Chelsea signed the best defender to have ever graced women's football, according to Emma Hayes, for a world record transfer fee. Several other high-profile players left the NWSL for Europe. And Chloe Kelly had to take to social media to force a move.

Matt and Maggie explain what the movements from this January’s transfer window tell you about the changing power dynamics across players, leagues and clubs globally.

They also look at the demand for and supply of women’s football in pubs across the UK, and

answer a listener question about whether moves towards giving equal pay to men’s and women’s teams and players is promoting gender equality at the expense of sustainability.

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There's a consultation out from the English Football Association to allow B teams from Women’s Super League and Championship clubs to play in the National League from 2026/27.

Maggie and Matt lay out the pros, cons and likelihood of it happening.

They also look at the third edition of the Deloitte Football Money League for women’s football - what we can learn from it and what it demonstrates about the data gap that still exists in women’s sport - and answer a listener question about what we should be looking at when it comes to Everton’s activities under new ownership.

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This week Matt and Maggie discuss the rumpus being caused by news that Celtic and Rangers have been in talks about joining English football, and how that’s related to the WSL potentially becoming a closed league.

They also do a deep-dive into finances in the lower tiers of English football, and answer a listener question about the launch of the Bay Collective, a new multi-club ownership group that will be headed up by Kay Cossington, the English FA’s Women’s Football Technical Lead.

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Happy New Year and welcome to Season Two of Expected Goals.

Because you've not heard from Maggie and Matt since before Christmas, in this first episode of the year they've got short and sharp analysis of all the news from the business of women’s football from the last month. Consider it a cheat sheet to bring you up to speed as you get cracking for 2025.

This includes:

And to round off they tackle a listener question about the impact inclusion of women’s teams and female players in EA Sports’ FC - formerly FIFA - video game franchise has had on the sport and the publisher.

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This week Matt and Maggie are joined by a special guest, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, who is the former General Secretary of FIFPro, the representative body for more than 65,000 professional men’s and women’s football players.

So it's the perfect chance to answer all your questions on arguably the most important stakeholder in the women's football ecoystem: the players.

The podcasts focuses on three areas:

The power dynamic between players and clubs, leagues and governing bodies - where does that currently lie?

How much of a role female footballers should be playing outside of playing to promote the sport?

The tension between giving female footballers the compensation they deserve, and financial sustainability in the club game in particular.

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With reports that the second-tier league in England, the Championship, is set to be rebranded as the WSL2, Maggie and Matt take a look at the rationale behind it, whether branding experts believe it’s a good idea, and what can be learnt from women’s leagues and clubs who have changed their identity.

They also give an update on the Independent Review into women’s football chaired by Karen Carney following last week's ITV documentary, and answer a listener question about how fans can use their own pocket money to support the growth of women's football.

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Are we seeing a popularity and therefore commercial contest developing between the NWSL and WSL?

This was suggested in a recent article from Mike Darcey, the former COO of Sky in the UK, who compared the domestic broadcast deals for the two leagues.

Maggie and Matt are at hand to analyse.

They also look at why almost all the main women's fantasy football platforms are run by unofficial providers and not the official competitions themselves, and answer a listener question

about refereeing - how good the pathways and incentives are for people to become football referees, in particular women.

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This week's episode of Expected Goals was recorded live at Edgbaston, home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, at the launch of Bears Women on November 20.

Bears Women will be one of eight professional women's cricket teams competing in new regional "tier one" competitions from 2025, meaning for the first time, a professional Warwickshire women’s team will compete alongside the men’s.

Maggie and Matt took the chance to see what football can learn from the approach Warwickshire are taking to the new Bears Women side - covering everything from branding, fan experience, merchandising, leadership and culture.

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Twitter, now known as X, has played an important role in the promotion and growth of women's football across the last decade.

So what would an exodus of accounts and users mean for the game? Matt and Maggie take a detailed look, with the help of a Mary Earps social media case study.

They also look at attendances in the Women's Super League and Championship for the weekend just gone, with both leagues playing all games in club's "main stadia" for the first time.

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With Arsenal having to move their women’s Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the Emirates to make way for a men’s Carabao Cup game, Matt and Maggie ask the question: are clubs being too ambitious about playing games in “main” stadia?

They also look at the pros and cons of bundling and unbundling commercial rights for women's football properties, and answer a fantastic question about how they would spend a hypothetical cheque for £10 million.

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