City's Shift in Culture: A New Era in WSL
For years, City were the easy dark-horse pick. The team with the talent to topple Chelsea, the squad that looked ready to rip the WSL crown away – until the final weeks came, the pressure rose and something, somehow, broke.
Jonas Jeglertz walked into that pattern and tore it up.
A Culture Shock That Stuck
Alex Greenwood calls it a “shift in culture”. Not a tweak. A shift. The defender talks about how the squad changed “the language used” around trophies and success, how that new way of speaking made people uncomfortable at first – and how that discomfort became the spark.
“Crossing that hurdle,” she said, “has shifted so many mindsets in this building.”
The result? City finally got over the line. A WSL title. The club’s first trophies in four years. The sense now is not of a one-off breakthrough, but of something that can be repeated. Again. And again.
Mary Fowler feels it too.
“In previous seasons, maybe we fell short because there was a bit of a lack in the mindset where we felt we were really capable of winning,” she told GOAL. “But I think now that we've done it, it feels like, 'You are very capable and you can do that again'.”
That’s the difference. They’re not wondering if they belong at the top. They’ve been there. They’ve lifted it.
Hunger, Not Relief
Jeglertz returned from a short summer break to find a group that hadn’t exhaled. No complacency. No sense that one title buys anyone a year of grace.
“I've seen it already in the players,” he told GOAL. “They already have a confidence that is great, that is calm, but curious about how we take the next step. What do we do to become a little bit better? I already see it and that's something that we need to keep having the whole year.”
Calm. Curious. Restless.
And now, he’s added more serial winners to that environment.
Niamh Charles has walked into the dressing room with a medal collection that screams standards: five straight WSL titles and seven more domestic cups at Chelsea in six years. Jeglertz sees more than just quality in her.
“That means that she has a little bit of a leader in her,” he said. He wants that edge on the training pitch, that know-how about “how you win from one year to the next year.”
Beth Mead arrives with the same aura. Back-to-back European Championship wins with England. A Champions League title with Arsenal, crowned by that famous victory over Barcelona in the 2025 final.
“You can see in her eyes, she's still very eager to be part of this and to learn more,” Jeglertz noted. A proven winner who still looks hungry.
The culture, the mentality, the intangibles – City are armed to defend their WSL crown. But this season brings a new complication they didn’t have to juggle last time.
Champions League Returns – and So Do the Questions
Last year, while Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United fought on Champions League fronts, City had clear midweeks and clean schedules. No long European trips, no extra high-stakes knockouts. That’s over.
Champions League football is back on the calendar. The load increases. The margins shrink.
And the squad? On paper, it hasn’t grown the way many expected.
Beyond Mead and Charles, only Carlotta Wamser has arrived, a flexible full-back who offers cover on both flanks. Useful, no doubt, but not a sweeping rebuild. Combine that with nine first-team departures and the picture is clear: this is evolution, not revolution.
“The depth is there,” managing director Nils O’Neill said at the end of last season. “It’s not about a squad transformation. It’s about adding in the key positions we need.”
The logic holds – until the injuries start to bite. Early-season setbacks, most notably to Vivianne Miedema, will stretch that depth hard. The Guardian understands the Dutch forward may not be back until 2027. City did try to act late in the window, pushing for reinforcements on deadline day, but nothing crossed the line. The concern is real.
They have, at least, targeted key gaps. Left-back has been rebuilt after Leila Ouahabi’s exit, with Charles and Wamser covering the role. Mead bolsters the forward line after Kerolin’s move to Barcelona. Beyond that, Jeglertz is betting on internal growth.
The Bet on the Existing Core
Risa Shimizu returns from a loan spell at Liverpool to offer more depth at full-back. Bigger, more decisive seasons are expected from Sydney Lohmann and Grace Clinton. Both struggled to hit their ceiling last year, hampered by niggles and an inability to truly seize their chances.
Fowler is another wild card. This will be her first full season back after an ACL injury. She only reappeared in February, but the flashes of brilliance were enough to remind everyone exactly what she can do.
Up front, City have variety, not just volume. Mead, Fowler, Lauren Hemp, Aoba Fujino and Iman Beney can all move across the line. Several can play through the middle if needed. That flexibility is one reason City didn’t feel compelled to sign a pure No. 9 just to sit behind Khadija Shaw all year.
The pathway from the academy is opening too. Sacha Lewis, Amelia Oldroyd and Aoibhe Brennan have all signed their first professional deals this summer. Mayzee Davies, already a senior Wales international and under contract since last year, could emerge as another depth option.
At the top of the hierarchy, the spine is unchanged. Shaw, Greenwood, Hemp, Kerstin Casparij, Jade Rose and Yui Hasegawa still form one of the most formidable starting XIs in the league. When Miedema finally returns, that front line becomes even more frightening.
Built for More – If the Bodies Hold
So, is it enough?
Last season, City’s injury record was almost spotless, a rarity in the modern game. That luck, combined with the absence of Champions League football, helped Jeglertz keep his best players on the pitch when it mattered most. Repeating that with a heavier schedule is a very different challenge.
“We’ve learned and we will absolutely be ready next season,” O’Neill insisted.
Jeglertz, for his part, didn’t want a bloated group anyway. He felt the squad was too big last year, underused in a relatively light calendar.
“We have too many good players to play these few games we are playing,” he said back in May. “Next year will be different because it's more games. The squad is built for that.”
The theory is sound. The reality could be harsher. There are positions where one serious injury would cause real damage, and others where the risk grows if players tipped for breakout seasons – like Lohmann, who has undergone hip surgery, or Clinton – don’t deliver.
City enter the new campaign with several players already doubts and Miedema confirmed as a long-term absentee. That’s not the platform any coach would choose.
Yet while rivals might boast deeper benches, many still carry question marks about their dressing-room chemistry or on-pitch cohesion. City do not. Their identity is clear. Their belief is sharper than ever.
A Chelsea-style dynasty, in a WSL era this competitive, feels a stretch for anyone. But City’s ability to contest and claim the biggest trophies remains intact.
Last year, they were the best team in England by a distance. The title broke the drought. The confidence, the belief and the injection of proven winners suggest one thing above all.
This club is not planning on waiting another decade for the next one.
