and Mary Fowler who are out for the season. The game comes too soon for Vivianne Miedema, Bunny Shaw and Alex Greenwood. There is positive news (a shock.. I know) with regards to the other injuries. To quote Mr Cushing, “We are starting to get players back” which means we might have fresh faces on the bench. Lauren Hemp and Rebecca Knaak are back in full team training which means they are contenders to be involved. Jill Roord is back doing individual training after the injury she picked up during the international break and so is Aoba Fujino.
Prediction.
City have a strong record at home and I expect them to be out to try and rectify the loss earlier in the season. When asked to do a post mortem on the Manchester Derby performance, one of the things Nick Cushing kept emphasising was the need for the team to compete. It sounds like just a throwaway statement by a manager frustrated by a loss but I feel it is important for this game especially considering the injury crisis the team finds itself in. Our intensity was lacking in the first few minutes and we got punished. It is a non negotiable regardless of the lineup that is put out on Sunday that they put the effort in. They can win, lose or draw but they have to compete for 90 minutes.
Everton will come into this game thinking they have a good chance considering City’s faltering form and the fact that they won the last game against us. They will be expecting to find joy on the counter as they did last time. It will come down to how we deal with those situations and if we have enough firepower in attack after the injury to Mary Fowler.
Predicted Lineup
Keating, Wienroither, Layzell, Prior, Ouahabi, Coombs, Hasegawa, Park, Murphy, Kerolin, Casparij.
Aoba Fujino, Rebecaa Knaak and Lauren Hemp on the bench.
Predicted Score
Manchester City 2-1 Everton
I Miscounted the Men, Liz...
written by katherine
I’ve titled this piece after one of my favourite comedy shows of all time: 30 Rock. In Season 3 Episode 4, Steve Martin guest stars as the eccentric Gavin Volure– a wealthy, supposedly agoraphobic man who falls in love with Liz Lemon. It seems a bit too good to be true, and it all comes crashing down when he reveals he’s under house arrest for arson, fraud, embezzlement, and racketeering. When he has seemingly made it out of his house and is on the cusp of freedom, he’s tackled by one of the U.S. Marshals guarding the house. It’s then when he shouts the iconic quote, “I miscounted the men, Liz!” Now, you’re probably wondering what the hell I’m talking about. There’s a point here, I promise. You just have to read the next 1,000 words worth of misery before it comes into play.
It isn’t as if Manchester City hasn’t faced an injury crisis before. The 2021/22 season comes to mind– Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Chloe Kelly, Esme Morgan, Steph Houghton, Ellie Roebuck, Hayley Raso, and Caroline Weir– to name a few. This, however, feels much different. You see, women’s football has changed drastically since 2021/22. The quality of competitions has changed, administration at clubs has changed, and the sport as a whole has taken a massive leap forward in terms of quality.
With that being said, our current situation is much more dire. Despite ultimately losing out on the WSL trophy last season, our second place result was far from bad. It saw us into four competitions– something we were not used to last season. In the summer we signed a total of six players. One of them– Risa Shimizu– came to us after recently suffering an ACL injury while competing for Japan at the Olympics. Vivianne Miedema has infamously suffered a multitude of knee injuries over the years during her time at Arsenal– one of those injuries made a return soon after her arrival and she was sidelined. Jill Roord suffered an ACL tear in January of last season, although she made a triumphant return to football in September. Naomi Layzell suffered an ankle injury against Barcelona after scoring the opening goal in our 2-0 win and remained out of action for several months. At first it didn’t seem bad– three players, that’s manageable.
And then, it hit.
Lauren Hemp was sidelined in November after a knee injury that ultimately required surgery. Bunny Shaw suffered an unknown injury that left her unavailable from December until late January. Alex Greenwood tore her MCL due to a contact injury in December. At the time, it wasn’t all bad: the January transfer window opened and we quickly brought in reinforcements for those injuries. Rebecca Knaak, Kerolin Nicoli, Aemu Oyama, and Laura Wienroither were all signed (Wienroither came on loan from Arsenal with Chloe Kelly leaving on loan to the North London club).
Things began looking up. We had fresh players, nobody seemed to have picked up a new injury over the winter break, and we were seemingly looking at a place in the top three and a decent chance at winning silverware in the form of the FA or League Cup. However, given our luck this season… Well, I’m sure you know what’s coming next.
Even with the returns of Miedema and Shaw, three key players remained out (then there’s the added bonus of Tara O’Hanlon, who has been missing in action for months). Shaw played three games following her return, before she suffered inhumane racial abuse from social media users and those who were at the stadium during our league loss against Arsenal at home. She (rightfully and understandably) did not feel as though she could perform to her own standards given this abuse, and was not part of the matchday squad following this match as she took time to process what she had been through and strengthen her mental health. Rebecca Knaak picked up a hamstring injury in February whilst on international duty and has yet to return to the matchday squad. Aoba Fujino and Bunny Shaw have now both picked up muscular injuries that have not seen them in action since the League Cup final. Laura Blindkilde-Brown received ankle ligament injuries ahead of our league clash with Chelsea, leaving her out for the rest of the season. Ayaka Yamshita picked up a muscular injury and was out for roughly three weeks.
Surely it can’t get worse, right?
Now, following the injury breakdown, I’d like to provide the numbers on our current available players: Keating, Yamashita, Startup, Casparij, Prior, Davies, Lewis, Layzell, Wienroither, Aleixandri, Ouahabi, Park, Hasegawa, Coombs, Oyama, Murphy, and Kerolin.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. We have a total of 17 players available for selection– and only 14 of them are outfield players. Four of those players can be listed on the bench, however, Mayzee Davies and Sacha Lewis are academy players who are not used to first team professional football. And, Aemu Oyama has only played 20 or so minutes for us following her transfer from Waseda University. That leaves just one available senior outfielder with regular first team experience who can come on in place of a fatigued, or, dare I say it, an injured player.
Truthfully, I don't know where we go from here. I am neither the manager nor a member of the medical staff. I really have no horse in this race. I could easily turn off my phone, close my laptop, and stop my regular train journeys to Manchester. Out of sight, out of mind. However, I feel myself constantly thinking about this crisis. This club runs in my blood– I cannot simply ignore it and pretend none of this is happening. I have no solution for these problems, I just have empathy for the players suffering these injuries and the players who were not expecting to play anywhere from 90-360 minutes in a single week.
That of course is a root of the issue: we signed Shimizu knowing she had the ACL injury, and had Layzell and Casparij pinned to be her backups. Then, Layzell remained sidelined and we had to rely on Casparij for nearly every match. We similarly had to rely on Ouahabi to start every game. And although fans seem to like to point fingers at the likes of Roord and Park for not playing up to their high standards, I don’t think it’s fair to do that. They are playing every minute of every game because there’s simply no other options. They are so obviously fatigued, and there is nobody who can take their places.
I don’t think there is anyone to blame here. I know we want to find someone to point a finger at and say, “You’re the reason we’re experiencing this!” But truthfully, it comes down to bad luck. It comes down to injuries sustained over international breaks. It comes down to tiny overextensions that nobody can predict. It comes down to… miscounting the men.
