Everton manager Willie Kirk says that he has many more player options available this season which helps him to prepare for the threat of Chelsea this weekend.
The Blue Girls travel to the Barclays FA Women’s Super League champions on Sunday looking to erase memories of a 4-0 home defeat to Manchester City on opening day.
When speaking in his pre-match press conference in which FAWSL Full-Time were present, Kirk said that he has lots of options available to him this season and he can construct a solid game plan using an increased availability of player attributes.
“The options are great;” Kirk said. “Last year, we had a 20 or 21-player squad but in reality, there were probably 14 or 15 who were consistently being considered for starting places whereas this year, it is completely different, we have got a number of different options.
“We have got a game plan for Chelsea. There is a good chance of a couple of changes just because of the areas that we have identified with Chelsea that we want to exploit. It takes a certain type of player attribute to capitalise on that and take advantages of that so it does mean that we will probably make a couple of changes.”
The opening weekend of Barclays FA Women’s Super League action produced lots of unpredictability and Kirk believes that this is now a fact of women’s football given the increased quality on show at clubs across Europe.
He said “If you look at Manchester City’s game against Real Madrid in midweek, the fact that a Bordeaux team took Wolfsburg to penalties, it is showing that the women’s game is becoming more competitive, not just the WSL. It is becoming more competitive as the quality of player improves every year.
“Every year that passes, there is another group of young players who have come through who have probably been coached from a younger age and there is a greater talent pool to choose from.
“Across Europe, the game is getting more competitive and I certainly expect the WSL to be more competitive. People are saying that Manchester City beat Everton 4-0 and that there is an uncomfortable gap between the top teams but I don’t think that is the case, you’ll see from our results and performances from across the season that that’s not the case.”
The Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture between Chelsea and Everton kicks-off at 12.30pm on Sunday afternoon. The match will be broadcast live on BBC Two.
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