Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner reflects on a disappointing afternoon under the arch of Wembley Stadium as Chelsea secure the domestic treble in dominant fashion.
A late onslaught from the unstoppable Blues saw Sonia Bompastor’s side secure a 3-0 victory in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. United appeared answerless, unravelling in the final 20 minutes thanks to goals from Catarina Macario and Sandy Baltimore.
Chelsea’s domestic dominance has been glaringly obvious, just as Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s absence was at Wembley Stadium. The Ineos CEO and United co-owner was missing once more, having failed to show at the side’s 2024 Cup Final triumph in a decision to watch his underperforming men’s team lose at home, again. Only this time, Ratcliffe was in London watching the men lose (again) on Friday evening, but failed to show his support for the women’s side today.
Asked whether or not he knew why the club’s owner was a no-show, Skinner commented: “In all honesty, I don’t know why Sir Jim wasn’t here”
“I can’t give you that answer, but we were really well represented, like Omar’s \[Berrada\] up there. So I know we’re trying to find a story, but we’ve just lost the final. And from my perspective, I don’t know the answer to that, and how I feel about that is I’ve just lost the final.
“Our club is really well represented, so those are the people I kind of deal with every day, so that’s the people I need to be here. They need to see that for us to be able to look at what we need to do to close a growing gap in finance that Chelsea have. So yeah, I don’t know the answer, but I feel we were really well supported from the club.
“I’m like, the reality is that it’s the investment in the team that needs to happen. It’s not whether you’re visible. I get that representation and visibility is how you see it, but as long as our club and team is being invested in, that is also a way of showing your support for the team.
“I don’t know the reason why Jim wasn’t here, but as long as the club continues to invest in the right way that we need to do to close that gap, then they’re still showing the support in that way. Visibility is key. I feel the support, and we need to show it in the right way in the summer, I think in order for us to close that gap.”