Anyone see that Women’s World Cup match? Crikey, the ladies’ game is still a little tame, from what I’ve seen so far [haven’t watched Germany, I have to admit].
Cracking second England goal from Lucy Bronze, though [ace name too].
Norway 1 England 2
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I enjoyed it – I agree there’s sometimes a bit more huffing & puffing than total football but by & large the game is way better than I recall it being just a few years back.
England seemed to grow into it once they shook off an apparent inferiority complex & by the end I felt they deserved it.
3 or 4 properly talented players & a pragmatic ( Welsh) coach bodes pretty well. Nice to see very little play acting as well.
I confess I haven’t seen Germany either, except in highlights, but understand they are hot favourites – but I was very impressed with France, which made England’s draw with them seem more of an achievement.
It’s a tournament & England seem to be coming into their own, so who knows?
Maybe a live AW minute by minute would be fun for the next big game ?
The draw with France was an astonishing achievement, particularly given they lost 1-0
To be fair this thread is about a handful of blokes feigning interest in the women’s world cup in order to look modern and open-minded. You can’t expect too much accuracy.
(wink emoticon)
Hey, we’re just checking our collective privilege, Jim.
You’re not virtue-signalling anymore
You’re not virtue-signalling anymore
Who’s the bastard
Who’s the bastard
Who’s the bastard bien-pensant?
Not feigning interest, Jim. Just showing a modicum of interest cos there was fuck-all else to watch at the time, then giving my opinion. Which is that the women’s game is not very interesting to watch. The passing and movement is all a bit predictable, but you could’ve said the said about Liverpool and Man Utd last season. I really enjoyed England’s second goal, though, as I said.
Relax Mr Fox, I am just taking the Michael.
(wink backatcha emoticon)
I think it’s obligatory to mention that Lucy Bronze’s middle name is “Tough”. Sounds like a gag, but it really is.
Great game last night and really enjoying the tournament. The technical level has been excellent and it’s nice to just watch quality football without all the nonsense around it. The goalkeepers are still a work in progress, mind.
Yeah, I agree there is some good technique around but I’d argue there isn’t much in the way of genuine quality football. Too often players find themselves in acres of space and there are a lot of aimless balls hoping for defensive mistakes. The goalkeeping is very bad and a lot of goals are coming as a direct result, the Australia winner against Brazil being a case in point. Personally I’m finding it hard to get too excited but I guess if England (or Australia which is where I am) keep winning the media will pump it up more.
I’m sure I’m not the first to say it but the pitches are too big. The skill level has clearly risen in the past four years but the strength level hasn’t kept pace and probably never will. I’m not sure we would want it to either, I’d certainly prefer to see the most skilful players rather than the strongest. Why don’t they make the pitches as small as they can. After all, female golfers aren’t expected to be as strong as their male counterparts so why should they be in football? One of the reasons I find women’s tennis more entertaining then the men’s is because they haven’t (yet) outgrown the courts.
That’s an interesting observation.
I would actually invert some of what you’re saying here, and note that the men’s game is now being played on pitches which are effectively much smaller than they used to be. The dramatic increase in player fitness over the last 20 years means that far, far more ground is being covered than ever before, thereby decreasing the space to play in. It’s one of the reasons that, bar certain extremely high quality exceptions, you see less dribblers than in decades gone by.
One of the aspects I quite like about the womens’ game is that they’re not suffering from the above. They play on whacking great pitches and there’s space all over the shop. It’s kind of old school, and makes a refreshing change. That said, it doesn’t work quite so well when the temperature tops 100 degrees during matches.
I can’t argue with that. The weight of the ball and boot technology certainly has a bearing as well but some of the problems have been slightly mitigated by rule changes (offside etc) that mean that play shouldn’t get so compressed and players are spread around the pitch. I think the women’s strength and fitness is still (on average) still a long way behind the men’s though and may be more than 20 years behind.
I’d agree with that.
I suspect that, even accounting for differences in the male and female physiology, the strength and fitness of female players may never advance to the current level in the men’s game. The explosive improvements in these areas in recent years are the result of a hell of a lot of money and (as a result) expertise flowing into men’s football. Unless something similar occurs in the women’s game the current level of conditioning for the men may remain beyond reach.
All of that said, it doesn’t particularly affect my enjoyment of watching the women’s games. It’s just a very different style of football, but I find that quite refreshing, in a way.
Tord Gustavsen! Gro Harlem Brundtland! Jens Stoltenberg! Trygve Lie! Niels Christian Ditleff! Mette-Marit av Norge! – your girls took one hell of a beating!
Just for the record the Aussie team has beaten USA on their own patch , Nigeria, Sweden and most recently Brazil.
Werent rated for any of them
I like to watch our rosy-cheeked girls licking the tight-lipped Scandinavians.
(What?)
That’s the most excited i’ve been about womaen’s football …ever!
I went to see the Brazil v Spain game in Montreal. Not the most exciting 90 minutes I have ever witnessed. Very defensive and both teams seemed to lack urgency in sight of goal. Poor crowd, but a fairly enjoyable day out, 2 games were included in ticket price actually, but I had to leave before the 2nd one which seemed to be more entertaining (Korea v Costa Rica). The England game was here (Ottawa) but I didn’t make it.
I’m enjoying it immensely, no small way helped by the lack of folderol you get with the men’s game. Yes, the skill levels aren’t so high, but that’s what you get in a women’s game belittled and massively underdeveloped by the game’s establishment for about 100 years.
A great aspect of the England team so far has been the rotation of formations and players: All 20 outfield players have played (and not just some 5-minute cameo). Imagine the outcry if Rooney/Sterling/whoever was dropped for a game, not because of fitness or form, but for the good of the result.
Anyway, I cheered when the winner went in last night – enough to wake the cat.
As a Neanderthal who rubbished the women’s’ game a few years ago, I have to say I’m finding it quite agreeable. The skill level has noticeably increased, though, like most lesser quality teams, they find it more difficult in the last third. The Korea vs Costa Rica game was a cracker, with a Costa Rican chubster scoring an excellent goal for a last minute equaliser. France and Germany are both very good. Overall, their fitness, their passing and their goalkeeping all need improvement, but that’ll come.
As an aside, I’ve found it very difficult to write this post without sounding like Finbar Saunders. You know what I mean- ‘penetration in the box’, ‘skilled at scoring’, ‘tying down the opposition’, ‘diving in the box’ etc
Disgusting.
Me and a couple of male mates were watching some of it and decided it was like watching a thin veterans match…plenty of skill but a bit ponderous.
You are of course right, Chris – had a bit of a brain fart there, possibly partly attributable to the ungodly hour of posting pre work – had it my head they’d successfully negotiated a nil-nil, forgetting the uber strike from wotshername ( you know, the one with the pony tail).
Still, if England had equalised, it *would* have been a draw- ( must be spoken in pundit – ese like Andy Townsend ).
“Would of been a draw” in punditese.
Spot on.
Jinked it from the dee to the back stick, nutmegged ‘im & slotted into the old onion bag early doors.
First I saw of women’s football was the European championships about 10 years ago. I’ve seen it intermittently over the years, and the improvement has been huge. Back then, England had a handful of players who looked like “proper” footballers: Kelly Smith obviously stood out a mile; Faye White was a very accomplished central defender and 17 year old Karen Carney clearly had a lot of natural talent (and scored a superb goal against one of the Scandinavian teams). Other than that, they looked like game amateurs. Eniola Aluko was fast but very lacking in poise, and the goalie was very shaky.
Ten years later, all of the team look like they know what they’re doing, and Carney has matured into a terrific player. Jill Scott was particularly impressive when she came on. And Karen Bardsley is streets ahead of the old keeper.
In the men’s game, players who *don’t* play act stick out as oddities; here, the Colombia goalie attracted attention as a very rare example of a female player who *does* play the drama queen. There have also been *very* few instances of serious foul play. This is all pretty refreshing.
If the women’s game continues to improve as it has, it’ll soon be regarded by most football fans as a good and watchable sport in its own right, and not as a curiosity, which is still a widespread view.
Of course! Another reason I’m enjoying it more than the men’s version: Andy F**cking Townsend is nowhere near it.
Nice one Sakaguchi:
http://youtu.be/qShEqMyGFEQ