Out of Europe, out of ideas? Manchester City women face big summer rebuild | Tom Garry

Even arsenic the enactment anthems blasted retired nether sunny Manchester skies and the location fans showed their appreciation aft a seven-goal thriller, the celebratory temper could not afloat disguise the undertone of disappointment astatine the Joie Stadium, for a nine wondering what mightiness person been.

On the season’s last time 12 months ago, Manchester City missed retired connected the rubric lone connected extremity difference. This time, they finished 17 points disconnected the runaway champions Chelsea. Worse still, City dropped extracurricular the European places.

It is lone the 3rd clip City person finished extracurricular the apical 3 successful 11 years successful the WSL. There tin beryllium nary mistaking it – this play has been a nonaccomplishment for a nine with greater expectations and, much worryingly, their 3rd consecutive run without a trophy.

City person dropped 11 points from winning positions and, having missed retired connected Europe by 1 point, volition rue the last-gasp equaliser they conceded astatine West Ham successful March. There tin beryllium fewer arguments astir the origin of their slump: injuries.

‘There is simply a immense tendency to get this squad backmost to competing for trophies,’ says Nick Cushing arsenic his spell arsenic interim manager draws to a close. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty Images

City enjoyed a tally of 10 consecutive wins successful each competitions betwixt precocious September and mid-November erstwhile astir of their first-choice players were fit, including a triumph implicit the European champions Barcelona that demonstrated City’s prowess astatine afloat strength.

However, semipermanent genu injuries to Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood arsenic good arsenic spells connected the sidelines for the Khadija Shaw – who inactive ended up sharing the WSL’s Golden Boot contempt lone playing 14 of 22 league games – and Vivianne Miedema took their toll. Mary Fowler’s anterior cruciate ligament wounded simply added to their woes. Their rivals person seen injuries too, and coped admirably, not slightest Chelsea with Sam Kerr retired for the full play – but City’s wounded toll has outgo them dearly.

“There’ll beryllium a reappraisal process, a reflection process for the organisation and for the radical involved,” City’s interim caput coach, Nick Cushing, said. “There are galore things that request to beryllium fixed, but that process I’m definite volition happen. I don’t cognize however it’ll hap oregon erstwhile it’ll hap oregon who volition beryllium involved, but determination is simply a immense tendency successful the staff, successful the enactment and successful the players, to get this squad backmost to competing [for] trophies.”

Cushing returned to the nine successful March after Gareth Taylor’s sacking and said connected Friday that the nine person had “no conversations” with him astir adjacent season. So not unreasonably helium assumed Saturday’s crippled would beryllium his last, though helium volition stay successful station for the inaugural World Sevens Football lawsuit successful Portugal aboriginal this month.

Asked astir his aboriginal again connected Saturday, Cushing added: “I’m contracted until 1 June, truthful erstwhile June 1st comes, I’ll beryllium backmost wherever I was successful December, January, February, I’ll beryllium putting the bins out. I person a immense tendency to person a squad and make that squad into playing a truly attacking benignant and vie for trophies. Where that volition be, I’m truly unfastened to conversations.”

The club’s hunt for a caller manager volition soon beryllium over. City’s managing director, Charlotte O’Neill, and the manager of women’s football, Therese Sjogran, person a immense determination to marque arsenic the nine seeks a mode of responding to Chelsea’s dominance of the women’s crippled successful England.

This City squad undoubtably has potential. In Saturday’s 5-2 triumph implicit relegated Crystal Palace they rallied from 2-1 down astatine half-time to people a flurry of second-half goals, inspired by Aoba Fujino, whose accomplishment past summertime shows City’s oculus for a bully subordinate has not changed.

Rebecca Knaak scores City’s 3rd extremity successful their last WSL crippled of the play with a towering header contempt unit from Allyson Swaby of Crystal Palace. Photograph: Molly Darlington/The FA/Getty Images

City besides person the champion winger successful the part successful Hemp, who finished the run with the highest fig of assists successful the WSL contempt playing successful less than fractional of City’s league games.

They volition present person to regenerate Laia Aleixandri, the talented centre-half who bade farewell to City aft the last whistle. She is understood to beryllium connected her mode to Barcelona. A engaged summertime of concern successful the squad is definite to follow. To person the spot successful extent to situation consistently the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, City volition request it.