Am I the only person around that enjoys women's football? Everywhere I seem to go, there's pure hatred for it, like it just shouldn't exist. Don't get it? Fair enough, its covered much more in the media but it is growing with popularity? Just feel like it should be celebrated more, especially as our English players are regarded as some of the best in the world! Anyway, thoughts? On another note, Manchester United Womens are unbeaten in first 4 league games, scored 20, conceded 0! Not bad for a brand new team...
Top lass, breaking into the Barca team. Not often we get English players in the La Liga so that's always a plus. Think Bronze and Christiansen are still at Lyon as well. Earps in Wolfsberg. Think theres someone else over in the USA at the moment as well. Nice to see English footballers progressing outside of England. Currently only have Jordan Sancho to look at (If you don't count Eric Dier) whos played outside the English leagues coming into the male England squad.
Am I the only person around that enjoys women's football? Everywhere I seem to go, there's pure hatred for it, like it just shouldn't exist. Don't get it? Today at 03:45 I quite enjoy it, football is football TUE 09 OCT 2018WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES England Women 1-1 Australian Women - Friendly By Rob Stevens BBC Sport at Craven Cottage 9 October 2018 (Video England 1-1 Australia: Fran Kirby scores again but wasteful Lionesses held) England paid the price for their wastefulness in front of goal as they drew with an under-strength Australia at Craven Cottage. Chelsea forward Fran Kirby turned and fired the Lionesses ahead midway through the first half after being found by Beth Mead, who had latched on to a poor clearance by Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold. Lucy Staniforth then had a second goal ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time, with replays showing the officials got the decision wrong. England failed to take further chances, although they had two strong claims for a penalty turned down, and defender Clare Polkinghorne headed in from a corner with six minutes remaining to deny the hosts a sixth successive win. England boss Neville 'worried' by refereeing standards Fifa wants 60m female players by 2026 England dominate but fail to make it count England boss Phil Neville had called on his side to be more clinical with their opportunities following their 1-0 win over Brazil on Saturday and will be rueing more missed chances as his side, ranked third in the world, continued their preparations for next summer's World Cup in France. Australia ranked sixth, proved to be stubborn opponents despite missing several senior players including striker Sam Kerr but England were good value for their lead at the break. Mead impressed after being handed a start on the right wing and the Arsenal striker will be wondering how she did not get on the scoresheet in west London. She fired wide twice when Arnold was out of position, saw a flicked effort well saved by the keeper and should have been awarded a spot-kick when she was brought down by Caitlin Foord on the stroke of half-time. But England failed to convert their dominance into a second goal and will have to be more ruthless if they wish to improve on their third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup in Canada. Officials under the spotlight England keeper Mary Earps saved well from Princess Ibini and Ellie Carpenter in the second half but the Lionesses were eventually punished as Polkinghorne rose highest to powerfully head in Elise Kellond-Knight's corner from the right, but the quality of the match officials proved to be the main talking point. Kirby and Staniforth were clearly level from Mead's clever through ball before the break, and Birmingham midfielder Staniforth was behind play before she tapped in Kirby's square ball. French referee Florence Guillemin then turned down further England appeals for a penalty with 10 minutes left after Nikita Parris was clearly brought down by Foorde, having touched the ball past the Matildas left-back. Unlike this year's men's World Cup in Russia, there will be no VAR (video assistant referee) system in place at the Women's World Cup in 2019. After Tuesday's game, Neville admitted he is worried by the performances of the officials at the tournament in France and what impact this may have on the growth of the game. "Having VAR at the World Cup does not worry me, the standard of refereeing does," he said. "If we want to make the women's game absolute top, we are putting the players under immense pressure to challenge them to be better professionals and have better quality. "Every country in the world is on the same pathway, not just England - and then I see a performance like that tonight. That is my biggest concern." Woman of the match - Fran Kirby (England) What's next? England are back in action against Sweden, ranked ninth in the world, in Rotherham on Sunday, 11 November at 13:30 GMT. England 1-1 Australia: Fran Kirby scores again but wasteful Lionesses held
I'm off to the England v Sweden game in Nov, can't wait. Wanna see Kirby in action! Hopefully they'll smash Sweden and give a top performance
He seems to be doing alright, need to see him at it for a bit longer but his results aren't too shabby -
Aye, good old Phl is getting the hang of things, move over Southgate. Phil Neville criticises match officials after England draw with Australia By PA Sport 09/10/2018 at 21:51Updated 09/10/2018 at 23:590 Neville’s side had two strong penalty appeals rejected and a goal wrongly disallowed for offside. Phil Neville criticised the standard of refereeing in women’s international football after several decisions went against England in a controversial 1-1 draw with Australia. Phil Neville criticises match officials after England draw with Australia
England players 'need to show more personality' to engage better with fans 40 minutes ago | Women's Football England's women's team needs to show more personality in order to engage better with fans, says former United States midfielder Heather O'Reilly. The 2012 Olympics and 2015 World Cup winner thinks England lag behind the US when it comes to building the profile of the women's game. "They're getting it done on the field," she told the World Footballprogramme. "But I'd like to see those women show a little bit more connection and personality to the fans." O'Reilly, who recently won the NWSL with North Carolina Courage after spending the 2017-18 season at Arsenal Ladies, added: "Fortunately or unfortunately, I think that sort of differentiator is needed in the women's game. "Not only do you need to get it done on the field but you need to enhance and create a little bit of brand so you stick with the fans. That's just the nature of the sport right now. "It's up to the individual. Some players really embrace fame and some players really want to get down to business and play their football. But they need some characters to step forward and not be afraid of a little spotlight." 'Players can be interesting without being controversial' England, who are ranked third in the world and are led by manager Phil Neville, will be among the favourites for next year's World Cup after finishing third in 2015. After that tournament, many players became household names, with attendances at England games growing since then. More than 25,000 fans watched the Lionesses' draw with Wales last April. The FA also says players make over 200 appearances at schools and fan events each year and stay behind after games for signing sessions with fans. But O'Reilly, who played 231 times for her country, says club media teams should shoulder some of the blame for a lack of interaction between players and fans. Toni Duggan on the challenges - and benefits - of playing overseas Fifa wants new women's club cup and 60m players by 2026 "When I was playing for Arsenal I recognised that the media people were very cautious," she added. "In the US we have a little bit more of a free rein to show personality. "Perhaps it will happen organically once these media folks recognise that these women are smart, and these players are smart; they know what to steer clear from and what to engage in. "When they start to see it pay off, and people are in the stands and following social media, there'll be a lot more confidence that these players can hold their own. "They can be interesting but not necessarily controversial. Those things aren't mutually exclusive, you can certainly have interesting dialogue and show personality while not being a headache for that media team." England players 'need to show more personality' to engage better with fans
Hasn't been huge interest in this but I thought it was quite interesting that West Ham and Spurs have both dismissed their managers today. Admittedly I don't follow it too strongly but that's pretty rare isn't it? Not the fact it's two on the same day but just the fact there's a mid-season dismissal at all. Is it a sign of the women's game growing a little? Tottenham's coaching team for instance have taken Spurs from the 5th tier to consecutive seasons in the Premier League. It feels like a rather harsh sacking, ironically on the anniversary of Poch being sacked in similarly harsh circumstances. Are we already at the point that Premier League survival is the be-all and end-all in the game? I wouldn't have thought that there was significant pressure in the women's game that Spurs in particular wouldn't have stuck by coaches that have done so much for the growth of that team. I thought it was interesting anyway. Particularly as I'd seen the West Ham news shortly before it.
I think the women's game has improved quite a bit in the last few years, I've watched a few games and been entertained. The biggest issue is the goalkeeping, hopefully that'll improve with time too.
I think that now the women's game has gone professional we will see more ruthlessness from top end clubs, particularly as now there is a spotlight on the game it is more important for these top clubs to be seen to be doing well. As @DeadlyDemon says, Spurs have suddenly risen through the leagues and then clubs like Man Utd have not only suddenly found a women's side (which they didn't have at all for many years) but have also invested enough to see them already competing at the top end of the top division. As for the goalkeeping in the women's game @StretfordEnd, you are right that it has been a bit of a running joke for many years with all sorts of saveable shots finding their way into the back of the net. There was a time whenever you watched a women's game you expected every shot to go in but I have to say that over the last 18-24 months, the standard of goalkeeping has improved dramatically. The recent FA Cup final (last season's competition that ran into this season due to covid) is a massive example of that with both keepers coming out of the game with maximum credit to the point of both being mentioned in the same breath as England. This is another feature of the improvements clubs are making as the top clubs are now able (or more to the point, willing) to employ full time, professional goalkeeper coaches
Funny thing is that West Ham booked their place in the League Cup Quarter Final last night and Spurs lost on penalties, away to Arsenal. In the league though, both have struggled to meet expectations. Spurs finished 7th out of 12 last season, their first in the top flight and the club have invested heavily, including signing one of the biggest names in world football, Alex Morgan, although she only made her debut last week after injury. They're without a win in their first 7 games, 2 points off the bottom. The WSL is fully pro now, so managers aren't likely to survive that kind of start to the season. New manager, Rehanne Skinner has a very winnable couple fo games coming up, at home to Brighton and Aston VIlla. If they can win those, it could change the mood in the camp straight away West Ham is a similar situation, where they are not meeting the club expectations. They brought Matt Beard in a couple of years back. He had won titles with Liverpool and was expected to make West Ham a force in the women's game. He was given a reasonable budget, but has never appeared to have the players playing for him. Last year, they were disappointed to finish 8th, with 16 points from 14 games. This year, they have moved to a bigger ground, they've moved into the West Ham main training facility. They're another who have made a big signing, in England international, Rachel Daly. She is on loan, because of the shut-down of the American league, where she is the Houston captain. With all that, the club expected them to improve on last season. Their only win this season was one of those flukes, where Reading out-played them and everything just went for the Hammers in front of goal. The guys in temporary charge might make a claim full time if they win their first game in charge - The easy task of facing Chelsea away If they can get a new boss in after that, like Skinner at Spurs, they will have a chance to make a good start. The next two games ae at Bristol City and at home to Villa. Again, a couple of wins there could change the feeling around Dagenham
The Women's game is moving forward very quickly. If you're able to detach your personal wishes to want to watch football played a certain way, the finer details of individual players' progression become more rewarding - when you're a loyal viewer. Though the Women's game, in overall terms, is nowhere near the "men"'s game in performance, if you can recall times earlier in your life when you yourself was learning about the game as a player and as a spectator, you'll appreciate how hard these very brave women are trying - and hopefully appreciate how many previous generations should feel so disgusted over the obstacles they had to face. Plus the opportunities to be the role models today's world of global sport now (thankfully) offers today's generations.
Barca-Chelsea CL Final now. Let's see which of the girls can compromise for their club's men crashing out (Chelsea to Leicester yesterday, Barca at home to Celta today). I was disappointed seeing Bayern knocked out by Chelsea earlier, but I think Chelsea's defending was just a bit better than ours. We weren't far from reaching the final though. I haven't seen Barca this season, but heard they trounced Man City and overcame PSG. Last season, I remember them being extremely wasteful with their chances against Wolfsburg, resulting in a one-sided Lyon-Wolfsburg final with the usual winners. Now that Lyon have finally been beaten by PSG, new winners will be crowned in the Ladies Champions League for the first time in years. As I speak, Barca are already 1:0 up from a freak goal.
HT: 4:0 for Barca, who are rampant. Chelsea are doomed. Looks like Barca don't waste chances like they did last season against Wolfsburg. Who's your favourite? Mine, probably Leupolz. I have this flaw when I watch men in the next game and still automatically check out bums.
