Ladies Team

[Bruce Wayne]

Both clubs should get behind one ladies team. Play in red and blue stripes. At a neutral venue in the city. Both clubs encourage their fans to support it. There's a market there. It just needs to grow organically. There are lots of girls who play football. I'm sure they'd want to support a city team. They bring parents etc along with them and anyone else who is interested. You're not going to get 20,000 regular fans for a new team. Unless they do really well.

Fuckin ell that's more than watch the mens team at Pig City, they would be our new natural city rivals!

 

[bromtom]

All that has been said was that she wanted "a new challenge". If she had left in the summer, that would make sense, but why she would leave when we still have a shot at promotion is beyond my understanding. I think there is much we are not privy to.

Women's season has finished, when it restarts it'll be a new season.

 

[robbiez666]

No ladies team in England will get 20,000 regular fans, new or not. The odd big crowds this season for the top ladies teams, on the back of very cheap tickets, were followed by crowds of a couple of thousand. I don’t know what the top ladies teams average but I expect it is non-league men’s level.

Fair point in the short term but I see no reason attendances couldn't be between 10-20k in the long-term. Especially if men's football continues to price people out of games.

 

[Blade for Sale]

Both clubs should get behind one ladies team. Play in red and blue stripes. At a neutral venue in the city. Both clubs encourage their fans to support it. There's a market there. It just needs to grow organically. There are lots of girls who play football. I'm sure they'd want to support a city team. They bring parents etc along with them and anyone else who is interested. You're not going to get 20,000 regular fans for a new team. Unless they do really well.

I've suggested this before. No women's team in any 2+team city in this country can afford to alienate fans by being affiliated to one of the teams. It's crying out for a franchise structure with a limited number of franchises being available in the country, dividing it as equally as possible by population. Start with 10 and grant more if the demand is there.

 

[Mouth of the South]

I've suggested this before. No women's team in any 2+team city in this country can afford to alienate fans by being affiliated to one of the teams. It's crying out for a franchise structure with a limited number of franchises being available in the country, dividing it as equally as possible by population. Start with 10 and grant more if the demand is there.

Not sure either the single club or franchise model would work simply due to lack of financial backing for the single club (neither Utd or Weds would be likely to contribute) and who in they right mind would take out a franchise on a huge loss-making initiative?
The only viable way forward is the current one where teams' costs are essentially covered by the parent club unless of course the league breaks away from the FA and become part of the Premier League and a significant proportion of funding is provided centrally.

 

[robbiez666]

Not sure either the single club or franchise model would work simply due to lack of financial backing for the single club (neither Utd or Weds would be likely to contribute) and who in they right mind would take out a franchise on a huge loss-making initiative?
The only viable way forward is the current one where teams' costs are essentially covered by the parent club unless of course the league breaks away from the FA and become part of the Premier League and a significant proportion of funding is provided centrally.

I mean, taking over any male football club is basically chucking money away. Presumably there must be potential owners out there with nowhere near neough money to buy a league club but would take a punt.

 

[Sheffsteel]

No ladies team in England will get 20,000 regular fans, new or not. The odd big crowds this season for the top ladies teams, on the back of very cheap tickets, were followed by crowds of a couple of thousand. I don’t know what the top ladies teams average but I expect it is non-league men’s level.

The figures below show a large increase this season regards watching the women’s game....however the figures are misleading because several clubs have tried publicity stunts by moving their matches to the big stadiums and giving away free tickets to fill the stadium. For example Spurs broke the record when they gave away 60K free tickets for their match at White Hart Lane. Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham and Man City have also played a game at the mens stadium with over 40K free tickets. In most of these games the stadiums just over half full but in some games the official attendance was given as much higher....based on the number of tickets given away. I believe when Chelsea played Spurs all 42K free tickets went within days....but less than 30K attended...although they did report the lower figure that attended.

However even taking into account the falsely inflated attendances....
the women’s game still shows an increase in popularity but it’s still not as popular as the national league.....but the growth is promising.

Women Super League average attendances over last 2 seasons
2018-19 Overall average 1,010
Chelsea 2,040, Arsenal 2,010, Man City 1,505, Brighton 975, West Ham 880, Birmingham 866, Reading 844, Yeovil 719, Liverpool 530, Bristol C 528, Everton 217

2019-20 Overall average 3,401
Tottenham 10,236, Chelsea 6,571, Liverpool 5,414, Man City 5,378, West Ham 5,002, Arsenal 2,209, Man Utd 2,101, Brighton 1,311, Bristol C 1,215, Reading 981,
Birmingham 875, Everton 400.

National League average attendances over the last 2 seasons
2018-19 Overall average 1,977
Leyton Orient 5,445, Wrexham 5,077, Chesterfield 4,503, Hartlepool 3,125, Salford 2,489, Maidstone 2,179, Sutton 1,910, Eastleigh 1,837,....Braintree 678.

2019-20 Overall average 2,174
Notts County 5,210, Stockport 4,342, Wrexham 4,057, Chesterfield 3,670, Hartlepool 3,355, Yeovil 2,951, Torquay 2,609, Halifax 2,141, Woking 2,138, Barrow 2,010
Bromley 1,985, Eastleigh 1,832, Aldershot 1,786, Sutton 1,722, Fylde 1,470, Solihull Moors 1,403, Dagenham 1,401.....Ebbsfleet 979, Boreham Wood 724.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Ward is named the new gaffer at super league side Brum today. After all the name calling, negative reactions and outcry about her departure, maybe the cute Carla had her eyes on a bigger prize all along and subtly engineered her own career move at the expense of the Blade ladies team?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53749811

 

[s4-blade]

Agree. United didn't need to get involved just to put the United name on a women's team. Sheffield FC's women were doing ok a few years ago. Pigs have a team as well some way god knows how far down the pyramid. Not many watch women's football why does Sheffield need to try and have three teams?? If United wanted to get more involved couldn't we have got involved with Club and let them use some of our facilities and resources rather than putting it into a new team for the sake of calling it Sheffield United?

If United women got to the top division you'd still have pig fans who like women's football having no interest in watching cos it was United. Should have tried to progress Sheffield FC up the divisions then anyone around Sheffield who was interested could support them.

We already had a team further down the pyramid. When the FA restructured it into the WSL and Championship that meant clubs had to find a lot more money for a move to a full time (or almost full time) operation. Sheffield FC couldn’t afford this so dropped out of the league, while by pure coincidence we made the step up into the league and took over their vacated spot (through application rather than promotion). It wasn’t a case of us gazumping them.

 

[Beat Jedi]

We already had a team further down the pyramid. When the FA restructured it into the WSL and Championship that meant clubs had to find a lot more money for a move to a full time (or almost full time) operation. Sheffield FC couldn’t afford this so dropped out of the league, while by pure coincidence we made the step up into the league and took over their vacated spot (through application rather than promotion). It wasn’t a case of us gazumping them.

Fair enough then. Didn’t know that detail.

 

[SotonBlade]

What is more worrying for the SUFC Ladies Team is that we still don’t have a manager to replace Ward...

 

[Bladesman]

What is more worrying for the SUFC Ladies Team is that we still don’t have a manager to replace Ward...

CWAK to manage them as well. There is nothing they can't do.

 

[Ranmoorblade]

Ward is named the new gaffer at super league side Brum today. After all the name calling, negative reactions and outcry about her departure, maybe the cute Carla had her eyes on a bigger prize all along and subtly engineered her own career move at the expense of the Blade ladies team?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53749811

Was chatting to a women’s pro footballer yesterday who I know and I asked her about Carla. Apparently she resigned before getting sacked due to bullying.