Devils Play

It’s our final Devils Play of a hit and miss campaign which has taken us on a rollercoaster ride of a few dizzy highs and a lot of stomach churning lows. We review the season from soggy Paris to sunny Wembley and reveal the winners of the highly anticipated Devils Play End Of Season Awards (which as we all know are the only awards that matter). Come on United!

Just six days on from Wembley heaven it’s back to WSL hell as imperious Chelsea dismantle a shambolic United at Old Trafford to clinch the title in our back yard and celebrate their manager leaving and ours staying. We relive a sickening 6-0 defeat, call time on this confusing season, take a few deep breaths at the prospect of more Skinner and round-up another busy week in the world of WOSO. Come on United!

We’re still in raptures 24 hours on from a history making dance in the sunshine under the Wembley arch. We talk Tooney waltzing, Rach leaping, Lucia pressing, flags flying, pints sunk, songs sung, arms aloft. Oh what a perfect day. Come on United! 

Was that our worst performance of the season? Today’s pod is mercifully short because we’ve said it all already and losing to L*******l is too painful to dwell on. We’re done with this miserable season and can barely even look forward to Wembley... but we try to keep it upbeat and critique a new rival podcast before giving up and going to the pub. Come on United! #SkinnerOut 

Today’s Devils Play is sponsored by another Tooney wonder strike which lit up an otherwise drab match and proved once again we are in the presence of one Ella of a player. We talk Tooney magic, classy Hinata, magnificent Maya, ball progression and rotation. Plus we recount our away day in Leicester, bemoan the lack of female toilets at stadiums, celebrate academy success, talk pathways to the first team and allow ourselves a little LOL at Chelsea. Come on United!

Just a week after the elation of beating Chelsea we’re back to the familiar feeling of disappointment as predictable frailties and failures lead to a strange 2-2 draw in our final home game at Leigh Sports Village. We talk tactical changes, full backs, individual errors and the impact on the FA Cup Final. Plus we discuss the week that was in WOSO including Millie vs LJ and a new contract for mighty Maya Le Tissier. Come On United! 

Today’s Devils Play is high as a kite on the fumes of FA Cup magic as our girls finally vanquish old foes and rip the wheels off Emma Hayes’s open top bus parade. Yes, we’ve finally beaten Chelsea and the prize is another trip to Wembley which we might mention once or twice as we glory in two great goals, the Toone turn, Mary Earps and an incredible backs against the wall performance. Come on United!

It’s a confusing one today as we celebrate a 4-1 win that nevertheless felt fraught by the same old flaws in our dysfunctional system. We ponder the futility of continuing to play out from the back and sound like broken records on tactics, pressing, speed of play… but also cheer Tooney hitting 50, welcome back Hinata and look forward (ish) to an FA Cup semi. Come on United!

Surprise, surprise, we lose a big game 3-1. Who’d have predicted that?! In today’s episode we analyse another Groundhog Day of repeated failures, berate the soulless, moribund, embarrassing Emptyhad, wonder what the future holds and catch up on a busy couple of weeks in WOSO world. Come on United! 

That’s more like it! We’re full of the joys of a 4-0 win as United secure safe passage to the Semi-Finals of the FA Cup by battering Brighton. We talk Naalsund, Garcia, the return of Riviere and the unacceptable queue for half-time chips in Crawley. Plus we look forward to a semi-final and dream of wearing a scarlet ribbon in the merry month of May. Come on United!