Guardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily Suzanne Wrack’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) West Ham were in big trouble last December, with half the season gone and one win in 11 games. Rehanne Skinner was dismissed and the former Italy forward Rita Guarino came in to steady the ship. There were questions over how much any manager would be able to do without the club giving a bit more support to the women’s setup, but Skinner, fairly or not, had lost the dressing room and heads were down.
The impact of Guarino wasn’t instant, a 5-0 defeat by Chelsea was a cruel introduction. It took a little time to rebuild the confidence of the team and get them playing the way she believed they could, but back-to-back wins against Newcastle in the FA Cup and Leicester in the Women’s Super League followed the Chelsea game, before a huge 3-2 win against Brighton and battling draws with Manchester United and London City Lionesses contributed to 14 points from their final 11 WSL games, taking their total to 19. As players started to depart in the summer, the situation looked bleak.
Among the 14 departures were the forward Shekiera Martinez, who joined Tottenham, Katrina Gorry, who decided to take a break from football, and Shelina Zadorsky, who left at the end of her contract before signing for AFC Toronto. Then the signings started to arrive and suddenly the dark clouds were parting. The Hammers have had a hugely productive and impressive window with 10 signings, including the forwards Kelly Gago, recruited from Everton, and Ebony Salmon, who joined from Aston Villa, the defenders Estelle Cascarino, whose loan was made permanent, and Nadine Riesen and Laia Codina, who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt and Arsenal respectively, and the young English talents Sienna Wareing and Niamh Peacock who signed from Manchester United and Arsenal.
Guarino has been backed in this window and West Ham have a real opportunity to make a statement in the WSL. West Ham’s relative indifference towards their women’s team has been long known. There has been a steady decline since the departure of the enthusiastic Jack Sullivan as managing director of the women’s team in 2021 – the son of David Sullivan having been handed control of the side at 18.
Little is known of how cash strapped the women’s setup is compared with other WSL sides. The club have not published detailed financial figures throughout their time in the WSL, with their most recent Companies House submission saying they are entitled to exemption from audit under section 479A of the Companies Act 2006. According to Football Association figures they were the WSL’s lowest spenders on agents’ fees in the year to February 2026, at £97,000, and one of only two clubs – Manchester United were the other – whose spend was down year on year.
Guarino was a relative unknown when she arrived in the WSL, having managed only in Italy. In the second half of the season West Ham didn’t quite experience a new manager bounce, but Guarino was able to guide them to another four wins and a 10th-place finish above Liverpool and Leicester. Codina told the BBC of her transfer talks: “I remember having my first conversation with Rita.
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