Page 6 | To love football but have no interest whatsover in women's football league

Eastie77Returns · 2023-09-29T17:50:37+00:00

I've been a football fan since childhood and have attended matches for years. Both DS and DD play and I'm really glad they've both taken to the sport. DD's best friend also plays and her mum sent me a message the other day suggesting we take the girls to watch a WSL game. I support a Premier League team so not always easy to get tickets whereas their women's team (one of the teams in the game the mum suggested we watch) always has availability. I feel bad for admiting this but I have zero interest in Women's football. I have been to a few games but it's just not the same. I simply can't get as engaged as I do watching the men's game and I really don't care if the women playing for the team I support win or lose. I admitted this to the mum and she was shocked! I got the feeling she feels I am literally letting the side (our side) down.😭

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 13:12

And the USA boys team thing was 6 years ago!

Mouldyfoodhelp · 30/09/2023 13:19

PandaExpress · 30/09/2023 13:11

@Chchchanging I hate how much money has changed the game. It doesn't matter how well a club has played and managed to get into different tournaments, when massive investors come into the league and buy their way to the top. I hope the women get the investment they need. Side note, I don't particularly enjoy watching the men's England team play either, even though some of my teams players are playing, so it's definitely a me issue, not being able to switch my support to other teams 😅

I also can't stand the men's internationals I barely cope during major tournaments and can go without.

GasPanic · 30/09/2023 13:24

I think the womens game will develop into a more interesting game than the mens eventually, but it is some way away from getting close to that.

When I watch the women play, because they are slower there tends to be more space available on the pitch. I think once the skill level ups then this will make the games a lot more interesting than the mens, where at the moment a lot of games degenerate into very tight almost games of chess where some teams hold possession for a long time, but find it difficult to penetrate a well drilled opposition and lack of space does not help that. I think though that the womens game is quite a long way away from this, maybe a decade or more.

I do find watching the womens games at the top level more interesting than the lower league mens football. But some way to go before it would be as exciting as the mens premiership.

Dramatic · 30/09/2023 13:27

Eastie77Returns · 30/09/2023 11:50

I should also add that I find the lack of diversity in the women’s game a bit bewildering. I watched the virtually all white Lionnesses in the World Cup and was a bit taken aback. Obviously the team has to be selected on merit but I’m baffled because at a grass roots level I can see so many talented girls from different ethnicities playing including late teens/early 20s so it’s not a pipeline issue.

My club’s women’s team does not have a single non white player and we are in one of then most diverse areas in the U.K.

My DC are not white. When DS watches the men’s team we support he sees so many players that look like him and other ethnicities as well. Same in the national team. DD doesn’t get to experience that.

Out of a squad of 22 they have 2 non white players which does mean that other ethnicities are a bit under represented, but if you look at the men's game they are massively over represented. Out of a squad of 21 they have 10 white players.

Mouldyfoodhelp · 30/09/2023 13:30

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 13:12

And the USA boys team thing was 6 years ago!

A "representative" US women's team lost 12-0 to Wrexham just this summer.

Lostinbrum · 30/09/2023 13:32

I don't get why OP is making this a thing. If your DC actually want to go to a women's game, suck it up and take them but don't sit there looking down your nose at it all and slagging it off. If your DC mates mum can take them let her. My daughters just started playing football and loves it. If she wants to go watch a women's game I'll take her cos her interests need to be supported. I have zero interest in football mens or womens but I want to encourage her In the sports she enjoys

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 13:43

Mouldyfoodhelp · 30/09/2023 13:30

A "representative" US women's team lost 12-0 to Wrexham just this summer.

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They aren't schoolboys though are they!!!!

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 13:48

And it was a 7 aside team of mostly retired US women playing a selection of retired Wrexham pros and guests....
Which misogynists (mainly men, I thought but I am now starting to doubt this) have misrepresented to discredit women playing football.
Let's not join in eh?

BigFatLiar · 30/09/2023 13:52

Dramatic · 30/09/2023 13:27

Out of a squad of 22 they have 2 non white players which does mean that other ethnicities are a bit under represented, but if you look at the men's game they are massively over represented. Out of a squad of 21 they have 10 white players.

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They may not represent the ethnic mix of the nation as a whole but may represent the mix of the women who play football.

Original poster

Eastie77Returns · 30/09/2023 14:12

PhantomUnicorn · 30/09/2023 11:32

The lumping in with Brentford as if Villa aren't one of the bigger teams themselves was what did it xD

I agree its good to see them playing to their proper potential now they seem to have sorted themselves out, but a bad run doesn't make them not one of the bigger teams iyswim.

For those who don't know, Villa are one of only 3 teams to have been part of the founding of both the original Football league, and the Premier League. They're one of the most successful teams in English Football history, its a shame that lack of investment and bad management in recent years have made people kind of forget what an amazing history they have and think they're a mediocre team. They have more trophies and cups in the cabinet than most teams can ever dream of achieving.

Edited

Haha ok point taken. Obviously in terms of football pedigree and history Villa and Brentford are miles apart.

Now that fraud of a manager Gerrard has gone and you have a really good guy at the helm I think you will continue to go from strength to strength.

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bakebeans · 30/09/2023 14:50

💯 agree with this. I've always loved football and yet won't watch a women's game . Absolutely zero interest.
Funny enough I love watching women's hockey and women's curling when the Winter Olympics and Olympics is on. Hate watching netball too and yet spent 20 years as both a player at school and then in my twenties.

sep135 · 30/09/2023 15:04

My teenage sons are more into women's rugby, football and cricket than me. Which makes me feel a bit guilty as I'm all for supporting female sport.

I enjoy watching internationals, including the England v NZ ladies rugby last year (?). Different game but enjoyable in its own way. Not sure I'd watch premiership type ladies sport though.

Original poster

Eastie77Returns · 30/09/2023 15:08

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 12:14

My DD plays for an U21 side of a WSL team, which is a top PL mens side.
She still trains at 2 different borrowed sites in a week and plays at a third different borrowed site for her matches. All on 4G. She never plays on grass except at some away matches.
If she is injured she has physio on a couch outside next to whatever pitch they are at in whatever the weather is.
The entire academy from U9 up has 5 FT members of staff. 5. The rest just come for training.
This is the reality of elite girls football.
The boys academy is in its own purpose built centre. Boys can board from 16 and have a chef cooking them meals. My DD eats out of a flask on my one hour plus drive 5 times a week.
This partly explains the lack of diversity. As a parent it costs money to send your DD to such an academy. Massive amounts of time and money.
The current WSL players (from UK) had an even worse experience as kids and prob played boys grass roots football for years. As did my DD. When she started there were no girls clubs in our area.
The quality is improving year on year. Those following my DD have had a longer time in an academy with proper staffing. because even since DDs contemporaries (some of whom have been there since U9) started the quality of these academies had improved. There is still a long way to go.
And when you watch a lot of PL sides you are watching the best players in the world. It's got nothing to with where you live. All those boys in those fantastically expensive academies and the vast vast majority will never get a chance. PL is driven by money. End of
And as to boys academy sides beating WSL teams. Well that's just physiology. And more money. Again.
So yes don't support women's football. That's fine..but don't harp on about lower skill levels. For a sport that was banned for 50 years and then marginalised.
These women are inspiring.

I do support women’s football in the sense I have taken both DC to watch WSL games since they were small and I ferry DD back and forth to training. She has been promoted to the first team which will involve travel and I will take her to those games when needed.

I also haven’t “harped on” about lack of skill. If you read my posts I have mainly said that a large part of the reason I support the men’s team is the connection I feel after more than 3 decades as a fan and my love for the history steeped in the men’s game.

As a PP said, I cannot manufacture the emotion I feel for that team and apply it to the women’s team. It isn’t possible to make yourself feel something you don’t. This is nothing to do with misogyny. I’m sorry but I’m not going to be steamrollered into saying yes, I love WSL and it’s the same as watching Premiere League games just to please others.

Now my DC have grown up in a different footballing culture where women’s football is thankfully commonplace. They have pictures of male and female footballers on their walls and the female players are a lot more accessible. DD has met several first team WSL players as they mingle with fans after the games.

Perhaps they will forge a strong connection to a woman’s team in their childhood, as I did to a men’s team at their age, and this will follow them into adulthood.

You raised some good points about the lack of support for girls football and the knock on effect re diversity, thank you.

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Wanderingowl · 30/09/2023 15:27

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 29/09/2023 19:25

Actually, you’re all wrong. It’s a different game, sure, but if you don’t support it and give it a chance who will? And what does that say to young women? Your daughters? If you have more than one child, do you manage to love them both? Think of this as the same. There are lovely players, lovely stories, sisterhood and drama everywhere. Give it a shot and help it grow. If not for you, for the young women around you.

Um no. It's a different game and people are allowed to prefer one over the other. An awful lot of people find women's tennis more enjoyable to watch than men's, as men's has gotten visually more boring due to the power style. My favourite sports to watch are gymnastics and figure skating, where again women's can be more interesting to watch. There is no obligation on anyone to watch a sport they don't find that interesting in the style more suited to one sec, just because they enjoy it in the style best suited to the other sex.

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 15:40

Eastie77Returns · 30/09/2023 15:08

I do support women’s football in the sense I have taken both DC to watch WSL games since they were small and I ferry DD back and forth to training. She has been promoted to the first team which will involve travel and I will take her to those games when needed.

I also haven’t “harped on” about lack of skill. If you read my posts I have mainly said that a large part of the reason I support the men’s team is the connection I feel after more than 3 decades as a fan and my love for the history steeped in the men’s game.

As a PP said, I cannot manufacture the emotion I feel for that team and apply it to the women’s team. It isn’t possible to make yourself feel something you don’t. This is nothing to do with misogyny. I’m sorry but I’m not going to be steamrollered into saying yes, I love WSL and it’s the same as watching Premiere League games just to please others.

Now my DC have grown up in a different footballing culture where women’s football is thankfully commonplace. They have pictures of male and female footballers on their walls and the female players are a lot more accessible. DD has met several first team WSL players as they mingle with fans after the games.

Perhaps they will forge a strong connection to a woman’s team in their childhood, as I did to a men’s team at their age, and this will follow them into adulthood.

You raised some good points about the lack of support for girls football and the knock on effect re diversity, thank you.

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True you haven't mentioned skill levels, apologies. Many responders have so that's where my comment came from.
And others mentioned instances showing evidence of perceived inferiority in the women's game which I believe are wholly unfair.
That's why I felt compelled to comment.
Of course you do not have to follow womens football. That is your perogative. I am pleased your children are.
And yes I hope they form an attachment to the women's team of their choice.
I am not sure the point of your post really.
No of course you don't have to support the women's game. And of course it won't be the same as your very long connection with your men's team. In the same way my connection to music bands of my youth is different to my DC attachment to their bands of choice.
It does not make either less valid.
I do object to posters who jump in and say ' well it's just not as good'.
When Salah is paid £1m a week and the average wage of a WSL player has only just got enough to live on what do people expect.....

pantypant · 30/09/2023 15:48

I am bored rigid by Disney but I took my dd Everytime a new movie came out. I am nervous around horses but I take my now teen dd several times a week. Why are you so focussed on what you like. Surely you do things as a parent because it benefits your dc no? Your dd plays football. Take her to a game.

CranfordScones · 30/09/2023 16:00

No one here is guilty of any 'internalised' thought crime.

Watch (or don't watch) whatever you want. You don't owe anyone an audience. Or a justification of your preference.

MasterBeth · 30/09/2023 16:00

I have a season ticket at a Premier League team (men). It's the best league in the world, watched around the world. The atmosphere is electric. The ground is sold out for every game. The skill and physicality of the play is exceptional. And we can walk there!

The equivalent women's team are two leagues below the WPL. They play at a non-league ground out of the city. It's just not as good.

There are lots of reasons of history to not want to follow any particular women's football team. It's not as simple as "women's football is not as good."

MasterBeth · 30/09/2023 16:06

Mouldyfoodhelp · 30/09/2023 13:30

A "representative" US women's team lost 12-0 to Wrexham just this summer.

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This is so irrelevant. Of course, stronger, faster, testosterone-loaded men will be better in matches against women. But women don't play competitive matches against men, so what does it matter?

As it happens, elite men are also better players than elite women - more skillful etc. See the recent England v Scotland men's match. England women are nowhere close to the skill level of Foden, Bellingham, Freakish etc.

MasterBeth · 30/09/2023 16:12

Freakish? Grealish!

skippy67 · 30/09/2023 16:13

Russooooo · 29/09/2023 19:08

I much prefer women’s games. I think there’s a lot more accuracy. More passing, less ‘just boot it that way and hope for the best’. The atmosphere at games is also much nicer.

🤣🤣

Original poster

Eastie77Returns · 30/09/2023 17:08

Chchchanging · 30/09/2023 15:40

True you haven't mentioned skill levels, apologies. Many responders have so that's where my comment came from.
And others mentioned instances showing evidence of perceived inferiority in the women's game which I believe are wholly unfair.
That's why I felt compelled to comment.
Of course you do not have to follow womens football. That is your perogative. I am pleased your children are.
And yes I hope they form an attachment to the women's team of their choice.
I am not sure the point of your post really.
No of course you don't have to support the women's game. And of course it won't be the same as your very long connection with your men's team. In the same way my connection to music bands of my youth is different to my DC attachment to their bands of choice.
It does not make either less valid.
I do object to posters who jump in and say ' well it's just not as good'.
When Salah is paid £1m a week and the average wage of a WSL player has only just got enough to live on what do people expect.....

Show quote history

I was responding to your inaccurate comments re. me harping on about women’s lack of skills and explaining why I follow a men’s team. So your dismissive “I’m not sure the post of your post” when the point of it is quite clear is a bit odd but hey-ho.

Players are paid their perceived worth. Liverpool FC think Salah is worth £1 million a week so that’s what he’s paid. It’s grotesque really but elite clubs will pay top £££ for talent and he is a supremely gifted player. I don’t think he is better than the average WSL player because he is paid more. It’s the other way around.

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Original poster

Eastie77Returns · 30/09/2023 17:10

pantypant · 30/09/2023 15:48

I am bored rigid by Disney but I took my dd Everytime a new movie came out. I am nervous around horses but I take my now teen dd several times a week. Why are you so focussed on what you like. Surely you do things as a parent because it benefits your dc no? Your dd plays football. Take her to a game.

Yeah, so re-read my posts.

Once more for the back row:-

I TAKE MY DD TO WSL GAMES.

OP posts:

pantypant · 30/09/2023 17:48

@Eastie77Returns Once more for the back row:-

I TAKE MY DD TO WSL GAMES

Actually what you said was that you HAD taken her in the past. You also said...

If I’m bored stiff watching WSL why should I continue taking my DC just because women are playing. It doesn’t make sense.

So my comment stands and frankly makes a whole lot more sense than yours.

We do many things that are boring because ya know.... parenting.

sep135 · 30/09/2023 18:02

Freakish? Grealish!

I thought it was a witty play on words about his talent and love of a proper party...

I still see the photo of him standing on the pavement wearing one ladies pink fluffy slipper after pranging his car and titter.