Eva Olid Takes Charge of Manchester United Women

Manchester United roll the dice. Again. This time, they’ve turned to a coach who quietly tore up the script in Scotland.

Eva Olid is the new manager of Manchester United Women, signed on a two-year deal with an option for a further 12 months. She replaces Marc Skinner, who left by mutual consent on Monday, barely a month before the Women’s Super League season begins.

From Edinburgh outsider to title-chasing architect

When Olid arrived at Hearts, she was a virtual unknown. By the time she walked away this summer, she had turned a mid-table outfit into the most dangerous attacking side in the Scottish Women’s Premier League.

Hearts, historically nowhere near Scotland’s powerhouses, finished last season as top scorers with 85 goals. Only Rangers, with 80, came remotely close. The numbers were the product of a bold, front-foot philosophy: a 3-4-3 shape, full-backs pushed high, and a goalkeeper asked to act as a fourth defender.

It was aggressive. It was risky. It worked.

Under Olid, Hearts didn’t just win games; they changed expectations. She led them to their first major silverware and into their first domestic final, where they fell to Rangers in the 2024 Scottish Cup. For a club that had never been “one of the main players in Scotland”, that leap was seismic.

Her exit was as decisive as her football. In April, away to Glasgow City, Hearts had never beaten the league giants under her watch. So she ripped up her own script. Out went the all-out attack; in came a compact, defensive plan. Hearts won 1-0, went top of the table, and Olid announced her intention to leave, saying she couldn’t have gone without tasting victory against City at least once.

It was pure Olid: emotional, calculated, and ruthlessly competitive.

United’s brief: build, don’t just buy

Inside Manchester United, the remit for Skinner’s successor was clear: development first. They wanted a coach who improves players, not just organises them. Someone who lives in the training ground as much as on the touchline.

Olid fits that profile perfectly.

She has a proven record of nurturing young talent. At Hearts, the Husband twins, Erin and Jess, both debuted at 15 under her. She trusted them early, pushed them, and watched them grow into key players. That sort of bravery with youth is exactly what United’s hierarchy has been craving.

“Eva is the perfect coach to lead us into an exciting new era – she shares our commitment to developing exciting homegrown and young players,” said Matt Johnson, United’s director of women’s football.

Former Hearts captain Georgia Hunter, who left for Ipswich this summer, didn’t hold back either. “She’s a great manager, very, very good,” she told BBC Sport. “I learnt so much. The transition with all the players and where she took the club to is absolutely amazing.”

Those who worked closest with her were convinced she was destined for a bigger stage. Now she has one.

A Spanish edge for United’s frontline

If there’s one group inside Carrington who might be quietly smiling at this appointment, it’s the forwards.

Olid’s Hearts side attacked in waves. Her 3-4-3 asked the front line to be relentless, brave, and constantly on the move. The goalkeeper’s involvement as an auxiliary defender meant quicker build-up, cleaner progression, and more bodies in advanced areas.

For United’s attacking trio of Ella Toone, Lea Schüller and Elisabeth Terland, that could be a thrilling prospect. Under Olid, chances should come. Lots of them.

United’s hierarchy also expect her Spanish roots to seep into the club’s style – more technical control, sharper combinations, and a greater emphasis on individual development within a clear collective structure.

But this isn’t a coach wedded blindly to one idea. That Glasgow City win proved she can park her principles for a day if the occasion demands it. United, who have often been accused of lacking tactical flexibility in big moments, may find that blend of idealism and pragmatism invaluable.

Unknown in the WSL, under the brightest of lights

For all her success in Scotland, Olid steps into a different world now.

She has never managed in the WSL. She has never led a club in European competition. At Hearts, she was popular, relatively protected, and allowed to build over time. At United, the scrutiny will be instant and unforgiving.

Skinner’s departure reignited questions about the club’s ambition for the women’s team. Investment, direction, long-term planning – all have been probed by a restless fanbase. Olid walks into that storm as the public face of the project.

The club, though, moved quickly and decisively. Skinner left on Monday; Olid’s deal was signed within 24 hours. Recruitment was already advanced, and United clearly knew who they wanted.

They believe she matches their new blueprint: a coach who can elevate individuals week by week, trust youth, and install a clear identity.

She also brings valuable experience from time spent working with the Scotland women’s national team setup. BBC Sport Scotland’s Amy Canavan admitted she wasn’t surprised to see Olid land a high-profile job, saying: “We were convinced she had somewhere special to go. She 100% deserves this chance and is ready for it.”

Ready or not, the countdown has started.

Four weeks to London, and no hiding place

On Friday, it will be four weeks until United open their WSL campaign away to London City Lionesses on 4 September. That fixture has suddenly taken on a different edge.

Olid’s first task is brutal in its simplicity: galvanise a depleted squad, embed younger players, and impose a new way of playing in a very short space of time. There is no soft landing, no extended pre-season to experiment in the shadows.

She must win over a dressing room that has seen upheaval, reassure a fanbase demanding more, and deliver performances that suggest United are not drifting but climbing.

One thing is certain: this is not a conservative appointment. United have handed the keys to a coach who transformed Hearts with bold ideas, fearless selections, and a refusal to accept the established order.

Now we find out if that same defiance can shift the balance of power in the WSL.