Gareth Taylor on Vivianne Miedema’s arrival and Man City’s push for silverware

Manchester City came agonizingly close to disrupting Chelsea’s dominance of the Women’s Super League last season.

After 18 wins from 22 games, they finished level on points with their rivals at the top of the table, missing out only on goal difference. Seven goals separated Gareth Taylor’s side from Chelsea and the league title, and it was a cruel way to end what had been an excellent campaign.

Taylor is now the longest-serving manager in the division after a number of changes in the league, including the departure of Emma Hayes to Chelsea. He took over at City in 2020, and he has enough experience to know that his team cannot allow lingering frustration to cloud the impressive progress shown last year.

“I think you have to be very careful with frustration because you can end up not doing anything about it,” said Taylor, speaking at a media day to launch the 2024/25 Barclays WSL season earlier this month. “Yes, what happened will remain in the memory for a long time, but I think we have to change it for the better in terms of the football we played and the games we won.

“I’d say we’ve probably created the most exciting WSL title race ever and who’s to say it might not happen again, is it going to close like that again? For me it’s about seeing what we did best and how we can improve and that was the real reason for the pre-season.”

One of the biggest “what ifs” in City’s season was the tragic injury to star striker Khadija Shaw at the end of the campaign. The 27-year-old Jamaican still finished as top goalscorer and winner of the golden boot, but his absence in the final period was sorely felt.

It’s all ifs, buts and maybes – but given his endless goals at such a crucial time, it’s not hard to wonder what could have been had he stayed fit. While City had goals across the board, Taylor saw the need for another proven striker and was quick to sign Vivianne Miedma on a free transfer from Arsenal.

The Netherlands international is the current leading scorer in the WSL, and shares the record with Rachel Daly for most goals in a single season (22). Injuries have hampered his dominance in recent seasons, but Taylor believes Miedema’s best years are still ahead of him.

“I think we have signed a top talent in Viv,” said the manager. “He’s done a lot in the WSL, so it’s a good signing for us and I think we just need to recruit that talent and the early signs are good.

“The way he adapts, because don’t forget that he is a player who has been in the same team for a long time, so there will be periods of settling down. How that looks during the season we will have to see because we have good competition at the top, and we see Viv being able to attack in the middle of the field. I think he has the best years ahead of him [of her].”

City’s recruitment strategy has also changed in the transfer window. While there is still room for experienced names, for example Miedema this summer and Jill Roord last year, there has been a strong emphasis on signing younger prospects.

Japan’s Aoba Fujino was among the new recruits this summer, as was midfielder Naomi Layzell, and both are just 20 years old. 21-year-old midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown was also signed back in January following Jill Roord’s ACL injury.

“I have spent most of my coaching career at City’s youth academy, working with young players, and I know what young players can bring,” explained Taylor. “We brought in Laura [Blindkilde Brown] last season, another young player who is really starting to step up now.

“Yes, there is nothing against experienced players. We have worked with many of those as well. But I think it just depends, first of all, on who is out there and whether we can find their best age. Of course, I feel when the players are young, they are more open to learning, especially our method, which is not an easy way to learn.

“Naomi, for example, was good for us because we felt that she was someone who caught our attention before and she is an English player, which obviously we have to consider the number of English people. He was a player I heard good things about, regardless of what I saw. I also felt that he was really open to learning and improving and getting better.”

A good start to the season will be crucial if City are to fight for silverware again. But, judging by the opening day test, it doesn’t get much harder than Arsenal away at the Emirates.

Both of their league meetings with the Gunners ended 2-1 last season, a result Taylor and his team will be looking to avoid this season. The manager insists there is no pressure to deliver silverware this season, but as usual, the goal remains the same – to win the league.

“People can look at trophies as the be-all and end-all and, don’t get me wrong, I’m here to win,” Taylor concluded. “Of course we want to be there, but I think the fact that we’re going deep into every competition is what we’re all about.

“People tend to forget that there are four or five teams that are really close to winning when the season starts, and only one team can win, but that doesn’t make the other four a failure. It’s really hard but the goal is to win. I will not hide from that.

“I said last season our desire was to win the WSL, we became very close. Nothing has changed this season and we will be doing our best.”

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