Bin Ont Turf wrote:6.1 million people watched the England v Scotland game yesterday.

6 Million? The only rational explanation is that the BBC must have blocked every other channel with their secret TV jamming machine.

Billy Balfour wrote:6 Million? The only rational explanation is that the BBC must have blocked every other channel with their secret TV jamming machine.

Not quite,but its what happens when you have free to air games on a terrestrial channel

If it was on Sky, not even one million wouldn’t tuned in. I was one of the 6m watching though.

As was I. As stated earlier I've followed the Lionesses since the 2007 world cup. The progress in that time in all aspects of the woman's game is incredible

claptrappers_union wrote:If it was on Sky, not even one million wouldn’t tuned in. I was one of the 6m watching though.

Same goes for blokes' games too tbf

Like dogs chasing a crisp packet on the beach.

Looks like our resident incel is trying too hard to get noticed.

I've succumbed ....France v Norway very entertaining.No showboating or Diving either!!

They just don’t seem to tackle though do they?

Whitgord wrote:They just don’t seem to tackle though do they?

Well tbf the powers that be have been advocating non contact in the men's game for years.

tim_noone wrote:Well tbf the powers that be have been advocating non contact in the men's game for years.

Too true tim.
Tonight's game was ruined by VAR convincing a very experienced referee, who referees in teh Bundesliga in Germany, that she should give a penalty for a player kicking the ball but catching the opponent in the follow through, in spite of the fact that the opponent had jumped in two-footed in the challenge.
You will never convince me that, because FIFA are so obsessed with the use of VAR, they are not putting undue pressure on officials to change their decisions. The referee had played on after the original challenge and rightly so but then VAR intervened.

Sadly, the way that the modern game is going and, as you say, challenges are being outlawed by those running the game.

Ashingtonclaret46 wrote:Too true tim.
Tonight's game was ruined by VAR convincing a very experienced referee, who referees in teh Bundesliga in Germany, that she should give a penalty for a player kicking the ball but catching the opponent in the follow through, in spite of the fact that the opponent had jumped in two-footed in the challenge.
You will never convince me that, because FIFA are so obsessed with the use of VAR, they are not putting undue pressure on officials to change their decisions. The referee had played on after the original challenge and rightly so but then VAR intervened.

Sadly, the way that the modern game is going and, as you say, challenges are being outlawed by those running the game.

Spot on.

Strangely enough I though penalty! with benefit of VAR it wasn't.....

tim_noone wrote:Strangely enough I though penalty! with benefit of VAR it wasn't.....

That is the problem though! I played and refereed at semi-professional level for 40 years and I no longer know what constitutes a foul, a handball, just how the offside Law is interpreted etc. and I have mentored young referees until last season when I called it a day because I could no longer give sensible advice to them.

The game is going to the dogs, ably abetted by those running the game, particularly FIFA and UEFA and the television companies. Such a shame but it is what the modern fan wants --everything has to be 100% correct, however, it never will be!

TBH it can be worth watching. The key is to try not to compare it to the men's game.

bfcjg wrote:TBH it can be worth watching. The key is to try not to compare it to the men's game.

Well.... The things I found refreshing From tonight's game ....no Diving or rolling over a few times at the slightest touch no hand over the mouth chat ....and no Sutton or savage raising my Blood pressure.

Just a thought, but is there any way the authorities could make it an offence to appeal for a penalty? Actually,booking players for appealing for anything would be good for the game.

Just remembered that it was France that profited from VAR in the World Cup Final and also tonight ----the authorities must really love the French team!

On footballs financial rewards for the fairer sex...they're not worth what the men are on...And neither are the men! Just to balance things up.

I saw most of the second half - it was like watching in slow motion. Not only are the players slower, but the ball doesn't move as fast either. Even short passes roll along rather than zip along.

dsr wrote:I saw most of the second half - it was like watching in slow motion. Not only are the players slower, but the ball doesn't move as fast either. Even short passes roll along rather than zip along.

Diani of France would make our Chris Wood look static....your correct as to the second half though the females certainly ran out of steam.

Someone’s been researching this thread..

https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... ns-throats

I'm cutting and pasting that Guardian article here just for good measure!

From Mr Inferior Product to Mr I Prefer Parks, the tournament has caused a cosmic imbalance that we must redress


Once again I am hugely grateful to the community that will not allow us to forget the great under-reported story of this Women’s World Cup: men. Most specifically, the men who are not watching it. We hear so much about the tournament itself. Too much, it is argued – and at the expense of one of the four great civil rights questions of our era: 1) When are we getting a White History Month? 2) When is International Men’s Day? 3) Isn’t it time we had Straight Pride? and 4) Can you imagine how sexist people would say it was if we had a men’s World Cup?

I could not agree more with the gentlemen who dare to ask these questions – and not just so that I can buy time while I frantically locate the exit. Indeed, as part of this column’s tireless commitment to celebrating the underdogs, this week let’s redress the dangerous cosmic imbalance caused by the Women’s World Cup. Here follows a celebration of all the different guys who currently need to explain to you – at length – why they aren’t watching it. As always, you don’t have to be a woman to have met some of these men over the past week. But it certainly helps!


Mr Stop Shoving It Down My Throat

Listen, this guy is absolutely fine with this tournament existing, being alive, whatever. He’s open-minded – it’s not the dark ages any more. Nothing against it. What he objects to – and he’d like you to know that you’ll find a lot of other perfectly decent people like him – is it being “shoved down his throat”. Yes, it’s the shoving. Down the throat. It’s like: fine. I’m happy for you to do your football in the privacy of your own wherever, but please: have some sensitivity and realise that not all people are like you. So basically just don’t do it in front of him, or involve him. Seriously: don’t involve him. Also don’t do it near his kids, especially the girl. For reference, ways that it can be shoved down his throat include “being on TV” and “being on a website he normally looks at”, for instance that of the British Broadcasting Corporation, which, by covering a sport that averaged 4.6 million viewers on Sunday night for England’s game against Scotland, is pursuing a right-on agenda. Actually, let’s be real for a minute: no one wants to see this. Put it away.

Mr I’m Being Branded Sexist

This guy is fairly sure he’s being “branded sexist” for not watching the Women’s World Cup. I think if you need to ask “by who, specifically?” then in a very strong but also abstract sense you’re part of the problem. He is definitely getting this definite feeling that he is being made to feel sexist. It’s all part of an agenda. No, he’d rather not continue this conversation. He can’t win, because you just can’t say anything these days.

Mr Inferior Product


Nothing but respect for the guy who declares “the game’s gone” about every tiny piece of commercialisation in men’s football, but falls over himself to describe the women’s game as “an inferior product”. I mean, on the one hand, a reminder: if you refer to football as either “product” or “content” – ever – you are an endless ******. No exceptions. But on the other: I’m sure it felt like an interesting point when you made it. Your points are not inferior products: keep producing them to surplus.



Mr I Prefer Parks

No one more than me wants to help the guy whose chief point about the 2019 World Cup is: “I would so much rather watch parks football on a Sunday morning.” I would also rather he did this.

Mr Stop Telling Me It’s Massive When It’s Really Not

Totally. But dude: read that one over and then probably just delete it. I know you’d hate for anyone to take it out of context. And that’s what they do; they take things out of context and then they twist what you say.

Mr I Always Support England

Always supports England, no matter what. No one loves his country more than him. But this isn’t “England” by any reasonable yardstick. Which bit of England do they represent then? Not a bit he recognises.



Mr Have Fifa Got A Point

I love this guy, who has spent years – decades – scoffing that Fifa are a bunch of incompetent chisellers who leech money out of the game, and do less than the bare minimum to grow it while lining their own pockets. Unbelievable that they don’t pay local taxes and have a cash surplus of $2.7bn when they should be a force for good. But this chap looks at the fact that the men’s World Cup prize fund is $400m, that the women’s is $30m. He knows he can’t fall back on viewing figure ratios, given that the men’s gets four times the viewers of the women’s, but 13 times the prize money. And he knows the gap between the men’s and women’s prize fund has actually risen over the past four years. Even so, and for reasons he can’t quite put his finger on: haven’t Fifa got a point in just this one case? Oh, just to be clear, that’s a rhetorical question. Which means you don’t get to answer it.

Mr I’m Just Not Watching

Short of hearing what other people dreamed about last night, hearing which things other people aren’t watching on television is even better. Have you never seen an episode of Game of Thrones? Do you dislike Love Island? Are you not watching the Women’s World Cup? If so, this is massive. Make sure to tell as many people as possible today.

Is it wishful thinking or are they wearing closer-fitting strips? They'll have to if it grows and businesses put more money into it.

Falcon wrote:I'm cutting and pasting that Guardian article here just for good measure!

From Mr Inferior Product to Mr I Prefer Parks, the tournament has caused a cosmic imbalance that we must redress


Once again I am hugely grateful to the community that will not allow us to forget the great under-reported story of this Women’s World Cup: men. Most specifically, the men who are not watching it. We hear so much about the tournament itself. Too much, it is argued – and at the expense of one of the four great civil rights questions of our era: 1) When are we getting a White History Month? 2) When is International Men’s Day? 3) Isn’t it time we had Straight Pride? and 4) Can you imagine how sexist people would say it was if we had a men’s World Cup?

I could not agree more with the gentlemen who dare to ask these questions – and not just so that I can buy time while I frantically locate the exit. Indeed, as part of this column’s tireless commitment to celebrating the underdogs, this week let’s redress the dangerous cosmic imbalance caused by the Women’s World Cup. Here follows a celebration of all the different guys who currently need to explain to you – at length – why they aren’t watching it. As always, you don’t have to be a woman to have met some of these men over the past week. But it certainly helps!


Mr Stop Shoving It Down My Throat

Listen, this guy is absolutely fine with this tournament existing, being alive, whatever. He’s open-minded – it’s not the dark ages any more. Nothing against it. What he objects to – and he’d like you to know that you’ll find a lot of other perfectly decent people like him – is it being “shoved down his throat”. Yes, it’s the shoving. Down the throat. It’s like: fine. I’m happy for you to do your football in the privacy of your own wherever, but please: have some sensitivity and realise that not all people are like you. So basically just don’t do it in front of him, or involve him. Seriously: don’t involve him. Also don’t do it near his kids, especially the girl. For reference, ways that it can be shoved down his throat include “being on TV” and “being on a website he normally looks at”, for instance that of the British Broadcasting Corporation, which, by covering a sport that averaged 4.6 million viewers on Sunday night for England’s game against Scotland, is pursuing a right-on agenda. Actually, let’s be real for a minute: no one wants to see this. Put it away.

Mr I’m Being Branded Sexist

This guy is fairly sure he’s being “branded sexist” for not watching the Women’s World Cup. I think if you need to ask “by who, specifically?” then in a very strong but also abstract sense you’re part of the problem. He is definitely getting this definite feeling that he is being made to feel sexist. It’s all part of an agenda. No, he’d rather not continue this conversation. He can’t win, because you just can’t say anything these days.

Mr Inferior Product


Nothing but respect for the guy who declares “the game’s gone” about every tiny piece of commercialisation in men’s football, but falls over himself to describe the women’s game as “an inferior product”. I mean, on the one hand, a reminder: if you refer to football as either “product” or “content” – ever – you are an endless ******. No exceptions. But on the other: I’m sure it felt like an interesting point when you made it. Your points are not inferior products: keep producing them to surplus.



Mr I Prefer Parks

No one more than me wants to help the guy whose chief point about the 2019 World Cup is: “I would so much rather watch parks football on a Sunday morning.” I would also rather he did this.

Mr Stop Telling Me It’s Massive When It’s Really Not

Totally. But dude: read that one over and then probably just delete it. I know you’d hate for anyone to take it out of context. And that’s what they do; they take things out of context and then they twist what you say.

Mr I Always Support England

Always supports England, no matter what. No one loves his country more than him. But this isn’t “England” by any reasonable yardstick. Which bit of England do they represent then? Not a bit he recognises.



Mr Have Fifa Got A Point

I love this guy, who has spent years – decades – scoffing that Fifa are a bunch of incompetent chisellers who leech money out of the game, and do less than the bare minimum to grow it while lining their own pockets. Unbelievable that they don’t pay local taxes and have a cash surplus of $2.7bn when they should be a force for good. But this chap looks at the fact that the men’s World Cup prize fund is $400m, that the women’s is $30m. He knows he can’t fall back on viewing figure ratios, given that the men’s gets four times the viewers of the women’s, but 13 times the prize money. And he knows the gap between the men’s and women’s prize fund has actually risen over the past four years. Even so, and for reasons he can’t quite put his finger on: haven’t Fifa got a point in just this one case? Oh, just to be clear, that’s a rhetorical question. Which means you don’t get to answer it.

Mr I’m Just Not Watching

Short of hearing what other people dreamed about last night, hearing which things other people aren’t watching on television is even better. Have you never seen an episode of Game of Thrones? Do you dislike Love Island? Are you not watching the Women’s World Cup? If so, this is massive. Make sure to tell as many people as possible today.

I wonder how many times the Guardian “ journo” ( or possibly intern? Judging by his gushing child like prose .)masturbated over his own smug self satisfying “ look, all men are sexist 70’s cut outs “ steaming pile of ****

Just a shame someones already made the gag about Marina Hyde getting her inspiration from on here.

It's quite amusing to me that there's a huge demographic (largely middle aged blokes) who bemoan that you apparently can't make jokes or have banter any more due to PC culture or whatever, who get their knickers in a huge twist when they're on the receiving end of a satirical article.

If you can't take it, don't give it out.

Falcon wrote:It's quite amusing to me that there's a huge demographic (largely middle aged blokes) who bemoan that you apparently can't make jokes or have banter any more due to PC culture or whatever, who get their knickers in a huge twist when they're on the receiving end of a satirical article.

If you can't take it, don't give it out.

And they all post on here. What are the chances eh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzGQhiOgH-0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When you are on BTTS yeah

claretonthecoast1882 wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzGQhiOgH-0

When you are on BTTS yeah

Decent finish when the pressure was on, tucking it nicely into the bottom corner

Falcon wrote:Decent finish when the pressure was on, tucking it nicely into the bottom corner

Yet another example of how women's football isn't up to standard. A man would have done the same but with a Cruyff turn!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DDdQ8PJms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

dsr wrote:Yet another example of how women's football isn't up to standard. A man would have done the same but with a Cruyff turn!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DDdQ8PJms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or broken their own nose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds0wEBKuxv8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AlargeClaret wrote:I wonder how many times the Guardian “ journo” ( or possibly intern? Judging by his gushing child like prose .)masturbated over his own smug self satisfying “ look, all men are sexist 70’s cut outs “ steaming pile of ****

Her

aggi wrote:Her

Don't be silly, women aren't allowed to be into footy.

Answer to the original question.
No. Not at all.

tim_noone wrote:They'll be looking to Equal Pay before you know it........only a matter of time.I think that's the Agenda.

As I was saying.....the balls rolling now!

In answer to the OP - nope, not even slightly. In the same way that non league amateur football doesn't interest me

In answer to the OP - nope, not even slightly. In the same way that non league amateur football doesn't interest me

Padiham v Squires Gate.....Bring It On!


I

yes it is a semi final, but in name only, it is a half baked, happy shopper version of something, cant really be described as football.

No.

100% won me over, I'd forgotten what a great game football can be when players don't cheat and roll around, argue with the ref, steal yards and claim for everything.

Other than Cameroon it's been a breath of fresh air

The second you stop comparing it to the men’s game and see it as a different sport, you begin to enjoy it.

The ‘standard’ isn’t at men’s - well, so what? That’s the same for every country which makes it a fair and well contested sport all of its own. It helps that our team looks pretty bloody good as well in comparison to the rest.

If we win it will Phil Neville get a club football gig in the men’s league?

Definitely enjoying it and as others have said it is best to not compare.

However, it is very hard to not compare. You watch for things like the defending shape etc and it is really bad. Even the England team doing well were all over the place in basic shape of defending a few times last night.

Our right back is a great player but I think Phil was being over generous suggesting she is better than he ever was...

Have enjoyed Ladies Football since I moved to Lincoln 7 years ago and watched the then Lincoln Ladies in the Premier League playing the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal .
The standard has improved considerably over the years and this year Lincoln Ladies have a team in the 4th tier and playing their games at Lincoln United so I will be attending games but expect a poorer standard of course.
Hope the Lioneses go on to lift the Trophy.

Hibsclaret wrote:Definitely enjoying it and as others have said it is best to not compare.

However, it is very hard to not compare. You watch for things like the defending shape etc and it is really bad. Even the England team doing well were all over the place in basic shape of defending a few times last night.

Our right back is a great player but I think Phil was being over generous suggesting she is better than he ever was...

He was speaking relatively. Bronze is playing to a higher level in her field than Neville did. He wasn’t saying that she would have been a regular for the Man Utd or England men’s teams.

Not sure how you deduce Bronze is playing to a higher level when Neville was in England squads and played regularly for Man U...but I take your point...

My Auntie played for Burnley and coached at the Blackburn Academy for quite a few years, she knows more about football tactics than most of my mates and was decent.
Shouldn't be compared to men's sport just like Florence Griffith-Joyner isn't compared to Usain Bolt in the 100M, they're all at the top of their profession.

Hibsclaret wrote:Definitely enjoying it and as others have said it is best to not compare.

However, it is very hard to not compare. You watch for things like the defending shape etc and it is really bad. Even the England team doing well were all over the place in basic shape of defending a few times last night.

Our right back is a great player but I think Phil was being over generous suggesting she is better than he ever was...

Hibs --I agree that the defending has been bad at times, however, when you compare it with the defending of the England Under 21 mens' team over the last few games the ladies have been slightly better.

It's encouraging to see people at least open their minds to it - I used to be the same when it came to watching it - but as said on this thread, once you stop making pointless comparisons to men's football, it's alright.

The lack of play acting is a refreshing change, shame the men can't 'man up' like the women. There were a couple of moments last night when the camera zoomed in a pair of England players laughing about something. It just seemed weird, players at that level clearly enjoying what they were doing during the game. Hopefully that gets coached out of them shortly and they can focus on pressurising the ref and talking with their hands over their mouths.