Only one Manchester manager is making the most of their reprieve
This time last year, nothing separated Manchester United and Manchester City. 12 months on, 12 points separate them, so what's gone wrong on the red side?
This time last year, things looked a little different at the top of the Barclays Women's Super League table, particularly for the two Manchester sides.
After 15 games 12 months ago, Manchester's City and United stood level on 35 points each, with an identical record of 11 wins, two draws and two defeats apiece.
United though had scored 39 goals and conceded just nine, while City lagged seven goals behind and had conceded five more, albeit six of them coming in their opening two games of the season amidst an injury crisis and lots of new players against Aston Villa and Chelsea respectively
12 months on, the differences are stark. City are two points better off, and their 39 goals with nine conceded is identical to where their Manchester rivals were at this time last year.
United on the other hand have just 25 points, 12 points worse off than the blue side of the city and nine off the Champions League spots, leaving them sat level with Liverpool, battling for best of the rest rather than a place among Europe's elite.
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They've won seven games and failed to win in eight. With 32 goals, they're not a million miles away, their tally just one less than Arsenal in third, but their 19 goals conceded is 10 worse off than this time last year.
Quite simply, too much has changed from last season, and United have for various reasons strayed away from what made them so tough to bea 12 months ago.
On Saturday, City made it nine league wins on the bounce, matching the last time they managed the same feat at the end of the 2021-22 season, while United have failed to win more than two league games on the bounce all season.
12 months ago, while sat level on points and battling it out for a top three spot with Chelsea and Arsenal, both Gareth Taylor and Marc Skinner were under pressure.
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