WSL 2022/23 Preview 9: Reading
WSL 2021/22 final position: 8th
Reading have signed two of Northern Ireland’s Euro 2022 squad - goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns and forward Lauren Wade.
How we fared last season
9 January 2022: Reading 1 Leicester City 0
Although defeated, this was one of the games that should give Leicester heart going into a second WSL campaign despite being written off by many.
It took a superb lob from Reading striker Natasha Dowie to seal the points and, although the home side were dominant in the first half, Leicester pushed them all the way after the interval.
Relegation rivals Birmingham’s shock 2-0 win over Arsenal saw them jump off the bottom and Lydia Bedford’s side found themselves at the foot of the table again. Perhaps Bedford saw enough in this game to inspire confidence that they wouldn’t be there for long.
1 May 2022: Leicester City 0 Reading 0
Leicester inched towards WSL safety with this draw that forced Birmingham into a position of needing to win their final two games to stay up. Reading were the better side, enjoying two-thirds of possession and hitting the post in the first half, but they were unable to break the deadlock.
It was another sign that Leicester were coming to terms with life in the WSL.
When we face them this season
Away: 29/30 October 2022
Home: 1/2 April 2023
View from the stands: Abi Ticehurst
How happy were you with Reading's performance in the WSL last season?
The two seasons prior saw a huge exodus of players leave and that summer break always made rebuilding the squad a tricky task. Last season felt like it was about creating a foundation of a team. We went on an insane run of form - 10 games unbeaten and we felt unstoppable in December and January.
That run included beating Chelsea for the first time in our history. I think that might even be my favourite performance from the team in recent years - to hold on to a 1-0 lead for 86 minutes was unthinkable.
That said, February chimed round and it seemed to go downhill from there and I was hugely disappointed that we had our worst WSL finish despite breaking a number of club records earlier in the season. While I wasn’t expecting to win the league or make a Champions League spot, the tumble down the table after maintaining 5th spot for so long was disheartening.
What are your expectations for this season and are you happy with your transfer business so far?
Two things from the squad ideally.
Firstly, getting straight out the blocks. It took us four games last season to score a goal and I don’t want to see a repeat of that.
Secondly, I’m hoping to see real cohesion amongst the group. They’ve looked a little off-kilter in previous seasons, which I suspect is due to being a new team each year. But given it’s mostly the same squad as last year, I’d expect the group to be well-gelled at this point.
I remain undecided about our transfer window. I didn’t expect us to make quite as many signings as we have and I’m hoping the fact we have a new Irish contingent, to rival our Welsh one, plays into that team cohesion I’m looking for. The lack of professional experience amongst them concerns me a little but Kelly Chambers has obviously seen something in them all that means she wants to bring them on board.
I’m incredibly glad we’ve got Emma Mitchell back from maternity leave too. I think she brings a level of experience we sometimes lack in our backline and her set piece intelligence has been much missed.
Which Reading player should we look out for most?
Sanne Troelsgaard. She went a little under the radar when we signed her in the January window. She’s not an all-singing, all-dancing type of player either, she just quietly gets on with her job which I think makes her underrated. I don’t think we saw even half of her potential last season either.
Kelly Chambers hinted about rotating Troelsgaard’s midfield role into more of an attacking one and we saw a little pinch of that in the last few games but I think there’s a lot more to come from her as a player. She’s next level when it comes to her game commitment so I’m hoping we see lots more of that from her.
Honourable mention to Deanne Rose too - she’s still so young and she was electric for us last season. More of that please!
Did any Leicester players stand out in our games against you last season?
Freya Gregory - she was a menace down the left wing - composed yet pacy on the ball. Scary good for only 19.
Lastly, how was Euro 2022 for you?
I don’t have enough superlatives in the locker to describe the tournament. Five weeks on and I’m still emotional about the whole thing.
I was at England’s games against Norway and Northern Ireland. I caught a few of the other games including Denmark against Spain and Germany against Austria.
The England games were obviously incredible, but seeing the talent on show from the other national teams made me even more excited for the trajectory women’s football is on right now.
I bought tickets to the final in July last year on the off chance England might make it and with the thought of ‘a final is a final, why wouldn’t you want to watch’ and I have all the praise for past me for doing so. It was electric and I’ve never cried so much over a football match. Total elation at the incredible journey the Lionesses took us on for four weeks.
Abi writes for Football in Berkshire - Follow @FiB_Women on Twitter, a showcase for Reading and all the other Berkshire sides competing in the Women’s Football Pyramid.