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Man Utd’s plans for time off & training during WSL winter break

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Manchester United players will be granted some well-deserved time off for Christmas during the WSL winter break, but manager Marc Skinner insists he will be back at work after only two or three days of downtime with his family.

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United have enjoyed an excellent first half of the 2022/23 season, sitting third in the WSL table and seven points better off than at the same stage of the previous campaign.

Having taken four points from huge away games against Arsenal and Manchester City either side of thrashing Aston Villa at Old Trafford, United’s final game of the calendar year is a dead rubber in the Continental Cup against Sheffield United on Sunday.

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The team’s next game after that isn’t until 15 January when Liverpool visit Leigh Sports Village.

After this weekend, Skinner and the coaching staff are set to go out together for a meal before everyone temporarily parts ways for Christmas. The boss has vowed not to contact any of the players or support staff during the Christmas period to allow them space to relax and unwind.

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Skinner himself plans to spend just a few days over Christmas with his partner and daughter, visiting his parents and in-laws. But with a crucial second half of the season on the horizon and the January transfer window also representing an opportunity to potentially strengthen, his break will be short.

“I’ll be working, my phone never goes off,” the boss explained.

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“There’s a [transfer] window coming up, so I’ve got work to do. We’re going to look to see if we can manoeuvre the squad, maybe bring some players in if it’s the right option for the club.

“But we’ll always be looking in windows anyway to see if there is potential to improve the squad. Even with how well we’ve done now, we can’t stand still.”

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Once the current United players have had their break and rest, they will work on individual programmes that would mirror a typical off-season training plan to maintain fitness, before returning for full training as a squad. The club is also weighing up potential options for a warm weather training camp and the squad could therefore go away together in the first half of January.

As for Sunday’s Conti Cup game against Sheffield United, Skinner has confirmed that Aoife Mannion has a chance of making the bench following her recovery from an ACL injury suffered in February. The centre-back, who is part of the senior leadership group, is not expected to play any part even if she does make the matchday squad but would still benefit from being back involved.

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Her proper return to action on the pitch has always been earmarked for January.

Skinner has also hinted that a handful of youngsters from the academy ranks could also get their chance. Alyssa Aherne is ‘definitely’ in contention after recovering from injury last month, performing well since and impressing in first-team training this week in particular.

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“[Aherne] trained with the group today and I thought she was excellent. She will definitely be one we’re looking at if we do give exposure in this moment,” Skinner said on Wednesday.

“Jess Simpson, if she hadn’t been injured, she would have been one as well. Obviously, Saf [Middleton-Patel] would be as well. Ella Kinzett and Keira Barry have been doing well. There are a lot of players doing well that are fitting that next mould we will be looking at into the New Year.”

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For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter!





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Tottenham handed double blow in pursuit of new manager

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Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino would both be open to succeeding Antonio Conte at Tottenham, but would prefer to wait until the summer to decide their next respective moves, 90min understands.

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Spurs confirmed on Sunday night that they had mutually agreed to part ways with Conte following a dismal run of results, notably capping off his tenure by labelling his players as ‘selfish’ in an explosive press conference after drawing 3-3 with Southampton.

Conte’s former assistant, Cristian Stellini, has been placed in interim charge until the end of the season with the hunt for a new permanent boss underway – this search could be complicated by FIFA’s decision to enforce managing director of football Fabio Paratici’s footballing ban, subject to appeal.

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Two of Spurs’ targets are currently out of work, with Nagelsmann recently having departed Bayern Munich and Pochettino unemployed since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last year.

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However, sources have told 90min that both of them would prefer to wait until the summer to decide their futures.

Nagelsmann would like to manage in the Premier League one day but it is by no means a priority for him right now.

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An interesting wrinkle in Spurs’ potential pursuits of Nagelsmann and Pochettino is that both are holding out to see whether the Real Madrid job will become available.

Carlo Ancelotti’s future at the Santiago Bernabeu remains uncertain following a limp defence of their La Liga title. 90min understands that even retaining the UEFA Champions League may not be enough to save his job.

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Real Madrid have been linked to Nagelsmann and Pochettino in the past, but were concerned about their records in regards to winning titles. However, these doubts have been alleviated after leading their respective sides to Bundesliga and Ligue 1 glory.

Beyond Nagelsmann and Pochettino, another candidate high on Spurs’ shortlist of candidates is Luis Enrique, who has been out of a job since December when he left the Spain job following their 2022 FIFA World Cup exit.

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Enrique’s last club job saw him spend three years at Barcelona from 2014 to 2017. He notably won the treble in his first season back at Camp Nou and won at least one trophy every year of his reign.

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On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott SaundersGraeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Julian Nagelsmann’s future and links to the vacant Tottenham head coach role, Barcelona’s ambition to bring Lionel Messi ‘home’, Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson, Florian Wirtz, Kalvin Phillips and more!

If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

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Erik ten Hag hails Sir Alex Ferguson’s legacy after Premier League Hall of Fame induction

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Erik ten Hag has hailed Sir Alex Ferguson as a ‘guidance for all managers’ following his induction into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

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Ferguson and ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger became the first managers to be inducted into the newly-established Premier League Hall of Fame on Wednesday. The induction was just desserts for an astonishing career at the top of the game for Ferguson, who won an astonishing 13 Premier League titles during his 27-year tenure at Old Trafford.

Current Man Utd manager Ten Hag, who has led the club to Carabao Cup success in his maiden season in charge, has been pictured having dinner with Ferguson in recent months, and it’s widely known that he’s looked to the Scot for advice and guidance about United.

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Now, speaking to the Premier League’s official website, Ten Hag has said of Ferguson’s induction: “He left a legacy. Manchester United is Alex Ferguson and by setting the highest standards and highest values, bringing a winning attitude, he built that into the new club. 

“He’s a guidance for all the managers in top football. How you construct and mould teams, how you coach them and manage them. He won 13 times the Premier League. No-one else can ever do that again, such a huge performance. And then all the other cups he won, he won the Treble… no-one ever did it before or after so that tells you everything.

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“Winning so many trophies, and in an attacking way. He had the right feeling when to rebuild and to reconstruct a new team, to refresh it because he did it over two decades.”

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Speaking about meeting up with Ferguson and learning from the Premier League icon, Ten Hag said: “I am really pleased he wants to share his knowledge with me. It is great to talk to him, learn from him, and I hope we can do it more and often. In football, it is about winning, that makes him the number one. 

“There are many others who are really successful – Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp but he did it over 26 years and he won the most.”

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“I’m truly delighted to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. It’s an honour when you receive recognition like this. However, it’s not just about me as a person. It’s about the job at Manchester United and the bond we had over many years, so I’m also proud for the club, the staff and my players.

“My job was to send the fans home happy. United’s history and my own expectations were the things that drove me, and I then had to try and develop all my players with the same expectations and make sure we could go out and achieve them.

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“I feel Arsene is a very worthy inductee as he transformed Arsenal Football Club fantastically. They became a tough team to compete with and we both wanted to win, which motivated us further. Through the years since retirement, we’d go for dinner together in a little restaurant he knows well in Switzerland. He is a really interesting man and I enjoy his company, but it is still my job to pick the wine!”



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Alex Morgan late game strike gives San Diego Wave opening day win

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Alex Morgan powered the San Diego Wave to their first win of the season with a late goal to blast them past the Chicago Red Stars.

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In front of a sellout crowd of 30,854 fans at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, Morgan’s 89th-minute penalty sealed all three points for the Wave in a hard-fought match.  The Red Stars and Wave were evenly matched for the majority of the game, with Chicago having a slight edge in possession with 52% of the ball. 

Chicago got on the scoresheet first with a Yuki Nagasato left-footed shot to the top right corner in the 18th minute. But San Diego wouldn’t stay quiet after that, quickly equalizing through an Amirah Ali header from close range in the 22nd minute, then doubling their lead in the 32nd minute with a goal from Jaedyn Shaw in the bottom right corner. 

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Yet, the Red Stars climbed back into the game with a Mallory Swanson penalty just before halftime. 

However, the Wave was far more determined at the end, culminating in Morgan’s penalty in the game’s dying minutes. After the victory, Morgan thanked Wave supporters and spoke about their support in getting them the win.

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“30,000 in the stands just kept us going. Just to win in our first game, feel good going into the season, there’s no better feeling. Hopefully we get 30,000 fans next game.”

With over 30,000 fans attending the match, the Wave broke the NWSL attendance record, previously set by the Orlando Pride in 2016, with 23,403 fans.

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San Diego will continue their NWSL campaign this weekend at home as they take on the North Carolina Courage. 





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