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Tottenham Women have sacked Rehanne Skinner after losing nine in a row in the WSL, with assistant coach Vicky Jepson to take over on an interim basis.
Spurs have not won a WSL game since thrashing Brighton 8-0 in October – which proved to be Hope Powell’s last game in charge of the Seagulls – and also bowed out of both cup competitions in that time.
Tottenham lost to Liverpool in the league on Sunday, leaving them 10th in the WSL table – two points ahead of Leicester, who they face on Wednesday. This is set to be a crunch relegation match for both sides.
Spurs have won just three of Skinner’s 14 WSL games this season, despite signing Drew Spence, Bethany England and Mana Iwabuchi in the last two transfer windows.
The Englishman’s arrival from Chelsea in January marked an English record fee for a female player at £250,000.
Managing Director Andy Rogers said: “Since joining us in 2020, Rehanne has played an integral role in our development in the women’s game, both on and off the pitch.
“He has done his job with professionalism and attention to detail, and we have to thank him for everything he has done for us during his tenure.”
Skinner first joined Tottenham in November 2020, taking over from Karen Hills and Juan Amoros, before becoming England Women’s assistant head coach under Phil Neville.
In his first season, Spurs finished eighth in the WSL, before finishing an impressive fifth and reaching the semi-finals of the Conti Cup last season.
Analysis: What went wrong for Skinner?
Charlotte Marsh Sky Sports:
Speaking to Skinner before the start of the season, he certainly struck a note of realism.
Nobody expected Tottenham to finish fifth in the 2021/22 season. But the team spirit developed by Skinner, his staff and players – coupled with their good form – helped propel them to the top of the table.
He told me Sky Sports on the summer: “We’re just another season down, we’re going into our fourth season in the league, so compared to a lot of others, it’s very early days.
“If you look at successful teams in the league, it takes eight or nine years to get to that point. It takes time, as I think it happens overnight, that’s the reality.
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Highlights from the WSL match between Liverpool and Tottenham
“Every transfer window, you have to build, you have to strengthen and you have to learn from things that will help you succeed.”
Unfortunately, Skinner’s pre-season plans have not come to fruition as he has now left Tottenham, leaving him in a dangerous position.
Some may look to the squad, but Skinner is backed by the club in terms of signings as they look to build on last season’s success.
They have added strength and depth, with seven new faces in the summer, plus the blockbuster signings of England and Iwabuchi a few months ago. A lack of goals has been a criticism of Spurs, but that could be rectified with the arrival of January.
So, with the squad formed for the team’s needs, what is behind Tottenham’s dramatic streak?
Long-term – and even shorter – absences have taken their toll on the Spurs squad. Ria Percival, Ellie Brazil and Kyah Simon have all suffered ACL injuries, while other players have been in and out for various reasons. It may be difficult for Tottenham to find consistency in their XI.
Then it made sense that Skinner was just taking the squad as far as he could. For all his accomplishments over the past two and a half years, something clearly hasn’t clicked on the field. Sometimes a fresh start is needed.
Hopefully, this will be the right move for both parties – Tottenham and their clearly talented team can focus on moving up the table while Skinner can move on to new challenges.
Is there a shortage of female coaches in football
Currently, only a third of the WSL has a female head coach, while 12 of the 32 nations at this summer’s World Cup will have female managers in charge.
Arsenal Women’s Manager Jonas Eidevall put it succinctly when he recently said: “You can have a female Prime Minister, but you can’t have a female coach in the Premier League for some reason? Why?”
Some 34 years after the Channel 4 television series the manager, which follows the fortunes of a woman taking charge of a fictional professional men’s football team, we have yet to see a female head coach enter the dugout in one of the top flights of English men’s leagues.
But when you consider that only a third of managers in the Women’s Super League are women, and six out of 12 managers in the following leagues in the Championship, the most important point must be raised first: where are all the female bosses. coach in women’s soccer?
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