My Cato Scouting Reporting At IFK Norrköping Dam: Crystal Palace Womens’s New Swedish Midfield Star

With the start of the new 2024/25 WSL season on the horizon and the transfer deadline fast approaching, the 12 teams in the English women’s top flight are frantically striving to secure key targets to begin the campaign in the best possible way.

One side who will be especially eager to impress is Crystal Palace Women.

They are embarking upon their maiden WSL campaign and hoping to do what Bristol City Women failed to do last time out and avoid an immediate return to the Women’s Championship.

As the summer has gone on, their transfer business has been conducted with that firmly in mind, and they have made some powerful additions to their ranks.

Experienced Denmark and former Everton Women defender Katrine Veje, Ajax Vrouwen wide player Ashleigh Weerden, and former Leicester City Women midfielder Josie Green are among those to have joined the VBS Community Stadium outfit.

However, they have been looking to add not only higher-profile names but also a few as-yet-unknown players who could have just as big a part in their fortunes.

One of those is My Cato, a Swedish midfielder who has joined them from Damallsvenskan side Norrköping Dam, where she had been the captain.

Described by her new employers as a physical but creative player, she has the potential to become a critical asset to them.

This tactical analysis will examine why she could be the perfect fit for Crystal Palace’s game plan as the campaign progresses.

My Cato Patrolling The Midfield

Whenever I watch My Cato play, I am not doubting her versatility.

As her time at the club went on, Norrköping came to rely on her ability to assist in defensive, midfield, and attacking situations.

Whilst Crystal Palace could also give her a similarly free-flowing role in some matches, it seems likely that she will be initially tasked with staying inside the central third.

They will heavily rely on her ability to facilitate passing sequences and limit the damage that opposing sides can inflict when attempting to break forward.

She has shown particular strength in the latter, constantly recognising threats and acting to ensure that opposing sides cannot use the spaces available to them.

In this case, that is shown through her identifying the danger that IFK Linköping Dam’s Michelle De Jongh poses.

The latter had received a pass and turned to find a teammate ahead of her.

However, it is not simply a case of making a tackle, and that is the critical aspect of how Cato manages these situations.

Instead, she moves towards De Jongh from behind and then circles into a position directly in front of her, with her intention of not dislodging the ball but preventing it from travelling any further up the pitch.

In this case, that has the desired effect, with De Jongh now forced to decide between a horizontal or a backward pass, which slows Linköping’s momentum.

That anticipation has made Cato such a reliable player in the central third whenever her side is not in possession.

She proves to be a capable shield for those behind her and constantly works hard to prevent them from coming under too much pressure.

This will certainly be vital for Crystal Palace, who are facing some tough league fixtures this season against the best teams in the country.

They are likely to face plenty of moments when they, too, come under sustained pressure and need to guard against quick offensive sequences.

The other thing that will really endear her to her new teammates and the Crystal Palace fanbase is that she never stops working whenever an initial effort to halt an attack fails.

Instead, she stays alive to the situation and always looks for a second opportunity to win the ball, seeking to get her team moving in the right direction, which is not something that many players offer.

That was shown here by her initially closing down Rosengård Dam substitute Mikaela Stojanovska, but she did not succeed in regaining the ball and looked as if she had been taken out of the game.

However, she didn’t let that initial disappointment hinder her focus.

Instead, she instantaneously turned around to put herself in the right position to act if another chance came her way.

On this occasion, that endeavour paid off, with Stojanovska sending a loose pass inside the pitch and handing Cato an easy interception (something that she has done 4.31 times per game in the Damallsvenskan this year).

The ball then found its way into Finland international Dana Leskinen and made its way back up the pitch.

None of that would have been possible without Cato retaining her concentration after she had initially been thwarted in her attempt to make a tackle.

That level of determination and tenacity will be key if Crystal Palace are to battle successfully against the drop.

As mentioned at the beginning of this section, Cato is not only a useful player to have whenever her team is out of possession, though.

There is a lot to like about her qualities with the ball at her feet as well.

In particular, she has really good judgment of when to make certain passes.

She rarely takes risks and always strives to keep her team in control of the game.

That is shown clearly here, with the ball in her possession and her having the opportunity to send it forward and into the space that Kristianstads Dam have left open between their lines.

However, with Carly Wickenheiser getting tight to her and doing the same thing

to find that area of the field would give Kristianstads a strong chance of breaking up their attack.

As a result, she dismisses that option and instead shifts the ball wide for right-back Elin Rombing to run onto.

She knows that the latter player will be there as she is naturally offensively minded.

Whilst the chance might not have led to anything on this occasion, with Sofia Reidy coming across well to narrow the space that Rombing had to operate in, it is a clear demonstration of how Norrköping came to rely on Cato’s ability to assess when it was the right moment to play more aggressively and when it was better to adopt a more conservative approach.

With her

as they try to implement their possession-based tactics in the WSL.

My Cato Attacking Threat

Throughout that last section of the analysis, a key theme ran through the different examples shown: My Cato’s anticipation of what would happen and her ability to react to different situations.

That continues when examining her attacking threat, which it why is would not be out of the question to see Crystal Palace utilise this aspect of her game in some matches.

One thing that allows her to be such a threat is her movement, which is always timed well and has made Norrköping tough to contain at times.

In this case, Rombing has the ball and has been closed down by former Crystal Palace player Polly Doran for Linköping, and it appears that the latter side has ended their opponents’ attack.

However, Linköping’s defensive press has left space open, which makes it vulnerable, especially when Cato is nearby.

On this occasion, she recognised that Doran had left a vast amount of territory unprotected behind her and moved to occupy it, handing Rombing a forward-passing option and allowing Norrköping to maintain its threat.

Her run might not have led to anything on this occasion, with Sara Eriksson tracking back well to prevent her cross from finding a teammate.

Still, it certainly highlights another side of her game and demonstrates how she is more than simply a central third patroller.

It is worth mentioning that Cato actually tests opponents when inside the final third, and it is not simply about making runs that exploit space to relieve pressure.

In this case, the same thing has happened, but this time, Cato has been afforded more time and space and can send the ball into the middle, which she has done on numerous occasions for her former side and for which they really came to rely on her.

Again, there is an inherent precision in her game whenever she gets into these situations.

It appears here that AIK Damer has enough players back to prevent her delivery from finding a teammate.

However, they have left enough of a gap open at the near post, and that is all that Cato needs to set up a shot on goal.

AIK is seemingly stunned by the way that she manages to send the ball between them and does not react as quickly as Norrköping striker Sara Fornes does, and the ball ends up in the back of the net as a result.

My Cato Shot Assists Map

Cato has proven effective at setting up shots and goals not only in wider areas, though.

This graphic indicates that she is just as dangerous further back, too.

It has already been mentioned that she is a really effective player who can thread the ball through lines and who can find teammates with unerring accuracy at times in transition.

This shows how her knowledge of when to make risky vertical passes does pay off.

Therefore, while it has been mentioned that Crystal Palace will rely heavily on her ability to marshal the central third and ensure that they can keep moving the ball into spaces, this is another quality that she will undoubtedly bring to their game, and it is something else that makes the decision to add her to their ranks an astute one.

Crystal Palace perhaps shouldn’t expect too much from her in converting opportunities.

It is not a major weakness of her game but not a strength either, with her scoring seven times in 2023 but not finding the net at all this year.

This situation highlights why she can be inconsistent when in promising areas.

She got on the end of an aerial clearance by Piteå Dam and had time and space to shoot at their goal.

It would be expected that any player in this position who has attacking characteristics would at least be able to go close to finding the target.

However, Cato ends up misjudging the bounce of the ball and sees her shot travel a long way over the bar, squandering a chance to take advantage of Piteå’s error.

She does not always struggle to test opposing sides’ resolve; 46.7% of her shots were on target in 2024, and her willingness to make the effort is also commendable.

However, Crystal Palace should certainly consider this when it comes to getting the most out of her.

My Cato Defensive Protection

Perhaps for that reason, and the fact that Kaminski already has Mille Gejl and Chelsea Women loanee Alexia Potter (who has returned for a second spell at the club from the WSL champions) as more offensive midfield options, My Cato could be deployed in deeper spaces.

However, positioning her further back would not hinder her ability to affect the game, with it already mentioned that working hard out of possession is something that she thrives at.

That is particularly evident here, with Rosengård in possession and Jessica Wik attempting to feed the ball towards the goal area, having spotted the run of Japanese forward Mai Kadowaki towards the edge of it.

At first glance, it did look as though Norrköping would be made to pay for leaving such a significant gap in their defensive line.

However, Cato has spotted the danger and has once again shown a strong defensive instinct to get between the ball and its intended target.

As a result, Kadowaki is no longer a viable passing option, and Wik is forced to reassess her surroundings.

Instead, she sends the ball down the line and into the path of Olivia Schough.

Whilst it allows the Damallsvenskan leaders to keep the ball inside the final third, it also gives Norrköping time to get back into their shape, which was only possible here due to Cato’s intervention.

It is not simply about screening the back line, though, and Cato is happy to drop even further back if needed.

This was one moment when that was necessary, with AIK locating a gap in her team’s back line and attempting to use it to their advantage through Bosnia and Herzegovina forward Adelisa Grabus.

However, they have once again been thwarted by Cato, who recognises the threat and moves to fill the hole that had been left open.

The fact that she didn’t take the attitude that this was not part of her role reiterates how she is a team player and will never stop working for her team.

This makes her such an effective leader; she certainly has the confidence to encourage those around her and remind them to stay alert whenever small lapses like this occur.

Combine that with her defensive resilience and success rate in winning individual battles (having succeeded in 68.9% of them in 2024), and her presence could be vital in making Crystal Palace a tough side to break down.

She has proven to be an effective defender, not only on the back foot, though.

She is just as capable of taking the game to the opposing side when the opportunity arises.

When Norrköping faced Rosengård, it proved vital.

The latter side has been highly effective in possession this season, so any team that wants to beat them needs to be good at pressing and limiting their ability to connect around the field.

That is precisely what Cato has done here, with her once again reading Mia Persson’s body angle and recognising that she will pass the ball towards Iceland defender Guðrún Arnardóttir (out of the picture here).

As a result, when the ball arrives at the latter’s feet, she instantly finds herself under pressure and is unable to find a teammate in the manner that she usually prefers to.

Crystal Palace, too, likes to get on the front foot when they can, which means that, once again, Cato is a solid fit for their tactics.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this tactical analysis has examined My Cato, the new Crystal Palace Women signing, identifying her key strengths and highlighting the different ways in which she will fit into her new side’s structure as their first-ever WSL campaign continues.

As has been evident throughout the analysis, there is a lot to like about what she offers.

She certainly ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to Crystal Palace’s need in the central third midfield.

She is capable of assisting in attacking situations, contributing to transitional phases, and working hard whenever her side comes under pressure.

It is still to be determined where Cato ultimately features for Crystal Palace, and it is possible that she will be shifted around in the early stages as Kaminski tries to find her optimum position.

However, regardless of where she ends up operating for them in the long run, Crystal Palace have acquired a really talented player who could go down as one of the more underrated stars of their season.