I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say I enjoy the WSL. Cliches about certain elements of the game being very weak compared to the men sure (goal keeping) but on the whole the game is played fast and with a bit more honesty than a lot of games I watch.
It's certainly come a long way. I remember an England women's game being played at Loakes Park a long time ago and it was singularly one of the most appalling excuses for football I have ever seen. Left at half time.
@TheAndyGrahamFanClub said:
I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say I enjoy the WSL. Cliches about certain elements of the game being very weak compared to the men sure (goal keeping) but on the whole the game is played fast and with a bit more honesty than a lot of games I watch.
It's certainly come a long way. I remember an England women's game being played at Loakes Park a long time ago and it was singularly one of the most appalling excuses for football I have ever seen. Left at half time.
I enjoy it too - although I feel a little biased as I coached a women's team for four years. I've never understood the comparison to where the men's game is - it's simply not comparing like for like. The more interesting comparison is women's football now with women's football pre-professionalisation, just as you would with the standard of men's football now as compared with where it was in say the 1980s. Both have improved relative to where they were, both will continue to do so as they are allocated resources airtime.
For those who don't think the audience justifies the publicity, I watched the last half hour of the Arsenal - Hoffenheim game last night on YouTube. It had 256k views by this morning, more than I'd suggest any league one or two game would get free-to-air online. The difference is that women's football is coming of age in the digital era, and it takes a lot longer to establish the habit of attending in person. As one person has already highlighted, banning the game for 50 odd years didn't help. Just before that happened in 1920, a women's game had a crowd of 53,000 which wasn't unusual.
@JohnBoy I use it as one source of sports news, as I do general news. Your approach would surely have Derby Co fans only getting their news from Derby Co twitter. I'd argue that might not give them an entirely rounded picture.
No problem with women's football getting more TV time- it should, lower league football should also get far more terrestrial attention if it's actually based on viewership interest and level of competition than it currently does though
@our_frank said: @JohnBoy I use it as one source of sports news, as I do general news. Your approach would surely have Derby Co fans only getting their news from Derby Co twitter. I'd argue that might not give them an entirely rounded picture.
It may not, but if that's what they want, that's what they can get. We have the world at our fingertips now, we don't have to purely rely on what the BFP or your personal favourite national paper is. Whether it's Twitter, general sports sites, focused ones or otherwise - if someone wants to know about League 1 or Women's football, there's a plethora of sources out there.
BBC Sport and it's news based counterpart obviously has a place, but seems strange to me to complain about what they prioritise when, if you don't like it, you can find what you do somewhere else.
I get most of my news straight from journos (mainly for sport)/PA/Reuters on Twitter - or just use NewsNow. Barely bother with the BBC site/app directly these days.
Also, with the exception of Wycombe Sound and the ever-brilliant RTB, regular independent coverage of Wycombe is rubbish to non-existent - so you're not really going to get anything you won't get from the official club feeds.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Also, with the exception of Wycombe Sound and the ever-brilliant RTB, regular independent coverage of Wycombe is rubbish to non-existent - so you're not really going to get anything you won't get from the official club feeds.
Used to be an excellent source of Wycombe information called Chairboys Central and then JJ’s Left Foot. Really miss them.
@username123 said:
Personally I’m more bothered by the fact that clubs like Wycombe Wanderers have a ladies team and then basically give sod all investment based on the thread on this group about women’s football. Looks from the outside good for the club to have a ladies team though doesn’t it.
Wycombe Wanderers happens to run a women's team (and a youth team, yes?). So what is the exact correct amount of funding for those that would exempt them from this doubtless well-informed criticism of yours?
Hi @HCblue - I admit I’d re word that to ‘not enough investment’ from ‘sod all’ because yeah, I don’t know what they invest in it.
What I do know is there is another thread on here talking about crowdfunding and paying some of the costs for the away day travel and costs of putting on home matches.
Another about helping with some secretary and admin work, voluntarily. I appreciate it’s not exactly full time but I’m heavily involved in grassroots football and on the ‘Whole Game System’ (WGS) alone I can assure you this has tipped many grassroots coaches over the edge and stopped their coaching involvement (let’s just say FA Systems are not fantastic), and there are the other duties that go alongside it. Maybe just a little token of let’s just say, 10 hrs a month to do this and would know doubt come in handy for someone. Let’s be honest that’s about 12 burgers (sorry) these days.
I’m sure I saw somewhere about assistant coaches volunteering too. Coaches do not tend to get a fantastic hourly rate at the best of times, and clearly there is a need for some more support FOR THE PLAYERS if another coach is required. I sincerely hope they find someone, but I’d imagine if they were paid a small amount for the session then there would be more (and potentially more experienced) coaches getting involved and increasing the development the players.
I hope the other coaches are paid a little something too, because they deserve it. Having coached girls and women over the years I know the opportunity they are giving to them is massively appreciated by the players.
In short, if it’s all voluntary (which I suspect it is but stand to be corrected) then in my opinion it’s those volunteers who ‘run it’ as you say. Not WWFC.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Also, with the exception of Wycombe Sound and the ever-brilliant RTB, regular independent coverage of Wycombe is rubbish to non-existent - so you're not really going to get anything you won't get from the official club feeds.
Used to be an excellent source of Wycombe information called Chairboys Central and then JJ’s Left Foot. Really miss them.
I do believe the man you have quoted is the author of CC/JJLF, if I’m not mistaken. Think time (and lack of it) was the reason the coverage unfortunately ended - it was fantastic work.
@our_frank said: @JohnBoy I use it as one source of sports news, as I do general news. Your approach would surely have Derby Co fans only getting their news from Derby Co twitter. I'd argue that might not give them an entirely rounded picture.
It may not, but if that's what they want, that's what they can get. We have the world at our fingertips now, we don't have to purely rely on what the BFP or your personal favourite national paper is. Whether it's Twitter, general sports sites, focused ones or otherwise - if someone wants to know about League 1 or Women's football, there's a plethora of sources out there.
BBC Sport and it's news based counterpart obviously has a place, but seems strange to me to complain about what they prioritise when, if you don't like it, you can find what you do somewhere else.
The problem is when you are listening to the radio because you are driving….
Let's be both honest and realistic about sport - only 14% of the population participate in any way in competitive sport and that includes attendance at events, so actually we are all in a minority here and if the BBC & other broadcasters reflected sports/leisure activities based on participation we would all be watching course fishing and rambling/walking.
As others have pointed out there has been huge progression in the women's game especially in the last 10 years of the WSL and we will see similar levels of improvement over the next 10 particulalry in technical areas of the game.
Finally, it is different from the men's game and we should not really compare them any more than one should compare rugby league and union...
@ReturnToSenda said:
Also, with the exception of Wycombe Sound and the ever-brilliant RTB, regular independent coverage of Wycombe is rubbish to non-existent - so you're not really going to get anything you won't get from the official club feeds.
Used to be an excellent source of Wycombe information called Chairboys Central and then JJ’s Left Foot. Really miss them.
I do believe the man you have quoted is the author of CC/JJLF, if I’m not mistaken. Think time (and lack of it) was the reason the coverage unfortunately ended - it was fantastic work.
While I'm not a fan of Women's Football, it is because of the pace of the game. I was rate it on the same pace as Italian Mens Football (which is awful) however the Women's skill and technique is prob up there with the men's game.
However, given that all of the sport today is on Pay-per-view TV, could this just be the BBC trying to find a cheaper alternative to fill a space on their schedule while keeping costs down?
@username123 Another topic for debate could be, Should we start fully funding our Woman's team OR put that money into re-opening our youth set up and getting some homegrown players coming through the ranks again?
@username123 said:
Personally I’m more bothered by the fact that clubs like Wycombe Wanderers have a ladies team and then basically give sod all investment based on the thread on this group about women’s football. Looks from the outside good for the club to have a ladies team though doesn’t it.
Wycombe Wanderers happens to run a women's team (and a youth team, yes?). So what is the exact correct amount of funding for those that would exempt them from this doubtless well-informed criticism of yours?
Hi @HCblue - I admit I’d re word that to ‘not enough investment’ from ‘sod all’ because yeah, I don’t know what they invest in it.
What I do know is there is another thread on here talking about crowdfunding and paying some of the costs for the away day travel and costs of putting on home matches.
Another about helping with some secretary and admin work, voluntarily. I appreciate it’s not exactly full time but I’m heavily involved in grassroots football and on the ‘Whole Game System’ (WGS) alone I can assure you this has tipped many grassroots coaches over the edge and stopped their coaching involvement (let’s just say FA Systems are not fantastic), and there are the other duties that go alongside it. Maybe just a little token of let’s just say, 10 hrs a month to do this and would know doubt come in handy for someone. Let’s be honest that’s about 12 burgers (sorry) these days.
I’m sure I saw somewhere about assistant coaches volunteering too. Coaches do not tend to get a fantastic hourly rate at the best of times, and clearly there is a need for some more support FOR THE PLAYERS if another coach is required. I sincerely hope they find someone, but I’d imagine if they were paid a small amount for the session then there would be more (and potentially more experienced) coaches getting involved and increasing the development the players.
I hope the other coaches are paid a little something too, because they deserve it. Having coached girls and women over the years I know the opportunity they are giving to them is massively appreciated by the players.
In short, if it’s all voluntary (which I suspect it is but stand to be corrected) then in my opinion it’s those volunteers who ‘run it’ as you say. Not WWFC.
Afternoon, @username123. Thanks for the interesting and detailed response. I liked the burger joke!
Like you, I've no idea what money there is going into the set-up. I'm glad enough to know that there is such a set-up, to hear about their games from time to time because of their association with WWFC and to hope everyone involved is enjoying the experiences they are having together. There are very few sporting set-ups that generate the sort of income that allow those involved to receive meaningful remuneration for what they do. I don't have any particular aspirations for the WWFC womens set-up to become one of those, whether via money put in by the club or otherwise. Doubtless, if those involved with their team feel otherwise, that might become apparent in due course.
@Otter87 said: @username123 Another topic for debate could be, Should we start fully funding our Woman's team OR put that money into re-opening our youth set up and getting some homegrown players coming through the ranks again?
Very true, I guess that comes down to the aspirations and business model of the club.
@username123 said:
Personally I’m more bothered by the fact that clubs like Wycombe Wanderers have a ladies team and then basically give sod all investment based on the thread on this group about women’s football. Looks from the outside good for the club to have a ladies team though doesn’t it.
Wycombe Wanderers happens to run a women's team (and a youth team, yes?). So what is the exact correct amount of funding for those that would exempt them from this doubtless well-informed criticism of yours?
I don't always agree with you, but yes, I wonder exactly what you do with the chap's comment.
How it got you a -2 I do not know.
Surely Wycombe are up there anyone in terms of women's teams!?
Do we actually have a reserve team as well as main team and kids team? Maybe i'm wrong with that, but 2 teams is a strong effort, especially when we only had 1 team for the men's for about a decade!
What about local sports coverage in the Bucks FRee Press? Nothing every week but three pages about the Wanderers. Other sport, or football teams, have nothing.
@username123 said:
Personally I’m more bothered by the fact that clubs like Wycombe Wanderers have a ladies team and then basically give sod all investment based on the thread on this group about women’s football. Looks from the outside good for the club to have a ladies team though doesn’t it.
Wycombe Wanderers happens to run a women's team (and a youth team, yes?). So what is the exact correct amount of funding for those that would exempt them from this doubtless well-informed criticism of yours?
I don't always agree with you, but yes, I wonder exactly what you do with the chap's comment.
How it got you a -2 I do not know.
Surely Wycombe are up there anyone in terms of women's teams!?
Do we actually have a reserve team as well as main team and kids team? Maybe i'm wrong with that, but 2 teams is a strong effort, especially when we only had 1 team for the men's for about a decade!
Probably not worth going there again @Malone , footballs all opinions and I just personally take the term ‘run by the club’ rather loosely when I’m (potentially completely wrong as I’ve already said) under the impression that it is ‘run’ more by volunteers.
It doesn’t need to bother anyone else more than how much coverage women’s football gets on the bbc (back to the original point), it bothers me more that’s all I said.
To the points on the ladies youth team, I’d argue any day that there is more chance of those young players turning professional than young lads in the men’s youth team should it ever return. And, if we ‘run’ it under the banner of Wycombe Wanderers then I think the players deserve more than volunteer coaching (not to say it’s bad coaching, but missing out on potentially better coaching).
Comments
Who gets their sport news from BBC nowadays anyway? If you're interested in something, follow their account on Twitter.
I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say I enjoy the WSL. Cliches about certain elements of the game being very weak compared to the men sure (goal keeping) but on the whole the game is played fast and with a bit more honesty than a lot of games I watch.
It's certainly come a long way. I remember an England women's game being played at Loakes Park a long time ago and it was singularly one of the most appalling excuses for football I have ever seen. Left at half time.
I enjoy it too - although I feel a little biased as I coached a women's team for four years. I've never understood the comparison to where the men's game is - it's simply not comparing like for like. The more interesting comparison is women's football now with women's football pre-professionalisation, just as you would with the standard of men's football now as compared with where it was in say the 1980s. Both have improved relative to where they were, both will continue to do so as they are allocated resources airtime.
For those who don't think the audience justifies the publicity, I watched the last half hour of the Arsenal - Hoffenheim game last night on YouTube. It had 256k views by this morning, more than I'd suggest any league one or two game would get free-to-air online. The difference is that women's football is coming of age in the digital era, and it takes a lot longer to establish the habit of attending in person. As one person has already highlighted, banning the game for 50 odd years didn't help. Just before that happened in 1920, a women's game had a crowd of 53,000 which wasn't unusual.
It was England v Italy, in the late 80's at Loakes Park. My first and last attendance at a Women's football match.
@JohnBoy I use it as one source of sports news, as I do general news. Your approach would surely have Derby Co fans only getting their news from Derby Co twitter. I'd argue that might not give them an entirely rounded picture.
No problem with women's football getting more TV time- it should, lower league football should also get far more terrestrial attention if it's actually based on viewership interest and level of competition than it currently does though
It may not, but if that's what they want, that's what they can get. We have the world at our fingertips now, we don't have to purely rely on what the BFP or your personal favourite national paper is. Whether it's Twitter, general sports sites, focused ones or otherwise - if someone wants to know about League 1 or Women's football, there's a plethora of sources out there.
BBC Sport and it's news based counterpart obviously has a place, but seems strange to me to complain about what they prioritise when, if you don't like it, you can find what you do somewhere else.
I get most of my news straight from journos (mainly for sport)/PA/Reuters on Twitter - or just use NewsNow. Barely bother with the BBC site/app directly these days.
Also, with the exception of Wycombe Sound and the ever-brilliant RTB, regular independent coverage of Wycombe is rubbish to non-existent - so you're not really going to get anything you won't get from the official club feeds.
Used to be an excellent source of Wycombe information called Chairboys Central and then JJ’s Left Foot. Really miss them.
The match when the Italians refused to use the 'unhygienic' communal bath after the game.
Sabrina Salerno didn't mind frolicking in the water with others !!
Hi @HCblue - I admit I’d re word that to ‘not enough investment’ from ‘sod all’ because yeah, I don’t know what they invest in it.
What I do know is there is another thread on here talking about crowdfunding and paying some of the costs for the away day travel and costs of putting on home matches.
Another about helping with some secretary and admin work, voluntarily. I appreciate it’s not exactly full time but I’m heavily involved in grassroots football and on the ‘Whole Game System’ (WGS) alone I can assure you this has tipped many grassroots coaches over the edge and stopped their coaching involvement (let’s just say FA Systems are not fantastic), and there are the other duties that go alongside it. Maybe just a little token of let’s just say, 10 hrs a month to do this and would know doubt come in handy for someone. Let’s be honest that’s about 12 burgers (sorry) these days.
I’m sure I saw somewhere about assistant coaches volunteering too. Coaches do not tend to get a fantastic hourly rate at the best of times, and clearly there is a need for some more support FOR THE PLAYERS if another coach is required. I sincerely hope they find someone, but I’d imagine if they were paid a small amount for the session then there would be more (and potentially more experienced) coaches getting involved and increasing the development the players.
I hope the other coaches are paid a little something too, because they deserve it. Having coached girls and women over the years I know the opportunity they are giving to them is massively appreciated by the players.
In short, if it’s all voluntary (which I suspect it is but stand to be corrected) then in my opinion it’s those volunteers who ‘run it’ as you say. Not WWFC.
I do believe the man you have quoted is the author of CC/JJLF, if I’m not mistaken. Think time (and lack of it) was the reason the coverage unfortunately ended - it was fantastic work.
The problem is when you are listening to the radio because you are driving….
Let's be both honest and realistic about sport - only 14% of the population participate in any way in competitive sport and that includes attendance at events, so actually we are all in a minority here and if the BBC & other broadcasters reflected sports/leisure activities based on participation we would all be watching course fishing and rambling/walking.
As others have pointed out there has been huge progression in the women's game especially in the last 10 years of the WSL and we will see similar levels of improvement over the next 10 particulalry in technical areas of the game.
Finally, it is different from the men's game and we should not really compare them any more than one should compare rugby league and union...
Thanks! But yeah, it was time that did it.
While I'm not a fan of Women's Football, it is because of the pace of the game. I was rate it on the same pace as Italian Mens Football (which is awful) however the Women's skill and technique is prob up there with the men's game.
However, given that all of the sport today is on Pay-per-view TV, could this just be the BBC trying to find a cheaper alternative to fill a space on their schedule while keeping costs down?
@username123 Another topic for debate could be, Should we start fully funding our Woman's team OR put that money into re-opening our youth set up and getting some homegrown players coming through the ranks again?
Afternoon, @username123. Thanks for the interesting and detailed response. I liked the burger joke!
Like you, I've no idea what money there is going into the set-up. I'm glad enough to know that there is such a set-up, to hear about their games from time to time because of their association with WWFC and to hope everyone involved is enjoying the experiences they are having together. There are very few sporting set-ups that generate the sort of income that allow those involved to receive meaningful remuneration for what they do. I don't have any particular aspirations for the WWFC womens set-up to become one of those, whether via money put in by the club or otherwise. Doubtless, if those involved with their team feel otherwise, that might become apparent in due course.
Very true, I guess that comes down to the aspirations and business model of the club.
I don't always agree with you, but yes, I wonder exactly what you do with the chap's comment.
How it got you a -2 I do not know.
Surely Wycombe are up there anyone in terms of women's teams!?
Do we actually have a reserve team as well as main team and kids team? Maybe i'm wrong with that, but 2 teams is a strong effort, especially when we only had 1 team for the men's for about a decade!
What about local sports coverage in the Bucks FRee Press? Nothing every week but three pages about the Wanderers. Other sport, or football teams, have nothing.
Probably not worth going there again @Malone , footballs all opinions and I just personally take the term ‘run by the club’ rather loosely when I’m (potentially completely wrong as I’ve already said) under the impression that it is ‘run’ more by volunteers.
It doesn’t need to bother anyone else more than how much coverage women’s football gets on the bbc (back to the original point), it bothers me more that’s all I said.
To the points on the ladies youth team, I’d argue any day that there is more chance of those young players turning professional than young lads in the men’s youth team should it ever return. And, if we ‘run’ it under the banner of Wycombe Wanderers then I think the players deserve more than volunteer coaching (not to say it’s bad coaching, but missing out on potentially better coaching).