Will City's bold managerial move pay off?

City have sacked Gareth Taylor just days before League Cup final against Chelsea

Gareth Taylor was appointed head coach of Manchester City in May 2020. Credit: Getty.

And just like that, the man who had been the longest-serving manager left in the Women’s Super League is gone.

On Monday afternoon, Manchester City sacked Gareth Taylor after five years in charge. Former City boss Nick Cushing has returned to the club as interim manager.

The big question on everyone’s mind: why now?

It is not so much the decision as the timing that is surprising. There have been more than a few times over the last few seasons when one has wondered whether Taylor’s departure from City might be imminent. The day after City secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals and just a few days before City face Chelsea in the League Cup final, was not one of those times.

The fact that a frankly terrifying four-game run against the WSL’s leaders awaits makes this even more shocking. After all, the prospect of facing Chelsea four times in a row is scary enough on its own – now, City are going to have to do it with a new, but old manager, in Cushing.

"Manchester City prides itself on competing at the top of the WSL and on its outstanding record of qualifying for European competition," read the statement by managing director Charlotte O'Neill. “Unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard."

O'Neill added: "With six games of the WSL campaign remaining, we believe that a change of management will breathe fresh life into our bid to ensure qualification for the 2025-26 Women's Champions League.”

So in comes Taylor’s predecessor, Cushing, who will return to manage the side on an interim basis until the end of the season – at least. Cushing won a WSL title, FA Cup and two League Cups with City between 2013 and 2020.

O’Neil’s statement raises questions about why City haven’t acted sooner, especially in the case of the 2022-23 season when the club failed to secure a Champions League spot, and the back-to-back campaigns that Taylor oversaw that resulted in City failing to get beyond the qualifying rounds.

There will be many City fans who will greet this decision with relief, hopeful that a new manager might be able to finally get the best out of a squad that boast the quality to win so much more than they have.

One point off the Champions League spots, having played a game more than Arsenal and Manchester United, is not where City would want to be.

Taylor’s departure marks the end of City’s post-pandemic era. He arrived after the 2019-20 season had already ben postponed but managed to stamp his mark quickly with an FA Cup win in 2020, but the only other trophy City claimed during his tenure was a League Cup in 2022.

Taylor made 53 appearances as a player for Man City, bagging 10 goals in the process, he then returned to the club in 2011 to work with City’s academy. He was a City Group appointment when he stepped up to lead the women’s team.

He had faced criticism throughout his time at City’s women’s team. He oversaw a record losing run at the start of the 2021-22 season as City failed to win four of their opening five games. There were also those failings in Europe. When it comes to WSL success, he will be remembered for pushing Chelsea to the final day last season but ultimately coming up short on goal difference.

Overall, Taylor’s time at City will probably be remembered most as a period of failed potential, of missed opportunities.

Other controversies may define his legacy too – how England keeper Ellie Roebuck described their relationship as “fractured”, the accusations of “bullying” he threw at former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall, and the recent awkward circumstances surrounding Chloe Kelly’s loan to Arsenal.

Maybe the best weapon to fight an enemy like Chelsea is an element of unpredictability. A new manager, a new strategy and some innovation might be exactly what City need to topple Chelsea.

The wisdom of this decision will be judged on how well City do against the Blues in their upcoming meetings. A League Cup victory – and suddenly, Taylor’s sacking is an inspired decision, freeing the side from the shackles that have held them back from claiming silverware. Lose and there will no doubt be some who blame the upheaval of sacking a manager just five days before a final. But I suspect this decision was always going to come.

His sacking may have come now, but it feels like his fate was actually sealed 12 months ago.

Taylor signed a new three-year-contract in March 2024, when his side were still in contention to finally end what was then an eight-year wait for a WSL title.

Just two months later, a defeat at home to Arsenal – secured by goals in the 89^th and 92^nd minute put an end to those hopes.

If that experience proved anything, it is that things can change quickly in football. Should City have kept faith with Taylor for just a few months longer? Perhaps he would have masterminded a remarkable WSL comeback for his side, securing Champions League football for next season. Perhaps they would have stunned the Blues at Pride Park, lifted the League Cup trophy and gone on to win the FA Cup too. Perhaps they would even have done the unthinkable and gone on to European glory, having already proved themselves capable of beating the powerhouse that is Barcelona.

We will never know if Taylor could have overseen that fairytale. It’s now Cushing’s job to try and make it happen.