Angela Addison, Evelyne Viens and why Shamrock Rovers' Lia O'Leary could be hot property this summer - your women's football roundup
It has been quite a week in the women’s game, with league and cup matches taking place at all levels all over the world, and there has certainly been a lot for fans to discuss and plenty for them to get excited about.
As ever, this newsletter will provide you with all of the latest analysis and talking points from every corner of the globe, ensuring that you are kept well up to date with everything that has been taking place.
3 key talking points….
Angela Addison is really proving her worth at Charlton Athletic
Going into the penultimate weekend of what has been a highly competitive and thoroughly engrossing Championship season, there was still so much to play for at both ends of the table, with one relegation spot still to be determined and the title race not yet sewn up. As a result, many were keeping a close eye on all matches in the second tier as the weekend went on, with it clear that one result here or there could change the whole picture.
In the end, the relegation picture was completed as Reading picked up a win and Lewes suffered another defeat, condemning the latter to the drop alongside already-relegated Watford, whilst there was drama at the top too as Sunderland also incurred a defeat that ended their promotion hopes and that led to Crystal Palace putting one foot into the WSL.
However, they are not mathematically there yet as Charlton Athletic are still in with a chance of overtaking them, even if it would require a huge swing in goal difference in their favour, and one player who has been key to ensuring that there is still something to fight for is Angela Addison. In a squad stacked with quality, she has been the one that has really glued everything together for them, with her quality in transitions and general speed around the field really helping her side to get into promising areas and to keep their opponents under constant pressure.
“Having worked with her previously I am well aware of the flair and creativity that she possesses and I am really excited to see how she can help the team move forward.”
Charlton Athletic head coach Karen Hills, speaking to the club website in July 2022 after signing Angela Addison.
At the weekend, it was her presence and ability to flit between the channels that led to Sunderland struggling to compete with Charlton during the match, and there is no doubting that she is the type of player who can control the tempo of matches to help her team instigate their game.
Regardless of what league Charlton are in next season, it will be vital that they have her in their ranks, and she will be someone that every opponent will need to keep a very close eye on.
Evelyne Viens continues to look like a Roma transfer masterstroke
When Sophie Román Haug left Roma last summer for Liverpool, there would have been a few people wondering how the Serie A champions would be able to replace her goal threat, especially as Roma had already invested heavily in their squad by that stage and had predominantly focused on other areas of the team.
However, her departure meant that they too felt that they had been left a little short of options in the final third and that they would need to find another attacking player to bolster that part of the squad, and they could have been forgiven for targeting a high profile signing from one of Europe’s major leagues, given the status that they had established for themselves.
This is not how they work though when it comes to conducting transfer business, with them not simply targeting the best players but looking at who best fits their profile and compliments their overall squad balance, and the player that they felt had the necessary attributes for this role was Kristianstads striker Evelyne Viens, who had been starring in Sweden up until then.
https://twitter.com/mia_eriksson/status/1658157665841983488
As each game has gone by, the decision to bring her to the club has looked more and more like a stroke of genius as each game has gone by, and what has really made her catch the eye is her natural pace and ability to break behind opposing lines, which has given them some variety when compared to Valentina Giacinti, as well as her versatility, with her capable of playing in any of the forward positions.
It is the latter that led to Fiorentina struggling to keep her quiet at the weekend and perhaps being happier with the point, whilst she changed the game earlier in the week when she came off the bench to help her team over the line in the top-of-the-table meeting with Juventus.
https://twitter.com/DAZNFootball/status/1779930383158509649
There are only a few weeks left in the Serie A season and Roma currently sit 11 points clear at the summit, and they will have one eye on next season as they look at how they can keep developing and ensuring that they don’t let the top flight trophy escape their grasp. If they are to successfully lift it in 12 months’ time, Viens will have to be kept fit and available for each game, with it clear to see just how vital a cog she is in their machine.
Why Lia O’Leary could be the subject of a transfer battle this summer
Whilst Shamrock Rovers ended last season without getting their hands on the Premier Division trophy, having finished third in the table, it was a positive first campaign back in existence for the Tallaght-based club and one that gave them plenty to build on as they looked to further cement their status as one of the Republic of Ireland’s stronger sides.
For a closer look at Shamrock Rovers’ 2023 campaign, have a look at my article for Total Football Analysis here:
Their attacking style of play was built on the contributions of so many and the collective threat that they posed in the central and final third, but one player who really caught the eye as the campaign went on was Lia O’Leary, who tended to feature at left-back but who was also seen in more advanced positions in plenty of their games and contributing both goals and assists whenever she could.
With a few key members of the team moving on during the close season, her ability to get involved in their build-up and attacking play could be even more important as the current season goes on, and her importance in that regard was highlighted by the quality of her performance during Shamrock’s All-Island Cup win against DLR Waves at the weekend when she was at the heart of everything that they did well.
https://twitter.com/TBAGIG/status/1782885069578740196
There are some reports that she could move on from Shamrock in the summer, with interest in her services coming from abroad and her having spent time with Championship promotion hopefuls Crystal Palace and with Italian side Sassuolo during the break, and that will concern a number of fans.
However, it can be expected that Shamrock will do everything possible to retain her for as long as they can, with it clear that doing so will be vital if they are to remain in the hunt for silverware.
Read all about it….
Chelsea’s UWCL tactical masterclass - the match that has got everyone talking after the weekend is Chelsea’s outstanding win in Barcelona to leave them with an advantage in their semi-final clash, ahead of this weekend’s second leg. It was a win that was built on some very clever tactics from Emma Hayes’ team, and Abdullah Abdullah has dived into some of those in this article on his own Substack page, Pressing Matters.
The current state of the Spanish game - when Spain won the World Cup last year, there were many players who hoped that it would undergo the kind of positive revolution that occurred in England following Euro 2022. However, in an interview with BBC Sport, Aitana Bonmatí has stated that nothing has changed and that that has been incredible disappointing, as Emma Sanders writes here.
A coach’s perspective when watching Chelsea - in something quite new to the digital content world, The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur watched Chelsea’s win against Aston Villa in the week alongside former NWSL and Netherlands coach Mark Parsons, with him offering insight on some of the tactical aspects to the game in this fascinating read.
Lend me your ears….
Chelsea’s Masterclass and Lyon’s Resurgence - with so much happening in so many different areas, the latest episode of The Women’s Soccer Show is well worth spending some time listening to, with a look at the NWSL’s last-minute transfers, the UWCL semi-final first legs, the latest from the WSL, the Championship and the NWSL and so much more.
That’s all for now - back next week!!