Setting the tone

Editor’s piece from issue 18, published prior to the WFA Cup semi final on 13th April.

SETTING THE TONE

It’s so important to get things right from the start. When I started this fanzine I had a vision of a voice for the fans. In issue 2 I interviewed Michelle Wilcock who played for Utd from 1997-2004. That interview set the tone for the fanzine as a vehicle to tell the story and delve into the history of those women who represented Man Utd Ladies from the 70s to 2005.

It’s important to set the tone on the pitch too, Hinata Miyazawa does exactly that. Everything Hini does is positive, even when she has to play it backwards, it’s a decisive action rather than a retreat and the smooth way she plays the ball where it needs to go much more quickly than others sets the tone for the next player.

A football match is a living, breathing thing. Every part of it affects every other part. Frustration spreads quickly, especially with an active and expecting crowd.

This attempt to play Toone and Clinton isn’t just damaging to the team, if not done carefully it restricts Toone’s freedom and Clinton’s development. She’s a talented player in a different mould than Toone and could be a huge asset when played in that position with a set role and balanced team around her, just as Toone is. But having them trip over each other isn’t the way.

The biggest risk of persevering with this partnership though, is when it’s at the expense of Hinata Miyazawa. Whoever else is on the pitch benefits from her presence. It isn’t enough to experiment with something in one area of the pitch because our defence is solid. It takes big characters to drag the performance up rather than getting dragged down with something that isn't working. It sounds dramatic to suggest our loss against Liverpool was down to one single decision but it’s a widely held view that Hinata Miyazawa simply has to start for Man Utd to be at our best. We dominated that first half but without ever really threatening and showed vulnerability to the counter attack.

We visibly improved as soon as Miyazawa came on, but at 69 minutes there just wasn't enough time. Maya Le Tissier showed that she is one of those characters who can grab a hold of the game when she surged forward in a ‘I’ll bloody do it then’ moment, but leaders are needed all over the pitch.

The performance at Villa away was far better. There was Toone and Clinton again but this time with Miyazawa behind them, setting the tone. The same 3 started against Everton with usual number 6 Dominique Janssen covering in defence.

2 starts for Hini since that defeat, 2 wins. One less pretty than the other, but 3 points nonetheless.

A strong spine of Maya, Hini, Toone and/or Clinton and Terland leading the line is a force to be reckoned with, sprinkle the excitement of Galton, Bizet, Malard, Riviere around that and we boast bags of talent. If he’s to make the most of his contract extension, Marc Skinner needs to trust that spine, or at least ensure there are adequate understudies for the key roles.

MARC SKINNER

Assuming we finish in the top 3 (not doing so from this position would be catastrophic) there’s no denying Marc Skinner’s renewal is deserved. While I’m neither a lover or hater of Marc Skinner, I can see both the room for improvement AND the achievements this season. I imagine there are managers out there who look at our squad and rub their hands together at the potential of it, a potential I think we often fall short of in some performances. However, there we are, comfortably in the top 3 and in the FA Cup semi final (unless you pick this up after the semi, at which point we’re either in the final for a 3rd successive season or licking our wounds and preparing to bounce back for the season’s run in final for the 3rd season in a row.

I think the decision should have been delayed until the season’s finish was closer, ‘stick to football’ so to speak at such a pivotal time of the season. Fans of the men’s team will remember the drop off once Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s interim role became prematurely permanent. Hopefully we’ll see the opposite, a sudden stability for the young players who have extended their contracts under him. For every player that has left and fired shots, there are players who are clearly happy at the club and under his stewardship.

INEOS

Ultimately, I think the football side of things will improve under INEOS, but at a time when we decry the number of mercenaries in football, that it’s a business, that the family feel is now non-existent, the way they’ve ripped apart the soul of the club should never be forgotten. To fans, we’ve been a business for a long time. The players and staff still talked of a family feel though, and with the hostile environment created to push people out and save the cost of redundancies, that family feel is all but disappeared. The disdain shown to the women’s team needs to be addressed and is somewhat mitigated by Omar Berrada’s recent words, but as a whole, the club will suffer long term for the actions already taken on the business side.

These words are nothing new, I’ve said them before on these pages and in other media, but with a theme of ‘setting the tone’ it would be remiss not to scorn again the tone set by the decimation of the quality of life offered to staff.

Off the pitch, a football club should take care of its community, that includes staff. On the pitch, the players know a lot of these people who are having not only their privileges taken away, but in many cases, their jobs. It’s understandable, maybe even expected, that this will impact performances.