West Ham United
Manager A hiatus from the English football in America as manager of Boston Breakers means Matt Beard is rarely granted the kind of recognition reserved for the likes of Emma Hayes and Nick Cushing. Beard is a two-time WSL winner with Liverpool – where he coached, among others, a young Lucy Bronze and Fara Williams in the pacesetting side of 2012 and 2013.
Pedigree Eyebrows were raised when West Ham’s women’s team, formed in 1991, was given to 19-yearold Jack Sullivan, son of West Ham joint chairman David Sullivan, essentially as a birthday present and perhaps as preparation for one day running operations at the Olympic Stadium. Despite the public’s initial reservations, Sullivan Jr has impressed, penning the club’s application to the WSL that saw them leap two divisions but reach the FA Cup final in their first season as a full-time team.
Player to watch Although unknown to many upon her arrival on these shores, 11 goals in 25 games last season meant Swiss forward Alisha Lehmann (above) proved to be something of a diamond to Beard, who uncovered her at the Under-19 Euros last year. Her contract was renewed after she helped the club reach last season’s FA Cup final. Signing of the summer It has been a busy time for Beard but Champions League-winning defender Laura Vetterlein, 27, from German side SC Sand is a huge arrival. In four years at Wolfsburg, Vetterlein won the treble – the Bundesliga title, the Champions League and the DFB Cup – in 2013 and another Champions League the following year.
Aim this season? To start to break through the middle order and compete with the best of the rest. West Ham finished seventh last season – a reasonable effort given it was their first in the WSL – but it would be a huge step forward if they could further close the gap on the likes of Reading, Birmingham and Bristol and reach the top of that middle set.
Biggest hurdle Doing the above in a division swelled by the arrival of Manchester United and Spurs. The new teams may upset the established order and United’s undoubted quality and suspected financial might could make it harder for West Ham to assert control over midtable. Predicted finish Seventh