Sheffield United Women

[robbiez666]

Yes it's popular it's massively promoted but my point is it is still a minority sport and always will be however you want to dress it up as the standard is absolutely abysmal compared to the men's game , a good men's amateur team would annihilate every women's team in the country, darts is massively popular since sky took it over it's still a relative minority sport

It's a minority sport because men banned it for decades.

Men's football is only huge because it has been going on for over a hundred years.

I really don't see your issue. Girls should have the same right to play football as boys. Women the same rights as men. The same goes for watching it. The more people who support a Sheffield United team, the better for the club.

 

[wak1889]

It's a minority sport because men banned it for decades.

Men's football is only huge because it has been going on for over a hundred years.

I really don't see your issue. Girls should have the same right to play football as boys. Women the same rights as men. The same goes for watching it. The more people who support a Sheffield United team, the better for the club.

I've never said that women shouldnt have the same rights as men all I'm saying is that there is absolutely no need to have a women's team they bring absolutely zero benefit to the club

 

[robbiez666]

I've never said that women shouldnt have the same rights as men all I'm saying is that there is absolutely no need to have a women's team they bring absolutely zero benefit to the club

Zero benefits? Really?

 

[wak1889]

Zero benefits? Really?

OK what benefits do they bring to the club? In the 10 or so years they have been going what have they brought in that we were missing for the previous 115 years?

 

[robbiez666]

OK what benefits do they bring to the club? In the 10 or so years they have been going what have they brought in that we were missing for the previous 115 years?

Girls. Over half the local population are female.

 

[wak1889]

Girls. Over half the local population are female.

What? The women's team bring girls to the club? In what context to watch the women? To watch the men? What do you mean they bring girls?

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

OK what benefits do they bring to the club? In the 10 or so years they have been going what have they brought in that we were missing for the previous 115 years?

My daughter is interested in the Women's team and at Christmas got over £100 of Women's Replica kit and training gear...

I agreed with you when you were saying the standard is poor (it really is) but you're just playing to the gallery now.

If you cant see the benefits of opening accessibility to families and the wider community, you're even more hard of thinking than you first appear. The reason the PL clubs are chucking money at initiatives like this, is because they see the medium term commercial benefits. Believe it or not dinosaurs like you and I, aren't the target market anymore. Sorry Buttercup but the club is moving with the times....

 

[wak1889]

My daughter is interested in the Women's team and at Christmas got over £100 of Women's Replica kit and training gear...

I agreed with you when you were saying the standard is poor (it really is) but you're just playing to the gallery now.

If you cant see the benefits of opening accessibility to families and the wider community, you're even more hard of thinking than you first appear. The reason the PL clubs are chucking money at initiatives like this, is because they see the medium term commercial benefits. Believe it or not dinosaurs like you and I, aren't the target market anymore. Sorry Buttercup but the club is moving with the times....

OK fair enough we all have opinionsabout it and yes I'm probably a dinosaur like you say, and I need to move with the times and embrace the fact we have a women's team and all the benefits they bring to the club

 

[CrookesBlade]

Girls. Over half the local population are female.

My daughter goes to the Wildcat sessions with Hallam & Redmires. They have girls sides at every age group and looking at expanding to keep up with demand and they currently have a waiting list. The game is growing and with a bigger pool of players, better coaching and more opportunities to play competitive football will only drive up the standard.

If people are anti womens football that’s up to them but it’s mental to pretend that the way to grow the game is for it to pull itself up by its bootstraps is mental. This is the kind of attitude that meant Olympians used to have to train on school fields or B&B pools til we got fed up of winning fuck all and started funding it properly.

 

[robbiez666]

It's worth noting that most people I know who watch the women play do not support our men's team. Including those from S6.

 

[wak1889]

It's worth noting that most people I know who watch the women play do not support our men's team. Including those from S6.

It is absolutely worth noting this and likewise most of the people that support the men's team have absolutely no interest in the women's team, so I just don't understand what the affiliation is, they are hardly commercially successful, and it's not like they are a feeder club to the first team like the academy, I would much rather academy football was promoted the same way the women's game is, then I could agree that to have the academy brings a benefit to the men's team and club as a whole but that's never going to happen, so we are stuck with this bolt on to the club that isn't particularly mutually beneficial but it may be in 20 years or so

 

[JohnDenver]

It's facing relegation to a tier akin to the Sheffield and District Cubs league. It's not working very well.

It exists because Sheffield United were in position to meet the need for it, and it’s not doing well this season purely because it was horribly neglected in the summer by an outgoing ownership regime.

In previous years it has flirted with the higher end of the table, only to be overtaken by better funded clubs like Man U and Liverpool. No shame in that. And the youth setup has done brilliantly regardless.

I don’t see how else I’d attend women’s football at this level without the SUFC affiliation enabling it. The odds of a championship club organically emerging on my doorstep seem beyond remote.

There’s so much to like about the whole enterprise, despite the current league position.

 

[jono_t2000]

I think the Womens team will end up slowly becoming an independant football team away from the club, but with partial continued funding by SUFC over the next 3-5 years or whatever until it does reach full independence.

A womens team under the shadow of a mens team which is only supported by x% of the Sheffield population doesnt seem to make much sense.

If a womens team wants to grow and expand in Sheffield, then it really does have to be a completely independant team IMO.

 

[JohnDenver]

I think the Womens team will end up slowly becoming an independant football team away from the club, but with partial continued funding by SUFC over the next 3-5 years or whatever until it does reach full independence.

A womens team under the shadow of a mens team which is only supported by x% of the Sheffield population doesnt seem to make much sense.

If a womens team wants to grow and expand in Sheffield, then it really does have to be a completely independant team IMO.

I just don’t get this. SUFC offers facilities, expertise, funding, heritage, and a pool of potential support from people exactly like me and the thousands of other families who rocked up on sunday.

Abandon all that just because Wednesday fans won’t turn up?

 

[wak1889]

I just don’t get this. SUFC offers facilities, expertise, funding, heritage, and a pool of potential support from people exactly like me and the thousands of other families who rocked up on sunday.

Abandon all that just because Wednesday fans won’t turn up?

This is genuine question what is the reason for attending the women's game? Because the standard is diabolical, is it just because they play under the "Sheffield United" name or is it due to other reasons? Do you attend the men's games or just the women's? Is it more family friendly, I'm genuinely interested to know why people are going to watch the games

 

[robbiez666]

I just don’t get this. SUFC offers facilities, expertise, funding, heritage, and a pool of potential support from people exactly like me and the thousands of other families who rocked up on sunday.

Abandon all that just because Wednesday fans won’t turn up?

I get the idea if we didn't have a women's team and that there was x amount of money regardless then having a Sheffield City team would make sense, but we do have a women's team, and a very successful youth set-up, and there's no funding to do anything else.

 

[robbiez666]

This is genuine question what is the reason for attending the women's game? Because the standard is diabolical, is it just because they play under the "Sheffield United" name or is it due to other reasons? Do you attend the men's games or just the women's? Is it more family friendly, I'm genuinely interested to know why people are going to watch the games

Do you get the concept of being a football fan? Hallam get 1000 people attending. FC get hundreds. The standard is poor.

 

[wak1889]

Do you get the concept of being a football fan? Hallam get 1000 people attending. FC get hundreds. The standard is poor.

Yes so what I am asking is why women's football, are they a fan of mens football at all? Are they Sheffield united fans, this is what I'm trying to understand what is the reason for attending Sheffield united womens games, do they go to these games in isolation and not attend any other football, or do they attend both men's and women's

 

[JohnDenver]

This is genuine question what is the reason for attending the women's game? Because the standard is diabolical, is it just because they play under the "Sheffield United" name or is it due to other reasons? Do you attend the men's games or just the women's? Is it more family friendly, I'm genuinely interested to know why people are going to watch the games

I’ve watched the men’s side since I was a kid. That’s never changed as their standard fluctuated, and won’t in future. All success is entirely relative, and every game and every season has its own interest. Winning League One was huge for me (probably to us both?), but Liverpool fans would laugh themselves silly at that notion.

I watch the women’s team simply because it’s football and it’s because Sheffield United. I watch the u21s when it’s streamed, or if there’s game on at the Lane that takes my fancy. I watch non-league. I’ll sit and watch the next 5-a-sides at Goals after my own game is over.

The women’s games are very family friendly, but I go to watch the football. The standard is what it is, but it only gets better as the sport grows. Plus there are genuinely gifted players on show (Goodwin last year, Farrugia this).

 

[wak1889]

I’ve watched the men’s side since I was a kid. That’s never changed as their standard fluctuated, and won’t in future. All success is entirely relative, and every game and every season has its own interest. Winning League One was huge for me (probably to us both?), but Liverpool fans would laugh themselves silly at that notion.

I watch the women’s team simply because it’s football and it’s because Sheffield United. I watch the u21s when it’s streamed, or if there’s game on at the Lane that takes my fancy. I watch non-league. I’ll sit and watch the next 5-a-sides at Goals after my own game is over.

The women’s games are very family friendly, but I go to watch the football. The standard is what it is, but it only gets better as the sport grows. Plus there are genuinely gifted players on show (Goodwin last year, Farrugia this).

Fair enough that was what I was trying to understand whether you watched it in isolation or whether you were a fan of the men's game, I personally can't watch the women's game, and if I watch football as a neutral I will always chose the Premier league over the efl purely because the standard on show is so much higher, so yes I'm a united fan first and foremost but as a neutral I can't watch a poor standard, yet happily followed us since mid to late 80s where the standard was predominantly poor ironically haha

 

[Cappy]

Main news story on the club site. Absolutely gagging for a non-PC joke, but I daren't

 

[HackeyBlade]

Women's football will hit a ceiling standard wise due to simple biology. No amount of funding or pushing by Sky will change that

 

[Sheffsteel]

Women's football will hit a ceiling standard wise due to simple biology. No amount of funding or pushing by Sky will change that

Agree……when I’ve watched some of the World Cups I’ve been impressed by some of the skill level.
Made me laugh how countries like Spain, France and Portugal play some lovely football like their men’s teams with high technical skill and close control.
Where as the England and the Scandinavian women’s teams are a bit stiff like their men’s teams, not as good regards close control, play it a bit longer and try to use power/ tempo. However of course, the men’s teams has reached plenty of finals, at least the women’s team has won a final.

The mistake people make is to compare it to the men’s games, however it’s natural/ normal when you’re brought up seeing so much men’s football.
The number of times there’s been a really good piece of play, the women’s player is running through on goal. Will they score?
Then instead of shooting she passes it to the opposition keeper for an easy save…..I’m initially confused then I realise it was actually a shot but the player couldn’t generate enough power. In fact I’ve never seen any woman on YouTube or on TV blast the ball with high power anywhere near what the average man can generate.

Assume it’s not just about muscularity and strength but physiology, skeleton structure and Q angles.
Also the goalkeepers seem surprisingly poor, probably the standard of 14 year old boys and can’t seem to jump that high, why is that?

Altho I have doubts about future profitability…I still think we should have a women’s team, even if it’s being subsidised slightly by the men’s team.
I think sport, especially team sports offers so many advantages, health, fitness, building self esteem and confidence.
Boys have that opportunity, so it’s fair that girls have the same opportunity and are also encouraged to play football and supported.
Also having a women’s team shows the girls what can be achieved. At the end of the day Sheffield United FC should be like a family.
Obviously the men’s team brings in the most revenue so will always be the priority but everyone should be made welcome.

As mentioned by others….having a women’s team is positive PR….it might not bring in so much direct revenue….but positive PR, tends to indirectly bring in revenue.

Also I accept I could be wrong regards profitability, who knows where the sport will be in 10 or 20 years time?
Surely it’s best to be open minded and keep a team, just in case it keeps expanding regards paying customers.
Arsenal are currently averaging 32K and leading the sport as comfortably the best supported women’s team in the world, so it shows what can be achieved.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Regards the future of the women’s game think it’s important to see what happening in other major leagues and how we compare.
You can see that women’s football as a paid spectator sport has only really caught on in England and the USA.
In fact England has more spectators attending matches than the German, French, Italian and Spanish leagues combined.

The USA has the best supported women’s league in the world, last year it broke its record with a world record women’s average attendance of 11,234.
It has a massive women’s football culture where girls have been playing the sport for years, so probably indicates what’s possible.
The best supported team in the US last season was San Diego Wave with an average of 19,575.

England top flight currently averages 7,370
Best supported club Arsenal currently averaging 28,640….by far the best supported club in world football.
Manchester United women currently average 5,242…..however half the league average between 1K and 3K.

Germany top flight averages 2,363
Best supported club Wolfsburg 5,445
Bayern Munich women currently average 2,500.

Spains top flight averages 1,596
Best supported club Athletic Bilbao 6,324
Barcelona women currently averaging 4,512
Real Madrid women currently averaging 2,002

Not got this years figures for Italy but the league average is around 1000.

France top flight averages 820
best supported club Olympic Lyonais 2,003
Paris Saint Germain currently average 507

So Blades shouldn’t feel too disappointed that we’ve averaging less than 1000.
We’re better supported than Paris St Germain and they were in this years women’s UEFA Champion's league.

 

[robbiez666]

It's worth noting in terms of costs, wages in the WSL are vastly lower than in the EPL. The average is under £30k pa. So, while there's an outlay, the wage bill is tiny relatively. So, attendances will go a long way to paying wages. I would suggest investing a few hundred thousand more would give us the chance to challenge towards the top of the league.

 

[Dkc]

Attendance wise it's the 5th biggest sport in the country

Men's football, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, horse racing and ice hockey must all attract more fans.

The Arsenal women's average attendance is a bit skewed because (I think) Arsenal season ticket holders get in free.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Men's football, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, horse racing and ice hockey must all attract more fans.

The Arsenal women's average attendance is a bit skewed because (I think) Arsenal season ticket holders get in free.

It's bigger than ice hockey which is tiny compared to football same with rugby league . I think cricket depends on if it's a big test year or not but last year it had more

 

[VLYDONIMIR]

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[JJBlade]

Girls. Over half the local population are female.

They should turn up and watch then

I agree with Wak, no need for it at Sheffield United.
They'll do fuck all like the men's team hasn't done fuck all. But at least the men's team have had their days and built a support up because of it.

There's no need for it at Sheffield United because even starting with a blank canvas very recently like other women's teams they've managed to settle themselves nicely into that mid range obscurity and they will achieve fuck all because that's all that will ever be expected of them.

 

[robbiez666]

But at least the men's team have had their days

We all remember that wonderful day 101 years ago when we last won a trophy. But yeah, the women haven't matched our success yet...

I note that the original women and girls teams were formed by that scoundrel Tony Currie as part of his community development role. But I guess helping young girls is not like helping young boys.