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Breaking News: Manchester United Women’s Shocking Offer to Manager Marc Skinner
With Skinner’s current contract ending at the end of this season, the parties are eager to reach an agreement, even though terms have not yet been finalized. They are still in communication.
This is United’s second move to improve the women’s team since Matt Johnson was named as the team’s new interim head of women’s football last month, when new part-owners INEOS assumed control of the football operations after paying the Glazer family $1.3 billion for a minority stake in the.
With guidance from INEOS, the current football leadership at United decided to give Skinner an extension. While Andy O’Boyle, United’s deputy director of football since May 2022, already manages the women’s side as part of his duties and will continue to do so alongside Johnson, Sir Dave Brailsford, INEOS’ sporting director, has been employed by United since February. After serving as United’s football director for more than ten years, overseeing the women’s team, John Murtough is set to depart the team this week.
After a challenging season under Skinner, United is currently fourth in the Women’s Super League, six points behind third-place Arsenal and 15 points behind leaders Chelsea, who hold the final Champions League qualifying slot.
A small number of United supporters were cautioned not to sing “we want Skinner out” after players and staff reportedly felt uncomfortable with the chant. A portion of the United fan base has expressed disapproval with Skinner’s management. This information was first revealed by The Athletic earlier this year.
Following Casey Stoney’s departure in July 2021, Skinner became leadership of United. In Skinner’s first season as manager, United placed fourth; the next season, they finished in second place.
After losing 4-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the second round of the qualifying play-offs, United was eliminated from the Champions League group stage, even though they had pushed Chelsea for the WSL championship until the very last day of the 2022–2023 season. They lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal this Sunday, but they were also eliminated from the Conti Cup at the group stage.
Johnson takes over for Polly Bancroft, the departing head of women’s football, who will become the chief executive of League Two team Grimsby Town at the end of the current campaign. While United considers their longer-term strategy under INEOS, he will fill the position for a period of six months.
A special report on the United women’s team was released by The Athletic last month, and it identified a number of significant problems with the club’s recent history. Among these were the fact that United failed to sign players due to senior-level delays, the uncertainty around the budget and plan, and the verbal agreement to retain former striker Alessia Russo, who subsequently joined Arsenal.
When questioned about The Athletic’s claim, Skinner stated, “We will definitely have conversations around any topic that’s brought to our attention.” “I wouldn’t do that, that would be irresponsible.”
However, maintaining balance is also crucial because no one is interested in hearing about the positive things that happen at our club, therefore we will never report on them all. There’s no denying that we must develop here. In the brief six years that we have existed, there are many things that we have done incredibly well, but there are also areas where we can do better.
