Women’s Super League 2024-25 previews No 12: West Ham

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily Suzanne Wrack’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 11th

The plan

Prospects? Not great. West Ham have lost a host of experienced WSL players and have not recruited players of the same calibre. That isn’t to say there isn’t talent in the squad, but have they done enough to keep pace with teams around them, on the lowest budgets in the league? The signs don’t look good. Last season Rehanne Skinner’s side finished 11th, nine points ahead of relegated Bristol City. “The biggest thing for us is that we’ve got to grow and build on last year,” said Skinner. “It’s a journey and it takes a while. Last year, there were a lot of foundations that we needed to put in place, a lot of things that we needed to get done behind the scenes. Growing the squad is still a priority – every transfer window is important. We’ve got to keep chipping away at that year-on-year, window-on-window.”

Promoted Crystal Palace will probably pose more of a challenge than Bristol City, with a Premier League parent club able to invest a little more. West Ham are reliant on whether Skinner can get the best from what they’ve got and gel together a squad that has undergone a fairly large turnover. “We’re a team where everyone understands what it means to work hard,” said Skinner. “That’s the community. From the start to finish in games – you have the odd ups and downs – you can’t question the effort levels, attitude and intent from the team. We want to be that hard-working, resilient team that never gives up even when it doesn’t go our way. I don’t have any queries with that.”

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The manager

Skinner joined in July 2023, four months after she was sacked by Tottenham after nine straight losses. The job at West Ham is an unenviable one, with resources tight. Skinner has strong pedigree, having coached in the Wales and England youth teams and had a brief spell as an assistant coach with the England senior side in 2020. Her tenure at Tottenham got off to a good start as she lifted the side out of a relegation battle to finish in eighth. The following season they finished fifth. However, things went downhill soon after and the team seemed to lack a playing identity. At West Ham the task is even greater. Skinner will have to work wonders to avoid another relegation battle.

Off-field picture

West Ham didn’t file full accounts for their women’s team for the year ending May 2023, with the accounts of the parent company submitted. In their audit exemption subsidiary accounts, though, the company had only 13 full-time employees and 19 players during that year and recorded a negative equity of -£3.3m. Without a more detailed breakdown it is hard to assess the revenue and matchday income or the investment of the parent company. What we do know is that West Ham operate on one of the smallest budgets in the league and that will probably reflect their league position for the foreseeable future.

Breakout star

Manuela Pavi is an unknown to the WSL, the Colombian forward coming from Deportivo Cali with lots of promise. The 23-year-old played in all four of Colombia’s matches at the Paris Olympics this summer having missed out on the 2023 World Cup through injury. “Manuela is an exciting, energetic forward that has the ability to unlock defences from anywhere across the front line,” said Skinner. “Her performances for her previous club and Colombia have been outstanding, most notably her superb impact at this summer’s Olympic Games.”

A-lister

The Australia midfielder Katrina Gorry shone when not injured last season, providing a dynamic and creative spark. A fit Gorry will be key to a successful season for West Ham. Gorry’s daughter Harper has become a star too, with the club and Australia team regularly featuring the youngster in their media and commercial campaigns alongside her mum. Expect son Koby, born this year, to do the same, as club and country help their mum to balance playing and parenthood. West Ham are not light on A-listers, despite their league position and financial clout, with the US international Kristie Mewis, Japan forward Riko Ueki and France forward Viviane Asseyi among their big-name players.

This summer’s business

Nine in, seven out, including the deadline-day loan signing of the Brighton defender Li Mengwen. There has been high turnover again. The loss of Mackenzie Arnold, Hawa Cissoko, Honoka Hayashi and Risa Shimizu will be keenly felt. “Moving forward, we want to keep those kinds of players,” said Skinner. “As a club, we want to create the stability in the team which protects us from those kinds of situations moving forward. Clearly, when you have key senior players, they’re very difficult to replace; they’ve got the experience in the WSL.” The new signings have potential, but only Shelina Zadorsky and Li come with WSL experience.

Where do they play?

West Ham play all their home games at Dagenham and Redbridge’s Victoria Road stadium. They are one of the only teams not to have played at their club’s main stadium in recent years, something they have faced criticism for. “There are plans to do it,” said Skinner. “Our stadium is tricky because it’s not owned by the club. There is the navigation of that, which has been a problem and a challenge from the club over the last few years. Obviously, there is an intent from the club to play in the stadium. That seems like it’s moving forward positively. The board has been clear that’s something that has to be a priority. Hopefully we can get in a position where we can talk about that more directly soon.”