How Liverpool won promotion back to the WSL

Liverpool were a founder member of the WSL in 2011 and are a big part of the league's history thanks to back-to-back titles won in 2013 and 2014, the latter coming on an incredible final day when any one of three clubs had a chance to lift the trophy.

But the Reds dropped out of the top flight in controversial circumstances in 2019/20 when the season was abandoned and things decided on a points per game basis.

The WSL missed Liverpool for two years until 2022 when promotion was secured.

This is how they did it...

1. Retained key experience

There is always likely to be a degree of player turnover between seasons, but Liverpool were able to keep hold of invaluable experience in the squad when they were initially relegated in 2020.

Centre-back Niamh Fahey, who won trophies with Arsenal and Chelsea earlier in her career, had joined the Reds in 2018 but stayed on Merseyside and was made captain. It was a similar story for seasoned veterans Rhiannon Roberts and Rachel Furness, both of whom arrived prior to relegation but played important roles in the promotion push.

Even Melissa Lawley, only just 28 when promotion was secured last season, had experience at the very highest level after coming through the youth ranks at Arsenal and later playing in the Champions League for both Birmingham and Manchester City.

2. Re-appointed Matt Beard

Matt Beard laid the foundations for success that would follow at Chelsea at the very start of the WSL era and later guided Liverpool to back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. He also took West Ham to an FA Cup final in their first year as a professional club and there are few coaches working in the English game with a record of success like his over the last 10 years.

Beard was re-appointed as manager in the summer of 2021, speaking at the time of his great love for the club and the city, before setting out his ambitions for the season ahead.

“I’ve come here to get the team promoted, it’s not going to be easy and it’s probably going to be the toughest Championship season ever,” he said.

“But we have a good core group here and the infrastructure is there. It’s about recruiting the right players to improve the team and making sure we have one common goal as a group to achieve what we want to achieve.”

3. Allowed youth to thrive

Although Liverpool kept several experienced heads around, a number of established pros were let go in 2020 and 2021.

That allowed younger emerging stars like Missy Bo Kearns to thrive even more. Kearns had a breakout campaign in 2020/21 but was still only 20 when the 2021/22 season began and was already soon wearing the captain's armband on occasion if Fahey didn't play.

Liverpool-born Kearns played a huge role in midfield in the Championship and has since carried that on into the WSL too. Full-back Taylor Hinds, 22 when the 2021/22 season began, was another big player for the Reds, while a 22-year-old Leanne Kiernan came in and top scored with 13 goals.

4. Strengthened in January

Liverpool weren’t fully satisfied with the squad in January and used the transfer window to complete the statement signing of American forward Katie Stengel, who had played extensively in the NWSL, Australia’s W-League and previously in Europe with Bayern Munich.

“Katie is different to the front players we’ve got at the club and brings a wealth of experience,” Beard said at the time of Stengel’s arrival. “She’s an athletic forward who’s good in tight spaces. We only worked together briefly but she’s a good finisher. She’s an intelligent football player who will be a real help to the team in the second half of the season.”

Stengel scored nine goals in just half a season to push Liverpool to the finish line.

5. Improved throughout the season

It wasn't an easy start to the 2021/22 season for Liverpool, starting off with a home defeat to London City Lionesses - the team who would go on to be the Reds' nearest promotion rivals. Their first home win also didn't come until the third attempt when the Reds beat Crystal Palace.

Liverpool went on to win five of their next six league games after that by two clear goals, befor really upping their scoring in January and February to stake their claim for the Championship title and promotion.

The Reds set themselves up to claim promotion with a 3-0 win over second tier stalwarts Durham and then got the job done on a memorable day away at Bristol City. The last home game of the season the following week was party time as Sheffield United were put to the sword in a 6-1 thrashing.

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