Gareth Taylor on Vivianne Miedema's arrival and Man City's pressure to win silverware

Manchester City came agonisingly close to disrupting Chelsea’s dominance in 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 and only missed out on goal difference. Seven goals separated Gareth Taylor’s side from Chelsea and the league title, and it was a cruel way to conclude what had largely been a positive campaign.

Taylor is now the longest-serving manager in the division after a flurry of changes across the league, including Emma Hayes’ departure from Chelsea. He took charge of City in 2020, and is experienced enough to know his team cannot let the lingering frustration cloud the remarkable progress shown last year.

“I think you have to be really careful with frustration because you can end up not really doing anything with it,” Taylor said, speaking at the Barclays WSL’s 2024/25 season launch media day earlier this month. “Of course what happened will live long in the memory, but I think we have to turn it into a positive in terms of the football we played and the games we won.

“I would say we probably created the most exciting WSL title race ever and who's to say it might not happen again, will it be that close again? For me it's recognising what we did really well and how we can improve and that's been the real target in pre-season.”

One of the biggest “what ifs” from the season for City was a heartbreaking injury to star striker Khadija Shaw at the end of the campaign. The 27-year-old Jamaica international still finished as the league’s top goalscorer and golden boot winner, but her absence during the final stretch was sorely felt.

It’s all ifs, buts and maybes - but given her relentless goalscoring was halted at such a crucial juncture, it’s hard not to wonder what might have been had she remained fit. While City do have goals throughout the team, Taylor recognised the need for another proven goalscorer and moved swiftly to sign Vivianne Miedema on a free transfer from Arsenal.

The Netherlands international is the current all-time leading goalscorer in the WSL, and is the joint-record holder alongside Rachel Daly for the most in a single season (22). Injuries have hampered her dominance in recent seasons, but Taylor believes Miedema’s best years are still ahead of her.

“I think we've signed the top talent in Viv,” the manager expressed. “She's done so much in the WSL, so it's a good signing for us and I think that we just need to coax that talent out and the early signs have been good.

“The way she's adapted, because don't forget she’s a player who's been at one club for a long time so there’s going to be a settling in period. What that looks like during the season we'll have to see because we've got good competition up there, and we see Viv being able to do attacking midfield positions as well. I think she's got the best years ahead [of her].”

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

Japanese prospect Aoba Fujino was among the new recruits this summer, as was centre back Naomi Layzell, and both are just 20 years of age. 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 in the boys' academy at City, working with young players, and I know what young players can bring,” Taylor explained. “We brought in Laura [Blindkilde Brown] last season, another young player who is starting to really step up now. 

“Of course, nothing against more experienced players. We have worked with many of those as well. But I think it just depends on, firstly, who is available out there and also if we can get their best years. Certainly, I feel when the players are a little bit younger, they are more open to learning, especially our way, which is not an easy way to learn. 

“Naomi, as an example, was great for us because we just felt like it was someone who caught our eye previously and is an English player, which obviously we have to consider the English quota as well. She was a player that I heard really good things about, regardless of what I saw. I also heard that she was really open to learning and improving and getting better.”

A positive start to the season will be crucial if City are to battle for silverware once again. But, as far as opening day tests go, it doesn’t get more difficult than Arsenal away at the Emirates.

Both of their league meetings with the Gunners ended in 2-1 defeats last term, a result Taylor and his team will be desperate to avoid this season. The manager insists there isn’t necessarily pressure to deliver silverware this season, but in terms of ambitions, the goal is always the same - to win the league.

“People can look at trophies as being 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 we are going deep in pretty much every competition is what we're about.

“People tend to forget that there's four or five teams that are really close to winning at the beginning of the season, and there's only one team that can ever win but that doesn’t make the other four a failure. It's really tough but the objective is absolutely to win. I'm not going to hide away from that. 

“I said last season our ambition was to win the WSL, we went super close. Nothing changes for this season and we'll be giving it our best.”

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