First go Russo, second go, Garcia, third leave Earps, and the whole team falls.

First go Russo, second go, Garcia, third leave Earps, and the whole team falls.

What's going on at Manchester United Women's Club?

For a team that has just won its silverware to let their big names walk. 

Instead of demolishing and depleting the women's team in hopes of building up the men ( I do not understand how that one works, but you do, you boo) 

With the men's training ground under construction, it would be feasible for them to be housed in a temporary training pitch; instead, they've taken the women's ground for themselves and left them out in the cold. It should be noted that the players themselves should have declined this change in solidarity for the women's squad.

Manchester United, although having recent success, was only relaunched in the WSL. In 2018, whether those involved in the ownership of Manchester United cared for their women's team was questioned. For example, the new part owner, Sir Jim Radcliffe, happily attended the means FA Cup final after completing the London marathon but would not appear for the women's one, double standards.

Alarm bells rang when first manager Casey Stoney left in 2021 before her contract ended, with the suggestion of tension rising between the manager and club surrounding the quality of training facilities and the squad having to work around my schedule once they moved to Carrington. Does anyone smell some deja vu here, or is it just me?

With the new manager, Mark Skinner, coming in and delivering spotless performances, you'd think they would want to invest long-term in this group; however, they just let their top players and captains walk out of the club and into their rival's hands. The new means ground will cost £50 million to revolve, and the £10 million academy and women's teams will become the means zone with the women in temporary cabins not equipped for the WSL. Do they not realise why all their top players are leaving? This player knows their worth and will not stand by and be lush around to benefit the weak and underperforming men's team. This will last the entire 24/25 season, so it's no wonder they are leaving while they still have time.

Skinner has signed a new one-year contract after an end-of-season review. But that hardly constitutes a massive vote of confidence, and there are continued signs of recruitment problems. Across three transfer windows, Skinner has signed 13 players, but six have left, failing to break into the first team. Of those six, four have played fewer than 100 minutes of football. Alessia Russo and the goalkeeper Emily Ramsey, both lifelong United fans, left last year. Last week, it was also confirmed that Mary Earps, the England goalkeeper, was leaving, with her sights set on Paris Saint‑Germain and Katie Zelem, who will depart on a free. Agents are reluctant to send anyone to the club due to a lack of new contracts and issues with daily logistics. Mary Earps leaving for PSG comes after almost two years of failed attempts by the club to sign a new contract for her. There’s no surprise here that United isn’t interested in a women’s team, as when the Glazers took over, they said they had no intention of becoming involved in women’s football at a high level, and that attitude has not changed even though the game has grown in popularity and financially.

Ratcliffe asked what they were doing for the women’s team, in an interview with Bloomberg “Well, they’ve just won the FA Cup.” Imagine, though, if he had answered in the same way to a question about what he was doing with the men’s team and asked if he had thought of spinning off the women’s team as a standalone entity, like Chelsea have done this summer, Ratcliffe, whose 27.7% stake in the club was finalised in February, said: “We haven’t gone into that level of detail with the women’s football team yet. We’ve been pretty much focused on how we resolve the first-team issues in that environment, and that’s been pretty full-time for the first six months.” The reference to “first-team issues”, ignoring the women’s side, was telling. He then responded “correct” when asked whether plans were “TBC”. 

Their men's team has been anything but perfect this season, but indeed, those who are rewarded are the ones who perform to the standards that Manchester United has not ended up 8th in the league.

The club may yet get INEOS' backing -- Brighton's Elisabeth Terland has been linked with a move this summer, and Skinner signed a new contract recently but their piecemeal squad, lack of identity and continued questionable treatment of their women's team betray a different sentiment. And one that doesn't feel too far removed from the statement they made in 2005.