Christmas WSL special: unsung heroes
Well, sort of, some team's did not make it easy for me...
Surprisingly, 40 of you voted on wanting to read about players to watch out for in the second half of the 2024/2025 Women's Super League campaign.
So, to save you from tears this Christmas, I'll give you something very special: an in-depth look at each team's unknown protagonist, the unsung hero that will play a pivotal role in the New Year's fixtures.
(Disclaimer: Not all of these picks were niche; my options were limited with certain teams. Yes, I mean *your* team.)
Let's kick things off with the league leaders…
Chelsea: Wieke Kaptein
The former FC Twente Vrouwen loanee has taken South London by storm alongside Sjoeke Nüsken as Chelsea's midfield double pivot.
In this season's Champions League, she's averaging 1.82 key passes per 90 minutes. The 19-year-old also makes herself useful during transitions by knowing when and how to distribute the ball. This will be advantageous against high-pressing teams in Sonia Bompastor's preferred 4-2-3-1 shape.
I did criticise Kaptein's performance against Leicester City because I didn't feel like she supported the fullbacks defensively, out of possession. But she's very young; there's plenty of time left for development.
Some honourable mentions are Aggie Beaver-Jones and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd - two players who are ferocious in their attacking press, and are only bested by Manchester City duo Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw when it comes to chances created for each other.
Manchester City: Kerstin Casparij
How tempting it was to cave in and write endless praise about Bunny Shaw. But, in the festive spirit of highlighting the backup singers who deserve their stage, I think Casparij will be key to City's title-winning ambitions.
The Dutchwoman ranks sixth in the table for successful passes in the opposition's half this season (302 passes, with an 84.4% accuracy), and she's already been a pivotal part of Gareth Taylor's 4-1-4-1 attacking shape in the absence of the injured Hemp.
Against Tottenham, Casperij kept Jessica Naz and Bethany England busy while the pair also tried to set a precedent from the front by shielding Yui Hasegawa off the ball. It was a chaotic but practical approach.
Her passing skills have always been adept, even during her two spells at SC Heerenveen Vrouwen. This season, she averages 5.90 passes into the final third per 90 minutes and is in the 92nd percentile in the progressive carrying distance metric.
Ultimately, the 24-year-old provides width when opposing teams try to put the squeeze on City's back line - they'll need her skills in both defensive and offensive areas.
Arsenal - Kyra Cooney-Cross
There were a few names on the nice list for Arsenal - Maria Caldentey, Alessia Russo (not entirely an unsung hero), and Frida Maanum - but Cooney-Cross is the cream of the crop.
Last year, she swapped Germany for England and has hit the ground running. The Australian international is one of several right-footers in this Gunners team who have scored 13 of the club's goals this season.
Aston Villa had no answers on how to contain her, and Liverpool's back three offered too many spaces in broader areas. Why would you let a player in the 95th percentile for successful take-ons and averaging 0.53 goal-creating actions per 90 this season have that much freedom?
Other teams in the league won't be as naive, but I still reckon Cooney-Cross will largely be why Arsenal secure third place as theirs.
Manchester United: Melvine Malard
This is a rogue pick, given that Dominique Janssen, Elisabeth Terland, and Hinata Miyazawa also exist. But there's something about Malard that could offer United a change of pace, especially when they set up with a mid or low block.
Let's not forget that she spent seven years in France from 17 to 24, training with some of the best women's footballers in the world at Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. The 24-year-old might not be a mazy dribbler, but she's got the shooting skills to make up for it, averaging 0.19 goals per shot.
The French international also offers an aerial threat at 5 ft 7, which could be useful when facing teams that deny central playmaking access.
Some honourable mentions are Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The former Seattle Reigns FC keeper is having a flying season. She ranks first for saves per shot this season and has only conceded on three occasions.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Kiko Seike
Fran Kirby and Jelena Čanković - an ex-Chelsea duo - have been instrumental for the Seagulls this season, but Seike beats them. The Japanese international joined last season from the Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies, and watching her in the WSL has been scintillating.
Comparing her to five players in similar positions across the league - Kirsty Hanson, Beth Mead, Rachel Daly, Caitlin Foord, and Grace Clinton - she wipes the board in the shooting metrics, averaging 0.76 goals per 90 that none of the other competitors can get near to.
Seike's passing stats aren't stellar, but it doesn't matter because Brighton's midfield is bolstered in the number eight and ten positions; excluding the current top three sides in the WSL, they rank first for average possession (53.2%), passes made (4917) and open play sequences of 10+ passes (105).
As of writing, Seike has five goals. Last season, in the Japan Women's Empowerment Professional Football League, she managed 20 goals in 22 appearances. I've discussed how Dario Vidošić will be one of the league's best coaches in the coming years. Players like Seike will make that come true with a stirring second half to the season.
Tottenham Hotspur: Drew Spence
Bethany England and Jessica Naz have been a compelling attacking force this season. Still, Spence offers an impressive combination of skills on either flank that will help Spurs secure the sixth spot in the standings and build on it next season.
She hasn't had a perfect campaign, with injuries and absences blighting her attendance stats. But, when Spence started, denying her inclusion in the starting XI was hard.
The 32-year-old offers experience in attacking areas. Spence's passing metrics are strong, but what's more impressive is her ability to draw fouls in the buildup to goals (0.11 per 90). She profiles complimentarily next to
Maite Oroz in that sense, specifically when playing against teams that present with a persistent OOP press.
Aston Villa: Paula Tomás
Rachel Daly and Kenza Dali have kept the Villa attack ticking, but left-back Tomás has drawn my eye in the pre and post-Robert de Pauw era.
The former Levante defender swapped the Liga F for the WSL and quickly acclimatised to the league's more physical demands.
If you still aren't convinced she'll light up the second half of Villa's season, look at these stats: an average of 0.82 goal-creating actions per 90 and in the 97th percentile for progressive passes recorded. Add in 0.16 assists per game, and you're laughing all the way to the bank.
Tomás's abilities are needed in Villa's 4-3-3 system, where the fullbacks must contribute heavily to the attack. Whether interim manager Shaun Goater sticks to this structure is yet to be answered, but as long as Tomás is involved, they can climb the table.
Liverpool: Taylor Hinds
Matt Beard's side had a promising start to the season - and then they deflated after suffering four defeats in their last five games. The Merseysiders might be feeling flat, but there's still a creative spark that could change the tide: Hinds.
Looking at her statistics from last season, it's clear that the 25-year-old is very skilled on the front foot. She racked up 1.99 progressive carries per 90. Hinds was also in the 88th percentile for successful take-ons in the 2023-2024 season.
Her support cast hasn't convinced me this season. I'm not convinced by
Cornelia Kapocs and Sofie Lundgaard in Beard's 3-5-2 formation. The pair haven't been pulling their weight, and their understudies don't look stable either.
Fuka Nagano is good with her passing but does not carry the ball forward confidently enough. Ceri Holland is much more creative and sits in the 98th percentile for successful take-ons, but struggles with her passing. As a combination, it should work, but it hasn't. 17-year-old Zara Shaw is putting in quite the shift next to them.
I expect Liverpool to pull through, but they need more additions like Hinds this January to bolster the squad.
Everton: Sara Holmgaard
Maybe this isn’t a very niche pick, but respectively, there aren’t enough sparks in this Everton team to convince me they won’t get dragged into a relegation scrap.
Fortunately, alongside Katja Snoeijs and Justine Vanhaevermaet, there are still some players capable of lifting the collective mood at Walton Hall Park.
The Toffees have netted on six occasions this season, and Holmgaard has been in the thick of all those occasions, averaging 0.12 goals per 90. She is also good at drawing fouls and is in the 89th percentile for that metric this season.
This is a handy ability when facing teams that impose an aggressive press. It means she can dribble with the ball under pressure, evident in her 5.04 progressive passes recorded per 90.
Even Man City struggled to contain the Toffees midfielder - she assisted Lucy Hope to head beyond Kiara Keating in Everton’s first win over Gareth Taylor’s team in 17 attempts. More of those, please.
West Ham: Katarina Gorry
Gorry and Vivianne Asseyi have been crucial for the Hammers, who need all the points they can get. They sit 10th in the table and have Leicester and Crystal Palace breathing down their proverbial necks.
West Ham are fortunate that Gorry is around because she's helping carry her team in attacking aspects. She sits ninth in the table for the top 20 players with goals and assists this campaign, ahead of Mayra Ramirez, Nikita Parris, Beaver-Jones, and Terland.
Asseyi, on the other hand, has been more creative in her endeavours. She ranks third in the top 20 list for assists and chances created, notching 15 chances created and three assists - a tally only bested by Hemp and Katie McCabe.
Leicester City: Yuka Momiki
If Leicester had 11 Momiki's on the pitch, they might not languish at the bottom of the table. There's only one as it is, and they'll need her in sparkling form to survive the drop.
Momiki's spellbinding performance against reigning WSL champions Chelsea should be a cautionary tale for the teams that face the Foxes next year: allow her to run with the ball at your peril.
This season, she's already averaging 0.96 successful take-ons per 90 minutes - the 92nd percentile - and clearly, Nüsken and Kaptein aren't her only victims; she's also in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons that lead to a shot.
With Saori Takarada and Hannah Cain in tow, expect more opposing defences to scratch their heads as they attempt to keep her contained.
Crystal Palace: Annabel Blanchard
Who else? Blanchard's been Palace's saving grace this side of December, and they will need her to continue in that vein when the second half of the season kicks off.
It doesn't help that her team has had quite a torrid start to the season as newcomers to the WSL scene. But Blanchard is proving there are options for manager Laura Kaminski to reach for.
Against Leicester, the 23-year-old helped her side earn their first win in the league with a brace. Blanchard's first came from a clever flick as Katie Stengel fired a pass towards the Englishwoman. She then converted from the spot after Ruby Mace recklessly brought down Lexi Potter in the box.
Kaminski's team faces United, Spurs, and Brighton in their post-Christmas run - and if they want to come away with points, they may have to give up their plans for the kind of fiery football they were known for in last season's Championship run. These teams recently struggled when met with a low/mid block (see Everton and Leicester)