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The kind of consistency that underpinned Manchester United’s fight for trophies on two fronts last season – in the WSL and Women’s FA Cup – hasn’t been there in 2023/24.
United have had some big highs this season, including thrashing Everton, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur in the first half of the campaign. None more so than a long-awaited first victory over Chelsea in the last four of the cup, the only domestic opponent they had never beaten.
But home and away defeats to Liverpool, dropping points they weren’t doing last season against the likes of Tottenham at home, West Ham away, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City, and steps backward in their record against the established ‘big three’ in the league have been hard to swallow.
Rachel-Brown-Finnis, former England goalkeeper turned pundit, describes United’s performances, which haven’t yielded more any runs longer than two consecutive WSL wins in 2023/24, as she speaks to 90min ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup final.
“Playing at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea [in the WSL in January], they were absolutely so far under par and just didn’t bring the energy or the desire to look like a collective team. But they brought the best Man United performance of the season come the semi-final,” Brown-Finnis says.
“They need to remember what that felt like, remember what they did beforehand, remember everything they need to do and just bring that performance [in the final]. The fact they could do it against Chelsea, I think that’s the frustration of the fans, the players and the manager as well.”
United’s return to Wembley continues the search for a first major trophy, having fallen agonisingly short this time last year. They now have experience on their side, with opponent Tottenham making their cup final debut, as well as the pain-fuelled motivation to ensure they get over the line this time.
“Anything that’s new or unknown, you tend to fear or is uncertain. A lot of those feelings and sentiments are allayed because they’ve been there,” Brown-Finnis explains.
“The added motivation of watching Chelsea walk up, receive the winners’ medals and the trophy…I’ve been runner-up a few times. Watch them receive their medals because it just gives you that edge if you ever get the chance again to be in the final, you want to be that team dancing around, jubilant and doing snow angels in the confetti. United will have that relatively fresh in their mind from it just being a year ago. That will certainly be added incentive to go out and be winners.”
Plenty of the pre-match narrative from a United perspective has focused on whether winning the FA Cup could ‘save’ an otherwise disappointing campaign. It is a juxtaposition of breaking new ground in one competition, while at the same time suffering through a backslide in another.
“Ultimately, the form this season hasn’t been the best, but win this trophy and I do think it should be seen as a successful season,” Brown-Finnis continues.
“There have been games where they’ve had flashes of excellence, but games that have had a disappointing performance and the pressure has been on the players and Marc Skinner. At the end of the season, to win the FA Cup for the first ever time, I think would start to calm and pacify the fans who have been rightly vocal about what they want from Manchester United.”
Rachel Brown-Finnis was talking to 90min to promote the ‘Trophy Pour’’ which has seen the FA Cup make its way to both Manchester and London in the build-up to the final. Handing fans the chance to get a picture with the trophy, it was accompanied by a special Adobe Women’s FA Cup coffee van as a nod to original 1971 winners Southampton celebrating their triumph over a cup.
“We’re right outside the National Football Museum, which has been a brilliant advocate of re-energising women’s football. Most people know now that it was banned for a long time, but the historians at the National Football Museum have been very proactive about showcasing women’s football – the pioneers of the past, but also current success and the future. And it’s great to be able to go to Ella Toone’s old school in Manchester, one of their own wearing the red shirt on Sunday, obviously won the Euros and a World Cup finalist. Manchester is football, end of. I don’t think they discriminate whether it’s women’s or men’s football.”
