Over the last week or so I’ve kept from commenting on the manager choice, and just read all the interesting comments and the insults passing between Rovers’ fans. OK, I know many insults are pseudo, but thought it time I insulted some on this site!
To be honest I’ve been a little disgusted by some people’s attitude to the female version of this great game, and the Doncaster Belles in particular.
Maybe because on this side of the Pond the women’s national team has been successful, women’s football gets a little more respect than some on this site have shown.
I must admit the success of the national women’s team here, more successful than the men’s team, has probably put back the acceptance of USA soccer by macho Neanderthals who consider it a “girlies’ game".
Here in “Soccer City USA" the Portland Thorns (our women’s team) had crowds of 11,055 and 12,474 for their last two games – OK, well below the Portland Timbers’ sell-out every match at 20,400 but it shows the respect for the women’s game.
Despite the fact most people think the left coast is very progressive, the original women’s team T-shirt “Get Thorny", was banned!
While I’ll admit many of the players are not exactly Miss World (why should that matter – obviously to some MCPs on this site), just take a look at the Thorns’ USA international striker Alex Morgan – in 2012 Sports Illustrated published a series of pictures of Alex in a bikini.
Both my wife and I have signed the Belles petition. It is not just that our grandniece plays for one of the Belles’ junior teams, it is a fight against big money taking over the world.
RTID and BellesTID
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
posted on 22/5/13
Lets be honest here, Portland do get great crowds, but you can't use them as the bellwether. 8 team league. One team has over 40% of the entire leaves atendence. Outside of Portland the average atendence is about 3000 with no games shown on basic cable, just obscure football channels.
The us woman's team was known 14 years ago when they won the World Cup but 99.9% of the country couldn't name 2 players now.
I also smirked at you're disgusted by people's feelings toward women's football and then show us how disgusted at these attitudes you are by directing us to some woman posing in sports illustrated.
If woman's football wants global respect it'll be achieved through their skills and national exposure, not by nationally exposing them
posted on 22/5/13
Micky, I watched my first ever women's game on Saturday (Continental Cup versus Everton), motivated to go by what I see as a huge injustice to the Belles and to Sport in general. I enjoyed the game and although the gate was only 301 (I think they got 500+ in their first only WSL home game of the season), the crowd was enthusiastic and noisy and the atmosphere suprisingly good and despite the score (Everton won 3-1), the Belles were the better side. Had they not missed some great chances at the start of the second half, they would have won the game - I have no doubt about that.
The great thing about the Belles is that they are largely a young side, with several players representing England at U17 or U19 level and they can only get better - but they have some excellent older players too, including Sue Smith, one of England's most capped players, who made her comeback on Saturday after being out of the game for a year with a bad injury, to play just her second game for the Belles.
The frustrating thing about the FA's decision to relegate the Belles is that the club is exactly what the FA claims that it is looking for. The Belles work with the community to promote Women's Sport and they created Britain's first Social Enterprise in 2009. The FA talks about the importance of grass roots sport but by its actions here has shown that actually, TV and money is all that it is really interested in. My fear for the Belles if they are relegated is that they will be the ones doing all the hard work in the community and developing players, but will merely become a feeder club for clubs with rich owners but with no community involvement and after all that the Belles have done from the late 1970's to the present day to create women's football as a respected and growing sport in this country, that is a real insult. I just hope that local businesses and football supporters get behind the Belles to help them and to make things as difficult for the FA as possible. I will certainly continue to support them.
posted on 22/5/13
The main reason the americans have taken to womens football is because there national team is in the top 3 countrys in the world winning the worldcup twice, if they hadnt as in the mens game they wouldnt give a flying!
The yanks are only interested in sports that they can dominate if not they dont want to no, thats why the mens game has never really taken off like in the rest of the world!
As for the womens game in general I have no problem with, it is what it is, and I have every sympathy for the belles situation, but like in alot of minority sports there flogging a dead horse trying to glam it up, no matter what name you give the league or what big brand name teams are in it, it will still be mainly people who have a family member, friend or playing interest themselves that will go and watch it in this country!
posted on 22/5/13
Crazy, it was the same story for most of last season. I think they finished next to the bottom.
For the past 10-15 years Arsenal Ladies have replaced the Belles as top dogs. Now all the other teams have improved, but the Belles haven't.
I say improved because in that time the National Team have gone from being a joke to challenging the top teams.
Without knowing too much about the Belles set up, I am inclined to think that the manager is stuck in the past with his methods and to make it worse is trying to apply the men's philosophy onto women.
I defy anyone to sneer at women's football if they watched Kelly Smith in her prime.