They say you are never too old to learn new things, and at the age of 28, Manchester United Women goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce has had her biggest season of learning yet.
She took over from Mary Earps as Man Utd’s first-choice ‘keeper in the summer after the England international moved to PSG, and has excelled.
Such is her form, Tullis-Joyce earned her first call up with Emma Hayes’ USA in November, and was involved again in their April camp for games against Brazil. She then earned her first senior cap in a 2-0 friendly win against Brazil over the weekend.
The highs and lows of football and the lessons it brings is something Tullis-Joyce has relished.
“This whole season is summed up by a massive amount of learning. I do love learning in general so I am definitely enjoying it,” she said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce trained with USA Women for the first time in November
“As much as learning can be painful sometimes, it has been such a great growth experience for me to be exposed to that national team environment and what it takes to play at the top level. It was a massive eye-opener and excitement to keep growing for Manchester United and for hopefully my country.”
A deeper dive into her stats paints the picture of a player in form. In the WSL this season, she has kept 12 clean sheets from 18 games, and conceded just nine goals – four fewer than the next lowest teams, Chelsea and Arsenal. She also ranks in the top five for saves, crosses caught and punched clearances.
Tullis-Joyce had to bide her time at Man Utd after arriving from Seattle Reign in the summer of 2023. She came in knowing Earps was the No1 and featured mostly in cup competitions in her first season – but the American was always working.
“Coming into Manchester United, I was fully aware what the situation was,” she reflected. “I was definitely up to the challenge. I’ve been a goalkeeper since I was 12 so it’s always been the case that only the one person typically gets to play.
“I was excited to work with Mary, getting to see her standards, understand the environment that she created for herself and understand what it takes to be a Manchester United goalkeeper. It helped me to now step into the role.
“I just kept working in the background. I tried to work on any areas of my game that I thought I needed to improve before I could take that ‘spotlight’.
“I was hoping I would get a shot here and there and I was fortunate enough to be called upon in Conti Cup games. I’m super grateful for that because it was a nice introduction to what it would be like in the future.
“As much as I love science, I actually don’t pay much attention to the stats in terms of my game. I like to keep those out of my head because I know where my brain will go to with those things.
“But I appreciate how much it can represent how much we’ve grown as a team and I’m happy we can share that those achievements so far.”
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Highlights from the Women’s Super League match between Aston Villa and Manchester United
Stepping into the shoes of fan favourite Earps was a tall order and in the months since, she has proven that she is more than a match. But did Tullis-Joyce feel the pressure taking over from the England No 1?
“It’d be a lie if I said no,” she mused. “But I try to hold myself to a high standard so I always feel myself under pressure. I do love a challenge so I’m always putting myself in very uncomfortable positions that might be defined as pressure.
“But I was also equally excited for the opportunity to play for Manchester United because I’m really proud to represent the club.”
The Ian Willcock effect
Phallon Tullis-Joyce has credited Man Utd’s goalkeeping coach Ian Willock with helping her fine form this season
There has been plenty of help to get Tullis-Joyce to where she is now and she credits goalkeeping coach Ian Willcock – who is leaving the club at the end of the season – with recognising her potential at Seattle Reign.
“Willco was one of the first people that I met in the Manchester United staff and he was one of the reasons why I wanted to come here,” she said of Willcock, who has been at Man Utd since the reformation of the women’s team in 2018.
“His enthusiasm, his dedication to his craft, he absolutely puts the position of a goalkeeper on a pedestal. He made me feel great for who I already was and inspired for who I could be so that is exactly why I wanted to join Manchester United and that’s exactly what I received.
“He has been such a great motivation and help in my journey so far. What you see of this season is definitely attributed to Willco, our goalkeeper union, my personal support system and our staff in general.”
He made me feel great for who I already was and inspired for who I could be so that is exactly why I wanted to join Manchester United and that’s exactly what I received.
One tool that Tullis-Joyce and Willcock both value for goalkeepers is Blazepod – a set of innovative light pods that test reaction times and aid improved spatial awareness and fitness. The Man Utd goalkeeper offered a unique perspective of how they helped her too.
“I’m lucky that I have a goalkeeper coach [Willcock] that’s pretty big with the Blazepod, so I use them every single day, whether that’s for hand reaction, foot reaction, or even peripheral vision expansion to get me ready.
“I particularly love using them for gamedays to get my senses going and then prepare myself for really bright stadium lights.
“It might be the contrast of the grey Manchester weather, but it took me a little bit longer than I would like to get adjusted in my warm-up [to the lights]. As soon as I started implementing Blazepod, I noticed that they were really helping me to adjust.
How League Cup defeat helped Man Utd
Tullis-Joyce’s next task with Man Utd is an FA Cup semi-final against local rivals, Manchester City, on Sunday. Victory would see the club return to the Wembley final for the second successive season as they look to defend their title.
It is one win apiece in Manchester derbies this season. Man Utd were knocked out by their neighbours in the Women’s League Cup quarter-finals – another learning moment for Tullis-Joyce – but were victorious in a 4-2 WSL thriller in January.
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Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Manchester City and Manchester United
Reflecting on their meetings so far, the goalkeeper added: “It was an incredible performance in the league by my team-mates.
“In the Conti Cup, I wouldn’t call it a low but a lesson for us in terms of really self-assessing what we want to be as a team, what are our non-negotiables, what are our strengths that we would like to emulate day in day out as a club. That’s what we’ve been able to hone in on.
“Overall, it [this season] has been positive. The journey we’ve been on, we’ve experienced some growing pains, came out of it, then growing pains again.
“There’s been so many highs, but lows that were major learning lessons. As a team, it’s made us bond so much more. We’re really happy with the results so far and excited to keep pushing them further in the future.”