As a top fan of Arsenal mens team i was pleased to see Julie Fleeting play twice this season. Once in the English Womens Fa Cup final where the mercurial Scots lass scored all three in the Arsenal win over Charlton and the other the follwoing fortnight in the English Ladies Championship decider in which again she found the net ina 3-1 win over Fulham ladies. Fleeting has certainly brought a spark of skill, pace and dynamics to the Arsenal Ladies, and i was wondering if you folks had any thoughts on the Scots dynamo...? also Does anyone here happen to know if Julie will be joining the San Diego Spirit for their festival match against the Carolina Courage on 27 June 2004?
Well i guess you are better qualified to point out her misgivings than i am...however, i agree with you on the pace issue, after watching her play those two games i noticed that she was easily caught up, however, her strength was a bonus and helped her to play in a manner we all enjoy. I am a season ticket holder at Highbury the home of Arsenal Footbll Club, and they have an excellent report with the ladies team, so i could be quite happy to keep you up to date on the Fleeting world if you like. As regards your final point, the oppostion is only what you can face, if you can playa ta higher level such as WUSA then fine, but its not really a fault of Julie's the type of opposition Scotland or come to think of it the amatuer English ladies scene, that Julie faces week in week out. All i know is from what i have seen and subsequently read, she is thought of highly in world football, and for me thats a good indication as to how the ladies game is gathering pace in the country that gave the world the game.
You're right - all the ladies there need is backing from supporters like yourself and more backing from the mens clubs and the national federation. Just look how much women's teams in Canada and Mexico have improved the past 4 years. Heck, look what the U-19 team from Costa Rica did a couple of days ago!
I am going to have to plead ignorance here. I wil be honest i paid no attention to Ladies football until my daughter dragged me to Loftus Road on May 1st to see the Ladies FA Cup final. And i was pleasantly suprised at the quality on show, and really was impressed at the way the ladies looked and performed. So i took in the League decider for the English title and again i was really impressed.....Ladies football now has a convert.... As for what Costa Rica did and so on..im sorry, perhaps you can forgive me for my sins and fill me in on the achievements made by those you quoted.
Around 4 years ago, Canada and Mexico were regularly getting beaten by the US, normally by large scores. Canada improved immensely, as witnessed by their 4th place finish in the last Womens World Cup and their U-19 team going to 'golden goal' overtime before losing that championship to the US. Mexico has some ties with the US to their credit now, and they recently defeated Canada to earn a spot in the upcoming Olympics. In the recently completed CONCACAF tournament to qualify for the world U-19 championship later this year, Costa Rica managed a tie with the US team and Canada beat the US in overtime in the first place game.
Yep, she probably learned alot by watching all of the 'diving divas' like Hooper and Parlow that Tom Stone kept on his squad. Say, wasn't he the same guy that claimed 'Fleets' destroyed one of his players knees - and then that player played the entire 90 minutes less than a week later?
I am not really a Hooper fan so I will have to admit that your criticism of her hits the mark. However, your bias becomes obvious when you bring Parlow into the equation. Everyone knows that she is too slow to even physically attempt a dive. Flop down from a stationary position....YES. Dive while moving....NO.
Mea Culpa! You are right - she really does fit in that other category, along with her alliterative sister " Floppin' " Fotopolous!