I agree stats are to be taken with a pinch of salt. They don't tell the whole story. They complement what the naked eye see during the game. I lnow some teams recruit players based on their stats/data but it is madness sometimes. Some good games today in the FA Cup but weather is a bit inclement so postponements might happen.
you sure? there's no replay/ nor highlights, even on both club's official youtube channels what I heard really good game,but with once again Man U fans claiming...we wus robbed! & of course Shlj's fav. Stephanie Houghton, screwing up as usual on defense(which made the game that much closer). anyways, once again, zero coverage for the several FA cup games currently being played)nor no word yet for the Conti cup semis on Jan 29th here are a couple of fan streams; Arsenal vw West Ham(Arsenal in odd, yellow & black unis) M (@alexiavandedonk) / Twitter better one from Lewes club vs ??? Lewes FC Women (@LewesFCWomen) / Twitter
Yeah, I don’t know why there’s no full replay up, but I watched the match live on the FA Player. Complaints about refs were over the top in other matches, but I can’t blame them for thinking Man Utd Women were robbed. Zelem scored a goal from a corner that was disallowed because of a foul where Roebuck was arguably overprotected, and McManus was judged not to have scored when even Cushing and City players allegedly admitted the ball was over the line. Houghton did indeed have a poor match, but that being said, it was not a good match for either set of defenders and keeper.
And the game I attended was abandoned after 78 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch. Only one surprise overal with a 4th tier team Ipswich beating a third tier team Hull 4-1. All other game ended up as expecte with second tier Lewes beating fourth tier Billericay on pens only.
Not sure if the skill level difference is significant between tier 3 and 4. It be like saying tier 11 vs 12 in the pyramid.
There is certainly a difference between the top teams of the third tier and the rest of the division and the one below, because those teams have a few ex FA WSL/FAWC players. For mid table ones, yes there is not much more between 3 and 4, they all train once a week in the evening in general, twice is week is really for those at the high end of the Tier 3. Ipswich are a funny team, they actually compete in the FA WSL Academy League against Arsenal, Chelsea, City and so on. They are sixth out of twelve there.
here's an article that don't paint a pretty picture on women's football in England Rats in their digs and jam sandwiches for lunch...inside the hidden world of women's football got to say, my state's JC & four year colleges are packed with players from England. Most of them aren't on full rides. They usual come with an more advanced skill set thanks to going through those academy/pro clubs training than our local kids, but still got to wonder why they would pay money to come over here rather than play in their home country?(but guess the article goes along ways on explaining that)
One of the reason for going to the USA is in term of dual career football + studies the university programs are not tailored for student athletes like in the USA. Not at all. Much more could be said about certain FA WSL clubs...
Continental Cup semi-finals tonight, both live on the FA Player at 7.30pm UK time Arsenal v Manchester City Man Utd v Chelsea
Why are the games played at the same exact time? btw.......Kerr & Ji have reportedly left Chelsea for Asian qualifiers. Guess that will make one big, Man U fan happy
Hoping Chelsea beats Man City. Was hoping Sam Kerr be there. Make it harder for Man City to deal both her and England. Just like the Arsenal game.
Dankbaar! The Dutch are back....Miedema & van de Donk both score for a 2-0 halftime lead over Man City, Roord starts instead of Little or Nobbs. Man City playing such a dull play-from-the-back game/you would think those ultra bright unis their wearing would wake them up/their blinding me just looking at them!
Excellent goal by Miedema after a giveaway by Bonner. An Arsenal player--can't remember who--slotted the ball to the Dutch striker, who faked Houghton one way, went the other and drilled the ball with her left foot inside the far post. I think Miedema had a couple of other potential chances from the top of the box but she passed the ball instead, and then led in the half dropped the ball off for Van de Donk in the box, who pushed it past the ManCity keeper, who could have stopped it but didn't--might have not seen the ball until late with several players in the box. ManCity had two or three half chances after Arsenal giveaways but couldn't do enough with them. Williamson had a poor first half, I thought--had a least two very poor clearances from the back that went straight to ManCity players. She's got to do better than that. Both teams pressing a lot. Arsenal need a third!
Yes. The AFC play-offs are planned Fri 6 and Wed 11 March. The final is on the Sat 29 February. It is an international window type II which means release of players to national associations: Monday to Wednesday night (following week)
Seems like we’ve seen all this before; Arsenal looks great in the 1st half, but then holds back for a long segment in the 2nd half. Are they switching to be an counter attacking team? Cuz Mead & Miedema don’t seem to have the speed to be that effective on fast breaks, their much better when others like the trailing VVD or Kim Little join the fray. Minus a mistake, thought Williamson played well, had some nice clearances & accurate long balls. She’s seems at times like England’s only real hope on defense. Neville couldn’t be happy, his flagship team(MC) looked uninspiring/Hemp was their best player in the game(but she’s only on the fringes of making the NT) and seeing either Nobbs or Little(ala his Great Britain squad) not starting for Arsenal might tee him off too/Jill Roord finally seems like a regular starter
Little and Nobbs rested as part of the squad rotation as Arsenal have a big game on Sunday... against Manchester City.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic Glasgow are now turning professional. Glasgow City's reign in the SWPL is likely to end as they are still amateur/semi-professionals. The fixture list is here.
The two old firm teams are buying a lot of players and training conditions will make a difference. We saw it in England in 2013.
Wonder how Glasgow City and Hibernian will respond. Or will it make much of a difference? Winning the championship for more than a decade is no fluke.
It's not a fluke, but I think you underestimate how much professionalism skews the existing landscape. When money isn't much of a deciding factor, the best players go to the teams with the best reputation. When money *is* a deciding factor, the best players (and coaches) go where they can get paid best. Thus, the clubs with money steal the best players from the "good reputation" clubs - plus, those players are now training full-time and getting even better because of it. A semi-pro club may have a great coach and a great culture, but those two things will only do so much if the best players (likely the core of the on-field synergy) get poached away, and clubs that train more often will grow their own culture that much faster. It may not happen the very first season, or maybe not even the second, but professional teams always outpace semi-pro and amateur teams fairly rapidly. We've seen it in England, France, Italy, Spain, and elsewhere. Resources will always beat out history.