The 2018–19 FA WSL was the eighth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the first season after a rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football. The previous FA WSL 2 became the Championship – eleven clubs competed in the 2018–19 FA Women's Championship.

FA WSL
FA WSL trophy
Season2018–19
ChampionsArsenal
3rd WSL title
15th English title
RelegatedYeovil Town
Champions LeagueArsenal
Manchester City
Matches played110
Goals scored336 (3.05 per match)
Top goalscorerVivianne Miedema
(22 goals)
Biggest home winManchester City 7–1 West Ham United
(14 October 2018)
Arsenal 6–0 Reading
(21 October 2018)
Chelsea 6–0 Bristol City
(20 February 2019)
Biggest away winYeovil Town 0–8 Chelsea
(7 May 2019)
Highest scoringManchester City 7–1 West Ham United
(14 October 2018)
Yeovil Town 0–8 Chelsea
(7 May 2019)
Average attendance1,010[1]

Arsenal won their first WSL since 2012 with a 4–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.[2]

Teams

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Following restructuring of the women's game in order to provide for a fully professional Women's Super League (WSL), membership of both the first and second tier is subject to a licence, based on a series of off-the-field criteria. Yeovil Town estimated the budget needed for a WSL season at about £350,000.[3] Existing WSL teams were first offered the opportunity to bid for licences,[4] with all applying FA WSL clubs retaining their place in the first tier, with Brighton & Hove Albion from the WSL2 also offered a place in the WSL.[5] From the first tier, Sunderland were unsuccessful in their license application.[5]

This left up to two places in the WSL and up to five places in the Championship for applying clubs.[4] Fifteen applications were received for both the top two tiers,[5] and West Ham were given a licence in the second stage, so that the league is made up of 11 teams.[6]

Team Location Ground Capacity 2017–18 season
Arsenal Borehamwood Meadow Park 4,502 3rd
Birmingham City Solihull Damson Park 3,050 5th
Brighton & Hove Albion Crawley Broadfield Stadium 6,134 2nd, WSL 2
Bristol City Filton Stoke Gifford Stadium 1,500 8th
Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Kingsmeadow 4,850 1st
Everton Southport Haig Avenue 6,008 9th
Liverpool Birkenhead Prenton Park 16,587 6th
Manchester City Manchester Academy Stadium 7,000 2nd
Reading High Wycombe Adams Park 9,617 4th
West Ham United Romford Rush Green Training Ground 3,000 7th, WPL South
Yeovil Town Dorchester The Avenue Stadium 5,229 10th
 
Arsenal celebrates winning the 2018–19 FA WSL season.

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Bristol City   Willie Kirk[7] Signed with Manchester United 29 May 2018 End of season (8th)   Tanya Oxtoby[8] 4 July 2018
West Ham United   Karen Ray[9] End of interim period 7 June 2018 Pre-season   Matt Beard[10] 7 June 2018
Liverpool   Scott Rodgers[11] Sacked 8 June 2018   Neil Redfearn[12] 12 June 2018
Yeovil Town   Jamie Sherwood[13] Appointed Director of Football 14 June 2018   Lee Burch[13] 14 June 2018
Liverpool   Neil Redfearn[14] Resigned 14 September 2018 11th   Vicky Jepson[15] 26 October 2018
Everton   Andy Spence[16] Sacked 7 November 2018 11th   Willie Kirk[17] 1 December 2018
Birmingham City   Marc Skinner[18] Signed with Orlando Pride 11 January 2019 4th   Marta Tejedor[19] 21 January 2019

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Arsenal (C) 20 18 0 2 70 13 +57 54 Qualification for the Champions League
2 Manchester City 20 14 5 1 53 17 +36 47
3 Chelsea 20 12 6 2 46 14 +32 42
4 Birmingham City 20 13 1 6 29 17 +12 40
5 Reading 20 8 3 9 33 30 +3 27
6 Bristol City 20 7 4 9 17 34 −17 25
7 West Ham United 20 7 2 11 25 37 −12 23
8 Liverpool 20 7 1 12 21 38 −17 22
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 20 4 4 12 16 38 −22 16
10 Everton 20 3 3 14 15 38 −23 12
11 Yeovil Town (R) 20 2 1 17 11 60 −49 −3[a] Relegation to the Championship
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Yeovil Town deducted 10 points for entering administration.[20]

Results

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Home \ Away ARS BIR BRH BRI CHE EVE LIV MCI REA WHU YEO
Arsenal 3–1 4–1 4–0 1–2 2–1 5–0 1–0 6–0 4–3 3–0
Birmingham City 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–3 2–1 3–0 2–1
Brighton & Hove Albion 0–4 2–1 0–1 0–4 0–0 0–1 0–6 1–4 0–1 2–1
Bristol City 0–4 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 2–1
Chelsea 0–5 2–3 2–0 6–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 5–0
Everton 0–4 1–3 3–3 0–2 0–0 2–1 0–4 3–2 1–2 0–1
Liverpool 1–5 0–2 0–2 5–2 0–4 3–1 0–3 0–1 1–0 2–1
Manchester City 2–0 1–0 3–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 2–1 1–1 7–1 2–1
Reading 0–3 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–3 2–1 2–2 3–4 1–2 4–0
West Ham United 2–4 1–2 0–4 2–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–3 0–0 2–1
Yeovil Town 0–7 0–2 1–1 1–2 0–8 1–0 1–2 0–4 0–5 0–5
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2019. Source: FA WSL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Position by round

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Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Arsenal1111111111111222221111
Birmingham City3222233343344444444434
Brighton & Hove Albion9810101010999910109999999999
Bristol City4546756766777555555666
Chelsea5665564435433333333343
Everton1099999101111119910101010101010101010
Liverpool71078645678888888888888
Manchester City6333322222222111112222
Reading2454475554555666776555
West Ham United11787888887666777667777
Yeovil Town8111111111111101010111111111111111111111111
Qualification to Champions League
Relegation to Championship
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2019. Source: FA WSL

Season statistics

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Top scorers

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Top scorers[citation needed]
Rank Player Club Goals
1   Vivianne Miedema Arsenal 22
2   Nikita Parris Manchester City 19
3   Bethany England Chelsea 12
  Fara Williams Reading
5   Georgia Stanway Manchester City 11
  Daniëlle van de Donk Arsenal
7   Courtney Sweetman-Kirk Liverpool 10
8   Fran Kirby Chelsea 9
  Jordan Nobbs Arsenal
10   Erin Cuthbert Chelsea 8
  Kim Little Arsenal

Awards

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Monthly awards

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Awards by month
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref
Manager Club Player Club
September   Tanya Oxtoby Bristol City   Sophie Baggaley Bristol City [21]
October   Joe Montemurro Arsenal   Vivianne Miedema Arsenal [22][23]
November   Kelly Chambers Reading   Courtney Sweetman-Kirk Liverpool [24]
December   Nick Cushing Manchester City   Georgia Stanway Manchester City [25][26]
January   Tanya Oxtoby Bristol City   Erin Cuthbert Chelsea [27][28]
February   Hope Powell Brighton & Hove Albion   Sophie Harris Brighton & Hove Albion [29][30]
March   Joe Montemurro Arsenal   Beth Mead Arsenal [31][32]
April   Marta Tejedor Birmingham City   Beth Mead Arsenal [33][34]

Annual awards

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Awards[citation needed]
Award Winner Club
FA WFA Players' Player of the Year   Sophie Baggaley Bristol City
FA WFA Goal of the Year   Beth Mead Arsenal
FA WFA Save of the Year   Megan Walsh Yeovil Town
LMA Manager of the Year   Joe Montemurro Arsenal
PFA Players' Player of the Year   Vivianne Miedema[35] Arsenal
PFA Young Player of the Year   Georgia Stanway[36] Manchester City
PFA Merit Award   Steph Houghton[37] Manchester City
FWA Footballer of the Year   Nikita Parris[38] Manchester City
PFA Team of the Year[39]
Goalkeeper   Sophie Baggaley (Bristol City)
Defence   Hannah Blundell (Chelsea)   Aoife Mannion (Birmingham City)   Steph Houghton (Manchester City)   Demi Stokes (Manchester City)
Midfield   Ji So-Yun (Chelsea)   Kim Little (Arsenal)   Lia Wälti (Arsenal)
Attack   Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)   Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea)   Nikita Parris (Manchester City)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NWSL attendance jumps 23 percent to new record in 2019". Soccer America. 13 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead hit spectacular goals as Arsenal crushed Brighton to become champions for the first time since 2012". The Guardian. 28 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Women's Super League: Restructure can help make league best in world - Katie Brazier - BBC Sport". bbc.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Women's Pyramid Restructure: Q&A With Katie Brazier". The FA. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Women's Super League: 15 clubs apply for WSL and Women's Championship licences - BBC Sport". bbc.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Manchester United get Women's Championship licence; West Ham join top flight". 28 May 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
  7. ^ "Willie Kirk: Manchester United Women name ex-Bristol City boss assistant coach". BBC. 28 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Oxtoby appointed Vixens manager". Bristol City.
  9. ^ "New West Ham United coach confirmed". www.kumb.com.
  10. ^ "West Ham Ladies appoint former Chelsea & Liverpool coach Matt Beard | West Ham United". www.whufc.com.
  11. ^ "Scott Rogers leaves Liverpool Ladies". Liverpool FC.
  12. ^ "Liverpool Ladies appoint Doncaster Rovers Belles boss as manager". BBC. 12 June 2018.
  13. ^ a b "New boss for Lady Glovers". Somerset County Gazette.
  14. ^ "Neil Redfearn resigns after one league game in charge". BBC. 14 September 2018.
  15. ^ Pearce, James (26 October 2018). "Liverpool FC Women appoint new manager". liverpoolecho.
  16. ^ Frith, Wilf (7 November 2018). "Andy Spence leaves Everton Ladies". SheKicks.
  17. ^ "Willie Kirk: Everton Ladies appoint Manchester United Women assistant as manager". BBC. 1 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Orlando Pride Appoints Marc Skinner as Head Coach Ahead of 2019 NWSL Season". Orlando Pride.
  19. ^ Frith, Wilf (21 January 2019). "Birmingham City Women appoint Marta Tejedor as manager". SheKicks.
  20. ^ "Yeovil Town Ladies: Women's Super League side to go into administration". www.bbc.com.
  21. ^ "Bristol City Women: Boss Tanya Oxtoby shares praise after WSL award". 8 October 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Montemurro named LMA October Manager of the Month". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Miedema named October WSL Player of the Month". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Kelly Chambers wins LMA Manager of the Month for November!". www.readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  25. ^ "Cushing wins LMA Manager of the Month award - Manchester City FC". MCFC. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  26. ^ "Stanway named FA WSL Player of the Month". MCFC. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  27. ^ "Oxtoby named LMA Manager of the Month". Bristol City. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  28. ^ Frith, Wilf (7 February 2019). "#FAWSL / #FAWC: Cuthbert & Wiltshire win January POTM awards". She Kicks Women's Football Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  29. ^ "League Managers Association - LMA MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARDS - FEBRUARY 2019". www.leaguemanagers.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  30. ^ James Hilsum (11 March 2019). "Albion Goalkeeper Named Player Of The Month". brighton&hovealbionFC. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Montemurro named LMA March Manager of the Month". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Mead named March WSL Player of the Month". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  33. ^ "Marta Tejedor named Manager of the Month for April". Birmingham City Football Club. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  34. ^ "Mead named April WSL Player of the Month". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  35. ^ "Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards". 28 April 2019.
  36. ^ "Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards". 28 April 2019.
  37. ^ "Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema win PFA Player of the Year awards". 28 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Manchester City forward Nikita Parris named FWA Women's Footballer of the Year". talkSPORT. 29 April 2019.
  39. ^ "PFA FA WSL Team of the Year". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
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