Is Chelsea's Success Bad For The WSL?

Again, this is a post I intended to write the best part of a month ago but has been delayed due to visiting Mam in hospital. I got the idea for this post after listening to the 31st January episode of Ian Wright and Steph Houghton's podcast Crossways. That episode I would certainly say is worth a listen but overall Crossways is a podcast I really enjoy, informative, two hosts who have played the game at the highest level and have a tremendous knowledge of football and great banter between Ian and Steph. 

Just to clarify, I've no relationship with the above podcast, this post is not sponsored by Crossways and other women's football podcasts are available. That particular episode just got me thinking on one of my many evening walks home from the Freeman Hospital.

Chelsea, without question, are THE team in the English Women's football pyramid. Since replacing Emma Hayes with Sonia Bompastor last summer they haven't missed a step. If anything, rather worryingly for the rest of the league, they might have actually got better. Five of the last six WSL titles have headed to Kingsmeadow and something highly unusual will have to happen for them not to make it six in a row this season, in the same time they've lifted three Women's FA Cups, been involved in every Women's League Cup Final back to 2019-20 lifting the title in 2019-20 & 2020-21and runner up for the past 3 seasons, either a domestic double or treble every season between 2019-20 to 2022-23. The only trophy missing being the Champions League despite being runner up in 2020-21. Every chance they could claim that prize this season though. However, despite how impressive all of the above is, have Chelsea become so successful they are now detrimental to the WSL????

As a teenager, before Sky Sports got it’s current stranglehold on the Premier League, watching Match of the Day every weekend certainly provided some “entertaining” football, particularly in those glorious years under King Kevin, but in that first decade of the Premier League there was almost an inevitability that Sir Alex Ferguson’s Reds would be lifting the trophy at the end of the season, it was just a question of how soon would they secure it? We are starting to see the same with Chelsea in the WSL. Taking this season as an example, 9 league wins out of 9 to start the season before an unexpected 1-1 draw away to Leicester City on December 15th, 28 points out of the first 30 and the title race is effectively over by the winter break. I’m not aware of viewing figures but I do wonder, with very little media attention on the Women’s Championship the WSL relegation battle does not attract the attention of its male counterpart. With the title more or less decided by the halfway point of the season, will viewership dip in the second half of the season as fans feel there is nothing left to play for? Has it already dropped? And is 3 points for Chelsea now a rhetorical question? 

The WSL, being the flagship women’s league in England, is key to WPLL’s plans to grow the women’s game. But in a nation of football lovers we want to see competitive leagues. We don’t want one team walking away with the title season after season. That works in the US, they love a dynasty - Michael Jordan’s all conquering Chicago Bulls, the New York Yankees, Tom Brady’s New England Patriots but we are English, we love the underdog. That Agüero goal is so fondly remembered as it denied Man U another title at the last possible moment, Leicester City winning the title in 2016 is similarly fondly remembered as it was a departure from the same teams lifting the trophy every season. 

Manchester City pushed Chelsea right to the WSL final day last season. Ultimately, while City beat Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea went to Old Trafford and put 6 past Man U to win the title by 7 goals. I was glued to my TV hoping City could pull off the upset. Yes, I’m an NUW fan but it was Houghton, Izzy Christiansen and Georgia Stanway at City who got me interested in the women’s game so they are very much my WSL team, at least till we get there. I maintain City pulling off the upset on the final day last season would’ve been the better result long term for the league, the fairytale ending to Steph Houghton’s illustrious career, Emma Hayes winning nothing in her final season and a different name on the trophy.

Stamford Bridge, Sunday 26th January 2025, Chelsea overcome Arsenal 1-0 with an 84th minute penalty to put one hand on the trophy. In the second half Bompastor brought Lauren James, Aggie Beever-Jones and Guro Reiten (scorer of the penalty) off the bench. That is how strong their squad is, established internationals at the peak of their career on the bench. Their bench alone is probably strong enough that, if you put them all in a starting 11, Chelsea would likely still qualify for the Championship League. How do you compete with that? On that same day, NUW beat Portsmouth 3-2 at Kingston Park. Our bench had Grace Donnelly (GK), Hannah Hawkins (GK), Hannah Greenwood, Amy Andrews, Isabella Sibley, Sophie Haywood & Rachel Furness. Outside of Newcastle, even within much of Newcastle to be fair, probably not a household name amongst the subs apart from possibly 36 year old Furness. Some matches this season we’ve required Development squad players to fill out the bench. We certainly aren’t in the fortunate position of being able to bring current Lionesses off the bench as a super sub and we are looking to be in the WSL in the near future.

Much has been made in the press of Chelsea having the first million dollar signing in women’s football. As much as I dislike their dominance I can’t fault how they’ve gone about building, maintaining and strengthening their squad. This season alone they’ve brought in Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh amongst others. They get the results to win the trophies, which attracts the best players, and they receive the financial backing to acquire the best players, a self repeating cycle for success. 

Arsenal and Manchester City I’d argue also go about business the right way in terms of backing their women’s teams, financially and otherwise. Manchester United are having a fantastic season this year but there’s numerous behind the scenes issues following Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club. Liverpool could be seen to have underperformed this season although it could be argued they over performed last season, see how things go when they announce Matt Beard’s replacement. The remainder of the league, I’d have to question is the investment there? For clubs who know they are going to finish safely mid table, where is the motivation to invest in the women’s team rather than the more lucrative men’s team? 

If the “big boys” Arsenal and Manchester City are falling behind Chelsea how are newly promoted teams expected to be able to genuinely compete for the title? We’ve had some tremendous transfer windows recently - Beth Lumsden & Lia Cataldo in January 2024, Isabella Sibley summer 2024, Freya Gregory, Poppy Pritchard and Emily Murphy January 2025 amongst others - but I suspect we are nowhere close to a million dollar signing despite the exceptional backing we receive from our owners. Crystal Palace were a great Championship side last season, they’ve been rooted to the bottom of the WSL this season and lost 0-7 to Chelsea.

I don’t know what the answer is. It seems to be a case of closing the door after the horse has bolted: Chelsea are now that far ahead of everyone else that anything WPLL introduces to try and make a more competitive WSL e.g. a form of FFP or a salary cap takes us dangerously towards the worst aspects of the men’s game, preventing teams catching up to Chelsea and making the league less competitive if anything with Chelsea remaining comfortably top of the league.

I watch the WSL every weekend, I enjoy it, but I don’t believe I’m the only person who would like to see a more competitive league, title races like last season going down to the last match of the season not being done and dusted in December. Lack of relegation is something I’ll get into in a separate post but to grow the women’s game and the WSL I 100% feel their needs to be the threat of relegation to prevent clubs resting on their laurels and investing the minimum they can to ensure a continued mid table WSL spot, no threat of relegation but no desire to push on. 

There’s so much potential in the women’s game and the WSL it would be tragic to waste it by owners seeing Chelsea too far ahead to be challenged but established WSL clubs safe in the knowledge that teams promoted from the Championship will more than likely go straight back down.

Since the current iteration of the top two leagues was introduced in 2018-19, I find it sad that no team who has won the Championship has gone on to win the WSL. Hopefully wor lasses can make more history and be the first promoted club to lift the title.