A light hearted Womens Euros thread.

[WhiteRussian]

Absolutly brilliant. Even the wife was getting excited.

 

[K-Win]

Absolutly brilliant. Even the wife was getting excited.

Still not enough to pique my wife's interest. She spent the whole game yawning and staring at her phone. To say she has zero interest in sport would be an understatement.

She is obsessed with Love Island though, which is a kind of sport I guess?

 

[Railway Blue]

Crowd was given as nearly 29,000, but there seemed a lot of empty seats.

 

[Railway Blue]

I do actually, and I don’t understand why women’s matches in grand slams are shorter. It would actually put to bed all the arguments about whether prize money should be the same (it should be but only as a reward for the same amount of work).

Yes my girlfriend said they should play 5 setters. At the end of 3 sets they are still full of energy.

 

[DippyDon]

Crowd was given as nearly 29,000, but there seemed a lot of empty seats.

Crowds are done on tickets sold, not tickets scanned. Probably another game along them lines with a bit of a difference between those two figures

 

[Greenacres]

Crowds are done on tickets sold, not tickets scanned. Probably another game along them lines with a bit of a difference between those two figures

That is I believe true...they did mention that there were some issues with trains in the area, which might have meant some people couldn't make it to the game...which is a real pity as they missed a real belter.

I wondered if England could reproduce what they did in the second half of their pre-tournament friendly game against the Netherlands...which I think they achieved last night and then some.

I think the comments about the Norwegian defending are fair, why the manager didn't make a tactical change to five at the back sooner is a mystery to me, maybe when they had gone 2-0 down. There is no doubt the five across the back stopped the flow of England goals, but it also severely limited the Norwegians options going forwards, but hey...who is complaining. I thought our triple substitution changed the game again, being able to bring on a trio of Kelly, Toone and Rousso is a luxury that few teams have...their interplay, short passing and movement was a joy to behold at times.

There is no doubt that there are some really decent teams in this tournament, France looked lethal against Italy and Germany also played some lovely stuff against Denmark, but I don't think England should fear anyone.

COYL

PS: Spain against Germany could be pretty special, two of the pre-tournament favourites, that is my evening's entertainment sorted!

 

[BRFC_Gas]

I can't claim to know much on the women's game other than the USA strangely tend to be very good at it. Pointless really comparing it to the mens game as its naturally going to be played at a different pace and physicality so comments comparing it L1/2 etc are a waste of time. Nothing wrong with that though and end of the day it's still football so will enjoy it on that basis.

Wish them well in the tournament and growing the game.

I lived in the US for a couple of years in the 90s and football/soccer was seen as a 'pussy sport' therefore it was played mainly by young kids many of whom were girls.
Ive got nothing against womens footy but am not interested in it myself. Just wish the TV channels werent so keen to crowbar as many females into commentary roles for the mens game as possible.

 

[Chris FGR]

Pretty poor turnout at Stadium MK, probably not the ideal kick off time tbf.

 

[Super_horns]

Pretty poor turnout at Stadium MK, probably not the ideal kick off time tbf.

Or big name teams .

 

[Chris FGR]

Couple of big name players though.

 

[Chris FGR]

Cracking save at the end there from the Danish keeper.

 

[WhiteRussian]

Pretty poor turnout at Stadium MK, probably not the ideal kick off time tbf.

11615 according to our website. Allowing for no shows I expect the actual was around the 10000 mark. That for probably the least interesting match so far isn't too bad.

 

[Chris FGR]

11615 according to our website. Allowing for no shows I expect the actual was around the 10000 mark. That for probably the least interesting match so far isn't too bad.

Around 1/3 full? It looked nothing like that tbh, more like 5-7k at kick off.

 

[Railway Blue]

That is I believe true...they did mention that there were some issues with trains in the area, which might have meant some people couldn't make it to the game...which is a real pity as they missed a real belter.

I wondered if England could reproduce what they did in the second half of their pre-tournament friendly game against the Netherlands...which I think they achieved last night and then some.

I think the comments about the Norwegian defending are fair, why the manager didn't make a tactical change to five at the back sooner is a mystery to me, maybe when they had gone 2-0 down. There is no doubt the five across the back stopped the flow of England goals, but it also severely limited the Norwegians options going forwards, but hey...who is complaining. I thought our triple substitution changed the game again, being able to bring on a trio of Kelly, Toone and Rousso is a luxury that few teams have...their interplay, short passing and movement was a joy to behold at times.

There is no doubt that there are some really decent teams in this tournament, France looked lethal against Italy and Germany also played some lovely stuff against Denmark, but I don't think England should fear anyone.

COYL

PS: Spain against Germany could be pretty special, two of the pre-tournament favourites, that is my evening's entertainment sorted!

I only watched the second half when Germany were already 2-0 up. They look very much like the tournament winners to me.

 

[K-Win]

I only watched the second half when Germany were already 2-0 up. They look very much like the tournament winners to me.

I'd hold on a bit there. As strong as Germany look, there are definitely teams left in the tournament capable of beating them.

Spain are unproven at tournament level. They have recently produced some good players and weaved plenty of pretty patterns last night but seemed to lack power and directness up front. Germany were able to bully them in key areas but won't necessarily be able to do that against others.

It's turning into an intriguing tournament though. Looking forward to the knock-out phase.

 

[Chris FGR]

From what I’ve seen there are 4 or 5 teams that look capable of winning the tournament. Glad to avoid Germany in the QF think we can beat Spain, providing we defend well and keep our shape whilst they have the ball.

 

[Greenacres]

Ive got nothing against womens footy but am not interested in it myself. Just wish the TV channels werent so keen to crowbar as many females into commentary roles for the mens game as possible.

Why, if they are good enough...pretty sure people wouldn't think it an issue if a female art critic was commenting on a male artist's work, or a female dance judge passing comment on a male dancer...even though they are a different gender. I just think it is refreshing to see pundits on the telly, and hear them on the radio, who aren't male, stale and pale.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

Why, if they are good enough...pretty sure people wouldn't think it an issue if a female art critic was commenting on a male artist's work, or a female dance judge passing comment on a male dancer...even though they are a different gender. I just think it is refreshing to see pundits on the telly, and hear them on the radio, who aren't male, stale and pale.

Completely agree. It is a generalisation, but I felt that football commentary was boxing itself into a corner - fewer journalists and more ex male pros who struggled to really offer any insight which helped the viewer/listener. Many of the women commentators and co-commentators offer something different. I also think that many of the women ex players seem to do a lot more homework on the two teams than many of the men equivalents. And it frequently shows. More power to their elbow I say.

 

[WhiteRussian]

Holland v Portugal was a cracking match, Really enjoyed it.

 

[Chris FGR]

I lived in the US for a couple of years in the 90s and football/soccer was seen as a 'pussy sport' therefore it was played mainly by young kids many of whom were girls.
Ive got nothing against womens footy but am not interested in it myself. Just wish the TV channels werent so keen to crowbar as many females into commentary roles for the mens game as possible.

Depends on who. Lucy Ward is excellent imo, Karen Carney not so much.

Quite happy to see Alex Scott presenting stuff too, does it well and a much nicer sight then the likes of Lineker, Jones or Humphrey…

 

[Greenacres]

Depends on who. Lucy Ward is excellent imo, Karen Carney not so much.

Quite happy to see Alex Scott presenting stuff too, does it well and a much nicer sight then the likes of Lineker, Jones or Humphrey…

Sort of agree, there are good and less good, just as there are with male presenters and pundits. I reckon that Izzy Christiansen is well worth listening to, Natasha Dowie was on R5 the other night and she was excellent (I think she is studying for her coaching badges so might not be a regular fixture, which from a listener point of view would be a pity). I don't mind Karen Carney, but would point out that she often appears with some of the more dinosaurish male pundits and generally gives as good as she gets...fair play!

I think Alex Scott has a very bright future ahead of her, the documentary she presented before the Euros kicked off (still available on i-Player) about Women's football was brilliant. Fair to say that a lot of the challenges come from idiotic and ignorant men...so perhaps we should challenge poor behaviour whenever we see or hear it (I'm assuming that most who post on this forum are indeed men)...I'm more than happy to do so and declare myself an ally to women's football...but you have probably guessed that already!

 

[Chris FGR]

The Italian anthem is an absolute belter. Their team seems to be pretty slow starters in games though.

 

[Greenacres]

The Italian anthem is an absolute belter. Their team seems to be pretty slow starters in games though.

Agree with you there, sing the first verse...then sing it again but faster and with more passion...then the endy bit and round it off with "Si!" shouted out as loudly and passionate as you can manage.

Tonight we have a decent anthemic match up with the French Marsellaise and the Belgian anthem that is probably amongst the most inclusive in the World...it has three versions, French, Flemish and German, that can be sung at the same time, depending on what the mother tongue of the singer is. (With the men's team it seems to be roughly half and half French and Flemish, but the majority of the women's team sing it in Flemish...not sure if that says anything about where football is most popular for the latter)

 

[Chris FGR]

Why are they using the Etihad academy stadium?

 

[WhiteRussian]

Why are they using the Etihad academy stadium?

Iceland complained about it if I remember right, a moment and I'll see if I can find it....

Here you go.

Women's Euro chiefs defend use of Man City Academy Stadium after criticism - The Stadium Business

UEFA Women's Euro 2022 organisers have defended the choice of stadiums to be used for the tournament amid criticism from a leading player.

www.thestadiumbusiness.com

 

[Greenacres]

Why are they using the Etihad academy stadium?

Moot point...apparently when the venues were chosen someone picked this ground, perhaps not expecting there to be much interest in the games played there, which was not well received by the countries involved. I think the attendance was restricted to below 5k.

I was just a bit disappointed they didn't select a ground a bit further west, surely Ashton Gate would have worked well, or maybe something a bit more Midlands...like Molyneux or the Hawthorns.

 

[WhiteRussian]

Moot point...apparently when the venues were chosen someone picked this ground, perhaps not expecting there to be much interest in the games played there, which was not well received by the countries involved. I think the attendance was restricted to below 5k.

I was just a bit disappointed they didn't select a ground a bit further west, surely Ashton Gate would have worked well, or maybe something a bit more Midlands...like Molyneux or the Hawthorns.

I read somewhere, and I can't find it now, that the Womens Euro bosses approached quite a few stadia to see who would be interested in hosting the matches and a lot didn't even bother to reply.

I obviously have no idea if this is fact or fiction but from Stad MK I can understand it, it's why the stadium was built, to bring in international matches, not for us.

 

[DippyDon]

I read somewhere, and I can't find it now, that the Womens Euro bosses approached quite a few stadia to see who would be interested in hosting the matches and a lot didn't even bother to reply.

I obviously have no idea if this is fact or fiction but from Stad MK I can understand it, it's why the stadium was built, to bring in international matches, not for us.

Part of the agreement to move the club to Milton Keynes was to build a ‘super stadium’, and we focused on that over a training ground because we could shove all kinds of big events inside and earn the club more money early doors. Though I’d have rather us focus on the training ground given how long that’s taken to sort.

 

[Greenacres]

Sarina Wiegman has tested positive for Covid and will be missing from pitchside this evening...hopefully this won't prove a disruption to the England team...hope she is feeling OK and will be back in time for the Quarter-Final.

Sarina Wiegman: England wait to see if manager will be back for quarter-final

England do not know whether manager Sarina Wiegman will be on the touchline for Wednesday's quarter-final after her positive Covid test.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Super_horns]

Sure the mobile and I pad etc will come in handy!