Women's Euros

[Tonka]

Never been interested in women’s football. At league level I’ve seen a disparity between teams. The number of quality players is just not there yet. At international level however most teams have the cream of the nations talent and most can field competitive teams.

I did watch the game last night and really enjoyed it. Real quality throughout. As already mentioned devoid of diva’s, dissent, cynicism or excessive time wasting. How refreshing? A lot can be learnt from the women. Bravo 👍

 

[memory man]

Thoroughly enjoyable game last night. I think every outfield player on both sides had a good first touch and it was great to see England with a proper old-fashioned left winger in full flight.

 

[jespafc]

The game really flowed too. As others have said, very little (almost non-existent) time wasting, the ref did an excellent job, no theatrics from the players, and no petulance. There were a few feisty tackles, but the players just got on with it. The crowd respected the Swedish anthem, and the atmosphere at Brammall Lane seemed to be very good.

 

[EyeOpener]

The attitude towards the officials is so refreshing to see and is always going to be one of the stand out parts of the womens' game as far as I'm concerned.

There was one incident last night where Sweden were attacking and in our box and a defending player actually slipped but the ref gave a foul against the Swede. Replays showed that the Swedish player did not touch the defender and so she would have a 100% reason to shout out her argument but she simply got her head down and got back into her position. Not one hint of dissent.

The football is easy on the eye and flows at a decent pace for the whole 90 mins. They look for the forward pass more times then not and are constantly on the move. A huge from me.

 

[gaspargomez]

I'm sorry, but the standard is nowhere near that of the men's game. It really isn't.

I bet commercial broadcasters wouldn't be showing these games on their prime-time terrestrial slots. If ITV dropped Coronation Street to show these matches it would cost them very heavily in lost advertising revenue. They just couldn't afford to take that decision.

Being publicly funded, BBC have the luxury of showing these matches on prime-time without having to worry about whether the level of interest amongst the public actually warrants it. They probably want to push this on us because its great for promoting their agenda of diversity, women's rights etc, but I bet the average member of the public wishes these games were kept off the main BBC1 and BBC channels.

 

[Mike E]

I'm sorry, but the standard is nowhere near that of the men's game. It really isn't.

I bet commercial broadcasters wouldn't be showing these games on their prime-time terrestrial slots. If ITV dropped Coronation Street to show these matches it would cost them very heavily in lost advertising revenue. They just couldn't afford to take that decision.

Being publicly funded, BBC have the luxury of showing these matches on prime-time without having to worry about whether the level of interest amongst the public actually warrants it. They probably want to push this on us because its great for promoting their agenda of diversity, women's rights etc, but I bet the average member of the public wishes these games were kept off the main BBC1 and BBC channels.

I obviously wouldn't be categorized as an average member of the public by your reckoning, as I'd much rather watch women's football than Coronation Street.

 

[Balham Green]

I'm sorry, but the standard is nowhere near that of the men's game. It really isn't.

I bet commercial broadcasters wouldn't be showing these games on their prime-time terrestrial slots. If ITV dropped Coronation Street to show these matches it would cost them very heavily in lost advertising revenue. They just couldn't afford to take that decision.

Being publicly funded, BBC have the luxury of showing these matches on prime-time without having to worry about whether the level of interest amongst the public actually warrants it. They probably want to push this on us because its great for promoting their agenda of diversity, women's rights etc, but I bet the average member of the public wishes these games were kept off the main BBC1 and BBC channels.

Agree re domestic leagues but 9 million watched the England game!

 

[Cobi Budge]

I watched the France/Germany game this evening and to be honest, I just didn’t enjoy it. I’m 100% in support of women’s football and I think it’s brilliant that viewership is increasing, but personally because I watch so much men’s football, I just struggle with the standard (particularly the defending and goalkeeping). I appreciate how good the players are within their game and well done to them, but I still just can’t help but compare them to the games I normally watch. Good luck to the lionesses in the final, I really hope they win, but either way I’m still just not sure that’s going to motivate me to watch more women’s games, for now anyway.

 

[Tonka]

I'm sorry, but the standard is nowhere near that of the men's game. It really isn't.

I bet commercial broadcasters wouldn't be showing these games on their prime-time terrestrial slots. If ITV dropped Coronation Street to show these matches it would cost them very heavily in lost advertising revenue. They just couldn't afford to take that decision.

Being publicly funded, BBC have the luxury of showing these matches on prime-time without having to worry about whether the level of interest amongst the public actually warrants it. They probably want to push this on us because its great for promoting their agenda of diversity, women's rights etc, but I bet the average member of the public wishes these games were kept off the main BBC1 and BBC channels.

Women’s Euros semi-final thrashes Wimbledon’s men’s final in ratings

The Women’s Euros semi-final shown on BBC One thrashed Wimbledon’s men’s final in ratings by nearly 2 million viewers.

metro.co.uk

I would agree that the quality across the board isn’t there at the moment. I’ve said to my lads that a disparity exists at league level probably due to the current shallow pool of talent. At International level that just isn’t the case.

What I saw on Tuesday was excellent entertainment. The physicality at times was tough but fair. Devoid of theatrics, dissent and petulance. Commercial tv will very quickly change their tack if figures continue to rise.

I’ve spoken to many that have become apathetic and disillusioned towards the mens top level game. The money, agents, Prima donna’s and FFP corruption etc have lead some to watch non league grassroots local football. At times I consider cancelling my Sky tv access. I personally hate the way the mens game has gone. To keep holding it up as the standard to aim for is blinkered. An awful lot can be learned from the Womens game.

 

[Old Gunner]

Stop comparing it to the men’s game if you can, it’s a different product. I watch women’s tennis…I don’t continuously compare it to the men’s game. I watch women’s athletics, I’m not thinking…they’re not as fast as the men. Fortunately most men seem to understand and embrace this although I get the temptation to continually compare to what has been a male sport. It’s different, slower, less cynical, joyous…skill levels are improving all the time. What I don’t get is the odd (very odd!) need for some men to denigrate the game.

 

[Argylegames]

Last night's game was more like men's games. Mainly because for the first time there was cynical diving and gamesmanship trying to con the referee. I hope the Ref on Sunday is a savvy one because the German team sure tried some of the tricks last night.

 

[greenpilled]

I watched the France/Germany game this evening and to be honest, I just didn’t enjoy it. I’m 100% in support of women’s football and I think it’s brilliant that viewership is increasing, but personally because I watch so much men’s football, I just struggle with the standard (particularly the defending and goalkeeping). I appreciate how good the players are within their game and well done to them, but I still just can’t help but compare them to the games I normally watch. Good luck to the lionesses in the final, I really hope they win, but either way I’m still just not sure that’s going to motivate me to watch more women’s games, for now anyway.

Just an observation but this is almost verbatim what my mates who support PL teams say about Argyle... They'll wish us well and look out for our results but can't get excited about poorer quality games in smaller stadiums that far fewer people watch or care about compared to the elite level.

Not sure what kind of point I'm making but I find it surprising that any Argyle fan feels they can't get into women's football because of a lack of quality. Looking back over the last 10-15 seasons, most of them we've struggled to produce as many exciting, entertaining, high quality games as the England women's team have managed this week.

I thought the comparison earlier in the thread with women's tennis was a good one - women's football hasn't had the historic recognition or status that women's tennis has had, and thus it's difficult for people to suddenly get emotionally invested in it as a top level sport. Even now, it's kind of like the Olympics when everyone gets behind their home country in obscure sports that they then forget about for the next 4 years.

But for kids who are now growing up with women's football having something much closer to parity with the men, I think it will be very different. We'll quite quickly get to the point where the equivalence between the two games is much more like the status accorded to men and women's tennis

 

[Biggs]

Stop comparing it to the men’s game if you can, it’s a different product. I watch women’s tennis…I don’t continuously compare it to the men’s game. I watch women’s athletics, I’m not thinking…they’re not as fast as the men. Fortunately most men seem to understand and embrace this although I get the temptation to continually compare to what has been a male sport. It’s different, slower, less cynical, joyous…skill levels are improving all the time. What I don’t get is the odd (very odd!) need for some men to denigrate the game.

Totally agree in large part and am really enjoying the tournament, mostly because of embracing the difference to the men's game.

My only real issue is that it feels that we're meant to compare when it suits... then not compare when it doesn't. I.e. talking about Ellen White overtaking Wayne Rooney's England scoring record just seems silly.

 

[Old Gunner]

Totally agree in large part and am really enjoying the tournament, mostly because of embracing the difference to the men's game.

My only real issue is that it feels that we're meant to compare when it suits... then not compare when it doesn't. I.e. talking about Ellen White overtaking Wayne Rooney's England scoring record just seems silly.

Yes that did jar a bit.

 

[Morwell Hammer]

I’ve really enjoyed the Euros. The pace/power/fitness levels are clearly not on a par with the mens game (as you'd expect given the disparity in power and strength) but this doesn’t affect the excitement from my perspective.

Technical skills are impressive and are only let down by shorter periods of possession based football; a bit like comparing PL games to League1/2 in the EFL…… big plus point is that it can create a more positive ebb and flow (excitement) to the game.

Being a major competition means the levels of excitement and sense of drama are still the same except when there is a clear disparity between teams (as in the earlier rounds).

As some of the comments make clear the womens game, to its credit, seems devoid of the more cynical aspects of the mens game which is very refreshing and adds to the enjoyment.