It was being shown live on the BBC in part of the laudable drive by the Beeb and Sky (and others) to push women's footy onto the agenda. The game finished a 2-2 draw, although with City down to 10 players after a clear straight red card for Stanway, United will be kicking themselves that they didn't finish the job. They were leading 2-1 with 10 mins to go and conceded a leveller in Ole Solsjaer fashion!
This was the first women's game I have watched since the World Cup in 2019. The games I watched then were fairly poor quality compared to the elite men's game. The standard of defending was woeful with poor passing from the defenders either straight to the opposition or out of play. Typically, back passes to the goalkeepers were short or off target. This led to some excitement as the attacking play was much better than the defending, so chances were created.
The game on Saturday followed a similar pattern. It has to be said that the women's game is improving. Salaries are rising and resources are being provided, but it still has a long way to go to provide entertainment and excitement that the paying public will be happy to support. The crowd on Saturday was meagre, with only a few hundred inside the stadium. Considering it was a derby and that the EPL was on an international break, I have to say that it was a disappointing turnout.
When I was a kid, girls just didn't play sport; or at least very few did. The boys were mad about sport and took every opportunity to play it. Football, rugby, rounders, were just a few of the sports we played, while the girls skipped or hopscotched. As an adult I see the same thing in my nieces who have absolutely no interest in sport or exercise and it is such a pity. So, to see the efforts being made to push women's sport and to offer opportunities and sporting heroines to the young is fantastic to see. But if women's sport is not anywhere near the same quality as the men's game, then how much public money should be given to promote the game?
When I was a kid, girls just didn't play sport; or at least very few did. The boys were mad about sport and took every opportunity to play it. Football, rugby, rounders, were just a few of the sports we played, while the girls skipped or hopscotched. As an adult I see the same thing in my nieces who have absolutely no interest in sport or exercise and it is such a pity. So, to see the efforts being made to push women's sport and to offer opportunities and sporting heroines to the young is fantastic to see. But if women's sport is not anywhere near the same quality as the men's game, then how much public money should be given to promote the game?
If few people are turning up to pay to watch the women, then how high should the salaries be? The Republic of Ireland recently announced that their men and women's teams would receive the same salaries. This is perfectly reasonable as they represent their country and are paid by their country's football association. But is it reasonable, for example, for Man City to pay their teams the same salary when it is the men that generate the vast majority of the cash? Difficult questions indeed.
Women's tennis and golf have carved out niches for themselves by being different from their men's versions. Women's tennis is less about serve and volley power and more about tactical rallies. Similarly, women's golf is not about long drives, a la McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, and more about beating the course with positioning and skill, but I fail to see how women's footy can do likewise. Maybe we have been spoiled by the uptick in football standards driven by the Champions League. Seeing Messi, Salah, Mbappe and De Bruyne week in week out makes all other football, women's and lower league men's look ponderous and drab. Whatever happens, whether it can improve enough or diversify enough to get the paying public onboard, I hope that it prompts more girls into sport and provides more female opportunities for careers in sport.
Women's tennis and golf have carved out niches for themselves by being different from their men's versions. Women's tennis is less about serve and volley power and more about tactical rallies. Similarly, women's golf is not about long drives, a la McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, and more about beating the course with positioning and skill, but I fail to see how women's footy can do likewise. Maybe we have been spoiled by the uptick in football standards driven by the Champions League. Seeing Messi, Salah, Mbappe and De Bruyne week in week out makes all other football, women's and lower league men's look ponderous and drab. Whatever happens, whether it can improve enough or diversify enough to get the paying public onboard, I hope that it prompts more girls into sport and provides more female opportunities for careers in sport.
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| Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports. |
I loved the women's soccer in the last World Cup. I think that because women rely less on strength and aggression so prevalent in the men's game, they compensate with skill, much as they do in tennis. I went to a cup final at the Aviva by mistake. I was taking my son to see Drogheda and Sligo and he got the times wrong so we ended up in the stadium for the day. The women's game kicked off around midday - it was really good.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for women's soccer but you've hit the nail on the head around professional rates of pay. There's simply not the same input either from a fan base or TV/Sponsorship viewpoint to pay the big bucks. I've been trying for years to get my daughter interested in playing but she's not having a bar of it. My son's club has an excellent female set up with many teams across all age groups and occasionally I take in a game when I'm not coaching my team. One thing I noticed and dare not suggest is that the pitches for the female games should be smaller along with the goals. I'm not being an arsehole, it would just benefit their game all round. Simple physiology shows us females are generally smaller in stature. Case in point, the Australian national female team The Matilda's played against an A League under 18's team and got hammered. I dare not mention it though incase the woke wankeratti try to drown me as a witch.
ReplyDeleteAM
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure the skill level is on a par with women's tennis/golf just yet, but I really hope it does. I haven't been to a women's game yet but I'm trying to convince my buddies to go to see NI v England next April.
Steve
Excellent point. In Spain all children's footy is 7-a-side on smaller pitches and with smaller goals. It is a great idea. I remember playing for my primary school on full size pitches and they were far too big and it was too easy to score. But, as you say, it may be too dangerous to suggest it. I guess the price of converting all those pitches may be prohibitive.
Peter,
DeleteThere's a reason why Futsal is taking off in Australia now and it's going to produce a boon in technically capable players within the next few years both male and female. Ajax always had a policy of no 11 aside for under 11's. I'd go further and push futsal as the all year round development tool. Easy to see why the likes of Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo all swear by it in their youth.