Women’s team

Women’s football is shite. I’m the women’s World Cup a while back they kept trying to talk about amazing levels of skill etc and then did that ridiculous thing of comparing it to the men’s game…a game far more developed and recognised, and quite obviously a higher standard.

It’s similar to when they try and compare rugby and cricket to football, they’re all different so simply can’t be compared.

I guess over time, folk may take an equal interest in both sides, we’re a long way off how they are with the women’s game in the states but may be, just May be, it will get to that level. That said, the men’s game is so established here it will naturally never be overshadowed.

As I say, several lasses at work play a decent level women’s game but never choose to watch it. May be it’s the same as odd I went to school with who loved playing but never went to watch it…

Quoted from Hagrid

I’ll say it

Womans football is absolutely shite.

Very insightful.

I have nothing against women’s football, and occasionally watch bits and bobs on tv.

To me the BBC are pushing it because it will cost much less than men’s football to secure the rights (and it does of course suit their “look at us and our right on” agenda, but that’s just coincidental to the cost issue)

In the same way, they do the early rounds of the FA cup to death, making the run of games stretch out over 3 or 4 days because they have little other live footy to show

The BBC, like Sky, other broadcasters, the FA and top Prem clubs are pushing women’s football because it’s one of the fastest growing sports and markets in the planet and there’s plenty of money to be made from it. That’s why Man Utd and Liverpool and City are just parachuting themselves into the top divisions and unfashionable teams like Donny and Notts County have been pushed out.

Nothing to do with being “right on”, it’s aaaaallll about money.

It's worth noting a couple of things in terms of women's football. Firstly, obviously there are massive physical differences between elite male and female players; men are always going to be quicker, stronger and taller than women - that's just how it is. That's particularly relevant when it comes to goalkeepers, who are in some cases approaching a foot shorter in height than their male counterparts, something which is even more pronounced when you consider things like reach and jumping capability. I'm not sure it's misogynistic to suggest that it might be worth considering using smaller goals; it's common place for women golfers to tee off closer to the green than men for instance.

That women aren't as athletically adept as men isn't just relevant to football, but all sports of course. Any yet there are sports, like athletics and tennis, where the women's game is taken almost as seriously (if not as seriously) as the men's. But that brings me on to my second point; women have been competing at the Olympics since 1900 and the women's tournament at Wimbledon for example goes back to 1884.

Those sports have taken women seriously for over a hundred years, and that's reflected in the financial backing that exists today. Female competitors in those sports have the opportunity to nurture their natural talent in elite training environments. I suspect that's still not true of most WSL clubs today, and if it is then it certainly hasn't been the case for long. Certainly not long enough to have benefited the current crop of players playing today. The top flight (and only the top flight) has only been professional since 2017, and even then with most players still earning well below than £30k a year, it won't serve as a viable career for some.

There's no doubt that women's football has a presence in the media, in particular the BBC, which is out of kilter with the level of interest shown by the general public. That's a sign of the times, whether you agree with it or not, but with attendances typically ranging between 1,500 and 5,000 (at less than £10 per ticket) it's still not at a point where it's self-funding for most clubs. If it's to get off the ground as a sport to be taken genuinely seriously, it needs a kick-start.

I don't disagree that the game today is significantly less entertaining than men's football, and aside from the World Cup Final in 2019 I don't think I've ever been able to make myself sit through a whole game. But the standard has nevertheless moved on massively; have a look at the second goal in the 2000 FA Cup final between Arsenal and Croydon (below), if you need a reference point.

With the right funding over a sustained period of time, if players are able to reach the right level of technical capability I don't see why you couldn't have a genuinely entertaining product in 10 or 20 years time. It's never going to be on a par with the men's game; unlike the aforementioned athletics and tennis there's a tribalism passed down through generations (my grandad was at that FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford in 1939, just a few months before he was conscripted to fight in WW2) and of course that's always been about the men's game. You don't see many (more like 'any') statues of women outside football stadiums, do you?

But let's not pretend that the opportunities for female players to become elite are equal (and probably never will be). It's not really fair to simply write them off as useless bints trying to play a men's game. Give it a a few years and I think some might be surprised at where the game is at.

https://youtu.be/Iy4U6mjt90A?t=26

Quoted from Grantley

Very insightful.

Thanks.

Nothing against the girls playing it, but its awful

It’s not something I’d switch Coronation St over to watch but I think the players and people involved deserve a lot of credit for making the ladies game more organised, structures, at elite level more professional and most importantly accessible to any girl or lady who wants to kick a ball around which surely has to be a good thing and “what it’s about”.

Yeah there probably money to be made for top clubs, maybe not in terms of ticket sales but definitely in sponsorship as many rich sponsors and broadcasters  like to be associated with diversity.

I watched a bit of Chelsea’s ladies team a few weeks ago and you can see their identity as a team and what they where trying to do, technically good, great movement and clearly well coached by Emma Hayes.

The Town ladies team seem to be doing really well I hope the change in coach doesn’t derail what should be a participant sport and in terms of “playing for Town” an aspiration for anyone who want to get involved.

My view on the ladies pundits is the same as the men’s game some (Karen Carney) seem to get it and others (Alex Scott) talk sh1te.

It's a tough one for me and it depends your situation which then gives you your opinion.

I don't tend to watch any football except grimsby highlights and sometimes motd. So I cant really comment on that.
But in person, I actually helped coach a local towns womens team for a few games until they got a manager in place and I enjoyed watching it (and coaching them ofcourse) The game is obviously alot slower paced and the skill level isn't close to mens but there's still alot of passion and banter even at amateur women's level.
UTM

Not a huge fan of watching women’s football but it’s great for my daughter to have some positive female roles models. Someone on this thread has actually cited Sally Gunnell which shows there not a lot of athletes for girls to watch. Those grumbling should probably consider that it’s not necessary about them.

Which one has he been sh@gging then? 👀