Marc Skinner

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For the American politician, see Mark Skinner.

Marc Skinner
Skinner in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (1983-03-23) 23 March 1983 (age 42)
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] Under Skinner's tenure, Manchester United finished second in the 2022–23 WSL season, their highest finish in the league to date, as well as runners-up in the FA Cup that same season.[14][15] This finish also saw the club reach the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds for the first time, though they failed to advance to the group stages after being defeated by Paris Saint-Germain across both second round qualification legs the following season.[16]

Despite an underwhelming 2023–24 league campaign, which saw the club finish fifth in their lowest placement to date, this season saw Skinner win his first silverware as a manager as Manchester United won the 2024 FA Cup final on 12 May.[17][18] He signed a one-year extension with the option for a further year on 17 May 2024.[19] On 2 April 2025, Skinner signed a further contract extension with United, keeping him at the club until 2027 with the option for an additional year.[14][20]

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.[21] Their daughter, Saede, was born in December 2018.[22] The couple's second child was born in March 2024.[23]

Managerial statistics

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

As of 30 March 2025
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 119 77 21 21 274 112 +162 064.71
Career totals 216 112 44 60 396 240 +156 051.85

Honours

Birmingham City

Manchester United

Individual

References

  1. ^ "League Managers Association - Marc Skinner". www.leaguemanagers.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Blues link with Solihull College". www.birminghamcityladiesfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. 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. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Orlando Pride Appoints Marc Skinner as Head Coach Ahead of 2019 NWSL Season". 14 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Sky Blue FC vs. Orlando Pride". www.nwslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  7. ^ "2019 NWSL season review: Orlando Pride". VAVEL. 26 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  8. ^ "NWSL Fall Series: Orlando Pride storm back from three-goal deficit to draw North Carolina Courage". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  9. ^ Poe, Julia. "Sydney Leroux powers unbeaten Orlando Pride to road win in Kansas City". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Marc Skinner Steps Down as Orlando Pride Head Coach". www.orlandocitysc.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  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. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Man Utd appoint Skinner as head coach of women's side". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  14. ^ a b Sanders, Emma (2 April 2025). "Man Utd women's manager Skinner signs new contract". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  15. ^ a b Wrack, Suzanne (14 May 2023). "Chelsea claim FA Cup hat-trick after Sam Kerr sees off Manchester United". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Women's Champions League: Manchester United miss out on group stage after loss to Paris St-Germain". BBC Sport. 18 October 2023. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  17. ^ "Chelsea win fifth Women's Super League title in a row after beating Manchester United 6-0 in Emma Hayes' last match". Sky Sports. 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  18. ^ a b Sanders, Emma (12 May 2024). "Women's FA Cup final: Manchester United beat Tottenham to win first major trophy". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Skinner signs new contract with United Women". Manchester United F.C. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Skinner signs new contract with United Women". Manchester United F.C. 2 April 2025. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  21. ^ Moore, Glenn (6 June 2017). "Laura Bassett is without a club but she doesn't want to play for her partner". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  22. ^ Bassett, Laura. "Laura Bassett tweets birth announcement". Twitter. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  23. ^ Rowe-Willcocks, Helen (15 March 2024). "Healy: Every game is dangerous in the WSL". Manchester United F.C. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  24. ^ Steinberg, Jacob (13 May 2017). "Women's Cup final: Carli Lloyd strikes as Manchester City beat Birmingham". The Guardian.
  25. ^ "Marc Skinner and Ella Toone: Manchester United duo win Women's Super League awards for December". Sky Sports. 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Man Utd forward Leah Galton and manager Marc Skinner win monthly award". Sky Sports. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ Spencer, Jamie (12 January 2023). "Man Utd land Barclays WSL player & manager awards for December". 90min.com. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Skinner named WSL Manager of the Month". www.manutd.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.