Marc Skinner

For the American politician, see Mark Skinner.

Marc Skinner

Skinner in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth	(1983-03-23) 23 March 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Team information
Current team	Manchester United Women (head coach)
Managerial career
Years	Team
2013–2016	Solihull College (youth)
2015–2016	Birmingham City Women (youth)
2016–2019	Birmingham City Women
2019–2021	Orlando Pride
2021–	Manchester United Women

Marc Skinner (born 23 March 1983) is an English professional football coach who is the head coach of Manchester United Women in the FA Women's Super League.

Having been involved with their youth set-up, Skinner went on to manage the Birmingham City Women first team before moving to the United States to manage Orlando Pride in the NWSL. He holds a UEFA A Licence. ^[1]

Coaching career

Solihull College

Formerly a teacher, Skinner was football academy manager at Solihull College which opened a ladies-only academy and regional talent hub linked to professional team Birmingham City in 2013. ^[2]

Birmingham City

Skinner had held various roles at Birmingham City since 2006 including technical director, reserve team head coach and first-team goalkeeping coach. In December 2016, he was promoted to the position of head coach of the first team. ^[3] Upon the appointment he said "Since I found out I haven’t stopped smiling, this club is deep in my heart. I am extremely proud to lead this fantastic team and I am hoping to continue the success there already been in the past." The FA WSL was in the middle of a switch to the traditional autumn-to-spring calendar and, as a result, Skinner's first campaign was the shortened 8-game Spring Series from February–May 2017 where Birmingham finished 7th. The team also made the FA Cup final. ^[4] The Blues improved to a 5th-place finish in the 2017–18 season.

Upon his departure in January 2019, Skinner's Birmingham side sat 4th in the WSL table. He was credited with turning around the Blues’ style of play - creating a well-organized and defensively sound system while implementing a dominant attacking style on a small budget compared to Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea who were above them. ^[5]

Orlando Pride

On 14 January 2019, Skinner was announced as head coach of Orlando Pride, a team he called "one of the biggest clubs in the world." ^[5] He became the team's second ever head coach following the departure of Tom Sermanni at the end of 2018. After a difficult start having failed to win any of his opening nine games, Skinner earned his first win as Orlando head coach on 22 June in a 2–1 victory over Sky Blue FC. ^[6] In his debut campaign, Orlando finished bottom of the league with a franchise record-low 16 points. ^[7] With the 2020 season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Orlando Pride saw their schedule reduced to four Fall Series matches. The team failed to win any of them but notably ended the series in dramatic fashion with a second-half comeback from three goals down to tie with North Carolina Courage. ^[8] After finishing third of five teams in the group stage of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, Orlando picked up 15 points in seven games during an unbeaten start to the regular season, the longest unbeaten start in club history. ^[9] Combined with the two unbeaten games at the end of the Challenge Cup, the nine game streak matched Orlando's record all-time unbeaten run in all competitions set in October 2017. He stepped down on 23 July 2021, amid reports he had agreed terms with Manchester United. ^{[10] [11]}

Manchester United

On 29 July 2021, Skinner returned to the FA WSL to become the second head coach of Manchester United, taking over from Casey Stoney following her resignation in May 2021. He signed a two-year contract with the option for a third. ^{[12] [13]} On 12 May 2024, Skinner won his first piece of silverware as a manager as Manchester United won the FA Cup final, having finished as runners-up for the second time in his career the year before. ^{[14] [15]} He signed a one-year extension with the option for a further year on 17 May 2024. ^[16]

Personal life

Skinner is in a long-term relationship with former England international defender Laura Bassett having met while both coaching for Birmingham's U-14s team. ^[17] Their daughter, Saede, was born in December 2018. ^[18]

Managerial statistics

All competitive games (league and domestic cups) are included.

As of 18 May 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nation	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Birmingham City W.F.C.	England	14 December 2016	13 January 2019	54	26	11	17	76	51	+25	048.15
Orlando Pride	United States	14 January 2019	23 July 2021	43	9	12	22	46	77	−31	020.93
Manchester United W.F.C.	England	29 July 2021	present	94	58	18	18	212	97	+115	061.70
Career totals				191	93	41	57	334	225	+109	048.69

Honours

Birmingham City

• Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2016–17 ^[19]

Manchester United

• Women's FA Cup: 2023–24; ^[14] runner-up: 2022–23 ^[15]

Individual

• Women's Super League Manager of the Month: December 2021, ^[20] January 2022, ^[21] October 2022, ^[22] December 2022, ^[23] April 2023 ^[24]

References

1. "League Managers Association - Marc Skinner". www.leaguemanagers.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
2. "Blues link with Solihull College". www.birminghamcityladiesfc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
3. "Marc Skinner appointed manager". www.birminghamcityladiesfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
4. "Women's FA Cup final: Birmingham City 1-4 Manchester City". 13 May 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
5. "Orlando Pride Appoints Marc Skinner as Head Coach Ahead of 2019 NWSL Season". 14 January 2019.
6. "Sky Blue FC vs. Orlando Pride". www.nwslsoccer.com.
7. "2019 NWSL season review: Orlando Pride". VAVEL. 26 November 2019.
8. "NWSL Fall Series: Orlando Pride storm back from three-goal deficit to draw North Carolina Courage". CBSSports.com.
9. Poe, Julia. "Sydney Leroux powers unbeaten Orlando Pride to road win in Kansas City". Orlando Sentinel.
10. "Marc Skinner Steps Down as Orlando Pride Head Coach". www.orlandocitysc.com.
11. "Man Utd agree terms with Orlando boss Skinner". BBC Sport.
12. "Marc Skinner appointed as United Women head coach". Manchester United (Press release). 29 July 2021.
13. "Man Utd appoint Skinner as head coach of women's side". BBC Sport.
14. Sanders, Emma (12 May 2024). "Women's FA Cup final: Manchester United beat Tottenham to win first major trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
15. Wrack, Suzanne (14 May 2023). "Chelsea claim FA Cup hat-trick after Sam Kerr sees off Manchester United". The Guardian.
16. "Skinner signs new contract with United Women". Manchester United F.C. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
17. Moore, Glenn (6 June 2017). "Laura Bassett is without a club but she doesn't want to play for her partner". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
18. Bassett, Laura. "Laura Bassett tweets birth announcement". Twitter.
19. Steinberg, Jacob (13 May 2017). "Women's Cup final: Carli Lloyd strikes as Manchester City beat Birmingham". The Guardian.
20. "Marc Skinner and Ella Toone: Manchester United duo win Women's Super League awards for December". Sky Sports. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
21. "Man Utd forward Leah Galton and manager Marc Skinner win monthly award". Sky Sports. 10 February 2022.
22. Spencer, Jamie (10 November 2022). "Marc Skinner named Barclays WSL Manager of the Month for October". 90min.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
23. Spencer, Jamie (12 January 2023). "Man Utd land Barclays WSL player & manager awards for December". 90min.com. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
24. "Skinner named WSL Manager of the Month". www.manutd.com.