It's... the Split
With 22 games down SWPL 1 has split in two, the top six and bottom six facing a final ten games to solidify their positions. We've revisited our predictions and had a look at how they've done so far.
The split is upon us, our twelve team league becomes two six team leagues with one half fighting for the title and a Champions League berth and the other looking to steer clear of the threat of relegation. 10 final games, 900 minutes of pure, unadulterated, SWPL action awaits.
Last season Glasgow City had a six point lead going into the split but didn’t secure the title until the final day, Aberdeen went from relegation threatened to comfortably safe, and Dundee United in the opposite direction. The split always brings the dramatics.
We were at Hampden to chat with members of the top six about their seasons so far and thought it would be a good time to put egg on our faces by revisiting our predictions and then making some more...
Unfortunately the bottom six were not made available at this event. It isn’t going to stop us talking about them in this article, however, there won’t be quotes from a player representing each club. A number of players have expressed frustration at how they feel they have been treated by the SWPL since the introduction of the split, and we hope they are listened to and changes can be made so that we can get their insights at events like Monday’s.
Rangers
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 3rd/4th
Current position: 1st
We can hold our hands up here, we got Rangers very wrong (especially Matt who had them fourth!). We do stand by our pre-season concerns though, Jo Potter came into the job in the summer with no prior senior managerial experience. She replaced Malky Thomson who had stepped down after a disappointing season which saw them miss out on Champions League qualification on the last day and lose in the Scottish Cup final. The vibes were not hitting, until the season kicked off and our minds were scrambled with tactical innovation like we’ve never seen.
That innovation has seen Nicola Docherty moved from her usual spot bombing up and down from left back to a role on the left side of a back three (after a brief stint in midfield) and she gave us some insight into how Jo Potter has managed to achieve success so quickly.
When Jo first came in she had conversations with every single player. They were very honest conversations, ‘what were our goals and ambitions for the season ahead’, etc… and Jo obviously outlined hers. I think at the minute Jo came through the door, she set very high standards, and I think that probably comes from the experience of her being a player herself, obviously representing her country. So, I think that's probably been the biggest thing, her attention to detail. Yes, she's maybe not been at many previous clubs, but I think either you have it or you don't as a manager and I certainly think Jo has it.
Post split is going to be the biggest test of that ‘it’ factor so far for Jo Potter’s Rangers. They may have made it through the first part of the season unbeaten but it is worth remembering that Glasgow City did the same last season, and had a greater lead going into the final ten. Playing the teams around them in constant six pointers is going to be tough, they have experience and mentality from the likes of Nicola Docherty that should keep them focused on the task.
Post split prediction: 1st
Aberdeen
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 9th/10th
Current position: 7th
Clinton Lancaster’s first season in charge of the Dons has seen them exceed expectations. Hannah Stewart told us before the season began that they were looking to pick up more points and finish higher up the table, they have certainly achieved that. Only five points away from last season’s total with ten games remaining.
An early tear of form will be both cause for optimism and disappointment. They burst out the gates picking up 12 points from their first six games and having some discussing a potential top six charge. Clinton Lancaster’s focus on possession to draw their opponents out was partnered with solidity in their back line making even the early losses promising.
13 points from the 16 games that followed including heavy defeats at the hands of Celtic, Hibs, and Glasgow City has seen their performances weaken into the final stretch. Their previously precise possession play has started to falter with mistakes coming in situations that will have fans, and coaches, screaming “just get it away”. While their chance creation has been nullified to crosses and set pieces. These final ten games offer an opportunity to get that good feeling back ahead of the summer, and to make a statement of intent to charge the top six next season.
Post split prediction: 7th
Celtic
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 1st/2nd
Current position: 2nd
Celtic lost out on a first SWPL title in probably the most dramatic circumstances ever. A 92nd minute goal for City, followed by a 94th minute disallowed goal for Rangers that would have seen Celtic lift the title, and the crowd at Celtic Park went from elation to heartbreak in seconds as the news broke out. Before the season the discussion was whether this could be it, whether Fran Alonso could get his hands on that trophy. Then, just before Christmas, he departed for Houston and everything was turned on its head.
Elena Sadiku was appointed just before the season resumed from the winter break and Celtic had a new, slower but more controlled, style of play to adapt to. It wasn’t the greatest start but things have started to look very impressive recently and the club are in a better position than last season. Kelly Clark told us how they are using those that came before as motivation to upset their Glasgow rivals.
It's definitely something that we’ve spoken about, you know, but it's not even just Fran, it's for all the girls that have been here before. I think back to the first professional team of players like Jodie Bartle, Sarah Teegarden, Charlie Wellings, Liv Chance… and the impact all of them had on Celtic’s journey. I don't just want to win it for those that are here this year, but I want to win it for those that have been there and had a part to play in the journey.
Sadiku’s first taste of SWPL action came in a cup semi against Rangers that Celtic lost 3-2, days later they had a trip to Petershill to face the title holders who would see out an 89 minute lead to win 1-0. If they are to win the title, or even qualify for Europe, they must get results against those sides. It shouldn’t be forgotten how much of a threat Hearts, Hibernian, and Partick Thistle are either. Celtic are starting to gel with the new tactics, in these ten games they will be looking to show that the new style is a winning one.
Post split prediction: 3rd
Motherwell
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 7th/10th
Current position: 8th
We couldn’t agree on whether Motherwell would be relegation threatened or the best of the bottom six before the season began. The answer? Neither… They have managed to turn on the style to stay away from really being in the relegation battle, but not enough to stay outside the conversation.
At the season launch event we spoke with Gill Inglis who revelled in their performance from the season gone as they proved the doubters that had tipped them for relegation wrong (we can neither confirm nor deny whether this was us). They are sat 11 points and 15 goal difference worse off than they were at this stage last season and on a run of one win in five going into the split. That win was an impressive performance away at Spartans, a direct relegation rival.
It’s hard to imagine a team dropping a six point lead over sides that have found points hard to pick up this season, but, crazier things have happened and Motherwell shouldn’t count their chickens yet. The loan additions of Laura Berry, Brooke Nunn, and Sophia Martin have really boosted their attack which had been depleted by January exits. Alongside (another loanee) Kayla Jardine, Bailley Collins, Louisa Boyes, and captain Gill Inglis, they should have enough to get over the line. But they need to show something they haven’t this season to do so, consistency.
Post split prediction: 9th
Glasgow City
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 1st/2nd
Current position: 3rd
Glasgow City are in a weird place, they will be disappointed with their position but are actually on a more than respectable points total. Last season’s record hasn’t even been met by Rangers who are (deservedly) getting heaps of praise. With four points between them and the title they are facing ten massive games before the season is out, we asked Jo Love how she thought they were coping with that pressure.
The girls in our dressing room don’t really get carried away and they've all bought into what we want to do at Glasgow City and our aspirations and goals. Everyone's got their part to play and I don't think particularly experience is gonna help too much just because everyone has got their fair share. Sometimes I think it's good that the new girls that come in, they can bring in a bit of fresh views and ideas that we haven't thought about because we've just been there for so long. So it's nice to see all the views in the changing room.
Alongside Partick Thistle and Celtic, Glasgow City are one of the only teams to take points off of the incumbent leaders. They will be able to take optimism from that achievement into this final run. A record of ten wins in a row heading into the split will also provide an air of confidence around the Petershill club, that confidence only enhanced by the January arrivals of Fiona Brown and Carlee Giammona. Two attacking players who add a bite to City’s attack that hasn’t been as fierce as years gone. Fiona Brown in particular is playing in attack like she has a point to prove after recent years playing wing back for Rosengard and Scotland.
Under normal circumstances we would be talking about Glasgow City’s impressive season, but the SWPL is never ‘normal circumstances’. Ten games to reclaim the throne, crazier things have happened, and four points becomes a very slender lead when you have the opportunity for a six point swing in your favour before you even start to think about other teams providing a helping hand.
Post split prediction: 2nd
Spartans
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 7th/9th
Current position: 9th
Spartans’ position in the league has been a bit of an enigma throughout the first stage of the season, good performances were met with some incredibly bad luck (from refereeing to deflections and everything in between) and they’ve found themselves in a battle to stay up. At the season launch event Robyn McCafferty told us missing out on top six last season “set a fire” in the squad, they need to relight that fire (SWPL safety is their only de-siiire).
Their struggles have been compounded by an injury list that has seen important players missing, players forced to play out of position, and an increasingly draining squad depth. And then to add the cherry on top of the struggle cake, legendary manager Debbi McCulloch stepped down as the league was entering the winter break. Replaced by Spartans men’s icon Jack Beesley who left his role within Hearts’ academy to take up the mantle in senior football for the first time.
It’s extremely difficult not to look at the form Spartans put together in the bottom six last season and expect a repeat. They only dropped points once in ten, a 2-2 draw with Motherwell, going unbeaten over the final stretch. If they can tap back into the mentality they showed then, they should find their way out of the relegation conversation with ease, and potentially jump over Motherwell in the process. The fun thing about football/life is that that is an if, nobody knows what awaits us in these ten games (other than really good football that you should go see in person, ticket links at the end).
Post split prediction: 8th
Hearts
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 3rd/4th
Current position: 4th
Before the season began we were very excited by Hearts. Eva Olid had finished consecutive seasons in a higher position than before, they had recruited strongly over the summer, and we had questions of all of the top three. They clearly were thinking along similar lines with Georgia Hunter telling us they were looking to try and split the top three before the season began. They may not have reached those lofty heights but this has certainly been another season of progress for the Jambos. They can hold up the best defensive record outwith the top three (for the second season in a row) as a real mark of success, as a member of that back three Georgia Hunter was very well placed to tell us how they have made defending an art.
From the start of the season there’s new players that have come in and I think you’re always going to perform well if you can create those relationships within the team and we’ve moved from a back four to a back three so changing that has maybe helped with the clean sheets. But, I think overall within the team we’ve created those strong relationships. You want to work hard for each other and you’re always going to put your body on the line.
Last season Hearts helped decide the direction of the title with a 1-1 draw against Rangers and they will have that opportunity again. Looking to control games as Eva Olid directs with an attacking force that can suffocate sides if they slip up makes them a fierce opponent for anyone. We had become accustomed to that being in a 4-3-3 shape but the arrivals of Girasoli and Waldie have welcomed a move to a 3-5-2, Ciara Grant drops in as the holding midfielder with a combination of Sade, Rennie, Bell, Lockwood, and Michie either side of her. With the depth they have in this area they can come up with solutions to anything thrown at them. Sade and Lockwood can break defences with their pace and skill on the ball, Rennie offers more of a playmaker approach, Michie a ball winner supreme, and Bell the all-rounder. It is the heart of their team and it is as strong as any in the league.
The one black mark on their season so far is their derby record against Hibernian. A 1-0 loss at Tynecastle followed up by a 2-1 loss at Easter Road, they won’t want the Hibees to walk away from this season with the bragging rights no matter what order the league table is in. Both games to come have been moved to Friday nights under the lights to try something different to attract more fans, something to keen an eye on from the two clubs who have broken the attendance record more than once in recent years.
Post split prediction: 5th
Montrose
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 8th
Current position: 10th
Before the season began we were very hot on Montrose, they had made SWPL 2 their playground on their way to the title and recruited some very exciting players while keeping their title-winning core. At Scottish Power HQ Jade McLaren went as far as to label their long term ambition to be at the top competing with the top three. Now, in the short term they need to stay focused on remaining in the division.
Earlier in the season, six losses on the bounce had manager Craig Feroz considering his future with the club telling the Courier “I asked myself ‘am I the best person to take this club forward?’”. A win against Dundee United answered his own question and he has since extended his stay with the club sat 10th, level on points with Spartans. As the season has gone on they have looked more and more comfortable at this level and head into the split on the back of a 7-0 win.
Over the final 10 fixtures the focus will be clear, stay up by any means. Their future is in their hands and they have shown they have what it takes to make Links Park a very difficult place to go. With Jade McLaren frequently scoring goals that leave our mouths agape, Holly Daniel causing havoc on the wing, and Lauren Perry’s composure between the sticks, they have a team that will feel confident of getting the job done.
Post split prediction: 10th
Hibernian
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 5th
Current position: 5th
There has been a lot of conversation around Hibernian over the last few years, as Rangers, Celtic, and Hearts have shot up the league they have lost their status as one of the teams to watch. Grant Scott’s return at the start of the season was a statement that they were looking to return to that perch and amongst the fans there has been a lot to be happy about so far: Jorian Baucom is amongst the top scorers in the league, the style of play has improved (albeit regularly changing), and they are unbeaten against Hearts.
Saying that, the work is nowhere near done yet to claim they are ‘back’. Before the season began we highlighted that with the turnover in the squad, the average age taking a nosedive, and the situation they were in would mean this wasn’t an overnight process, something Joelle Murray agreed with at Hampden.
Yeah, it's never gonna be a quick kind of process. We knew that it was gonna be a journey and I think what Grant has instilled in the players is a confidence, more belief, and I think you can see that. Especially in the last few performances, players are approaching games with absolutely no fear. I think that comes down to the the way that Grant’s managed everyone… We want to be a club that has an identity and a playing style. I think although you have your kind of primary formation and style, I do think it’s always helpful and beneficial to have a Plan B. We’ve shown across the season that we’re very versatile, very flexible, in the sense that we can play a back three or a back four, a front two or a three. I think it’s important we have that flexibility.
The final ten games for Hibernian are likely going to be a test of matching up against Hearts and Partick Thistle and experimenting with ways they can hurt the top three. Eilidh Adams will unfortunately miss the final ten with a broken foot which will limit Scott’s flexibility in an attacking sense, but there are plenty of opportunities for tinkering at the back and in midfield in those top three matchups.
Post split prediction: 4th
Dundee United
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 11th
Current position: 11th
Dundee United sit in the relegation play off spot, and do not look to be in a good state heading into the split. After a run of seven losses on the bounce they parted ways with long term manager Graeme Hart in February. That run is now ten without a point, but, they have appointed Suzy Shepherd who has some experience at this level with Spartans and helped build an impressive Boroughmuir Thistle side in SWPL 2.
Before the season began we spoke to Katie Frew at Scottish Power HQ (hey, that rhymes!) to get an idea of how she felt her new club were progressing from last season’s battle to survive. She told us that they were using that experience to push on and bring more intensity. What she couldn’t foresee was the goalkeeping crisis that saw them utilise seven keepers in 13 games, or just how difficult they would find goals without Danni Findlay’s attacking output.
As the side that has lost the most games in the division they face a huge challenge to stay up. Suzy Shepherd has the task of replicating her time getting the best out of the Boroughmuir Thistle squad to squeeze as many points as possible out of the final ten. Priority number one will be coming up with an answer to the great footballing question ‘how do we become harder to beat?’. In their last five versus bottom six opposition they have conceded 18 goals. Simply put, that has to change. Scoring goals is important but keeping them out is what will get them the points needed.
Post split prediction: 12th
Partick Thistle
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 6th
Current position: 6th
At the start of the season while making our predictions we had discussed whether Partick Thistle’s top six triumph was a bit of luck or whether it was an achievement they were likely to repeat. We landed on the repetition side of that coin, Rachel Donaldson backing us up and explaining that that their aim was to prove any doubters wrong this season.
Last season the split was a momentous occasion, but one that brought with it a very difficult run. One point from their last ten games, a draw with Hearts, saw them finish the season on a low despite such an impressive position, Amy Bulloch told us how they were using that experience to better this year’s performance.
Yeah, definitely. I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with it being learning. Top six last season was definitely a learning curve, we haven't been there before, each game we were showing up trying to do our best. Doing what we do. But this year we've had the experience of playing top six, how to play against each team, and have proven that with the nil nil against Rangers. Some people were a bit like ‘Partick Thistle celebrating a draw against Rangers’ but it's the first time we’ve taken points off a top three side, so we're definitely making progress and I think we will have a few more shock results, hopefully, within the top 6.
This season the Jags have evolved their tactic from being a tough to play side that will work harder, run faster, be stronger, than their opponents to add a technical element. They are seven points and 13 goal difference better for it and it is certainly an exciting development at a very ambitious club. With fourth only four points away, and a cup final to come, this has been an historic season for them. A couple more moments of glory would really cement it as one for the red and yellow history books.
Post split prediction: 6th
Hamilton Accies
How’s Your Touch pre-season prediction: 12th
Current position: 12th
Last season’s relegation play off saw the departure of Gary Doctor, with assistant Robert Watson stepping into the role over the summer. Despite having lost fewer games this season, they have won half as many and sit three points worse off from their 22/23 total at the split. The relegation battle was always going to be tough this season with no real obvious candidate to go down.
Wins against Dundee United and Motherwell alongside good draws against the remaining three in the bottom six will have spirits up, they have proven they can step it up and take points off of the teams around them. Sitting level on points with Dundee United and three behind 9th keeps the hope alive, and with the attacking threat of Josi Giard and Mason Hope it’d be a fool’s bet to rule them out.
The final ten games for the New Douglas Park residents are unlikely to be pretty, and they don’t need to be. Everything is on the line and if there’s one thing that is consistent between men’s and women’s football it’s that Accies will fight till the last. Repeating their record against bottom six sides (W2 D4 L4) will likely see them stay up, if only it was that simple…
Post split prediction: 11th
The first round of games is coming this weekend with Hearts vs Glasgow City (BBC Sport) and Celtic vs Rangers (BBC Alba) live, but, we all know the SWPL is better in person. Below is a list of ticket links from the clubs so you can get in the stand and cheer on your side. There is a prize for best chant at the end of the season, just saying.
Partick Thistle tickets (pay at the gate, £7 adults, £5 concessions, kids go free)
Aberdeen tickets (pay at the gate, £5 adults, U16s go free)
Motherwell tickets (pay at the gate, £8 adults, £5 concessions, U16s go free)
Hamilton Academical tickets (pay at the gate, £8 adults, £5 concessions, U16s and Accies men’s season ticket holders go free)