Well the 23/24 season didn't really go to plan for the site due to other areas of life taking over and the love for writing disappearing a little bit. We didn't cover half as much as we would have loved to and that love has taken a little bit of time to come back however, we are drawing the line and have decided we are going to make the 2024/25 season the best yet.

So as we await the start of the new season we are busy behind the scenes planning what sort of content we can create and get a plan together so we can get back to where we want to be on here and the rest of social media. So here is the plan for the 2024/25 season...

The preseason is going to be quite fun filled as I am starting my first season with my new team in September so I am going to use the preseason time to focus on being in the best shape I can be in for the new season and I am going to be documenting bits on social media, I am also planning on improving technically on the pitch too so I will be covering that progress. Also during the preseason I will be doing some pieces on the league I will be joining along with the team I will be playing for. 

The plan is also to try and cover a bit of the football in the Olympics as there are some very good matches to be expected and plenty of top class players playing for gold. The football in the Olympics will probably fly by and it will showcase players that may otherwise slip under the radar, it might even help a few names get themselves in the transfer window. 

Whilst we await the start of the season the plan is to be much more active on social media again, whether it is showcasing my own preseason journey, staying up to date on transfers or just silly little posts the plan is to finally get back to using the social media accounts and start showing up consistently again as we used to love getting lost in the world of WOSO on social media. The plan is to also get some new graphics together ready for the coverage when the season does start.

September is when the leagues are most likely to begin so we have a bit of time to waste before then however, rather than being quiet throughout all that time the plan is to work on some other types of content that we would love to carry out through the whole season. We want to bring back the boot reviews and let's just say we have plenty of them to currently work through, there will also be boot comparisons and maybe other little equipment reviews thrown into the mix. A big chunk of the content before the season starts though maybe opinion pieces, deep dives into teams and possibly some interviews if things take shape nicely.

Our priorities are certainly changing though this upcoming season as we are not renewing our Man United season tickets so I can focus on playing. This means that a chunk of reports might be based on the team I am playing for rather than the top flight but we will see how that goes. I am sure that we will head to a few WSL games throughout the season though so expect reports on them and if the games are watched on the TV reports will also follow. There will be a weekly WSL wrap up post too just so all the weekends coverage is in one spot. 

As I say most of my weekends may be filled with my own games however, I am hoping that when I have no games I can head to watch some local football too. The plan is to head out to a few Halifax games when they don't clash with my games and then if any other local teams are playing at home when Halifax are away I may head down to watch them too. I am hoping that in the new season a lot of Halifax content will be added to the website too so keep an eye out for that. 

We used to love doing the lower league content so it is about time we finally got around to covering those leagues once more, there will hopefully also be more Lioness content covered throughout the new season as they get ready for Euro 2025. Alongside the reports & deep dive pieces you can also expect some more informational & opinion based pieces just like when the site first started. 

Now it is just time to get back into things and get the site more consistent once more. We are looking forward to creating the new content and hope you like reading it too.

On Friday the Lionesses faced up against a strong French side on their very first visit to Newcastle' St James Park. The game saw Wiegman take charge of her 50th England game and goal keeper Earps earn her 50th cap however, things weren't meant to be for the Lionesses as they fell to a 2-1 defeat. 

The Lionesses last game saw them come away 2-0 winners against the Republic of Ireland, this was always going to be a much tougher game though with a few Lionesses missing through injury and France being top of the qualifying group. The big positive going into this game though was both Williamson and Bright being recalled together for the first time in over a year.

The game started out pretty shaky for the Lionesses and you could tell the centre back pairing has been out of action for a while as a mix up at the back saw D.Cascarino almost through on goal, it was only due to Bright's recovery that the ball didn't go near the goal. This attempt lead to a corner however, the resulting corner was delayed for a few minutes as Earps was down and looking very uncomfortable. The resulting corner amounted to nothing and the game continued. In the 6th minute though the Lionesses were forced to make an early change with Earps unable to continue, this saw Hampton stepping between the sticks and France start trying to pile the pressure on the substitute goal keeper who managed to make some good saves not long after entering the pitch. 

The opening 10 minutes just didn't seem to fall into place for the Lionesses, they were losing possession far to easily and their passes just didn't seem to be connecting. There were some good moments like Russo having a great drive into the box but there was no support for her and early on in the game this happened far too often. The Lionesses were losing that ball in some dangerous positions too but luckily for them France just couldn't take advantage of the positions they were finding themselves in.

By then 25 minute mark the Lionesses were starting to perk up a little bit and found their feet, passes were flowing much better and they were getting in some great attacking positions. They managed to capitalise on this in the 30th minute when Mead made it 1-0, a great ball initially from Toone found Hemp who put a great ball into the box, this ball ran through the box missing everyone before finding the feet of the waiting Mead who slotted it home to give the Lionesses the lead.

Once the ball hit the back of the net you could see the confidence increase in the Lionesses and they were once again putting the pressure on France. However, another Lionesses mix up ended up with a dangerous corner for France which Hampton stepped up to save, they weren't so lucky the next corner though when a fantastic ball into the box found De Almeida who struck the ball brilliantly leaving Hampton no chance of reaching it. This meant that going into half time the score was level at 1-1.

The Lionesses got the second half underway much better than they did in the first half and applied some early pressure to France however, they just couldn't find the back of the net. For the majority of the second half though the game was end to end with both teams trying to get that goal to put them in front. That goal finally came in the 69th minute but unfortunately for the Lionesses it was France who took the lead. Once again France's goal came from a set piece and this time the Lionesses were unable to clear their lines and Kototo was in the right place to put the ball into the bottom corner. 

After the second goal the Lionesses had a few opportunities on goal but once again the final product just wasn't their and France saw the game out to walk away with a 2-1 victory. This game for us though highlighted that the Lionesses have a fair bit to work on as the final product is missing lately and the miscommunication cost them at times with no one running onto the ball or being ready in the box. As for our player of the Match we have to go for Hemp, she just never seemed to stop running and was getting the Lionesses in some great positions throughout the 90 minutes. Russo was a very close second place though as it felt like she had her best game in an England shirt for a while, we just needed that better connection with the final ball. 

The two teams come face to face again on Tuesday, will France take away all 6 points from these fixtures or will the Lionesses step up and cause an upset for France on home soil? Only time will tell and we are looking forward to seeing how the game plays out.

Lionesses line up - Earps (GK) (↓), Bronze, Carter, Walsh, Williamson, Bright, Mead (↓), Stanway (↓), Russo, Toone, Hemp.

Lioness subs - Greenwood, Hampton (GK) (↑), Kirby (↑), Naz, Kelly (↑), Beever-Jones, Clinton, Le Tissier, Park, Keating (GK), Morgan, Turner.

France line up - Peyraud-Magnin, De Almeida (↓), Lakrar, Renard, Bacha, Toletti, Karchaoui, Dali (↓), Diani, Katoto (↓)  D.Cascarino (↓).

subs - Durand, Picaud, Perisset (↑), E.Cascarino, Samoura, Geyoro, Henry(↑), Le Garrec (↑), Baltimore, Benyahia, Dufour, Ribadeira (↑).

Attendance : 42,561 

Yellow cards : Carter, Lakrar 

Goals : mead 30' De Almeida 40'  Kototo 69'

The quality in the WSL is just constantly improving these days and teams are bringing in brilliant names each season to improve their squads and try compete for the title and those Champions League spots. Yes the big names coming into the league is fantastic however, a lot of the WSL players are often overlooked for those big names and their performances aren't as applauded as they should be. It has often taken players a move away from a previous club to finally get out of others shadows or injuries to others that force them into the spotlight a little bit more. Today's post is a look at my favourite players in the WSL currently and I will be honest this has taken me a lot longer than usual as I just couldn't narrow it down to my top 5 so we have ended up with a top 6 which could have gone onto a top 20 with how long it was taking me to narrow down. So here are those players who made the cut for the 2023/24 season...

Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw

I admit I was a bit worried when Ellen White retired as Man City didn't look to have a huge attacking threat but up stepped Bunny. Shaw has no trouble finding the back of the net and we have recently seen her break Stanway's record to become the all time top scorer for Man City Women with 68 goals in just 82 games which are quite remarkable stats.  Shaw always seems to find herself in the right space at the right time and reads the play really well. She also frustrates the opposition which leads to set pieces for Man City usually in great positions. Shaw is going to be crucial in their charge for the title and as we enter the 2024/25 season, she is great to watch.

So there you have it those are my favourite players of the 2023/24 season, it is certainly getting harder to narrow down these lists and as we approach the business end of the season no doubt some of these could change but only time will tell with that one. Then we have the fun of the transfer window in the off season where yet more names could end up joining the league so no doubt next seasons installment of this post will be even harder to create. For now though let's see how these players perform for the rest of the season, especially Shaw as Man City challenge Chelsea for the title.

Who have some of your favourite players been this season? 

Here we go, after a bit of a break from football which also led to a break from the site we are back. The break from the game has resulted in me playing for a new team which is a very new start up but more on that in it's own post soon. The new team started up after this seasons leagues begun so currently we are playing friendlies to gain that valuable game time before the new season begins later this year. I can't complain though as the friendlies are providing me with opportunities to work on my fitness & technique before we enter the league. 

A new team though also means new kit & training gear and that fun part of packing your bag on a Saturday evening to ensure you have everything you need before heading off to a game on a Sunday. I love the Saturday evening before a game, getting my kit laid out ready and filling my bag with those essentials and here is what I pack...

My kit doesn't actually go in my bag as I make sure I am ready before I head to the game but I couldn't help including our training kit in the post as I just love it, the colour is perfect and the fit is even better. We are currently wearing training kit to games as we await our new kits arrival which I am really looking forward to as the design is brilliant.

The first thing in the bag are the shin pads and I have treated myself to a lovely comfortable pair from Nike for these friendlies and probably into the new season. These are already my favourite shin pads as they fit much better and are much lighter than my old Puma ones. To be honest these have to be one of the first things that go into my bag as I can guarantee if I forget anything it would be my shin pads.

Next up we have the trusty sock tape which I actually use to hold my shin pads in place. The shin pads come with sleeves but with how tight my socks also are the sleeves just seem to restrict me and I am not a fan. A bit of this sock tape around the shin pad though does the trick just as well as the shin pad is held in place. These are super cheap on Amazon too and the colour matches the socks perfectly.

It is safe to say that brands are absolutely smashing 2024 when it comes to the new boot releases. Every week there seems to be a new pair being released that goes straight to the top of my wish list as the releases just seem to be getting better and better however, they unfortunately seem to be getting more and more expensive putting them out of a lot of players price brackets. Even with those high prices though we are seeing some boots selling out straight away as they are throwbacks for the older players and who doesn't want a remake of the boot they grew up playing in? 

Today's post is all about those boots I would love to pick up if I was in the market to buy a new pair (which I could be soon) and if money was no object and let's just say this list was very hard to narrow down. So here are the boots that made the cut...

Nike Air Zoom Mercurial Superfly IX Elite x Air Max Plus FG

There are two things that I really love buying are football boots and trainers so this would be the perfect pair of boots for me in reality as it combines the two really well. The purple trainer version is a pair I have wanted for a while however, haven't felt confident to buy as they are a standout pair for sure however, I feel they would work so much better for me on the football pitch where I prefer the boots that stand out. If money was no object then these are what I would be rocking ASAP. 

 Nike Phantom Luna Elite FG SE 

Oh look another pair of Nike Phantom Luna Elite's but this time it is the special edition pair that just gets more special every time you see them. The colour is absolutely gorgeous on this pair ad in the different Swoosh placement and the amazing detail surrounding the heel placement and you are onto a real winner, plus the sole plate is brilliant and a stand out on its own. Although these look that nice I do believe if I got them I would prefer to have them on display rather than actually wearing them on game days.

Puma Future 7 Ultimate FTR GF/AG

Finally a Puma pair have made it onto the wish list. I have had a few take down models of Puma's in the past so I think it is about time I treated myself to a top end model to see just how good their boots are. I have always liked the Puma's I have had in the past so I am not quite sure why it has taken me so long to get a new pair from the brand. These Future 7's are really standing out to me though as the colour way stands out just the right amount and the colours actually work really well together. The sole plate is a real winner for me as the metallic look works well with the boots upper colours and adds a bit of a standout to the boots without overshadowing the rest of the design.