Wikipedia

2021–22 FA WSL

The 2021–22 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010.[2] It was the fourth season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.

FA WSL
Season2021–22
Dates3 September 2021 – 8 May 2022
ChampionsChelsea
5th title[1]
RelegatedBirmingham City
Champions LeagueChelsea
Arsenal
Manchester City
Matches played132
Goals scored384 (2.91 per match)
Top goalscorerSam Kerr
(20 goals)
Biggest home winArsenal 7–0 Aston Villa
1 May 2022
Biggest away winLeicester City 0–9 Chelsea
27 March 2022
Highest scoringLeicester City 0–9 Chelsea
27 March 2022
Manchester City 7–2 Brighton & Hove Albion
30 April 2022
Longest winning run9 matches
Chelsea
Manchester City
Longest unbeaten run13 matches
Chelsea
Longest winless run10 matches
Birmingham City
Reading
Longest losing run9 matches
Leicester City
Highest attendance20,241
Manchester United 3–1 Everton
(27 March 2022)
Lowest attendance298
Birmingham City 0–3 Reading
(7 November 2021)

On 4 May 2022, Birmingham City were relegated following a 6–0 defeat away at Manchester City with one game remaining. Members of the WSL since it was founded in 2011, it ended Birmingham's twenty-year stint as a top-flight club having last been promoted as the 2001–02 FA Women's Premier League Northern Division champions.[3]

Chelsea successfully defended the title by beating Manchester United 4–2 in the final matchday, winning their third consecutive and fifth overall WSL title.[4]

Teams edit

Twelve teams contested the 2021–22 FA WSL season. At the end of the previous season, Bristol City were relegated after four seasons in the WSL while Leicester City were promoted for the first time.[5]

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Locations of the 2021–22 FA WSL teams
Team Location Ground Capacity 2020–21 season
Arsenal Borehamwood Meadow Park 4,502 3rd
Aston Villa Walsall Bescot Stadium 11,300 10th
Birmingham City Birmingham St Andrew's 29,902 11th
Brighton & Hove Albion Crawley Broadfield Stadium 5,800 6th
Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Kingsmeadow 4,850 1st
Everton Liverpool Walton Hall Park 2,200 5th
Leicester City Leicester King Power Stadium 32,212 WC, 1st
Manchester City Manchester Academy Stadium 7,000 2nd
Manchester United Leigh Leigh Sports Village 12,000 4th
Reading Reading Madejski Stadium 24,161 7th
Tottenham Hotspur Canons Park The Hive Stadium 5,419 8th
West Ham United Dagenham Victoria Road 6,078 9th

Stadium changes edit

Two teams changed home ground prior to the start of the season: Birmingham City relocated from Damson Park to St Andrew's, home of the team's male affiliate since 1906.[6] Leicester City prepared for their maiden WSL season by moving to their parent club's main stadium, King Power Stadium, with Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium serving as backup when fixtures clash with Leicester's men's side.[7]

Personnel and kits edit

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal   Jonas Eidevall   Kim Little Adidas Fly Emirates
Aston Villa   Carla Ward   Marisa Ewers Kappa Cazoo
Birmingham City   Darren Carter (interim)   Louise Quinn Nike SmartMeds
Brighton & Hove Albion   Hope Powell   Danielle Bowman Nike American Express
Chelsea   Emma Hayes   Magdalena Eriksson Nike Three
Everton   Chris Roberts (interim)   Lucy Graham Hummel MegaFon[a]
Leicester City   Lydia Bedford   Sophie Barker Adidas FBS
Manchester City   Gareth Taylor   Steph Houghton Puma Etihad Airways
Manchester United   Marc Skinner   Katie Zelem Adidas TeamViewer
Reading   Kelly Chambers   Natasha Harding Macron YLD
Tottenham Hotspur   Rehanne Skinner   Shelina Zadorsky Nike AIA
West Ham United   Olli Harder   Gilly Flaherty Umbro Betway
  1. ^ On 2 March 2022, Everton suspended the sponsorship deal with MegaFon and removed the logos from their shirts in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine due to Alisher Usmanov's close ties to Vladimir Putin.[8]

Managerial changes edit

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Aston Villa   Marcus Bignot (interim) End of interim period[9] 10 May 2021 End of season (10th)   Carla Ward 20 May 2021[10]
Birmingham City   Carla Ward Resigned[11] 16 May 2021 End of season (11th)   Scott Booth 30 June 2021[12]
Arsenal   Joe Montemurro Resigned[13] 16 May 2021 End of season (3rd)   Jonas Eidevall 28 June 2021[14]
Manchester United   Casey Stoney Resigned[15] 16 May 2021 End of season (4th)   Marc Skinner 29 July 2021[16]
Everton   Willie Kirk Sacked[17] 16 October 2021 8th   Jean-Luc Vasseur 29 October 2021[18]
Birmingham City   Scott Booth Sacked[19] 18 November 2021 11th   Tony Elliott (interim) 18 November 2021
Birmingham City   Tony Elliott (interim) End of interim period[20] 21 November 2021 11th   Darren Carter[a] 21 November 2021[20]
Leicester City   Jonathan Morgan Sacked[22] 25 November 2021 12th   Emile Heskey (interim) 25 November 2021[22]
Leicester City   Emile Heskey (interim) End of interim period[23] 6 December 2021 12th   Lydia Bedford 6 December 2021[23]
Everton   Jean-Luc Vasseur Sacked[24] 2 February 2022 10th   Chris Roberts (interim) 2 February 2022[24]
  1. ^ Carter was initially appointed as interim manager, but the move was made permanent on 30 May 2022.[21]

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C) 22 18 2 2 62 11 +51 56 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Arsenal 22 17 4 1 65 10 +55 55 Qualification for the Champions League second round
3 Manchester City 22 15 2 5 60 22 +38 47 Qualification for the Champions League first round
4 Manchester United 22 12 6 4 45 22 +23 42
5 Tottenham Hotspur 22 9 5 8 24 23 +1 32
6 West Ham United 22 7 6 9 23 33 −10 27
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 22 8 2 12 24 38 −14 26
8 Reading 22 7 4 11 21 40 −19 25
9 Aston Villa 22 6 3 13 13 40 −27 21
10 Everton 22 5 5 12 18 41 −23 20
11 Leicester City 22 4 1 17 14 53 −39 13
12 Birmingham City (R) 22 3 2 17 15 51 −36 11 Relegation to the Championship
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results edit

Home \ Away ARS ASV BIR BHA CHE EVE LEI MCI MNU REA TOT WHU
Arsenal — 7–0 4–2 2–1 3–2 3–0 4–0 5–0 1–1 4–0 3–0 4–0
Aston Villa 0–4 — 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–2
Birmingham City 2–0 0–1 — 0–5 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–3 0–2 0–3 0–2 0–1
Brighton & Hove Albion 0–3 0–1 1–3 — 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–6 0–2 4–1 2–1 2–0
Chelsea 0–0 1–0 5–0 3–1 — 4–0 2–0 1–0 4–2 5–0 2–1 2–0
Everton 0–3 0–2 3–1 0–1 0–3 — 3–2 0–4 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–1
Leicester City 0–5 1–2 2–0 1–0 0–9 0–1 — 1–4 1–3 0–0 0–2 3–0
Manchester City 1–1 5–0 6–0 7–2 0–4 4–0 4–0 — 1–0 2–0 1–2 0–2
Manchester United 0–2 5–0 5–0 1–0 1–6 3–1 4–0 2–2 — 2–0 3–0 3–0
Reading 0–4 3–0 3–2 2–0 1–0 0–3 1–0 0–4 1–3 — 0–0 1–2
Tottenham Hotspur 1–1 0–1 1–0 4–0 1–3 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 — 1–1
West Ham United 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–4 3–0 4–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 —
Source: The FA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round edit

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for round 16.

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Chelsea7643222222222222211111
Arsenal4211111111111111122222
Manchester City1789979766555655444433
Manchester United3364455654433343333344
Tottenham Hotspur6422334433344434555555
West Ham United10875667577887778677666
Brighton & Hove Albion2157543345778887866777
Reading111111121098888666566788888
Aston Villa55367861010101010999910109999
Everton1212988101099999101010109910101010
Leicester City891010121212121211121111111111111111111111
Birmingham City9101211111111111112111212121212121212121212
Leader and Champions League group stage
Champions League second round
Champions League first round
Relegation to Championship
Source: FA WSL

Results by round edit

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
ArsenalWWWWWWDWWLDWDDWWWWWWWW
Aston VillaWDWLLLWLLLLWLWLLLDWDLL
Birmingham CityLLLLDLLLLLWLLLLLLDWLLW
Brighton & Hove AlbionWWLLWWWLLLLDLLWWLWLLLD
ChelseaLWWWWWWWLDWWDWWWWWWWWW
EvertonLLWWLLDWDLLLLWWLLLDLDD
Leicester CityLLLLLLLLLWLWLWWLLLLLDL
Manchester CityWLLLDWLWWWWDLWWWWWWWWW
Manchester UnitedWWLWDDDLWWWWDLWWDWWDWL
ReadingLLLLWWDWWWWWLLDLLDLLDL
Tottenham HotspurWWWWLDDLWWDLWWDLLLLDLW
West Ham UnitedLDWWDLDWDDWLWLLWDWLWLL
Source: The FA
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Season statistics edit

Top scorers edit

Rank Player Club Goals[25]
1   Sam Kerr Chelsea 20
2   Vivianne Miedema Arsenal 14
3   Beth Mead Arsenal 11
4   Lauren Hemp Manchester City 10
5   Alessia Russo Manchester United 9
  Khadija Shaw Manchester City
7   Bethany England Chelsea 8
  Leah Galton Manchester United
  Georgia Stanway Manchester City
10   Ella Toone Manchester United 7
  Guro Reiten Chelsea

Clean sheets edit

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[26]
1   Manuela Zinsberger Arsenal 13
2   Mary Earps Manchester United 10
3   Ann-Katrin Berger Chelsea 9
4   Ellie Roebuck Manchester City 8
5   Grace Moloney Reading 7
  Zećira Mušović Chelsea
7   Megan Walsh Brighton & Hove Albion 6
8   Rebecca Spencer Tottenham Hotspur 5
9   Hannah Hampton Aston Villa 4
  Demi Lambourne Leicester City
  Sandy MacIver Everton

Hat-tricks edit

Player For Against Result Date Ref.
  Sam Kerr Chelsea Birmingham City 5–0 (H) 21 November 2021 [27]
  Khadija Shaw (4) Manchester City Brighton & Hove Albion 7–2 (H) 30 April 2022

Discipline edit

Most yellow cards Total Most red cards Total Ref.
Player   Maéva Clemaron (Tottenham Hotspur)
  Katie McCabe (Arsenal) 		7   Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United) 2 [28]
Club Tottenham Hotspur 39 West Ham United 2 [29]

Awards edit

Monthly awards edit

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Goal of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club Player Club
September   Jonas Eidevall Arsenal   Beth Mead Arsenal   Pernille Harder (vs Manchester United) Chelsea [30][31]
October   Jonas Eidevall Arsenal   Katie McCabe Arsenal   Katie McCabe (vs Aston Villa) Arsenal [32][33]
November   Kelly Chambers Reading   Jessie Fleming Chelsea   Alessia Russo (vs Tottenham Hotspur) Manchester United [34]
December   Marc Skinner Manchester United   Ella Toone Manchester United   Georgia Stanway (vs Birmingham City) Manchester City [35][36]
January   Marc Skinner Manchester United   Leah Galton Manchester United   Natasha Dowie (vs Leicester City) Reading [37][38]
February   Lydia Bedford Leicester City   Ashleigh Neville Tottenham Hotspur   Caroline Weir (vs Manchester United) Manchester City [39][40]
March   Emma Hayes Chelsea   Alessia Russo Manchester United   Katie Zelem (vs Leicester City) Manchester United [41][42][43]
April   Darren Carter Birmingham City   Sam Kerr Chelsea   Yui Hasegawa (vs Reading) West Ham United [44][45]

Annual awards edit

Award Winner Club
Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season   Sam Kerr[46] Chelsea
Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season   Emma Hayes[46] Chelsea
PFA Players' Player of the Year   Sam Kerr[47] Chelsea
PFA Young Player of the Year   Lauren Hemp[48] Manchester City
FWA Footballer of the Year   Sam Kerr[49] Chelsea
PFA Team of the Year[50]
Goalkeeper   Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea)
Defenders   Ona Batlle (Manchester United)   Millie Bright (Chelsea)   Leah Williamson (Arsenal)   Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)
Midfielders   Guro Reiten (Chelsea)   Caroline Weir (Manchester City)   Kim Little (Arsenal)
Forwards   Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)   Sam Kerr (Chelsea)   Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)

References edit

  1. ^ "A fifth #BarclaysFAWSL title for @ChelseaFCW". Barclays FA WSL Twitter. 28 May 2022.
  2. ^ "The History of Women's Football". Football Association. The Football Association. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ^ Garry, Tom; McElwee, Molly (4 May 2022). "Birmingham relegated from WSL after being hit for six by rampant Manchester City". The Telegraph.
  4. ^ "Sam Kerr's stunning volleys help Chelsea to Women's Super League title as Arsenal finish a point behind in second". Sky Sports. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Chelsea Women win 2020/21 Women's Super League title with Man City Women second, Bristol City Women relegated". Sky Sports.
  6. ^ "Birmingham Women to play at St Andrew's". BBC Sport.
  7. ^ Garry, Tom (25 August 2021). "Leicester City Women to play eight matches at King Power Stadium in debut WSL campaign". The Telegraph.
  8. ^ Burhan, Asif. "Everton Women Suspend Sponsorship With Alisher Usmanov-Owned MegaFon". Forbes.
  9. ^ "Aston Villa Women can confirm that Marcus Bignot's term as Interim Manager has ended following the completion of the season". Aston Villa Football Club.
  10. ^ "Ex-Birmingham boss Ward joins Villa". BBC Sport.
  11. ^ Garry, Tom (14 May 2021). "Carla Ward resigns as Birmingham City Women manager". The Telegraph.
  12. ^ "Scott Booth named Blues Women Head Coach". Birmingham City Football Club.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Arsenal Women manager Joe Montemurro to leave at end of season". The Guardian. 31 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Jonas Eidevall named new Arsenal Women head coach". Arsenal FC. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Casey Stoney to leave role as Man Utd Women Head Coach". Manchester United. 12 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Man Utd appoint Skinner as head coach". BBC Sport.
  17. ^ "Everton sack Kirk after poor WSL start" – via www.bbc.com.
  18. ^ "Everton appoint ex-Lyon manager Vasseur". BBC Sport.
  19. ^ Garry, Tom (18 November 2021). "Birmingham City Women sack manager Scott Booth after just four months in charge". The Telegraph.
  20. ^ a b "Blues Women Interim Head Coach: Darren Carter". Birmingham City Football Club. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Darren Carter named as Blues Women Head Coach". Birmingham City Football Club.
  22. ^ a b "Jonathan Morgan Leaves LCFC Women". Leicester City.
  23. ^ a b "LCFC Women Appoint Lydia Bedford As First Team Manager". Leicester City.
  24. ^ a b Garry, Tom (2 February 2022). "Everton sack manager Jean-Luc Vasseur after just 10 games in charge of women's side". The Telegraph.
  25. ^ "The FA Women's Super League Top Scorers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Women's Super League Goalkeeper Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  27. ^ "%competition_name% (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Yellow cards - WSL 2021/2022 stats". FotMob. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  29. ^ "FA Women's Super League Discipline Stats 2021-22". ESPN. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Arsenal forward Beth Mead wins WSL Player of the Month and Jonas Eidevall named Manager of the Month". Sky Sports. 14 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Pernille Harder September Goal of the Month". Barclays FA WSL Twitter. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Katie McCabe wins WSL player of the month as head coach Jonas Eidevall wins manager award for October". Sky Sports. 4 November 2021.
  33. ^ "Katie McCabe October Goal of the Month". Barclays FA WSL Twitter. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021.
  34. ^ "Chelsea's Jessie Fleming named WSL Player of the Month for November as Reading boss Kelly Chambers wins manager award". Sky Sports.
  35. ^ "WSL awards for Marc and Ella". www.manutd.com.
  36. ^ "Georgia Stanway December Goal of the Month". Barclays FA WSL Twitter. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  37. ^ "Man Utd forward Leah Galton and manager Marc Skinner win monthly award". Sky Sports. 10 February 2022.
  38. ^ "Natasha Dowie January Goal of the Month". Barclays FA WSL Twitter. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022.
  39. ^ "Ashleigh Neville & Lydia Bedford win Barclays WSL player & manager of the month awards". 90min.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  40. ^ "February Barclays FA Women's Super League monthly awards". Sky Sports. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  41. ^ "Emma Hayes wins Barclays WSL manager of the month for March". 90min.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  42. ^ "Alessia Russo crowned WSL Player of the Month". www.manutd.com.
  43. ^ "Katie Zelem March Goal of the Month". Barclays FA WSL Twitter. 7 April 2022. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022.
  44. ^ "Sam Kerr & Darren Carter win Barclays WSL awards for April". 90min.com. 7 May 2022. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  45. ^ "WSL April Goal of the Month | Yui Hasegawa". SkySports. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  46. ^ a b "Hayes and Kerr win Barclays FA WSL Manager, Player and Goal of the Season awards". Chelsea FC.
  47. ^ "Sam Kerr takes home PFA Player of the Year Award". www.thepfa.com.
  48. ^ "Lauren Hemp makes history with fourth PFA Young Player of the Year Award". Sky Sports.
  49. ^ "Chelsea Women striker Sam Kerr crowned FWA Women's Footballer of the Year". Sky Sports.
  50. ^ "2021–22 PFA WSL Team Of The Year". www.thepfa.com.

External links edit

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