[center]Liverpool Ladies v Manchester City Women
Thursday 17th April 2014, 7.45pm KO
Women’s Super League
Select Security Stadium, Widnes, WA8 7DZ.
Live on BTSPORT1
£5 for adults and £2.50 for Concessions
MANCHESTER CITY: Ruining Women’s Football Since 2013…
1921 The FA bans women from playing on football league grounds, “…the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged."[/center]
England has a strange relationship with football when it comes to the women’s game. If you even manage to get a conversation off the ground beyond the response of “its crap…” you have achieved something. Although most sports in the UK involving women are dismissed unless at the very highest level, Women’s football at the highest level has remained hugely indifferent in the psyche of English public in the modern era. Although in a bygone era there are reports of attendances at women’s games superseding attendances of their male counterparts, largely in part due to the FA the domestic landscape for the women’s game has largely been a wilderness, with minimal attendances, non-existent media coverage and our best players leaving to play abroad whilst our national team failed to qualify for international tournaments.
However, for once, credit must go to the FA who set up the Women’s football committee in 1993 and outlined its plans to develop the women’s game from grassroots to elite level before they appointed Hope Powell as the first full time coach for the England women’s team. Highlights included hosting the Euro’s in 2005, qualifying for the World cup in 2006 and culminated in Great Britain defeating Brazil in front of 70,000 people at Wembley in the best game of football at the whole Olympics. Domestically the FA formed the Women’s Super League (WSL) in 2010 and began play in 2012 with Arsenal, the women’s team of the last decade being crowned first ever Champions.
I have to say three of the women’s matches I’ve been to have ranked amongst the most entertaining games I’ve ever watched. My first exposure to women’s football was at the Women’s European Championships at the Etihad in 2050 when England took on Finland in the opening game in front of a then European Record attendance of about 29,000 with England blowing a 2-0 lead before winning it in stoppage time thanks to a goal from a then 17 year old Karen Carney (I wished we’d have signed her).
The first domestic game I went to was the Women’s Community Shield in 2008 at the Moss Rose when Arsenal beat Everton in a thrilling game where Jill Scott was man of the match, Kelly Smith scored the winner and both goalkeepers pulled off a string of brilliant saves (frustratingly despite the game being live on Setanta I can’t find any information about it). The smaller pitch complemented the greater emphasis on the technical skills that the women’s game possesses.
As for WSL, I saw Arsenal Ladies second time in August when they took on Liverpool Ladies at Widnes. Despite Kelly Smith not playing Arsenal played in such a manner that might have given Wilshire and Ozil a bit of trouble and thrashed them 3-0 in decent game that will be remembered for Arsenal fielding an ineligible player that ultimately handed Liverpool the tile.
[center]Liverpool Ladies
[/center]For the women the fear of having to live with Liverpool as the Champions of England already exists as they are the reigning WS L Champions will be a formidable outfit this season having gone full time over the winter (UEFA FFP anyone). Despite having only seen them a couple of times my spies (not the sis) have sent me a scouting report of those to look out for.
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Fara Williams – “the Steven Gerrard of the midfield”
Natasha Dowie – “winner of golden boot last season and recalled to the England team”
Lucy Bronze – “Like a Duracell bunny, runs all day long at right back”
“Although currently injured look out for Nicole Rolser after ACL reconstruction!”
In addition Katie Zelem is an “up and coming youngster in the mould of Fara Williams!”
Manchester City
[/center]It was an exciting time, reminiscent of the days of Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor arriving at the Etihad, when City announced the signing of five internationals over the Christmas period. In WSL there is a salary cap limiting the spending of the club, as rumours of Hope Solo spread, but it was good to see that City have handed opportunities to a lot of the existing squad. I think they would have done that anyway regardless of financial restrictions but any media coverage that the women get this season will start and end with the high profile signings.
In case you missed it those who arrived were:
Karen Bardsley – 29 – The 5’11’ American born England goalkeeper arrived from Lincoln Ladies but has travelled the world to play her football having taken in Holland, USA and Sweden on her travels.
Steph Houghton – 25 - A goalscoring left back who arrived from Arsenal has been capped by England and represented Team GB at the Olympics scoring in all three group games
Jill Scott – 27 – Like Steph Houghton Jill Scott is originally from Sunderland’s women’s team having spent the last seven years at Everton. A central midfield who can cover lots of ground.
Toni Duggan – 22 – 11 goals in 16 appearances for England and has scored two for City on her debut in the FA Cup last Sunday, a goalscorer who has also left Everton and according to her Wikipedia page used to be a Morris dancer as a child.
Betsy Hassett – 23 –Another Olympian representing New Zealand at the 2012 Olympics who has arrived from Germany having also played in America.
Predicition
PAIN! – no wait that was Clubber Lang. In all honesty I don’t know but I promise if that you watch it you will more than likely enjoy it. Peace.
Please use this thread as the match thread.
