The 'quality' of Womens Football (1 Viewer)

[Evo1883]

My daughter did a training video for the FA and blue peter with Phil Foden , Gallagher and Smith Rowe last week

 

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[Nick]

Don't try and compare it to the men's game as it's like chalk and cheese

Tell the media that then....

 

[Liquid Gold]

I think it would have been better if the teams grew more automatically as opposed to being appendages of the mens teams.

Arsenal ladies don't trace their heritage back to Woolwich Arsenal.

If Arsenal wanted a woman's team they could have starting like Islington WFC or something then it might have been more interesting.

I understand why they did it as it is trying to encourage the supporters of those mens team to take an interest in the women side but completely fresh teams may have had people looking at it form a different angle.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

It really is, I think that's in part because of the TV deal and the desperation to make it work.

You put Sky on and they are going on about big Derby matches, sky sports news giving it the "Man City sign new striker" and all that. They want the merge the 2.

Or maybe they're giving it a chance to grow further so it inspires others in the future to take up the sport?

 

[Nick]

Or maybe they're giving it a chance to grow further so it inspires others in the future to take up the sport?

Like I said, it's no longer classed as women's football. It's not Liverpool ladies etc.

Watch something like SoccerAM and they are desperate to shoehorn a woman footballer in every week. Then you can see how cringey it is.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

The womens team that are the “best team on the planet” according to attendance websites attract about as many fans as Morecombe

And that I'm not debating G. My point (again) is that the womans game is decades behind the mens because of inequality and a ban. In 50 years time, are Chelsea WFC going to have the same attendances as men? Unlikely?

Are they going to be better than 2022 if they continue to promote the game in the way that it's allowed to? More than likely, yes.

If you don't change something, it'll remain the same. If you change something (investment, better training facilities, more opportunity, better coaching), it'll improve and get better.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

I can see that you are a big advocate of women´s football, and that´s great. I used to go and watch Koppaberg´s FC in Sweden when I lived there many years ago. It was really enjoyable and the ability to (unsurprisingly) take Koppabergs into your seat was lovely.

I must say though, I do agree with some of the other comments people are raising. Whilst the awareness and coverage is enhancing, which I support, there is a certain amount of ´over-correcting´ going on, which I think can put people off to a degree. If you want more people to go and support it, I am not always sure that this method is the right way to go. See politics, vaccine drive, etc etc.

I am all for the support of the women´s game, but it is different to what we would watch on a Saturday down the CBS, and whilst I have no doubts the quality will improve, there will be a difference. I would be very happy to see a proper CCFC women´s team, and some sort of concessions and discount to season ticket holders to go and watch etc. That could be a really nice way to bridge the gap. I can understand however, why people get annoyed when links and such are posted with ´get your tickets to the Euro 2022 tournament´, followed by (women´s) in the small print of brackets whatever.

Just my view of course.

Fair comments. And I work with womens teams - unfortunately that also means the need to defend them.

With the over-correcting - you lump this in with politics, vaccine drive etc - doesn't that then insinuate that it's part of a bigger cultural problem and not confined to just the medias potrayal of womens football?

And of course womens football is different to watching Cov at the CBS every other weekend. I've not said they're the same product. To state my position again - womens football isn't at the same level as mens and that's because of the opportunities afforded (or not) to the womens game over the decades. It'll likely never catch up and be an equal - but it shouldn't be shouted down for trying to better itself and give itself more opportunities and development like it currently is (not that you personally are doing that btw).

 

[Skyblueweeman]

My daughter did a training video for the FA and blue peter with Phil Foden , Gallagher and Smith Rowe last week

My gut feel is that even as little as 10 years ago, she would struggled to have the opportunity. I'm glad she had it and hope she had a good time. I hope my daughter has such opportunities when she's older. Shame others on here cannot see that good it's doing over their blinkered views because it's spoiling their media consumption.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

I think it would have been better if the teams grew more automatically as opposed to being appendages of the mens teams.

Arsenal ladies don't trace their heritage back to Woolwich Arsenal.

If Arsenal wanted a woman's team they could have starting like Islington WFC or something then it might have been more interesting.

I understand why they did it as it is trying to encourage the supporters of those mens team to take an interest in the women side but completely fresh teams may have had people looking at it form a different angle.

It's financial more than anything as well LG. It's no secret that 2nd tier womens teams like Lewes and Durham, find it harder than the other teams because they're not afiliated to a mens club. Same with Cov Utd Ladies as well who aren't linked to the mens club.

 

[Nick]

It's financial more than anything as well LG. It's no secret that 2nd tier womens teams like Lewes and Durham, find it harder than the other teams because they're not afiliated to a mens club. Same with Cov Utd Ladies as well who aren't linked to the mens club.

Not sure being linked to the Men's Cov Utd Ladies would make much difference.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

Like I said, it's no longer classed as women's football. It's not Liverpool ladies etc.

Watch something like SoccerAM and they are desperate to shoehorn a woman footballer in every week. Then you can see how cringey it is.

C'mon Nick. As a father of a daughter, why is your media consumption of football really an issue? So what if they try and shoehorn a female footballer on every week? Why shouldn't they?

 

[Nick]

C'mon Nick. As a father of a daughter, why is your media consumption of football really an issue? So what if they try and shoehorn a female footballer on every week? Why shouldn't they?

Because it's shite and forced.

Having a daughter is nothing to do with it.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

Not sure being linked to the Men's Cov Utd Ladies would make much difference.

I mean, it would.

Like I mentioned - I work with 3 womens teams - Aston Villa, Leicester and Watford - teams who aren't exactly pulling up trees. But I've also had discussions with people at Durham and Lewes (not Cov Utd to be fair) and the feedback is that they're at a disadvantage compared to the clubs associated with mens clubs.

Fan base marketing, facilities, coaching quality etc - it all makes a difference.

Now if your point centres around the fact that we're Cov and we don't spend money on anything (which technically isn't true), then I can understand from that point of view.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

Because it's shite and forced.

Having a daughter is nothing to do with it.

I'm sorry it's got such a negative impact on your TV viewing mate.

 

[fernandopartridge]

The thing that irritates me about the women's game too is that instead of coming up with something that might be genuinely competitive, it has just adopted the same competition structure of the contemporary men's game.

Oh look, it's Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal as top 4. How exciting!!

 

[Nick]

I mean, it would.

How? I get it with a club like Man City funding. Cov Utd though?

 

[Skyblueweeman]

How? I get it with a club like Man City funding. Cov Utd though?

If Cov Utd Ladies were Cov City Woman FC and affiliated to the club, they'd likely train at Ryton or a better facility than they currently have, they'd have better access to coaching, the club would likely give them an amount of money to spend on accommodation, they'd likely have more money for bringing better players in etc. They'd also be on the Cov City website where their fixtures would be promoted to a wider audience than their own website which likely gets 100 times less traffic than ccfc.co.uk

Any mens club that has a womens team, has a budget set aside for those womans teams - and the budgets, even outside of the top 4, are growing. Those are aren't afiliated to a club - Cov Utd, Lewes and Durham, have to self fund themselves rather than have the support of established mens teams.

Vo

 

[Skyblueweeman]

The thing that irritates me about the women's game too is that instead of coming up with something that might be genuinely competitive, it has just adopted the same competition structure of the contemporary men's game.

Oh look, it's Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal as top 4. How exciting!!

Fair point - but what would your structure be? In most mens leagues in Europe, you get dominance of a few teams - England (City, Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal), Spain (Barca, A.Madrid, R.Madrid), France (PSG, Marseille), Germany (Bayern Munich, B.Dortmund), Italy (Juve, Milans).

What's the answer or structure?

 

[Nick]

If Cov Utd Ladies were Cov City Woman FC and affiliated to the club, they'd likely train at Ryton or a better facility than they currently have, they'd have better access to coaching, the club would likely give them an amount of money to spend on accommodation, they'd likely have more money for bringing better players in etc. They'd also be on the Cov City website where their fixtures would be promoted to a wider audience than their own website which likely gets 100 times less traffic than ccfc.co.uk

Any mens club that has a womens team, has a budget set aside for those womans teams - and the budgets, even outside of the top 4, are growing. Those are aren't afiliated to a club - Cov Utd, Lewes and Durham, have to self fund themselves rather than have the support of established mens teams.

Vo

Yeah but Cov Utd aren't Coventry City.

 

[Grendel]

Yeah but Cov Utd aren't Coventry City.

I certainly wouldn’t want ccfc wasting money on this in truth

 

[Skyblueweeman]

Yeah but Cov Utd aren't Coventry City.

Erm, thats what I'm saying??

 

[Liquid Gold]

Fair point - but what would your structure be? In most mens leagues in Europe, you get dominance of a few teams - England (City, Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal), Spain (Barca, A.Madrid, R.Madrid), France (PSG, Marseille), Germany (Bayern Munich, B.Dortmund), Italy (Juve, Milans).

What's the answer or structure?

I can't really answer what the ideal structure would be but just something different would be good.

Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League. It's all the same stuff.

What if they tried an American style system with north and south divisions leading to a grand final.

IDK is the honest answer but it doesn't grab my interest doing the same thing and I have nothing against the game at all.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Fair point - but what would your structure be? In most mens leagues in Europe, you get dominance of a few teams - England (City, Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal), Spain (Barca, A.Madrid, R.Madrid), France (PSG, Marseille), Germany (Bayern Munich, B.Dortmund), Italy (Juve, Milans).

What's the answer or structure?

No disproportionate TV deals for top leagues, the one for the WSL gives 75% revenue to top flight and 25% to second tier.

How have they looked at the men's game and thought we'll replicate that? Unless it's literally the same executives making the same decisions.

To exacerbate that the Champions League further entrenches it by paying big prize money to qualifiers and achievers (who happen to be the teams that are already well backed) and solidarity payments to other top flight teams.

 

[Liquid Gold]

No disproportionate TV deals for top leagues, the one for the WSL gives 75% revenue to top flight and 25% to second tier.

How have they looked at the men's game and thought we'll replicate that? Unless it's literally the same executives making the same decisions.

To exacerbate that the Champions League further entrenches it by paying big prize money to qualifiers and achievers (who happen to be the teams that are already well backed) and solidarity payments to other top flight teams.

Rugby are just the same.

Looked at the financial basket case of football and gone "I'll have some of that"

 

[Skyblueweeman]

I certainly wouldn’t want ccfc wasting money on this in truth

Of course you wouldn't G...

 

[Grendel]

Of course you wouldn't G...

would you?

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

I certainly wouldn’t want ccfc wasting money on this in truth

I am with you on this we are already finding it difficult without throwing money down the drain on women’s football, let it stand alone and if it’s popular it will survive and if it isn’t will find its level or disappear.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

would you?

Yes. If my club could afford it, then absolutely. The % clubs spend on their womens teams is a fraction of overall turnover.

So long as it didn't compromise the team I grew up supporting, why wouldn't I??

 

[Nick]

Erm, thats what I'm saying??

I said how would cov utd ladies benefit from cov utd men's?

 

[Grendel]

Yes. If my club could afford it, then absolutely. The % clubs spend on their womens teams is a fraction of overall turnover.

So long as it didn't compromise the team I grew up supporting, why wouldn't I??

well by definition could afford it means it could be spent on the team people actually support so why would you? It’s money not going to that team. Why is that sensible?

 

[Skyblueweeman]

I said how would cov utd ladies benefit from cov utd men's?

Ah apologies - I misunderstood.

I obviously meant attached to a well established mens team - like a professional EFL/EPL club. Lewes Women are attached to Lewes Men. They find it harder than womens teams associated to pro EFL/EPL teams.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

well by definition could afford it means it could be spent on the team people actually support so why would you? It’s money not going to that team. Why is that sensible?

Because clubs are businesses - you know as well as I do that revenues are not solely focused on 11 men on a pitch.

Do you think fans of Forest Green Rovers FC are up in arms with Dale Vince when he spends money on environmental initiatives and not spending that money on bringing in a new player??

 

[Grendel]

Ah apologies - I misunderstood.

I obviously meant attached to a well established mens team - like a professional EFL/EPL club. Lewes Women are attached to Lewes Men. They find it harder than womens teams associated to pro EFL/EPL teams.

of course and premier league teams do
It as it makes them look as if they are considering the female game and wouldn’t want negative publicity

 

[Skyblueweeman]

of course and premier league teams do
It as it makes them look as if they are considering the female game and wouldn’t want negative publicity

So it's a publicity stunt?

Or could it be moving with the times?

 

[Nick]

Ah apologies - I misunderstood.

I obviously meant attached to a well established mens team - like a professional EFL/EPL club. Lewes Women are attached to Lewes Men. They find it harder than womens teams associated to pro EFL/EPL teams.

Yeah so basically they need to be linked to a big club who can afford to throw loads of money at them.