WSL manager power rankings: Arsenal boss Renee Slegers drops outside top two after mixed start to the season

Here at SheKicks, we have ranked the top head coaches so far this season in our WSL manager power rankings.

The list below ranks the managers on how they have started the campaign and how they have performed compared to pre-season expectations.

Former Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has endured a difficult start to life as Liverpool’s head coach.

Liverpool are yet to take a point in the WSL this season but have played one game fewer than the majority of sides due to their game with Aston Villa being postponed.

The Reds were poor on the opening weekend with a 4-1 loss to Everton at Anfield, while they will have been gutted to lose to an 89th-minute penalty against the London City Lionesses.

Despite a positive start in the Women’s League Cup, pressure will mount on Taylor if he can’t turn around Liverpool’s league form.

West Ham are also pointless having failed to win any of their opening six games.

Rehanne Skinner’s side lost narrow games to London City Lionesses and Tottenham but were comfortably turned over by Arsenal , Chelsea and Brighton. The only positive for West Ham is that they have won their opening two games in the Women’s League Cup.

Rehanne Skinner only gets ahead of Gareth Taylor thanks to their 2-1 win over Brighton in the League Cup, as Liverpool’s two victories in the same competition have come against second-tier sides.

Like Taylor, Skinner could face some pressure in the coming months if West Ham don’t improve in the WSL.

However, the positive for Liverpool and West Ham is that with next year’s expansion of the WSL , it is not guaranteed that a team will be relegated.

Rehanne Skinner (pictured) and Gareth Taylor are both pointless with West Ham and Liverpool respectively so far this season. (Karl W newton/SPP)

If it wasn’t for their heavy victory over Liverpool on the opening weekend, Everton head coach Brian Sorensen would be bottom of the WSL manager power rankings.

Everton have only picked up one further point in the WSL and are bottom of their Women’s League Cup group.

The main issues for Everton have been getting their new players to gel after completing nine signings in the summer, as well as delivering a consistent performance across 90 minutes during matches.

9. Dario Vidosic (Brighton)

There is not much to separate the managers ranked between sixth and ninth in our WSL manager power rankings.

However, Brighton head coach Dario Vidosic slips to ninth after suffering three defeats in their last four games across all competitions.

Brighton are looking to build on their fifth-place finish in the WSL last season and close the gap to the top-four.

However, with three defeats in their opening six games, the Seagulls will need to improve their consistency if they are to avoid slipping down the table.

Aston Villa have had a solid start to the campaign but the main issue for Natalia Arroyo is her side have drawn too many games.

Draws with Brighton and Leicester City could easily have been victories while they also had their chances to pull off a shock result in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal .

Only Manchester United and Chelsea have conceded fewer goals in the WSL. However, only Leicester, Liverpool and West Ham have scored fewer.

Leicester City have just five points on the board, yet there are arguments to why they have actually exceeded expectations so far this season.

Not much was expected for the Foxes after a quiet summer and after sacking Amandine Miquel just one week before the start of the campaign.

After a 4-0 loss to Manchester United on the opening day, the Foxes have produced some spirited performances ever since.

They beat Liverpool despite being reduced to ten players, drew with Everton and Aston Villa and only lost by one-goal margins to in-form Chelsea and Tottenham.

An AI simulation of the WSL predicted Leicester to pick up just nine points and finish bottom of the table. Leicester’s performances so far though show they do have the ability to finish higher up the standings.

Rick Passmoor (Leicester City)

There were high hopes for newly-promoted London City Lionesses ahead of the season and so far Jocelyn Precheur’s side are delivering.

The Lionesses are sixth in the standings with three wins and three defeats. While they were outclassed by Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City, it is clear that the Lionesses are more than a match for the rest of the league.

One improvement to be made is in front of goal, especially with the attacking talent they brought in over the summer. The Lionesses have scored just seven goals in six games and only beat struggling Liverpool and West Ham by one-goal margins.

Tottenham have made big strides under the guidance of new manager Martin Ho.

Spurs have picked up 12 points from their opening six games, just eight fewer than the amount they accrued in 22 games last season.

High points have been tough victories over Brighton and West Ham, but Spurs were comfortably outclassed in a 5-1 loss to Manchester City.

They sit fourth, ahead of rivals Arsenal , though it is likely they are fighting for fifth place in the standings this season which would still be a huge leap from where they were in 2024-25.

After winning the Champions League in May, hopes were high for Arsenal to push Chelsea all the way in the WSL this season.

However, they are already five points behind their rivals after draws with Manchester United and Aston Villa were followed off by a 3-2 loss to Manchester City.

Arsenal also lost to Lyon in the Women’s Champions League but have bounced back with wins over Brighton and Benfica.

Their title hopes aren’t over but their clash with Chelsea at the Emirates on November 8th could be make or break for the Gunners.

Andree Jeglertz has made a brilliant start to life at Manchester City, who sit second in the WSL standings.

After losing to Chelsea on the opening day, City have won five games on the bounce, scoring more goals than any other team in the WSL.

Their biggest moment of the season so far is the 3-2 victory over Arsenal , where summer signing Iman Beney notched up an 88th-minute winner.

If City can maintain this form past the international break, they could turn out to be the closest challengers for Chelsea in this season’s title race.

2. Marc Skinner (Manchester United)

Marc Skinner gets the nod over Andree Jeglertz for second in our power rankings by the smallest of margins.

Manchester United are unbeaten over their opening six games this season and are the only side to deny Chelsea a victory in the competition so far.

Only Man City (17) have scored more goals than United (16), with no team in the WSL conceding fewer than the Red Devils (3).

The only concern for United is whether their thin squad could affect them later on in the season.

Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea are again proving themselves as the team to beat in the WSL this season.

Chelsea are unbeaten across their opening six games, after going without a defeat in all domestic competitions last season.

The Blues endured a tough week earlier this month with draws against Manchester United and FC Twente.

However, it is going to take some stopping to knock Bompastor off the top of our WSL manager power rankings, or Chelsea off the top of the WSL standings.

The WSL resumes after the international break on Saturday, November 1st.

Chelsea start the weekend against the London City Lionesses, with Manchester City also facing pointless West Ham on that Saturday.

Sunday’s action will see Aston Villa vs Everton, Brighton vs Manchester United, Leicester City vs Arsenal and Tottenham vs Liverpool.