Casey Stoney resigns as Manchester United Women manager: A look back at her time at the club

Casey Stoney took charge of her final game as Manchester United Women’s manager on Sunday when the Red Devils were knocked out of the FA Cup – losing 3-2 to Championship champions Leicester City at Leigh Sports Ground on Sunday.

Her resignation was announced by the club last Wednesday, and it came as a shock to many given how well she did at the club and that her contract was to run for another season.

It has been reported that she doesn’t have another job lined up, but there is suggestion that a new side in America called San Diego, who are expected to enter the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022 are interested in appointing her as their head coach.

So why did she resign?

It is thought that Stoney wasn’t happy with the training facilities offered by the club during the season just gone. They were due to make the Cliff training ground in Salford their base, but its refurbishment is yet to be completed, so they were training at Leigh Sports Village (adjacent to where they play).

There were issues with the pitch at LSV and a number of players including Tobin Heath, Alessia Russo and Leah Galton picked up injuries as a result during the season. Stoney’s side moved to Carrington during the season, but were forced to work around the training plans for the men’s first team and Covid protocols didn’t help.

How did fans react?

Many fans have used Stoney’s departure as a weapon in their protests against their owners, the Glazers. Since the plans for the so-called European Super League were drawn up and Manchester United were involved, protests around Old Trafford have gained more traction and of course fans actually broke into the stadium ahead of the men’s team game against Liverpool on May 2^nd, which had to be postponed due to security issues.

Below are some of the responses to the announcement on Twitter:

What did she achieve during her time at the club?

After United’s women’s side was formed in 2018, she became the club’s first manager and they won the FA Women’s Championship in their inaugural season, losing just two games, which meant they were promoted to the WSL, the top tier of women’s football.

She had a win rate of just under 68%, and only lost 19 games, winning 52 of her 77 games in charge.

She also managed to attract well-established American internationals Christen Press and Tobin Heath to the club and she helped to develop younger players into the squad such as Lauren James, Ella Toone and Ona Batlle, who won the player of the season award.

In the club’s first two seasons in the WSL, Stoney achieved fourth place finishes on both occasions, and was just one point away from a Champions League spot this season. They also reached the semi-finals of the Conti Cup in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

How did her side fare this season?

United had an excellent first half of the season, and were unbeaten in their first 10 games – winning eight – and they were well in the race for the WSL title at Christmas being top from November until they lost to eventual winners, Chelsea in January.

A shock 2-0 defeat to Reading and then a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the start of February saw them drop to third, and then they were battling it out with Arsenal for the final Champions League spot.

A dramatic 2-0 loss to the Gunners in March put Joe Montemurro’s side in the driving seat for the spot and a 1-0 defeat to Brighton meant that Stoney’s side were relying on Arsenal to slip up, which they didn’t do.

It was an emotional day on Sunday when United were knocked out of the FA Cup, and fans were there to greet her outside the ground following the match and offer their support.

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