%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20width%3D%2239px%22%20height%3D%2240px%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2039%2040%22%20enable-background%3D%22new%200%200%2039%2040%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M38.5%2C7H28.2v26h10.3V7z%22%2F%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20clip-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M26.1%2C25.5c0%2C5.8-4.1%2C7.5-12.9%2C7.5C3.9%2C33%2C0%2C31.2%2C0%2C25.2v-1.1h11.6%0A%09v2.4c0%2C0.7%2C0.1%2C1.4%2C1.2%2C1.4c1%2C0%2C1.2-0.4%2C1.2-1.3v-0.9c0-1.6-0.9-1.6-3.5-2.2C2.2%2C21.7%2C0%2C19.7%2C0%2C15.3v-0.9C0%2C9.3%2C5.5%2C7%2C12.9%2C7%0A%09c10.2%2C0%2C12.8%2C2.6%2C12.8%2C7.4v1.8h-11v-2.9c0-0.6-0.4-1.1-1.2-1.1c-0.6%2C0-1.2%2C0.4-1.2%2C1.1v0.9c0%2C1.5%2C0.9%2C2%2C3.3%2C2.5%0A%09c8%2C1.6%2C10.5%2C3.3%2C10.5%2C7.5V25.5z%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Man Utd Women: Profile of 9 Stars Players Behind Club's Incredible Debut Season
Manchester United Women were only formed 11 months ago and the first 21-player squad wasn't announced until last July.
Manager Casey Stoney recently explained that it was initially a group 'strangers' coming together and that the players and staff worked hard on bonding exercises like boxing lessons and dance classes alongside the more typical football training sessions.
But as United prepare to play their final game of their debut season on Saturday 11 May, they will do so as a team that has already secured promotion to the Women's Super League and captured the Women's Championship league title after dominating all season.
🏆 C H A M P I O N S ! #MUWomen pic.twitter.com/HV4gNrYkh9
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) April 20, 2019
With one last fixture, United could end the 20-game season on 55 points. The club has so far won 17 of 19 league games, dropping only five points along the way, scoring 93 at an average of 4.9 per game, and conceding only seven times in the league all season.
United began with intent when they beat top flight Liverpool in the League Cup before the league season had even started, before opening their Championship campaign with a 12-0 annihilation of Aston Villa and winning by at least five goals on nine further occasions.
Here's a look at some of the stars behind all of that debut season success.
Millie Turner (DF)
Age: 22
Appearances: 28
Goals: 2
United disbanded their old women's team back in 2005, but the Manchester United Foundation at least kept girls football alive in the youth ranks and Millie Turner is one of those with ties to the club from her formative years as a 16-year-old.
With no senior route at United, the defender moved onto Everton and Bristol City, before returning to Manchester. She is the only player to have started all 28 games in all competitions.
Siobhan Chamberlain (GK)
Age: 35
Appearances: 27
Goals: 0
With 50 England caps to her name, 35-year-old goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain was by the far most experienced player to join United, although things could have been very different had a neck injury that saw her rushed to hospital during pre-season been as serious as feared.
Chamberlain arrived at United from Liverpool and has played for nine different clubs in total, including Arsenal and Chelsea. She has been to six major international tournaments.
Ella Toone (FW)
Age: 19
Appearances: 28
Goals: 15
An England Under-19 international, prolific forward Ella Toone was attached to United for six years as an academy player until 2013, but actually got her start in senior club football with Manchester City before returning home last year.
The teenager wears the number seven shirt for United and is having a far better season than male counterpart Alexis Sanchez after netting 14 times in 19 league appearances.
Amy Turner (DF)
Age: 27
Appearances: 23
Goals: 1
Despite having initially been released by WSL club Doncaster back in 2011, centre-back Amy Turner established herself as a top flight player and England international with Notts County, playing in the 2015 FA Cup final and then later joining Liverpool.
Turner dropped down a division to sign with United. She scored her first goal for the club in the recent 5-0 win over Millwall, a game in which she was also stand-in captain.
Katie Zelem (MF)
Age: 23
Appearances: 25
Goals: 11
Zelem is another product of United's girls academy - spending as many as nine years with the club - who had to go elsewhere to begin her senior career. That first took her to Liverpool, winning two WSL titles, and then to Juventus in Italy.
"As soon as I heard I knew it was great news for the women's game and once I knew some of the other girls were coming back it just made my decision even easier," Zelem told the Manchester Evening News of her decision to rejoin United.
Alex Greenwood (DF)
Age: 25
Appearances: 26
Goals: 5
Actually a childhood Liverpool fan, former Everton and Liverpool star Alex Greenwood was made the new United's first captain upon her arrival and has led with quality from left-back.
Greenwood has played over 30 times for England at senior level since her debut in 2014 and was a part of Lionesses squad at the 2015 World Cup and Euro 2017. She is set to be United's only England representative at this summer's World Cup.
Jess Sigsworth (FW)
Age: 24
Appearances: 27
Goals: 17
United's top goal threat this season and leading scorer in the Women's Championship is Jess Sigsworth, with 16 goals in 18 league appearances alone.
Formerly of Doncaster Belles, Sigsworth has actually scored more league goals this season than both Millwall and Crystal Palace have managed as whole teams (both 14). She has been capped by England at various junior age groups but never at senior international level.
Lauren James (MF)
Age: 17
Appearances: 26
Goals: 16
Even now, Lauren James is still five months shy of her 18th birthday, but age hasn't stopped the former Arsenal midfielder emerging as a shining star for United in the club's debut season.
James was named Women's Championship Player of the Month for September at the very start of the season and was instrumental in United knocking top flight Brighton out of the FA Cup in February. Incidentally, her brother is Chelsea starlet Reece James.
Mollie Green (MF)
Age: 21
Appearances: 27
Goals: 16
After emerging as a youngster with Liverpool, Mollie Green played 13 times in the top flight for Everton in 2017/18, before dropping down a division to join the new United revolution in the Women's Championship where her quality all season has been obvious.
Like many of United's young stars, Green, a former England Under-19 international and still only 21 years of age, looks to have a bright future in the first tier WSL next season.
