By TARA ANSON-WALSH, FOOTBALL REPORTER
Published: 07:50 EST, 18 December 2025 | Updated: 07:50 EST, 18 December 2025
The winds of change are sweeping down from the Peaks, with one club edging ever closer to loosening Chelsea’s stranglehold on the women’s top flight.
For six consecutive seasons, the Blues have reigned supreme in the WSL, rewriting records year after year. Their triumph last season – the highest points tally in a single campaign – seemed to sum up the seamless passing of the torch from Emma Hayes to Sonia Bompastor.
And while Chelsea’s dominance is undoubtedly impressive, it has cast a shadow over the league. A one-horse race may feel glorious for the club lifting the silverware, but it risks stifling wider interest in the women’s game, especially in the wake of another landmark summer for the Lionesses, when momentum is more crucial than ever.
Halfway through the season, however, there appear to be serious rumblings coming from within the City Football Academy, where a passionate and candid new manager, exciting summer arrivals, and a newfound cutting edge have propelled Manchester City to the top of the table at the winter break, six points clear of the reigning champions.
City have been Chelsea’s closest challengers in recent years, but their title pushes have faltered at the final hurdle, undone by injuries and a lack of cutting edge when it mattered most.
Last season epitomised that pattern. After being denied their first WSL crown in eight years on goal difference in 2023-24, City opened the new campaign with a 12-match unbeaten run. Yet the momentum soon unravelled: a defeat at Stamford Bridge, Alex Greenwood sidelined in November, and a growing injury list featuring Lauren Hemp, Vivianne Miedema, and Bunny Shaw, to name just a few.
Jeglertz spent his early days encouraging the players to take more responsibility in training, asked the squad to split into groups and work out the tactics together in his early sessions
By January, Chloe Kelly had forced a loan move away, while academy graduates Lily Murphy and Gracie Prior were thrust into regular starting roles. Defeat to Chelsea in the League Cup final sealed Gareth Taylor’s departure, and interim boss Nick Cushing guided a depleted squad to a tropyless season and no European football in fourth. Their last and only top-flight crown in 2016 a long way away.
This season though, optimism has returned – helped in no small part by the arrival of new head coach Andree Jeglertz, whose upbeat presence immediately lifted the mood.
Jeglertz may be little known in England, but his pedigree is clear. The 53-year-old has led both Finland and, most recently, Denmark’s national teams, and City women’s director Therese Sjogran has tried four times – at City and elsewhere – to secure his signature.
Those at City describe him as charismatic and approachable behind the scenes, similar to his approach with the media, while his CV speaks to his success: a Champions League title with Umea in 2004, two Manager of the Year awards in Sweden, and a reputation as one of Scandinavia’s most respected coaches.
Crucially for City, Jeglertz favours ‘the City way’ – a style aligned with the men’s and academy teams – but is also willing to rotate and adapt his squad. That flexibility is seen as a welcome shift from Taylor’s overreliance on his starting XI, which insiders felt contributed in part to last season’s injury struggles.
At full fitness, City boast arguably the league’s most formidable squad. Shaw claimed the WSL Golden Boot for the second consecutive year last season despite missing large chunks of the season, and her form has continued to be more imperious than ever. The Jamaican striker has already racked up 12 goals in the opening 11 games of the season, pulling well clear of the chasing pack.
Kerstin Casparij has also been splendid on the right flank for Manchester City this season
Hemp and Greenwood, two-time Euros-winning Lionesses, have brought quality and composure following their welcome returns from injury, and Yui Hasegawa continues to anchor the midfield as the league’s standout defensive midfielder. Kerstin Casparij has also been splendid on the right flank.
This summer, the squad blended experience with youth. Germany’s Sydney Lohmann – a Bayern Munich serial winner and famously on the receiving end of former City star Jill Scott’s ire in the Euro 2022 final – has helped strengthen the midfield, while 19-year-old Swiss breakout star Iman Beney has added pace and creativity.
How Jeglertz will continue to keep this large squad satisfied if they do retain their fitness levels may become a bigger question later down the line, but it’s fair to say that his emphasis on open and honest communication is a good starting point. After all, it certainly worked for Sarina Wiegman.
Jeglertz spent his early days encouraging the players to take more responsibility in training. In one of his first sessions, rather than walking them through the videos himself, he asked the squad to split into groups and work out the tactics together, a move that initially surprised his players - but one that they now appreciate.
He has been prioritising strengthening their mental fortitude, and their 12-1 aggregate scoreline from the last three games suggest it's working.
Speaking after Sunday's 6-1 thumping of Aston Villa, Jeglertz said: 'We are scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes again and it shows the attitude. Talking about the hunting, always wanting a little bit more. That has to be the drive for the team, we can never be satisfied and comfortable.
'If that happens, I think we will struggle. That always has to be seen in our team and that’s the key thing I’m talking about everyday.'
The unity within the squad will be further strengthened when City move into their new purpose-built women’s training facility, which some of the players were consulted . No longer sharing with the men’s and academy teams, players have expressed their excitement at having a space that is their own while remaining connected with the wider club.
Lauren Hemp (above) and Alex Greenwood, two-time Euros-winning Lionesses, have brought quality and composure to the City squad following their welcome returns from injury
Located next to the women’s training pitch at the CFA and within sight of the Joie Stadium - the league’s only purpose-built women’s ground - the complex will include a dedicated nutrition area and a hydrotherapy pool, as well as a balconies overlooking the complex.
Relaxation spaces are designed to encourage players to linger after sessions, helping to foster squad culture. The aim is to relocate in time for the final few months of the season.
The pieces appear to be falling into place at precisely the right time. With no European football to juggle, one of the strongest medical departments in the women’s game, and genuine momentum behind them, there will be far less room for excuses this time around.