Recircle

Fair enough. I'd gathered she'd played very well in the SWPL Cup final that Rangers won - scored one and worked hard. The 'big clubs' talk was just thrown in on the basis of things developing quite rapidly with Blindkilde Brown and Park. Nice to hear she has an attachment to Villa.

Re. midfield, I remember Magill right at the end of last season being provider for a Daly goal - making a run from quite deep before nicely working a give-and-go with Daly (actually two give-and-gos, if I've got it right). I thought it might be a possibility that she could broaden her game and become a supplementary midfield option, but it hasn't happened. Getting McLoughlin back will be a plus (although she'll have seen Blindkilde Brown go to City and watched Jess Park kick on working in tandem with Hasegawa at the same club, and might be hoping to attract the attentions of a bigger club). To judge from how little she's featured, Miri Taylor looks not to be an answer and won't presumably be kept on. It feels like it might be diminishing returns from here on with Nobbs and maybe Dali. Going to be interesting to see what happens in the summer.

To judge from the radio commentary they're working hard and showing discipline at the back. Of course, you fear an Arsenal second-half switch-up, but so far they've done well. Good to hear that Daly's doing well as a string-puller in the middle; her versatility is such a boon.

[Removed after more consideration]

Scrabbling for a bit of encouragement, Arsenal will have one eye on the League Cup final being played on the Sunday following (the only trophy they can still win, unless the form of Chelsea and City in the WSL suddenly careers off a cliff); their players might be inclined to try and nick a win as economically as they can to minimise the risk of injury and reduce recovery time, which might allow for more time and space to play into. For the same final-just-around-the-corner reason, Jonas might start the game with more of a second-string side, although a) a second-string Arsenal will still be very handy, b) any lesser-played players who get picked will be using the game to make a case for being considered for the final, and so unlike regular first-teamers will regard playing at full intensity to be a necessity, and c) it'll give him the luxury of being able to stick on a Mead or a McCabe or a Russo for an impact cameo if he needs to. Ilestedt at any rate is out for the season, so Villa won’t have to deal with her threat at set pieces.

The Bescot gets talked of as though it carries a curse or something, but a properly trained and drilled football team ought to be able to perform on any pitch prepared to professional/FA approved standards. Villa obviously for the most part haven't performed well there, but the ground itself can't rationally be held responsible. (Is the Alexander Stadium still in the offing? Any atmosphere generated would be more diffuse there with the pitch being isolated by the running track and whatnot, but the wide-slung, open-plan lay-out might appeal to the players, and it would offer something visually distinct that could help create a buzz about AVWFC and help promote the women's game generally. Evening matches could look spectacular there lit up by the floodies under a big sky.)

Nice for Salmon to get a goal. It was notable how deep Rach Daly was dropping back behind Salmon and Leon; she was really helping to keep it calm in the middle, from what I could tell (only saw the second half of the live stream). She works close spaces really well, holds up, spins away, makes lots of good little lay-offs, knits play together; she's such as asset.

Three big points—the difference between maintaining pressure on 6th and being in immediate danger of being reeled in from below. Shame about the clean sheet going west. Villa, Spuds and Leicester fighting it out for runner-up-to-the-best-of-the-rest spot (dress rehearsal of the F.A. Cup semi-final tomorrow between those other two).

Doubled the lead! Salmon header from a nice Nobbs cross.

Arsenal not being able to get over the line with regard to Earps is fuelling this, but regardless: players will always place the possibility of realistically and rapidly achieving personal goals ahead of loyalty to a club, and the better the player, the more elevated the goals. (To come at it from a different angle: which current Villa player(s) do you think would be unconditionally committed to representing the club?)

The WE League team based in the same city is INAC Kobe Leonessa (the team Kitagawa plays for). They use the same home ground as Vissel Kobe. How meaningfully the two clubs connect if at all, beyond sharing a common location and the same stadium, I couldn't say.

Interesting. I touched on this possibility upthread. Villa could certainly benefit from a lock-picker/link player playing across the middle, and Japan seems notably to produce adept playmaker midfielders and flank players - the ones that have come into the WSL have nearly all made a mark. They really think on the ball, weighing up options, and can judge pass weight well. They're also very team oriented, commit to the role they've been tasked with, and work very hard off the ball (West Ham's striker Ueki does this almost to a fault, being a striker in this case who presses hard from the front and drops deep to help out); they're not greedy players (some following City have been lamenting that Hasegawa doesn't have enough pops at goal when she pushes up to support since she's got a fine eye for a shot, but she's most reluctant to waste the ball on speculative efforts; she'd rather keep the pressure on and work the percentages chance). As a leftie I tend to take extra note of those playing on the left, and Japan has got a few standouts, none of whom yet play in Europe, and of whom Jun Endo is the pick (although she's currently recovering from an ACL injury and will be out for some months). There's the versatile Hina Sugita, who tends to play more defensively for the national side and more as a roving link midfielder for her club (Portland Thorns, the club Adriana Leon had a loan spell with), and who is capable of hitting the odd stinging shot. There's also Hikaru Kitagawa, who did really well coming in for Endo ahead of Sugita in Japan's recent Olympic qualifier against North Korea. She was taking free kicks ahead of Hasegawa, and in open play was swinging in testing long-range crosses that were consistently well-shaped and weighted. Obviously I'm not saying it's possible to acquire any of those listed, but they indicate a wellspring, and there will be others.

I thought it might solely apply to WSL games. Some good news, if it didn't. (edit: you're right - the domestic cup competitions are FA affiliated, so it's logical for the ban to apply across competitions.)

Daly will still be out, won't she? Or did Villa appeal and get the length of her ban reduced?

It's not the 'in and of itself' bit that's going to have the impact; acknowledging that the move would reflect a current pattern is one thing, being concerned about the specific effects it will have on the team you follow is another. But yes, you've got to try and stay positive.

It would've looked like indecent haste if she'd gone in January, and would've reflected badly on Villa as well as herself (personal ambition is one thing, but it's not a good look if that comes to resemble something like ruthless opportunism). Also she'd have been domestically cup-tied, and Arsenal were eliminated early in the Champions League (Zinsberger couldn't do in a qualifier penalty shoot-out what Van Domselaar could in a League Cup quarter-final one). You say in an earlier post Van Domselaar's form would prevent her from straight away becoming Arsenal’s first choice, but she’s clearly had to play behind weaker defensive players than Zinsberger, has a more impressive international reputation and seems more self-possessed (Zinsberger can look and act flustered at times); DVD would back herself to make it happen quickly (if Arsenal truly want her, she could surely make some guaranteed early starts part of the deal). She's gone, I think (if not Arsenal, then to Utd as Earps' replacement, or maybe to Barca, who will have noted that she was approached by and turned down Real Madrid). As a replacement, I’d be looking at Leitzig (although it would look like a sideways move or less to her at present) or at promising goalies playing in the Frauen Bundesliga.

Fair enough. You call it on what you've seen, and you'll have seen a lot more of Hampton than I have, which I credit. By any measure Van Domselaar is an accomplished keeper, and has been able to prove her mettle in higher stakes games than Hampton (Hannah may have a chance to before long, starting and doing well for Chelsea and with Earps a bit off the boil). She was outstanding for the Netherlands against France in the Euro 2022 QF, making three or four notable saves in open play and getting across to almost tip out the penalty that Perisset scored in extra time to take France through to the semis. Got the 'Player of the Match' award for her performance in last year's World Cup R16 match as well. If she goes it will be Hampton leaving revisited, in impact/morale-sapping terms.

The notion sadly wasn't absurd, then. It has to be said Hampton isn't sitting on Chelsea's bench so much these days. Dunno whether it's down to injuries, but she's had a run in the first team, and looked as though she had an excellent game in the League Cup semi-final against Man City last Thursday. To judge from that one, she looks undeniably to have improved since leaving Villa: more agility, more decisiveness - just more commanding. I don't think Van Domselaar will be warming Arsenal's bench much, either; I'd think she edges Zinsberger in almost every department. Who will/can Villa go for assuming she leaves in the summer? Roebuck? Maybe Leitzig or Kop?

You'd think Daly at her age would be tempted by any club competing in the Champions League next season if an offer came in, and as she proved in the last two England games she can still poach a goal - her reading, movement and finishing are all still there. I keep wondering if Van Domselaar will go. I know she's still in her first season at Villa, but surely a 'keeper as rated as she is has some sort of a release clause built into her contract. I just have this feeling that she feels the 'project' she was sold is quite a way off the one currently attainable. Someone please tell me this is an absurd notion. (If Earps leaves, watch United try and swoop in.)

Somewhat. The win against Spurs was encouraging, but they rode their luck in the win against Leicester (only Van Domselaar and a scrambled goal-line clearance at one point prevented the draw), and drawing against adrift-at-the-bottom Bristol City doesn't inspire much confidence. This current season is becoming painful to endure.

I've only seen brief highlights, but looking at how Villa apparently set up, playing Corsie as the linchpin of a middle three facing a Liverpool array of two forwards supported by a line of five, including two of the best up-and-coming progressive midfielders in Höbinger and Nagano, seemed to be inviting trouble (I know needs must, and guess if sod's law hadn't ruled her out of the reckoning, Miri Taylor might've been tried in there). Blindkilde Brown is a significant loss and Villa ought to be looking to get a midfielder for next season who can develop the ball. Mentioning Nagano, the Japan internationals who've been popping up in the WSL are starting to make a real impression: Man City's Hasegawa is the clear pick and on another level, but Nagano as well as Hayashi and Shimizu for West Ham (the latter mostly works as a right wing back but also seems adept at playing more centrally) have stood out. They all seem to possess cool heads, good close control ability and have a good eye for seeing and playing a raking pass (see Hayashi's pass that led to the assist for West Ham's equaliser against Man Utd last Sunday). If I were part of Villa's scouting dept, I'd be looking at recordings of WE League games, as well as games from other leagues featuring Japan internationals; Villa are fairly stocked in physical presence department (Hanson, Parker, Maritz, Taylor), offsetting that with some vision and calm industry in the middle could be the way to go. (Last year's World Cup group stage match between Spain and Japan is worth another watch. Given the opposition, Japan probably turned in the best team performance of the competition.)

She's being given the opportunity to play alongside Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Bunny Shaw; even if Villa had had a miracle run this season, there's no way she's not going to be seriously tempted.

This is the way I thought it might go; an odd point here and there. It's one thing to broadly contemplate a 'worst case scenario' when you draw a tough run of fixtures, to hypothetically write-off five games on the bounce, but to have that scenario turn into a reality: five played, five lost, sixteen goals conceded, margin of defeat getting bigger, that's quite a hole to have to climb out of. 0-6 is the sort of defeat that can lead to players pointing fingers in order to try and save face; disunity can break out.

Last season was fantastic despite one or two heavy-ish loses, but the idea this season was surely to close the gap against the top clubs somewhat. There's something next level horrible about losing 0-6. A team with the likes of Daly, Van Domselaar, Hanson and Pacheco in it shouldn't be suffering an abject hiding like that, even to Chelsea. Losing five games on the trot from season's start is really going to hobble confidence and momentum.

See, I didn't expect an absolute doing. I was thoroughly prepared for another loss, but a battling one, not a capitulation. It's worrying. Villa's season is already turning into a rescue job; wave goodbye to best-of-the-rest or better. The big concern is that some of the marquee names will be looking to bail out (you imagine Daly would like a tilt at the Champions League before she retires). Van Domselaar must be wondering what she's walked into - you can imagine her too re-assessing with an eye to exiting at the earliest opportunity via a release clause or what have you; the great reputation she's established for herself is rapidly becoming tarnished. With her you can almost sense the longer term story before it's been played out: that she moves on to do well elsewhere and comes to regard the move to Villa as a complete misstep.