Women's Super League end-of-season report cards and team of the year

An enthralling Women’s Super League season has drawn to a close, but how did the 12 teams fare over the campaign compared to their initial expectations? Telegraph Sport’s end-of-season reports for each top-flight side outline whose campaign merits top marks and whose 2021-22 has turned out to be a failure.

Arsenal - 2nd

A

Greatly improved this season under Jonas Eidevall, Arsenal are right up there among the very best sides to have finished second in the table, since the WSL began. Only very fine margins separated them from Chelsea when it came to the title race, and Arsenal fans may look to their surprise loss away to relegated Birmingham City - and only loss of the WSL season - as their undoing.

That represents a missed opportunity, given their favourable head-to-head results against their nearest rivals. However, overall, having been mere spectators in the title race for the previous two campaigns, it has been a good year for the north Londoners.

Aston Villa - 9th

C

It feels like it’s been a ‘par’ year for Aston Villa, who are continuing to lay foundations for a positive future in the WSL. Remi Allen has been terrific for them in midfield and England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has proved to be an inspired signing. The one thing really missing for Villa at the moment is a regular goalscorer and they’ll need to make sure they bring a top-quality finisher into the building this summer to try and kick on to the next level.

Birmingham City - 12th

D

Relegation will be tough to take for Birmingham but it has been on the cards for the past three years and, in truth, 12th out of 12 is exactly where their budget suggests they should finish. The fact they have ended the season pretty strongly will give Darren Carter cause for optimism next season, and his team never gave up.

Also, they will feel unfortunate to have gone down by just two points in light of the controversial manner around their crucial loss to Leicester at home, where their goalkeeper Emily Ramsey was sent off early on and then the red card was later rescinded.

Overall, though, they can have few complaints to be going down, they lack true quality, and it is the club’s long-term underinvestment that is the primary cause of that.

Brighton & Hove Albion - 7th

C-

On reflection Brighton will probably be disappointed with their season overall, particularly the stretch of the campaign which has seen them lose 10 of their past 15 league matches.

They have backed Hope Powell significantly and have given the team top-class facilities with their own dedicated, brand new, multi-million-pound training centre and the target was surely a top-half finish.

The club recently stated that their ambition is a top-four spot and that feels a long-way off at the moment. On the plus side, they stayed well clear of any trouble at the bottom.

Chelsea - 1st

A+

Faultless since February and unwavering under heavy pressure, Chelsea are worthy champions, winning nine must-win games in a row to clinch the title. They know exactly how to get the job done when it really matters and their winning mentality is unrivalled.

Their strength-in-depth has been particularly key this year, keeping them on track despite injuries to key stars including England’s Fran Kirby. Most importantly, they have a coach in Emma Hayes whose people-management skills are invaluable, somehow keeping everyone happy despite intense competition for places across the squad.

Everton - 10th

E-

The season’s biggest under-performers have been Everton, whose campaign was thrown into turmoil when they harshly sacked former manager Willie Kirk after just five matches - three of which had been defeats against the top three - and they have not fully recovered since.

Last summer’s nine new signings never really had a chance to settle into the squad before that change and Kirk’s replacement, Jean-Luc Vasseur, proved very unpopular with the squad.

Since Vasseur’s exit, caretaker manager Chris Roberts has steadied the ship but that doesn’t mean the season has been a major let-down for Everton fans. After all, this was a team who were talking themselves up as challengers for Europe and even title contenders last summer. Incoming manager Brian Sorensen will arrive in June with a good reputation and a fresh start is badly needed.

Leicester City - 11th

C

The East Midlands club will be delighted to have stayed up in their first season as a WSL club, and now they will attempt to establish themselves as a permanent fixture in this division.

They got the important wins when they mattered against Birmingham following Lydia Bedford’s arrival, and their good attendances at the King Power Stadium have also been comfortably above average for the WSL.

The downside has been the concerning form they have shown in the final weeks of the campaign, including some heavy losses, and they will need to make further improvements if they are going to finish above promoted side Liverpool next season.

Manchester City - 3rd

B+

Gareth Taylor’s injury-struck squad started extremely slowly but, once they got going from December onwards, they have been superb, winning 13 straight games in all competitions and 21 of their past 23.

They will be disappointed to have dropped from second to third but, at the same time, pipping their neighbours to a Champions League place was essential and they might end up with two cups too. If they continue their form from the calendar year of 2022 so far into next season, everyone else will need to watch out.

Manchester United - 4th

B-

Given the context of where Manchester United were last summer, this has been a positive campaign for them, despite the ultimate frustration of missing out on the Champions League yet again.

With three of their best players from last term having left the club before the season began, in Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Lauren James, as well as the resignation of much-loved manager Casey Stoney last May and reports of off-field frustration about facilities, new manager Marc Skinner arrived at a tricky time and has steadied things impressively.

They are getting better against the top three too - the next step though has to be investment in world-class quality to take the club to the next level.

Reading - 8th

C+

Kelly Chambers’ Reading continue to perform as a better team than the sum of their parts, and they are now going to be the only club in the WSL next season whose men’s team plays below the Premier League. At times they have looked frail defensively but this remains a very well-coached team with an honest culture and a sensible recruitment policy.

They have adapted well since Fara Williams’ retirement last year, which left a hole many people feared might have been tricky, but they never once looked remotely like relegation candidates.

Tottenham Hotspur - 5th

A

It has been Tottenham's best-ever season and they have completely surpassed expectations, despite operating on a budget that is understood to be lagging behind some bottom-half teams. Head coach Rehanne Skinner has worked wonders and deserves to be named manager of the season.

Her team are superb-drilled and very hard to beat, and although their unexpected fight for Europe eventually faded, their performances gave the competitiveness of the entire division a major boost. Their back four in particular have been superb.

West Ham United - 6th

B+

A top-half finish and a Women’s FA Cup semi-final represents a highly encouraging year for West Ham and Olli Harder, who have made significant strides on previous campaigns. Their recruitment has been very solid and the arrival of Japan’s Yui Hasegawa in particular was a revelation.

They are developing some good young players too and the future looks bright for West Ham fans, although they remain quite a distance away from challenging for Europe, realistically.

Which players impressed the most? Telegraph Sport's WSL Team of the Year

By Tom Garry

After Chelsea and Arsenal battled all the way until to the final match of the season for the Women’s Super League title, their squads have the largest representation in our Team of the Season.

This campaign has also seen some exceptional individual performances that deserve recognition and players from both of the Manchester clubs and surprise packages Tottenham have also made the star-studded line-up.

Goalkeeper: Manuela Zinsberger (Arsenal)

With 13 clean sheets in the WSL this season - three more than her nearest challenger and more than double the vast majority of goalkeepers in the top flight - Austria shot-stopper Manuela Zinsberger had an excellent campaign. The 26-year-old helped ensure Arsenal conceded only 10 goals in their 22 league matches, the fewest in the league. You can expect to see her between the sticks for the opening match of the Euros, against England, at Old Trafford on July 6.

Right back: Ashleigh Neville (Tottenham)

Leading the defensive stats by a distance with more tackles won than anybody else (68) and with the most interceptions (57) has been Tottenham's Ashleigh Neville, and she deserves far more praise than she sometimes receives. No other player in the WSL reached 60 tackles. Rehanne Skinner's team surpassed expectations to finish fifth and Neville's fine performances played a huge part in that.

Centre-back: Millie Bright (Chelsea)

A formidable rock at the back, a calm head and an increasingly-influential leader, Millie Bright has once again been consistently strong throughout the year, and she is the only player to have played in all 18 Chelsea league victories, the most in the division. Her England form has been terrific, too, and is set for a big summer with the Lionesses.

Centre-back: Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)

Alex Greenwood is so comfortable on the ball and her distribution has been integral to Man City's style of play and tremendous 13-match winning streak. She has not just completed more passes than anybody else in the division, but has done so by miles. She completed 1,656 passes and, for context, that’s more than 650 more than the player in third, with only four players reaching 1,000. She's greatly improved defensively too and has deservedly cemented a starting place for her country.

Left wing-back: Guro Reiten (Chelsea)

Technically Guro Reiten is more of an attacking wing-back than an out-and-out left-back but her performances this term have simply been too good to leave her out of this team. She never lets you down, delivering at least a 7.5 out of 10 every single week. And there can't be many better left-footed crossers of the ball in the world at the moment. A superb footballer.

Midfield: Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea)

As hard working for the team as any player out there, Erin Cuthbert can do a job for Chelsea in almost any position and this season she has come up trumps for Emma Hayes in key matches. She's got great feet, vision and awareness, but also a tactical brain and is adaptable to any situation. She is also third for chances created this term, with 47, despite often being deployed in roles where she is required to do a big defensive shift for her team.

Midfield: Kim Little (Arsenal)

If the season had ended at Christmas, Kim Little would have swept the board with every individual honour after a staggeringly good start to the campaign. She was magnificent for Team GB at the Olympics and carried that form into the league.

Midfield: Ella Toone (Manchester United)

Still only 22, Ella Toone is still not quite the finished article yet but all the signs are there that Manchester United and England have a special talent on their hands. She's made good improvements this season and is one of three players to have the joint-highest number of assists (8) to her name. The next step for her is to transfer her fine form from matches against smaller clubs to clashes with the title challengers.

Right-sided forward: Beth Mead (Arsenal)

From setting the season alight at the Emirates on the opening weekend, to creating more chances in the WSL than any other player (72, at a ratio of more than three per game) what a season it's been for Beth Mead. With 11 goals and a joint-league-high eight assists her return in front of goal has been superb, and she has flourished under Jonas Eidevall's management.

Striker: Sam Kerr (Chelsea)

The division's top scorer with 20 goals - six more than Vivianne Miedema in second - and the most overall goal contributions too. Her movement off the shoulder of the last defender is second to none and she was a worthy winner of the Football Writers Associations' player of the year award. Kerr proved this with her two stunning goals on the final day to help clinch the title.

Left-sided forward: Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)

Lauren Hemp is a truly special footballer, a golden gift to the English women's game for the next decade. Her pace and trickery have provided great entertainment throughout the season, even when her club were struggling early on in the campaign, and she ramped up her goals offering too. She sits fourth in the division for goals, assists, overall goal contributions and chances created. The best thing is, she is only going to get better and better.

On the bench

Special mentions deserve to go to Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps and her team-mate Ona Batlle, as well as Arsenal's Leah Williamson - the best passer of diagonal balls around - and her team-mate Katie McCabe, who could very easily have been in the above XI. Aston Villa midfielder Remi Allen's performances have also been heavily under-rated, while Jessie Fleming and Vivianne Miedema remain world-class players that this league is simply lucky to have.

Manager of the season: Rehanne Skinner (Tottenham)

Nobody expected Tottenham to achieve what they have this term and Rehanne Skinner has worked wonders on a relatively small budget. The league has been the richer for Tottenham's surprising challenge for a European spot and, although it has ultimately ended with them out of the running in fifth, they have a huge amount to be proud of.

Do you agree with Telegraph Sport’s end-of-season reports? Let us know in the comments section below