Sheffield United Women

[Frank the tank]

I note we've been beaten by the bottom of the league and now look like we may well get relegated to a division of nothingness. You would think Americans would care more about women's football than a Saudi, but no. Cheap. Loans. Use the kids. Don't care. Going down to play with amateur teams. Sums this club up.

Get a life fella

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

I note we've been beaten by the bottom of the league and now look like we may well get relegated to a division of nothingness. You would think Americans would care more about women's football than a Saudi, but no. Cheap. Loans. Use the kids. Don't care. Going down to play with amateur teams. Sums this club up.

The important thing is whether they're higher than Wednesday - please tell me they at least got that right?

 

[Yoonited]

The important thing is whether they're higher than Wednesday - please tell me they at least got that right?

They are by default as them aren't in their division,even if they exist

 

[Blademan89]

I note we've been beaten by the bottom of the league and now look like we may well get relegated to a division of nothingness. You would think Americans would care more about women's football than a Saudi, but no. Cheap. Loans. Use the kids. Don't care. Going down to play with amateur teams. Sums this club up.

Who really cares?

I'd rather any money be spent on our 1st team, anything else comes last and a case of as and when, with any spare change.

 

[Sheffsteel]

The important thing is whether they're higher than Wednesday - please tell me they at least got that right?

Wednesday don’t even officially have a women’s team.

There is a women’s team called Sheffield Wednesday playing local Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley based women’s football (think it’s about the 6th tier)
and SWFC have allowed them to use the Sheff Wed name and club shirts but they receive zero finance given from them.

Women’s football is another area where we are light years ahead of Wednesday.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

Wednesday don’t even officially have a women’s team.

There is a women’s team playing local Sheffield based women’s football (think it’s about the 6th tier)
and SWFC have allowed them to use the Sheff Wed name and club shirts but they receive zero finance given from them.

Why does that not surprise me?!

 

[LurkerBladeS2]

Such a turn around 30 years, my sister played for wednesday ladies who were probably second in the region behind Donnie Belles, Blades now ahead of them both but agree we need to invest in the team.
We have to accept it's empty money with very little chance of getting it back, but it's the right thing to do.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Wednesday don’t even officially have a women’s team.

There is a women’s team called Sheffield Wednesday playing local Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley based women’s football (think it’s about the 6th tier)
and SWFC have allowed them to use the Sheff Wed name and club shirts but they receive zero finance given from them.

Women’s football is another area where we are light years ahead of Wednesday.

I think they let the “SWFC ladies” have the shirts at a discount though so you can’t say Chansiri isn’t all heart.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Such a turn around 30 years, my sister played for wednesday ladies who were probably second in the region behind Donnie Belles, Blades now ahead of them both but agree we need to invest in the team.
We have to accept it's empty money with very little chance of getting it back, but it's the right thing to do.

Aye - there will never be any “spare money” from the men’s side either. The relatively low running costs could always be thrown at a marginally better reserve goalkeeper or a specialist throw in coach.

If pro clubs are wanting to set up women’s sides then they should try and do it properly.

 

[Sheffsteel]

We have to accept it's empty money with very little chance of getting it back, but it's the right thing to do.

Not sure what “right thing to do” actually means regards context.
Letting kids below 10 have free admission to the Lane is also the right thing to do, maybe let the over 70’s attend SU matches free too.

The clubs are financial businesses, so they will only do “the right thing”, when there’s a financial benefit.
Maybe not a direct short term financial benefit but there’s usually good publicity which can bring long term financial benefits.

At the moment women’s teams brings positive publicity, also no one knows where the league is heading. Can it be profitable?
Arsenal are currently easily the best supported team in world football charging £12 and currently averaging 32,000, so presumably making a profit.
However half the league in the women’s top flight average 1 to 3,000, so presumably making a loss.

 

[BladeByChoice]

Aye - there will never be any “spare money” from the men’s side either. The relatively low running costs could always be thrown at a marginally better reserve goalkeeper or a specialist throw in coach.

If pro clubs are wanting to set up women’s sides then they should try and do it properly.

Good answer

I went to all 4 of the Women’s Euros at the Lane and its just miles ahead of what our lades can offer, WSL clubs now change around 15 quid and regularly play to 8K
I went to half a dozen ladies matches and stopped going when the price went over a fiver, the standard just isn’t worth more than that.
We should disband the team until we can do it properly, but that leaves one big question hanging:
What do the hundreds of young girls who pay a lot of money to attend boot camps aspire too?
Given that we also disband the Cat 1 academy if we disband the team.

https://www.sufc.co.uk/women/sheffield-united-women-academy/

 

[CrookesBlade]

Not sure what “right thing to do” actually means regards context.
Letting kids below 10 have free admission to the Lane is also the right thing to do, maybe let the over 70’s attend SU matches free too.

The clubs are financial businesses, so they will only do “the right thing”, when there’s a financial benefit.
Maybe not a direct short term financial benefit but there’s usually good publicity which can bring long term financial benefits.

At the moment women’s teams brings positive publicity, also no one knows where the league is heading. Can it be profitable?
Arsenal are currently easily the best supported team in world football charging £12 and currently averaging 32,000, so presumably making a profit.
However half the league in the women’s top flight average 1 to 3,000, so presumably making a loss.

It’s the right thing to do in that it’s giving women’s football a leg up by increasing its profile, inspiring local girls to watch and play football etc.

As you say there are many other things that could be described as “the right thing” but this has been given priority within the constraints the club operates in and I’d support that personally, I guess everyone would have their own opinion.

When you look at the history of women’s football you see it’s had a 70 odd year handicap of being largely banned at any kind of organised level owing to bizzare notions of morality and concerns pre war it was eating into the popularity of the men’s game.

Nobody is pretending the standard is the same but my argument is it’s never likely to get near if it has to turn a profit while trying to establish itself. Womens tennis, athletics etc have a standing on par with the men’s game. Why not football?

Look at the success of team GB, for example that’s all down to being subsidised. I guess though some people aren’t interested and won’t want to subsidise something they have no interest in.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Good answer

I went to all 4 of the Women’s Euros at the Lane and its just miles ahead of what our lades can offer, WSL clubs now change around 15 quid and regularly play to 8K
I went to half a dozen ladies matches and stopped going when the price went over a fiver, the standard just isn’t worth more than that.
We should disband the team until we can do it properly, but that leaves one big question hanging:
What do the hundreds of young girls who pay a lot of money to attend boot camps aspire too?
Given that we also disband the Cat 1 academy if we disband the team.

https://www.sufc.co.uk/women/sheffield-united-women-academy/

It seems to me (with limited knowledge) that the women’s team needs a bit of a reset with the turnover of coaches and players and what feels like a steady decline.

I go to the women’s games and take my daughter as well who I hope will enjoy playing and watching the game like I’ve done. I like the fact that it’s a Sheffield United team playing at Bramall Lane and all that means rather than a separate entity. Feels like it’s part of the overall football culture rather than something like the hundered in cricket. As you say the quality is nowhere near Lionesses etc but that doesn’t bother me necessarily.

That said EFL clubs are maybe not the best vehicle to promote women’s football given the whole thing is so precarious financially and you end up with a halfway house where the players aren’t getting paid much and the team slides into oblivion (maybe over egging it a bit there).

I dont know the answer really.

 

[UddersBlade]

If they are relegated I can’t see new owners continuing to support it. It’s all about a quick return on investment for US businessmen I’m afraid. And without any profile in UK women’s game they will not see any incentives

 

[Tarqs]

If they are relegated I can’t see new owners continuing to support it. It’s all about a quick return on investment for US businessmen I’m afraid. And without any profile in UK women’s game they will not see any incentives

They also don't get a quick ROI on the new Traning facilities, or a cat 1 academy, but looks like we're going down that path.

That said... and i'll probably get shot down for this, but I care very little about us investing in the womens team. However, if the new owners want to throw something their way that isn't going to be to the detriment of the mens team or our youth set up, then fine. But I highly doubt it's high on their priority list.

 

[UddersBlade]

They also don't get a quick ROI on the new Traning facilities, or a cat 1 academy, but looks like we're going down that path.

That said... and i'll probably get shot down for this, but I care very little about us investing in the womens team. However, if the new owners want to throw something their way that isn't going to be to the detriment of the mens team or our youth set up, then fine. But I highly doubt it's high on their priority list.

Fair point - but if we’re not promoted to the Premier League - don’t be surprised if some of those projects you’ve mentioned ‘slow right down’.

 

[robbiez666]

I would say that backing the women's team will have wider benefits for the club. We've got a very good academy so that's a huge plus. There's the whole merchandising elements. There are lots of people who attend matches who don't attend the men's games. Or support the men's team. If we could get the team in the WSL, then there's a huge potential market to widen the appeal.

 

[SB_90]

i knew people who went they said it was awful tactically just hoofing balls. for the majority of the game there was no creativity. it was just invidualism no sense of team.

but that result is a big shock because i hadnt realised how dire it was, looking at the stats. Portsmouth hadnt won all season until yesterday. taken only 2pts from 14 games & was conceding at rate of 3 goals a game. in the previous game Portsmouth had lost 5-0. they come to bramall lane keep a clean sheet & score their 1st goal for 5 weeks.

Portsmouth have 5 pts now. 4 of them have been achieved in the 2 games v sheffield united women. 1pt from the other 13

 

[Nesh Blade]

i knew people who went they said it was awful tactically just hoofing balls. for the majority of the game there was no creativity. it was just invidualism no sense of team.

but that result is a big shock because i hadnt realised how dire it was, looking at the stats. Portsmouth hadnt won all season until yesterday. taken only 2pts from 14 games & was conceding at rate of 3 goals a game. in the previous game Portsmouth had lost 5-0. they come to bramall lane keep a clean sheet & score their 1st goal for 5 weeks.

Portsmouth have 5 pts now. 4 of them have been achieved in the 2 games v sheffield united women. 1pt from the other 13

To be fair we did have a player sent off in the first half. I wasn't there yesterday but also heard from mates who go regularly that it was shite so doesn't bode well and definately not ideal to lose so heavily in a game where the crowd numbers were up due to good promotion by the club

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I'd like to share the views of John Slingsby. As a fans view of what's going on with Sheffield United Women. Please subscribe if you're able.

Sheffield United VS Portsmouth: A Brief(ish) Review

Not much of review, more of a lamentation of where United are as an organisation

open.substack.com

 

[LBA_Blade]

I am an equality type of guy and don't believe just because of your gender you shouldn't have a chance to play a sport. The major problem which might sound "controversial" is the almost expectation from the FA to sit men's and women's football at the same level or to be incorporated into the same organisation for no return/potential loss. Without sounding too sexist or anything along those lines, as an example. in general Netball is associated as a female dominated sport, if that had the financial clout, history, infrastructure and backing to the extent of the Premier League & EFL in football and I wanted to a men's side to compete in a different league system why should they give their identity and infrastructure to a men's team that has taken the females 130+ years to develop.

I don't have a problem with women's football, however I don't understand the need for it to be inline with the men's game. They should be self sustainable with sponsors and their own infrastructure and develop a team to maintain by themselves. I can remember in the 2014 when Leeds decided to pull the funding on the women's team, they went on to create their own identity separate from Leeds United which is more future proof. Very similar was the replacement of Doncaster Belles by Man City ladies which commercially made sense because of the finances but not fair on Doncaster.

 

[Wards]

I find myself quite conflicted on it all and there's probably no right answer the more I give thought to it. Do the Club have a moral obligation to run a semi-respectable womens side? Kinda, I guess. If nothing else then as not to alienate a lot of female support (and future female support). United does and should in my opinion have an obligation to its wider community as well. Female participation in sport is probably a bigger societal issue in general to sort than it is for a club like United, but we should probably acknowledge Sheffield United also have a small part to play if a proper framework can be established other than "look how popular the WSL is" (which aside from the same few teams competing and generating revenue isn't that successful when you look at it).

Anything below the WSL is objectively rubbish - and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to acknowledge that as it also leads us to the point of charging. Charging anything more than about a fiver or a tenner at most seems ridiculous to me. And yes I get the argument it needs to cover some of its own costs but realistically are there enough regular, emotionally-invested fans, willing to pay that on a regular basis (most of whom I rightly or wrongly assume also support the mens team)? Sadly I think a lot of us view the womens team like we would do if it had a cricket team associated with us. We might look at the result but the harsh truth is that not enough people really care to make it a viable long-term prospect. Some fans may go if they have nothing else to do or are looking to get out of the house. Should the Club subsidise the womens team if they can't get ticket revenue? See above I guess, there's probably a moral argument for it to do so - but for a Club like ours that struggles to wash its own face financially then I entirely see the argument for canning it too. You'd have a better argument if you suggested that all PL teams should have an obligation to at least run a professional/semi-professional womens team and I could see some merit in that given the vast sums of money being dished out.

 

[robbiez666]

I'd like to share the views of John Slingsby. As a fans view of what's going on with Sheffield United Women. Please subscribe if you're able.

Sheffield United VS Portsmouth: A Brief(ish) Review

Not much of review, more of a lamentation of where United are as an organisation

open.substack.com

My biggest problem with how the club have treated the women is the total lack of care. From issues with the former manager, not bothering to strengthen to doing nothing about renewing contracts leaving players presumably feeling like they're worthless. The social media team put a lot of effort into it, but I'm not sure anyone else at the club does. The team has been left in limbo several times over the last few years. Like it's an afterthought.

 

[Sithblade]

A planned club World Cup is struggling to even get off the ground.

On one hand it would make sense to just have a single Women's team in a City, so there's no splitting the smaller fan base between Blades and Owls. But teams probably benefit more been attached to a "big" Premier League brand team.

 

[robbiez666]

Also 4000 there yesterday. Kids buying merch. Future players, no doubt and it's such a waste if and when we throw it away.

It seemed like what we needed was to just sign a couple of experienced players. I doubt it would have cost much at all, but no. Kids and loans.

If we did get in the WSL then that would open up to much more people. We have two unis and the only team in a large city.

 

[themaninblack]

I will happily watch women's rugby and cricket but I've never been able to watch more than 10 minutes of women's football; the standard just isn't high enough. On the other hand anything that gets more kids involved in sport has to be a good thing, right?
I read this article today and found it both sympathetic and interesting, especially with regard to the financial element:

Standing at the cliff edge: women’s football’s high-stakes relegation scrap

Financial implications of losing Championship status are stark for Portsmouth, Sheffield United and Blackburn

www.theguardian.com

 

[DeanLearner'sCat]

I suspect the new owners will invest more in the women's team, simply to avoid the bad PR of not doing so, especially with the Maddy Cusack inquest coming up soon.

 

[JohnDenver]

To be fair we did have a player sent off in the first half. I wasn't there yesterday but also heard from mates who go regularly that it was shite so doesn't bode well and definately not ideal to lose so heavily in a game where the crowd numbers were up due to good promotion by the club

It was a shocker. We never pushed them back. Never threatened their goal. And made utterly horrific mistakes in defence to lose the game. Pompey thoroughly deserved it.

There were a few mitigating circumstances, but huge improvements are needed from that in order to survive.

On the plus side, the crowd was great. It’s brilliant seeing so many little’uns, especially girls, getting their introductions to United.

 

[Rich5705]

Tbf regarding the Pompey game this weekend, United absolutely dominated up until we had a player sent off on 30 mins for a senseless foul, after their striker went clean through. Foolhardy to expect a result when you're playing an hour or more with 10 players. Without the red, it was clear we were going to take 3 points.

I work in advertising and the avalanche of money going from brands into women's football is no joke. We are taking for granted the fact that in a high-profile, high-growth area of the game, we really can be the only club in town. Losing that for the sake of, say, £250k short term spend, seems like madness.

Pushing to become a WSL team is a relatively low cost, high return opportunity for the club. I hope the owners are looking at it seriously.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Pushing to become a WSL team is a relatively low cost, high return opportunity for the club. I hope the owners are looking at it seriously.

With respect that doesn’t really make any sense.
Owners of most clubs are investors, top businessmen motivated by profit, of course they will be looking at the women’s side closely
so see if it’s worth the effort, comparing income versus costs, however as mentioned good PR offers benefits that can’t easily be measured.

I see women’s football a little like when McCabe bought Chengdu Blades in China years ago.
At the moment women’s football is on a slow upward rise but it does make you wonder where it’s heading, will it stabilise, grow or dwindle?

If it was like you suggest then surely there would be loads of owners gambling big sums desperate to get in the WSL.
Also not sure how the WSL can be high return opportunity, with ticket prices of £10 and the bottom 6 averaging 1,000 to 3,000.
Assume it must be loss making apart from Arsenal, who have done fantastic, comfortably the best supported club in the world, far higher than any in the US.