Eva Olid Faces Challenges as Manchester United Women Struggle
Eva Olid does not flinch when the numbers are read back to her. Two games, two defeats, one goal scored, seven conceded. Two shots on target. Less than 40% possession in both matches for a side supposedly being rebuilt around the ball.
“Constructive criticism,” the Manchester United manager calls it. “Normal.”
United’s start to the Women’s Super League season has been anything but.
A brutal introduction
Olid arrived in the summer with a clear idea and a demanding blueprint. The 41-year-old Spaniard, recruited from Hearts after Marc Skinner’s departure, wants an aggressive, front-foot United that dominates possession and territory.
The reality so far has been harsh.
A 2-1 defeat away to London City Lionesses on the opening day set the tone. The response at home to Chelsea last weekend? A 5-0 hammering in front of their own fans, and a performance that raised serious questions about both the new approach and the players’ comfort within it.
Asked if the criticism has affected her personally, Olid was firm.
“Yes and no. That is part of the job. I don't think it affects me,” she said. “It is constructive criticism and that is normal. I understand that. The first two performances have not been good.
“We are the first to say we are not happy. The other part is the part I don't understand – people wanting to hurt [us], but they are not going to.”
The table is unforgiving. United sit bottom, with zero points and just a single goal to their name. This is not the picture anyone at the club had in mind when the new era began.
Style shift meets hard reality
Olid has been open about what she is trying to build: a possession-heavy, attacking side that can control games with the ball. The execution has been miles off.
Across those opening two matches, United have managed just two shots on target. They have also surrendered the majority of the ball in both fixtures, a stark contradiction of the coach’s stated philosophy.
The tension between old strengths and new ideas is obvious. Under Skinner, United were built on defensive solidity and organisation, a platform that took them to the Champions League quarter-finals. Olid does not want that foundation lost in the rush to change.
“They cannot forget what they were good at before,” she said. “At the same time, little by little, we need to implement the new style.
“But it's impossible to be doing everything. The players have been so focused and thinking a lot – overthinking maybe – trying to do everything and in the end, they don't do anything because they are not expressing themselves like I know they can.”
Her main message to the squad has been simple: remember who you are.
“They are not showing in the first two matches who they are and what they can do,” she admitted.
“Football is like life”
For all the noise around United’s slow start, Olid’s outlook remains long term. She leans on a familiar truth to frame this rocky opening.
“Yeah, football is like life. You have good moments and difficult moments. I think all the teams in the season have a difficult moment. Ours is the start,” she said.
“We are learning as a team to grow because the difficult moments make you grow. Once we've passed this difficult moment and start [to build] momentum, I think we will be so much better.”
Her priority, she insists, is not her own reputation but the dressing room.
“So yeah, I'm good. The only thing that is important for me is the players. I'm worried always that they need to feel good and strong, nothing else.”
The challenge now is to turn that internal belief into something visible on the pitch, and to do it quickly.
Arsenal away – the steepest test yet
If United were hoping for a gentle fixture to reset, the schedule has offered the opposite.
Next up is Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening (17:30 BST). The Gunners are unbeaten in 19 WSL matches. United have not won there since November 2022. The contrast in momentum could hardly be sharper.
Renee Slegers, Arsenal’s head coach, knows exactly what Olid is walking into.
“Olid has had so little time,” Slegers said, acknowledging the scale of the task. “As a coach it's a decision you make – are you going to change things straight away or are you going to have another approach where, over time, you look to try to change things progressively?
“That's probably the balance for her. I don't know what her philosophy is but I imagine it's a challenge. I understand the disappointment from a fan perspective – but there has been so little time.”
Time, though, is not something managers at big clubs are often granted in abundance.
United are already under pressure, the league table already an uncomfortable read. Olid is convinced this is only the painful first step of a longer journey. The Emirates, under the lights and against an unbeaten Arsenal, will reveal whether this is merely a stumble at the start – or the beginning of a deeper struggle.
