The Women's Rolling Football Thread season 2025-26

[DuncinToffee]

"You cannot win a game of football on your own"

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/sports/5146483-the-womens-rolling-football-thread-season-2024-25?page=37&reply=146806363

No, it's the worst possible news.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cm2wvrjprg8o

Oh no!!!

I see Arsenal and brighton supporting rehab.

Arsenal has had enough experience!!!😥

That is not good news.

Arsenal may be getting a new right back. Smilla Holmberg.

Good luck today, everyone.

Our team is a bit cobbled together today. A few injuries and tiredness from Tuesday, I suppose.
Arsenal IX: Van Domselaar, Hinds, Codina, Catley, McCabe, Little (c), Caldentey, Mead, Russo, Foord, Blackstenius.

Bit disappointed about Russo in the 10 - would have much preferred Pelova there. Russo isn't great in that position and now we don't have a striker on the bench.

ETA: Or even better, Pelova partnering Kim Little in midfield and Mariona in the 10.

Good luck today everyone.

I was at Stamford bridge yesterday lunchtime watching Chelsea v London city lionesses. We were the better team, but struggled to actually score despite a few good chances (something the men replicated against Spurs at teatime!) and the last 20 mins of 2nd half felt a bit unexciting until Sam Kerr came on and scored a great goal. Even my DS who is usually fiercely opposed to leaving before the final whistle suggested we go just before 90 mis. Fortunately we didn't or we'd have missed the 2nd goal.

I thought Hannah Hampton looked a bit glum - I wonder if all the news about Mary Earps autobiography has got to her. It's being portrayed in the media as a big rift between them. Obviously I'm a big fan of Hannah's, so not sure what to make of it all.

3-3 FT, we really should have won that game but our defending was so poor. Vignola is class.

The Earps stuff...seemed a bit unnecessary to me. I can understand why she wanted to explain her decision to retire but I think she overestimated how much anyone cared. If HH hadn't turned out to be a star, it might have hit differently, but as things stand it's a bit (shrug).

Arsenal fans would kill for a touch of Chelsea's ability to grind out wins! Extraordinary that they are moaning about Bompastor.

I watched that game, really good contest. Fair result, I thought.

With my blue glasses off it agree it was a fair result but I still think we should have been comfortably ahead in the first half.

1 win in 7 isn't good enough.

I've missed Bompastor moaning!!

As proof that Google knows everything, after I posted, this popped up on my news feed
https://observer.co.uk/news/sport/article/mary-earps-has-picked-a-fight-that-she-isnt-going-to-win

Yeah. She should just have gritted her teeth and moved on. Sarina and Hannah are winners and winners are always right, so Mary just looks a bit petty. This is going to keep coming back to bite her in the bum.

The people who have read the book which is Mary's biography have said she was commenting on something that was reported in the press at the time, but there's also a podcast interview published or possibly re-published today (not sure) with Alex Greenwood saying that where it comes to the locker room stuff Mary Earps actually says what everyone else is thinking, now maybe she wasn't referring to the HH stuff but quite a coincidence if that wasn't what she meant.

I don't know what went on and I am not really interested, but the personal element does seem to be being blown up out of all proportion.
I saw this post on TwiX - seems like a very sensible take from the youngest GK in the England camp, and someone who has had her own issues.
https://x.com/MCWFCXtra/status/1986783439115129065

Lovely photo of them, shame that Millie Bright is getting slated for not sticking up for HH thanks to the DM stirring the pot. Looking forward to the Chelsea v Arsenal match tomorrow.

The U17 world cup final is tomorrow, N Korea v The Netherlands.

The Dutch team never qualified for this tournament before.

Time to start using VAR?

Absolutely robbery.

Really spoils the game

Yes, even if we don't have full VAR, we should have it for off-sides.

The “hand ball” hit her thigh!!

Both goals should have stood.

Ditto to the above. I'm livid. It's the fact that there was absolutely no grey area about that first Arsenal goal that upsets me. There was no decision to make. At no point did the ball touch Stina's arm or any part of it from what I can tell. And we deserved a goal at that stage, it wasn't like it was against the run of play. We won't have VAR for a long while yet in the WSL because of the cost and most of the teams most of the time will be playing at their smaller women's grounds. The NWSL operates a challenge system which is the way to go with VAR - that's what the PL should do. We don't want reviews on every decision, but a challenge for goals or red cards would work, IMO.

I couldn't tell at the ground and I haven't seen a replay yet, but some are saying that both Russo's and Maanum's goals were offside - but it must have been marginal, so I will accept one of them being given.

On VAR - I have just read that we are the only major European women's league that doesn't have it!

It's next morning and I'm still annoyed. 😆 First thing I thought about when I woke up!

We lost against City but played well, the post and a great save stopped us from getting a draw. And what a lovely goal from Gago