Fiona Worts (Daniel Kalisz / Getty Images), Adrian Stenta (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images), Gemma Lewis (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Fiona Worts (Daniel Kalisz / Getty Images), Adrian Stenta (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images), Gemma Lewis (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Eric, Cheryl and Maj share their thoughts on the week in football.

History: Michelle Watson, Matildas Cap 83

Matildas Debut: 1994 (age 17)
Grassroots Club: Bankstown Strikers
Appearances: 24

Groubes vine:

Very mature midfielder at a very young age. Great ball control and her brain and body could move at great speed – had it on a string and could change the direction of play and of a game in a split second. She was in my age group at youth nationals, playing for NSW, and was literally impossible to contain.

Hot Topics

“42.8% increase in the number of transfers during this year’s January registration period compared to January 2021. The total stood at 257 transfers, a new all-time high surpassing the pre-pandemic levels of January 2020 by almost 40%.”

“In women’s professional football, January transfers normally represent between 10% and 18% of the annual total. This year, there was an increase of 42.8% compared to January 2021, with 257 players changing countries last month.”

“As in the men’s game, out-of-contract players (81.3%) accounted for the bulk of international transfers in women’s professional football, with 209 such players joining a new team based overseas. Total spending on transfer fees amounted to USD 487,800, further underlining the continued growth of women’s football witnessed in the past four years.” – this is compared to 1.03B in the men’s game.

“Spain registered the highest number of incoming transfers (46), while clubs from the USA released the most players (27). In terms of total spending on incoming transfers, England led the way with USD  254,200, followed by Spain with USD 105,800.”

    • Next Week

      • TUE: Wanderers v Canberra
      • WED: Victory v Sydney
      • THU: Wellington v Adelaide
      • FRI: Brisbane v Canberra
      • SAT: Victory v Perth
      • SAT: Newcastle v Wanderers
      • SUN: City v Sydney
    • Signings: Season 14 squad page – WSW sign Ella Abdul Massih

Around the World

UK

FA WSL (15 of 22)

Scottish WPL (11 of 27)

Europe

France – D1F (12 of 22)

Netherlands – Eredivisie (18 of 18)

Queens / Kings of the Week

Cheryl – 1) Wellington head coach Gemma Lewis is doing a brilliant job in exceptionally difficult circumstances 2) Wellington goalkeeper Lily Alfeld for keeping a clean sheet against Canberra, her leadership throughout the season and for earning a Football Ferns callup

Maj – 1) Melissa Barbieri deserves to be Queen of the Week again! 25 years in professional football, more clean sheets for the Matildas than any other goalkeeper 2) Kyra Cooney-Cross threaded the eye of a needle to set up Mindy Barbieri’s goal against WSW 3) Dylan Holmes produced a “Hollywood pass” to set up one of Fiona Worts’ goals against Brisbane

Eric – 1) Manchester City’s Caroline Weir scored a worldie to win the derby against Manchester United 2) Fiona Worts for her five goal haul against Brisbane Joker) the APL social media admin who tweeted that Fiona Worts’ five goal performance was worthy of Tony Gustavsson’s attention, not realising that Fiona is English

Dale – 1) Adelaide head coach Adrian Stenta has done a magnificent job developing his group of players over the last few years 2) any Brisbane fan that watched all of their 8-2 loss to Adelaide

Don’t forget we’re live on Facebook on Monday evenings and you can subscribe to the Beyond 90 Podcast on iTunes, Spotify & Google Podcasts or anywhere you listen.

Catch up on Cluch Radio 7pm Tuesday’s or 7pm Wednesday’s on JOY 🌈 AEDT.

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B90 STAFF
Beyond 90 chronicles, promotes and ignites conversation about women’s football.
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