The English Super League wasn’t, of course, alone in being inconvenienced by postponements following the death of the Queen, among other events to be put on hold was Guinea Pig Awareness Week. But after the boon of England’s Euro 2022 triumph, which saw ticket sales for WSL clubs go through the roof, the anticipation levels for the new season were stratospheric.
It’s not that that enthusiasm has died, but last weekend’s postponements have necessitated a major reshuffling of fixtures and venues for the opening weekend of the season when, initially, four of the campaign’s first games were to be staged in stadia used by the clubs’ boys’ teams - Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Reading’s Madejski, Brighton’s Amex and Spurs’ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Ireland’s Jess Ziu and Izzy Atkinson were buzzing about making their debuts for West Ham at Stamford Bridge, instead their opening game is against Everton at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. This is not what their dreams were made of.
No matter, it’ll work out in the end, even if the fixture quagmire will make it considerably harder for WSL teams to get access to their clubs’ major stadiums.
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Still, it promises to be an excellent season, and while you never want to be parochial about these things, a whole dozen Republic of Ireland players will feature in the campaign. If you want to nail your colours to the mast of the club with the highest ROI representation, the news is grim: it’s Liverpool.
THE WSL IRISH:
Arsenal
Katie McCabe: You might have heard of her? It’s seven years since the Irish captain joined Arsenal from Shelbourne and after a bumpy start, which featured a loan spell with Glasgow City, she has not only established herself in the side, whether as a left-back, wing-back or winger, she’s a bona fide Super League star. “She’s one of those players where you don’t get less than eight out of 10,” a swooning Ian Wright put it. She will, you suspect, be rather eager to help Arsenal win their first league title since 2019, Chelsea ruling the roost ever since.
Aston Villa
Ruesha Littlejohn: Currently out of action after picking up a foot injury against Finland earlier this month, the Glasgow-born player made a big contribution to Villa’s solid 9th place finish last season, ending up 10 points clear of relegation in their first top flight campaign since 2004. Having joined Villa last September - making it a dozen clubs in almost as many years (we’re talking wanderlust here) - she was offered a new contract for the season ahead. Villa will be keen to have her back, not least for her versatility - she can play in midfield or up front.
Brighton
Megan Connolly: Like Littlejohn, the Cork woman will miss the start of the season after also picking up injuries against Finland - fractured ribs and a bruised kidney, in her case - and is likely to be absent for next month’s World Cup play-off against Scotland or Austria. A big loss for Ireland, for whom she has been a major influence since establishing herself from her time at Florida State University, and a significant blow for Brighton too, Connolly being the most consistent of performers for them since joining in 2019.
Megan Walsh: The former England underage international was outstanding for Brighton last season, earning the club’s player of the year award, and might have been expected to nail down the Republic of Ireland goalkeeping spot after declaring for the country of her grandfather’s birth, making her debut back in February. Vera Pauw has, though, kept faith with Courtney Brosnan, but if Walsh can repeat last season’s form - when she became the first goalkeeper to reach the 500 saves mark in Super League history - she’ll heap on the pressure.
Chelsea: None
Everton
Courtney Brosnan: It’s been a strange 12 months for the New Jersey-born goalkeeper who has established herself as the Irish number one, after some very fine performances, but struggled to do the same at Everton after moving from West Ham a year ago. She made just eight appearances in all competitions last season, largely playing understudy to Sandy MacIver - but she was signed by Manchester City this summer. Brosnan will, though, have stiff completion again for the shirt after Everton took the highly regarded Emily Ramsey on loan from Manchester United.
Leicester: None
Liverpool
Niamh Fahey: Having won every English honour on offer during her spells with Arsenal and Chelsea, before spending a season with Bordeaux in the French league, the 34-year-old Galwegian, the fifth most capped Republic of Ireland international of all time (104), returns to the top flight after captaining Liverpool to promotion last season. She was rewarded with a contract extension during the summer, her experience key to the club as they aim to re-establish themselves in the Super League having been relegated in 2020.
Megan Campbell: Few, if any, Irish players have had to cope with the litany of injuries Campbell has been struck by in recent seasons, the Drogheda native starting her first game for her country in three years when she played against Finland a fortnight ago. She had to be eased back in to action by Liverpool last season after she joined from Manchester City, but she ended up playing no small part in their Championship-winning campaign. Here’s hoping for am injury-free season ahead.
Leanne Kiernan: The 23-year-old from Cavan made her name on these shores when she scored a hat-trick for Shelbourne in the 2016 FAI Cup final, but after moving to England two years later she endured a frustrating, injury-plagued spell with West Ham. She has, though, flourished since joining Liverpool in the summer of 2021, voted the club’s player of the year after top-scoring with 13 league goals in their promotion-winning campaign. She’s been a bit part player for Ireland so far under Vera Pauw, a successful Super League season could change that.
Manchester City: None
Manchester United: None
Reading
Grace Moloney: One of three Republic of Ireland goalkeepers in this season’s Super League, the 29-year-old has been with Reading, apart from a brief loan spell with Aston Villa, for her entire senior career, making her 200th appearance for the club in March. She excelled at underage level for Ireland, winning the 2011 under-19 player of the year award, but has picked up just six caps since first being included in the senior squad 12 years ago. The challenge in the season ahead is to perform sufficiently well to overtake Courtney Brosnan and Megan Walsh in the pecking order.
Diane Caldwell: The 33-year-old defender, who won her 90th Irish cap against Slovakia last week, joined Reading during the summer after her short term contract with Manchester United expired. ‘Widely travelled’ are her middle names, her move to England last year following spells in the United States, Iceland, Norway and Germany. A certain starter for Ireland for the bulk of her career, her place in the side has been more under threat of late, so regular appearances for her new club in the season ahead are a must if she is to stave off the challenge of the younger guns.
Spurs: None
West Ham
Jessica Ziu: Ireland’s player of the match against Slovakia last week, the 20-year-old Dubliner fulfilled her ambition to play football professionally when she agreed a deal with West Ham last March, linking up with the club in the summer. She’s a huge loss to Shelbourne, for whom she made her senior debut when she had just turned sixteen. An exciting challenge ahead, though, for one of the national team’s rising stars, a big favourite of Vera Pauw.
Izzy Atkinson: Ziu is joined at West Ham by her former Shelbourne team-mate and fellow Dubliner Atkinson who concluded her year-and-a-half spell with Celtic last May by scoring the extra-time winner in the Scottish Cup final. It’s a big step up, though, to the Super League, but West Ham manager Paul Konchesky saw enough potential in the 21-year-old to persuade him to sign her, convinced that she can develop at the club. Remarkably, for one so young, it’s four and a half years since she made her senior Irish debut.
