The number 6
The number 6 position in football is arguably one of the most important on the football pitch. Not every team plays with a lone 6 in the WSL or WSL 2 however, so there can be a perception that they're a luxury player as they're mostly key for teams that look to dominate possession and build out from the back. That said, they're typically the players that link play from the back line in order to get the ball up to advanced positions and are crucial in controlling the centre of the pitch.
Being able to play on the half-turn in deep areas is often a big part of the required skillset in a number 6, although teams can skirt around this by having the 6 drop into the back line to act as an extra centre-back. This can allow them to face forwards on the ball easier and less regularly play facing their own goal.
The leagues lack natural 6's as more often than not the players that do act as the anchors in either 3-player midfields or double pivots are often converted number 8's or number 10's that lack defensive awareness when it comes to screening the defensive line which can be as dangerous in transition scenarios and in settled defensive possession moments. Converting more attack-minded or box-to-box midfielders into 6's isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can just be harder to coach those defensive instincts and in a competition where each team only plays 22 games a season, learning that role in one season can be a task that teams just don't have time for if they're near the bottom of the table.
One of the biggest reasons for converting more attack-minded midfielders into deeper lying players can be their attacking instincts and, if they have a good passing range, it can make good use of their vision to open teams up that are in settled blocks in tight games. Number 6's in the modern game also need to be comfortable calling for the ball when the ball is in deeper positions in order to get play moving quickly out from the defence into the middle of the pitch, which is a very common trait in more confident number 10's who are often the focal point of their teams as they're often press-resistant through being elite passers or they can carry out of pressure and move the ball upfield themselves.
Keira Walsh and Yui Hasegawa are the gold standards for 6's in the top tier (even though Hasegawa has been given a freer role this season by Andree Jeglertz at Man City) with Sophie Ingle & Chelsea Cornet being the standouts in the WSL 2 this year. Walsh in particular is often marked out of the game specifically by opponents as an effective way to shut down either Chelsea or England, by forcing the rest of her teammates to progress the ball without her as they'll often look to funnel the ball out to wider areas.
In one sense, the 6 is basically like gold dust because it is a difficult to specifically train players to have such a rounded skillset, and to be sure that their technical floor is high enough that they can consistently keep possession and progress the ball under pressure in some of the most important parts of the pitch.
The right-sided winger/wide midfielder
This is something that I've thought about for a while at this point. The point I want to make isn't that there aren't any good right wingers in English football, because of course there are. I just think the position lacks specialists who are guaranteed to play there week after week. Lauren James is England's most talented player and does often play there for club and country, but like a few other players I want to mention, a lot of wide players (including superstars) end up playing across the left, the 10 and the 9 slots in some cases, without really being an out-and-out right winger.
To reiterate the point from the section about 6's, I'm not trying to look at this as a problem. It's just an observation that modern football does put a lot of emphasis on positional versatility, and (maybe I'm wrong here) there's less of an emphasis on left-sided wide players to play the same sort of minutes on the right side. A reason for this of course is the relative lack of left-footed players in football in general and with wingers often playing on the side that allows them to cut inside on their strong foot as inverted wingers/inside forwards.
I think I am biased towards players that are capable of using both feet to similar levels of proficiency to the point of not really being able to tell their strong foot. This level of technical proficiency though can also be why those sorts of players either occupy number 10 roles, or can fairly interchangeably play on either flank. Maybe there's also less of an emphasis on the right-winger area as a lot of right-backs in the leagues are basically wing-backs that do create a lot of the chances on that flank for their teams
Arsenal actually have 3 players where you can argue that right wing is their best position in Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead. Smith and Kelly are both very direct and pacy forwards that love taking the ball down the line and sizing up their opposing full back but both of them have been utilized on the left at times this season with Smith even being used as a 9 (which she did for a big portion of last season at Liverpool as well). Mead in recent months for club and country has been used almost as an extra 10 (from the games I've seen her in) taking up very central spaces to almost vacate the right flank for Emily Fox or Smilla Holmberg for Arsenal or Lucy Bronze for England, which is a valid tactic to use as she's very good in these central areas and can create space for herself and her teammates.
Dropping down to the championship though is where there are actually 2 specialists who are both enjoying really stellar seasons on the right, despite sitting at different ends of the league table (yes this is also an excuse for me to talk about Sophie Peskett again).
Starting at the top of the table Lily Crosthwaite has massively benefited from her summer move from Durham to last season's runners up Birmingham City as at the time of writing she has 6 goals and 6 assists in the league. Between her and Veatrikki Sarri on the left flank, Birmingham have 2 of the best wingers in the league who can cause opposing full-backs nightmares with how direct they can be. Although they have swapped flanks in games before, they are much more likely to stay on their flank for most of the game and Crosthwaite has developed even more as a ball-carrier and has honed her goal scoring to really take advantage of being the most advanced player in transition moments.
The reason that Sophie Peskett stands out to me as a player is that she really is such a well-rounded player that can just as comfortably cut inside on her left, or go down the line against her full-back on her favoured right foot in a foot race. Peskett is one of the quickest players in the league and her off-ball and on-ball speed has been part of her completing a massive 4.7 successful dribbles this season with a success rate of (67%). She has started some games on the left for Ipswich but has been primarily used on the right of a midfield 4 and has 4 assists to her name along with 3 goals this season.
