If this season told the teams in the Women’s Super League anything, it is that the gap to the top keeps getting closer. Emma Hayes and the Chelsea Women have dominated the domestic league for the past three seasons, only losing three contests in the WSL in three years. Three league titles, two FA Cups and two Conti Cups highlight what this Blues team has done over the past few years, much of that success—at least recently—can be attributed to arguably the greatest striker in the world bringing her talents to Kingsmeadow back in 2020.
Three other individuals that had a large impact on the success during that run are on their way out the door now, most notably Ji So-yun. Gareth Taylor and Manchester City defeated Chelsea to take home the Conti Cup, and nearly upset the Blues at Wembley in the FA Cup final too. Whether it is Arsenal, Manchester United or the Citizens, the talent gap in the FA Women’s Super League is shrinking. Therefore, heading into and preparing for another season of competitive football, Chelsea needs to be conscious of who is behind it and looking to snatch the crown.
The Chelsea Women need to continue to strengthen to remain on top
The rise of other clubs will be good for the league, but concerning for Chelsea. The world saw what Lauren Hemp could do in the FA Cup final. The front three for the Citizens in that match had an average age of about 23.3. This is young compared to the Blues, who had Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder and Bethany England possessing an exact average age of 28 years old. There is only room to grow from players like Hemp, Chole Kelly and one of the most dynamic forwards in the WSL, Khadija Shaw. The Blues have the talent and the coaching to keep them in the hunt, but the question remains, will the others catch up?
Chelsea will no doubt begin next season as the title favorite. But with the Blues suffering their most losses in domestic play under Hayes since 2018/19, and the difficulty of most of the games going forward, some clubs will come into next year believing there is blood in the water. Marc Skinner and Man United is now growing into what the club has aspired to be, so the Red Devils could make a big jump next season. After all, the multi-dimensional attack that Man United has almost knocked Chelsea off on the final day and prevented it from lifting its third straight title.
Alessia Russo, Leah Galton and Ella Toone are all evolving as footballers and with Skinner heading into his second season in charge, the sky is essentially the limit going forward. His 4-2-3-1 formation with Toone in the middle of the pitch pulling all of the strings could elevate to the next level with Russo now going into her own as a consistent goal scorer. The former Chelsea player participated in 22 WSL matches, scoring the same amount of goals in the league as Man City’s Georgia Stanway and the Blues’ Beth England.
The biggest question mark heading into the summer and next season for Chelsea has to be whether or not this team can find a way to keep this remarkable run of play going. Ji is no longer going to be there, so it’s going to be impossible for Hayes to rely on her composure in the middle of the park any longer. Arsenal is not going anywhere, and with the rise of the three teams that finished below the Gunners this past season, it could shape out to be one of the most competitive seasons of WSL football since the league first began in 2011.
From Rehanne Skinner signing a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the 2024 season to Jonas Eidevall agreeing to an extension with the Gunners, there are a multitude of teams trying to create a winning culture. Mirroring what Chelsea has done is the ultimate goal for some of these clubs. While that is better said than done, teams are taking the right steps toward dethroning the Blues. Seeing Chelsea go out in the group stage of the Champions League showed some weaknesses that few saw following the next successful year in the history of Chelsea Women’s football.
Cementing a culture at a club through starting with a quality manager and plenty of youth talent is something that takes a few years. The system has to be in place and the players have to grow and adapt within it. Hayes built the Chelsea empire up for years before bringing in the final blow that would elevate the club to the upper echelon, Sam Kerr. The addition of Harder officially made this team a European powerhouse, but sustaining success for this long is incredibly difficult to do. The toll and pressure that it takes to always be hunted each year physically and mentally is something people take for granted with this squad.
Next year will be another test, possibly the Blues biggest test yet. There is clearly no question that this club has the ability to take on any battle that sits in front of it after watching the results unfold in the final weeks of the season.