Liverpool Ladies 2016 season preview
Manager: Scott Rogers (appointed October 2015 having been Matt Beard’s assistant)
Last season: 7th in WSL, semi-finals of the FA WSL Cup, fifth round of the FA Women’s Cup and round of 32 of the Women’s Champions League
Key transfers:
In:
Sophie Ingle (Bristol City, midfielder)
Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal, goalkeeper)
Laura Coombs (Chelsea, on loan midfielder)
Caroline Weir (Bristol City, midfielder)
Emma Lundh (Lillestrom SK, striker)
Mandy van den Berg (Lillestrom SK, defender)
Natasha Harding (Manchester City, midfielder)
Alex Greenwood (Notts County, defender)
Shanice Van De Sanden (FC Twente, striker)
Out:
Fara Williams (Arsenal, midfielder)
Natasha Dowie (Doncaster Rovers Belles, striker)
Corina Schroder (undisclosed club, defender)
Becky Easton (Doncaster Rovers Belles, defender)
Ingrid Ryland (undisclosed club, defender)
Line Smorsgard (undisclosed club, striker)
Katrin Omarsdottir (Doncaster Rovers Belles, midfielder)
Libby Stout (Boston Breakers, goalkeeper)
Lucy Staniforth (Sunderland, midfielder)
Hannah Dale (Bristol, on loan, midfielder)
Corina Schroder, (undisclosed club, defender)
Preview:
It’s been a winter of transition for Liverpool Ladies with 11 players leaving and nine coming in, still with three weeks to go until the transfer window closes on Friday 18th March. The 2013 & 2014 WSL champions are sure to miss 31 year old England legend Fara Williams and 2013 WSL’s top scorer Natasha Dowie but experienced Scotland midfielder Caroline Weir and Dutch striker Van de Sanden should form almost like for like replacements. Weir scored in both games of their pre-season tour in Johannesburg and showed immediate chemistry with Van de Sanden, particularly in the 2nd game, assisting the former FC Twente striker’s first goal for Liverpool.
Liverpool struggled without Lucy Bronze last year but hope that England’s youngest member of the 2015 World Cup squad Alex Greenwood and Dutch international Mandy van den Berg will come in to offer more solidarity and versatility to The Reds backline. They conceded 24 goals in last season’s WSL, with Bonner being the only lasting stronghold. After an outstanding 2014 it could be said that the lack of competition for Libby Stout in goal last season allowed her standards to drop. Stout’s following of previous manager Matt Beard to Boston Breakers has seen England’s number two Siobhan Chamberlain take her place between the sticks after a loan spell at Notts County from Arsenal last season. To the relief of all in women’s football, Danielle Gibbons appears to have successfully recovered from surgery to remove a brain tumour. The 22 year old is sure to continue to show her immense passion and commitment to her job this season, not allowing Chamberlain to rest easy in the number 1 jersey.
Despite their disastrous seventh placed finish last season (out of 8 WSL 1 teams) it’s not all doom and gloom on Merseyside. It should not be forgotten that The Reds were unlucky with injuries last season-all of Williams, Murray and Oshoala spent long periods watching from the side-lines-severely depleting the spine of the team. And although they did win back to back titles in 2013 and 2014, these were championship wins against the odds-especially the latter, when they were in 3rd place at the start of the final day of the 2014 season, winning the league on goal difference. Therefore the squad and fans alike won’t have been disconsolate over their finish to last season, they’ll simply be looking for an at least mid-table finish this year with many other teams in the league strengthening their squads with players from across Europe.
Player to watch:
January 2015 signing Asisat Lamina Oshoala was described by ex-boss Matt Beard as “one of the best young players in the world” off the back of being best player and top goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
The attacking midfielder/ forward was unfortunate to miss two months of the 2015 season with a knee injury, but still bagged three goals in nine league games. Not bad for a then 20 year old in her debut season at a club who scored just 15 league goals all season.
A young lady who dropped out of school to pursue her footballing career has already achieved a remarkable amount. In September 2014 she was made a Member of the Order of the Niger by ex-Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Nicknamed `Seedorf’, she was then named best player and second top goal scorer after winning the 2014 African Women’s Championship with the Super Falcons.
The first African to ever feature in the WSL also became the first ever BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year in October 2015 despite her injury-plagued first season in English football.
Despite all the new signings, it could be a Matt Beard signing from last year that has the biggest impact for Liverpool this season.
Prediction:
It’s hard to believe Liverpool Ladies could do any worse than last year’s 7th placed finish. With all the new blood, expect the squad to take a while to gel, leading to a possible slow start to the season.
They managed to win both games of their pre-season tour of Johannesburg. Despite trailing 2-0 at half-time in their first game, they came back to win 6-2, a comeback which will give them great self-belief in the run up to their season opener at home to Birmingham Ladies on Wednesday 23rd March at 7.30.
Liverpool haven’t got quite the resources Chelsea and Manchester City do and the likes of Notts County and Arsenal may fancy their chances to make it a top 4, but Liverpool should realistically aim for 5th as a minimum.
