Season Preview: What to expect from Sheffield United Women in 2024/25?
Everything you need to know ahead of United's season opener at Durham this weekend
Hello, and welcome to WOMEN OF STEEL. Before I get into this week’s edition, Anna Kent (Blades fan and vice chair of Rainbow Blades) and I recorded a podcast episode this week in which we talked extensively about the current state of United Women - what happened last season, over this summer, what we’re looking forward to this season and a few other things from around the women’s game.
I really enjoyed talking to Anna and getting her insight into the Blades and women’s football generally, and the early feedback on the episode has been really positive so thanks so much to her and to anyone who’s listened. Hopefully we’ll record further episodes on United Women throughout the season.
You can listen to our chat on the BladesPod feed on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or indeed wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening, on with the newsletter!
So, here we are. After a summer of… well… frustration, we’ve seen the green shoots of progress that have led to this: United get ready to kick off the 2024/25 season of the Barclays Women’s Championship this weekend.
United have lost – and I hesitate to use that word, as it’s not “lost” like one might do with one’s car keys, but “lost” as in “didn’t get our house in order over the summer which made virtually every player feel like they needed to leave for their own financial security and career progression” – more players than I’m willing to count, the vast majority of whom were key contributors in last season’s midtable finish.
England U23 internationals Fran Stenson and Tara Bourne have joined upwardly-mobile Southampton; creator-in-chief Bex Rayner has made the jump to Brighton in the WSL. Powerhouse left-back Jodie Hutton – along with her devilish set-pieces – is now a Charlton player, along with former Blades stalwart Charlotte Newsham. Last year’s club captain Sophie Barker is with newly-promoted Portsmouth, and both Jess Sigsworth and Ash Hodson have hung up their boots. There are others, but let’s not torment ourselves further over departing favourites.
Those green shoots I mentioned: new deals for younger players Ella Kinzett, Molly Graham and Fallon Connolly-Jackson, the latter of whom signed her first pro contract this week. Star striker Isobel Goodwin – arguably the best player in the entire Championship last season – is still a Sheffield United player at the time of writing (reminder: transfer deadline is September 13th). There’s a new manager, with Ash Thompson stepping up from a trophy-winning stint with the U21s, many of whom he may well be using in the first team this year.
New signings have arrived, with Maltese international Maria Farrugia potentially the most eye-catching as United look to replace Rayner’s creativity. Satara Murray brings much-needed experience and could become a rock in central defence. Sian Rogers, Leanne Cowan and Abbie Lafayette all boast plenty of Championship experience, while young midfielder Monique Robinson has a couple of highlight-reel moments from her WSL runouts with Leicester.
Eva Butler, a goal machine for United’s cup-winning U21s, could be set for a breakout season up top. Connolly-Jackson, also a big player for that youth side, can expect more minutes after a successful debut campaign. And it’ll be fascinating to see if any of the other members of that side – the likes of Tilly Bristow, for example, who scored one and made the other in the PGA Cup final win over Chelsea – make a step up into first-team contention.
So what to expect from United Women in 2024/25? The nature of this year’s Women’s Championship means that promotion (which requires winning the league) is almost certainly off the table. The investment made by Newcastle and London City, alongside what appears to be significant strengthening by Charlton and Southampton – who finished 2nd and 4th respectively last year – pretty much rules that out. Throw in Bristol City – back in the second tier after a season in the WSL – and possibly Birmingham, who were strong last season but couldn’t quite overhaul a shoddy start – and there’s the potential for a lopsided league table.
I expect United, who are probably a couple of months behind these other teams in terms of preparation for the season, to be in the clutch of teams below the ones listed above – unless something goes very, very wrong for one of those, and very, very right for the Blades. But that feels like a big ask.
In terms of aims, then: a year of stability, with a side helping of don’t-get-relegated. With only one relegation spot this year, that should be a readily-achievable aim – but having Newcastle as one of the newly-promoted teams complicates that a touch.
Instead, give me a year of seeing young players develop, of Goodwin bagging the Golden Boot she surely would have picked up last season if not for injury, and of off-field stability. Let’s see what Ash Thompson, aided by assistant Luke Turner, can bring to the first team. And let’s end 2024/25 in a place where we can spend the summer building towards the following season, rather than having to rip everything up and start once again.
Durham (A), Sunday 8th September, 12:00 kick-off
It all kicks off this weekend, with United heading to Maiden Castle for a potentially important game right out of the gate. My guess is that Durham will be alongside United in the don’t-get-relegated category, so getting off to a winning start here would be huge with some probable heavy-hitters coming up on the fixture list.
That’s not to say Durham will be pushovers: they’ve retained plenty of their more important players from last season, including attacker Beth Hepple and the excellent goalkeeper, Tatiana Saunders. Carly Johns, scorer of nine goals for relegated Watford last season, should be a strong addition. Amy Andrews – who scored against United in this fixture last year – has left for Newcastle, however.
For United, any mystery about who’s going to play where, or what kind of condition everyone’s in (if the club have been playing friendlies during this preseason, they haven’t been publicised), will finally come to an end. I’m excited to get to know this new-look team and – hopefully – find a whole new bunch of players to get invested in this time round.
Thanks for reading, and come on you Blades! See you next week.
