A budget that never matched the ambition
Marc Skinner left Manchester United by mutual consent weeks before the new Women’s Super League season. Five years in charge, comfortably the longest-serving manager in the division at the time, gone in the middle of a summer that had already stripped the squad of experience.
The numbers behind his tenure deserve a mention. United’s playing budget, according to the club’s latest published WSL accounts, sat at little more than a third of Chelsea’s and roughly half of Arsenal’s. Fourth place last season, their lowest finish since 2021-22, reads differently once that gap is on the table. They were also the only WSL side to win every match in which they scored first, nine from nine.
Eva Olid inherits that budget. Nothing about it changes with her arrival.
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Why Olid fits what United want to become
Olid took Hearts from the foot of the SWPL to a first league title in 2025-26, and she did it with the youngest squad in the division, average age under 24. That is the reason she is at United. The club is not buying its way back into the top three. It is building.
Layla Drury is the clearest example. The 17-year-old striker became the youngest player in United’s history to sign professional terms, having already scored against Burnley in the FA Cup in January. Her WSL minutes last season totalled 47 across five appearances, but in that sliver she averaged 1.9 chances created per 90, beaten only by the now-departed Leah Galton on 2.0. Nobody at the club recorded more recoveries per 90 than her 11.5.
Jessica Anderson, 18, has already made her WSL debut. Scarlett Hill is back from a loan at Sheffield United. Emma Watson, 20, returns from a spell at Tigres with a Liga MX Apertura title in her hand.
The spine that survived the summer
Maya Le Tissier led every WSL player for touches (1,996) and carries (406) last season, the latter the highest figure across Europe’s big five leagues. Jess Park topped the division for completed dribbles (39) and carries into the attacking third (53), with six goals and five assists, career-best returns. Ella Toone starts the campaign one goal short of Galton’s club record of 35 WSL goals.
Andrea Medina arrives from Atletico Madrid at 22, having recorded 206 defensive contributions in Liga F and 357 carries, a total only three players across Europe’s top five leagues bettered.
The Opta supercomputer gives United a 3.8% title chance and a 39.3% chance of finishing fourth again. It also has them opening away at London City Lionesses without a single pre-season win behind them.
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