Alonso blames transfers and retention for leaving Celtic.

Fran Alonso has been reflecting on his three years as Celtic Ladies manager and the reasons for his recent departure to Houston Dash.

In any case, an offer to work in arguably the best league in the sport would be difficult to turn down, but having brought success, profile, and personality to the Celtic team, there was something he could have built on.

After starting at the bottom of the coaching ladder in the UK, Alonso worked at Southampton and Everton before moving north in 2020 to take charge of Celtic.
His enthusiasm was reflected in the team, and crowds became interested in the Ladies Team to the point where two games moved to Celtic Park last season drew crowds of more than 10,000.

The players, fans, and manager collaborated well, but hard finance is required at all levels of the game, with Celtic serving as a platform for players to move on.

Jacynta, last season’s top scorer, left for Sporting Lisbon, speaking to the Behind The Goals podcast on Radio Scotland. Alonso explained why he, too, needed to move on:

The problem for me was how ineffective we were about retaining the quality players we produced. I was there four years, and we lost our top goalscorer every year while Rangers or Glasgow City would not lose theirs.

Some transfers and departures are unavoidable, but facing a major rebuild season after season is a huge demand, especially given that continued success will result in more players moving on.

Last season, Alonso led Celtic to the Scottish Cup, with the club just minutes away from winning the SWPL.

Celtic are second in the SWPL this season, six points behind top spot after 18 games, with 30-year-old Swede Elena Sadiku taking over from Alonso, who previously worked with Everton’s under-21 team.

in other news, “It was his request” – Director reveals Celtic player ‘asked’ for transfer, ‘didn’t feel at ease’ under Rodgers