Why Man Utd fans are 'unique' in women's football
Manchester United could record their biggest ever crowd at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday evening for the final home game of 2022/23 when Manchester City make the short WSL trip.
The game is sold-out and has been for some time. Despite not managing to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final last weekend, it also promises to be a celebration, with United all but mathematically certain to finish in the top three for the first time and qualify for the Champions League.
Indeed, only two defeats in the final two games of the season, combined with two City wins and, most importantly, a wildly implausible goal difference swing, would now see them drop to fourth.
United have surfed the wave of good feeling in the wake of Euro 2022 last summer, which put so many more sets of eyes on the women’s game and has been felt in the stands at club level throughout the WSL, Women’s Championship and below this season. It has also helped that United have been on an exceptional run, putting themselves in title contention and getting to Wembley.
This season alone, United have recorded all of their six biggest attendances at Leigh Sports Village, all over 5,000. That will be the case again when City visit this weekend. Including the two games at Old Trafford against Aston Villa and West Ham, as well as factoring in Sunday’s derby – which could even rival the Leigh record of 7,666 that watched United thrash Liverpool in January – nine of this season’s 11 WSL home games will feature in the club’s 10 all-time top attendances.
Amongst that swell of support, there has been a loyal band of followers since day one – United often recorded crowds in excess of 2,000 in the Women’s Championship in their debut season back in 2018/19, while a dedicated group also travel the length and breadth of the country for away games.
The players often reference the impact of the fans on performances, actually more so away than at home when they continue to be a loud voice backing the team. Mary Earps joked in an interview with 90min last season that noise can make it difficult for players to hear each other, while Katie Zelem referred to the supporters as a 12th player ahead of the FA Cup final.
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"You know if you meet 10 Manchester United fans, they’ll sound like there’s 10,000," manager Marc Skinner mentioned in November shortly after the iconic scenes that unfolded in front of the bouncing away section at the Emirates Stadium.
The boss also gave ‘special mention’ to the fans in the wake of another 3-2 comeback win on the road after United edged a five-goal thriller in stoppage time against Aston Villa at the end of April. He focused specifically on the ‘supportive’ nature of it.
"There was a moment when we were 2-1 down, still trying to push but it wasn’t quite working. The energy was different – it was supportive and pulled us through," he said at the time. "That collective is a real driving factor because [our fans] are literally the best."
As the season now draws to a close, Skinner again praised the impact of the United support.
"When I was at Birmingham, even though we could hear the fans, it wasn’t enough to change your game. When I went to Orlando, there [also] wasn't enough to change your game," he explained. "In Manchester, I feel that you can actually plan into your game strategy that you’ve got this extra energy. This is unique in women’s football where I can bank on that to give energy to our team."
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