‘Marc Skinner divides opinions but Man United need more investment’ - Lianne Sanderson

Lianne Sanderson was full of praise for Marc Skinner as Manchester United progressed to the next stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in their first year in the competition, shown on Disney+.

After a second-placed league finish in the 2022/23 season, United made it to the qualifying rounds for the 2023/24 season, but were knocked out before making it into the proper competition.

Despite losing to two-time UWCL winners Wolfsberg and eight-time winners Lyon in the league phase this season, their early wins have guaranteed finishing in the top 12 and therefore a shot at a quarter-final. Sanderson praised Skinner’s efforts, but insisted the club need more investment to compete at the highest level.

‘He’s doing a good job’ - Sanderson

As well as being guaranteed a play-off for a quarter-final spot, Manchester United sit fourth in the Women’s Super League, just one point behind European champions Arsenal in third.

Former England international Sanderson has been impressed by what she is seeing from United this season, under Marc Skinner who stands as the longest-serving manager in the WSL after taking over in 2021.

“Marc Skinner divides people's opinions,” Sanderson said. “But I think he’s doing a good job with the squad that he has. I don’t think it’s fair [that he gets a tough time].

“When you look at the likes of Alessio Russo, Mary Earps and Katie Zelem that they lost in quick succession - they've had a lot of outgoings and not much coming in.

“I think Elisabeth Terland's been brilliant and Melvine Malard's been good this year. So I think Man United are exceeding expectations and fair play to them.

“I judge Mark Skinner on what I see. And what I do see is that they've lost a lot of players but they've still made two FA Cup finals."

‘Man United must invest more into their women’s team’

Despite trying to compete with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, United have had limited funds to do so in comparison.

Following a 3-0 defeat in the FA Cup final to Chelsea, a team who have broken records with player signings and have American businessman Alexis Ohanian investing tens of millions into the club, Skinner spoke out on the investment gap.

"The reality is that it's the investment in the team that needs to happen," Skinner said. “Chelsea spend - and they win for it.

“As long as our club and team is being invested in, that is also a way of showing support for the team. For us, we need to close that gap.”

Sanderson agreed with Skinner’s sentiment and that their progress has been impressive with the resources they have had available.

“Yes, there are times when they probably could have been better,” Sanderson added. “But at the same time, with the budget that Skinner has been given, from the moment Manchester United women became a team, which is only seven years, they've done amazingly well.

“People forget Arsenal was founded in 1987 and they’ve built that throughout the years. Chelsea have been around a long time too and it takes a while to build these things.

“But I do think that Manchester United have to invest more into the women's team financially, because otherwise you see what's happening. Other teams like City, Arsenal and Chelsea will just run away with it.”

UWCL next stages

While Manchester United have guaranteed themselves a top-12 finish, only the top four in the league phase go straight through to the quarter-finals.

Teams finishing fifth to 12th will face knockout rounds in February to determine who progresses to the final eight.

United face a tough match against Juventus on their final matchday. with all games kicking off at 8pm UK time and being shown on Disney+.

"The fact that Disney+ have got all of the games available, I think it's massive," Sanderson said.

"It's never been done before and I'm buzzing to see how it will all wrap up, it's going to be fantastic seeing all the games."

Lianne Sanderson is covering the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Disney+ this season. Watch the UWCL Matchday 6 live on Disney+ on 17 December, with expert analysis as all nine games kick off together.