Newcastle United Women - Champions and Promoted

[Miggys First Goal]

Wonder if there are plans to build the lasses a stadium of their own, or whether they'll just continue to play at SJP.

[jack j]

1 hour ago, SteV said:

Ended up with two tickets in the directors bit today. 
 

Some of the passing and movement was really nice, even little bits from Bradford occasionally. But the goalkeeping, dear me. Don’t want to sound harsh, because it’s a recurring theme in the women’s game from the limited bits I’ve seen. 
 

We scored three goals from corners, and one from a free-kick into the box. All headers in the six yard box. The lass in goal for Bradford just couldn’t or wouldn’t come off her line. I mean she didn’t look very big in fairness, but clearly seemed to be a tactic of ours to just float set pieces towards her.

 

 

 

I reckon that keeper was their smallest player. Poor bugger

[BonesJones]

12 minutes ago, Miggys First Goal said:

Wonder if there are plans to build the lasses a stadium of their own, or whether they'll just continue to play at SJP.

 

I think they should be using SJP whenever it doesn't clash with the men's games. Surely a huge advantage for our girls, when these other teams are used to playing in front of far smaller numbers.

 

 

[NE27]

I'd happily go to the lasses games at St James' if they got more games there.

 

Don't mind KP but prefer going into town and making a day of it with bairns.

 

Good game today and a cracking turnout.

[Stifler]

36 minutes ago, Miggys First Goal said:

Wonder if there are plans to build the lasses a stadium of their own, or whether they'll just continue to play at SJP.

I think they will do similar to what Manchester City have done. They have 1 small stadium (5k), and some pitches with smaller amount of room for spectators.

The stadium is used for academy & women’s games, as well open training sessions. Sometimes if there is a fixture class, either the academy or the women’s team will play on one of the other pitches, whichever is expected less of a crowd I guess.

 

However with SJP hosting magic weekend in the rugby etc, surely we have the facilities to have 4 changing rooms. So it would be great if they started offering double headers, like the women’s team KO before the men’s game. You can arrive early and see both games, or arrive later and just see the men’s. Women’s football isn’t going to be for everyone I guess, but it gives you that option and divides the two teams less.

[The Butcher]

 

[SteV]

Side note - does anyone know why the fuck Dave Allen the boxer was doing the half time challenge!?? 😂

[Wallsendmag]

Good stuff  Must admit went to the Barnsley game at SJP last year which was the first ever womens game I've been to and it wasn't for me as the standard was atrocious so didn't bother today but great to see another very healthy crowd supporting them.

[OverThere]

Given how many lobbed goals there appear to be I'd be looking for specifically tall 6ft and over women to train as goalkeepers.

[huss9]

i think the goals should be a couple of inches smaller than the men's game.

[Mike]

6 minutes ago, huss9 said:

i think the goals should be a couple of inches smaller than the men's game.

 

I've always thought this, tbh. Dunno why they're not. Womens footy is class but the keeping is almost universally fucking shambolic.

[McDog]

Just now, Mike said:

 

I've always thought this, tbh. Dunno why they're not. Womens footy is class but the keeping is almost universally fucking shambolic.

 

Not sure but maybe they want to promote more goals?

[McDog]

Great that the lasses won big though. 6 back with 2 in hand?

[Yorkie]

18 minutes ago, huss9 said:

i think the goals should be a couple of inches smaller than the men's game.

 

11 minutes ago, Mike said:

 

I've always thought this, tbh. Dunno why they're not. Womens footy is class but the keeping is almost universally fucking shambolic.

 

9 minutes ago, McDog said:

 

Not sure but maybe they want to promote more goals?

 

https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/news/ucfb-news-hub/in-focus-should-the-goal-and-pitch-size-be-made-smaller-in-women-s-football/

 

This is a good article which seems to capture all sides of the debate. 

[McDog]

 

30 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

 

 

 

https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/news/ucfb-news-hub/in-focus-should-the-goal-and-pitch-size-be-made-smaller-in-women-s-football/

 

This is a good article which seems to capture all sides of the debate. 

I'd love to read it but I get redirected to a bunch of ads I can't escape.

[Yorkie]

33 minutes ago, McDog said:

 

I'd love to read it but I get redirected to a bunch of ads I can't escape.

 

When Thailand lost 13-0 to the United States in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019, it sparked global debates about whether goalpost and pitch sizes should be reduced in the women’s game.

 

Emma Hayes, the hugely respected and admired manager of Chelsea Women, caused great controversy when she claimed that it could greatly benefit the women’s game to do this. Nearly two years later the debate lives on and there remains a divide as to whether this would be empowering or insulting to women.

 

A smaller basketball is used in the women’s game, a shorter net is used in women’s volleyball, women’s hurdles in the Olympics are nine inches shorter than those of the men’s. The list goes on as sport increasingly compensates for the size differences between men and women.

 

So why does football not do this? The goalpost dimensions in football are eight-foot-high and 24-foot-wide, and are the same for both the men’s and women’s game. But from a purely logical perspective this doesn’t make any sense. The average height of a man in the UK is 5ft 9in, whereas it’s 5ft 3in for a woman. So defending a goal which has been specifically designed for those considerably taller and broader than most women seems not only unfair, but near impossible.

 

This is simply what women were handed, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s what they need to progress. In fact, the rapidly improving quality of the women’s game may shine a light on the increasing need for goal dimensions to be reconsidered if women are unable to defend the top corners of their respective goals.

 

The average number of goals in the Premier League has remained constant since its inception in 1992 - its first season saw 2.65 goals per game compared to 2.66 in this current campaign. However, the Women’s Super League has seen a gradual increase in goals per game, from 2.54 in its inaugural year in 2011 to 3.44 this season. The rising figure, undoubtedly linked to an improvement in standards, has led some to believe there is a need for measurements to be re-adjusted for the women’s game to remain fair.

 

Any views advocating the change of goal size are met with accusations of sexism, but there is a valid counter-argument; to passively accept the measurements originally designed for the men’s game is a form of sexism in itself. If emotion is cast aside, and sheer logic pursued, then changing goalpost sizes may enhance the women’s game.

 

But not everyone sees it this way. Many female footballers argue it is inherently sexist to assume concessions need to be made in their game, and to even suggest it implicitly insults their current standard of play. Georgia Stevens, Coventry United LFC striker and BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism student at UCFB, believes this is a precisely why both pitches and goalposts should remain as they are.

 

She explained: “I think it would be massively insulting to suggest that women need some sort of helping hand to be equal to the men’s game. I do think it’s sexist to assume that women need this assistance and until I see the majority of those who play the game actually calling for these measures and not the media or men who aren’t involved, then I think it will not be taken seriously.”

 

To imply that there is a weakness in the women’s game that needs to be compensated for is fundamentally wrong, Georgia argues. Rather than expressing concern over the size of equipment, we should divert our attention to improving the standard of the women’s game that would make such discussions redundant. If we invest in female players, particularly goalkeepers, then the quality of the game will continue to rise, making women better equipped at defending the top corners of their goals.

 

In fact, many believe that women are perfectly capable of playing within the parameters of the current measurements, and it is only when they’re compared to men that assumptions regarding their inability to defend their goal is exposed. The debate itself is deemed hugely offensive by many female footballers – and it’s their opinion that should matter most.

 

But it’s not just at an elite level that the game could suffer. Arsenal and England legend Rachel Yankey claims that altering pitch and post sizes would damage women’s football at a grassroots level, meaning fewer young girls would get involved with the sport.

 

Speaking exclusively to UCFB, she said: “It’s hard enough to try and find a pitch to play on! There’s not enough teams with enough money that could have their own pitch, so therefore teams now share pitches with men’s football. So, are you going to measure up the pitch on a Saturday for the men’s game and change all the measurements for the women’s game on Sunday?”

 

After hearing Hayes’ initial comments, Yankey said: “I read it and dismissed it in a second.”

 

For all the theoretical debate surrounding the topic, there may be practical reasons to end the conversation. Modifying pitch and post sizes would, if it were to happen at all, only occur at an elite level due to cost. Therefore, the majority of women would have to transfer from one set of measurements to another at some point in their career, which not only seems unfair but would likely affect the quality of play.

 

This would also cause complications for the growing number of mixed-gender teams in football, which are widely considered to raise the profile of the women’s game. To alter the size of the pitch and goal would create a divide within the game that could damage female participation in numerous ways.

 

But the debate also prompts wider conversation about attitudes towards women’s football. There is a temptation to constantly compare the game to that of the men’s, rather than recognising it as its own, separate entity. Stevens added: “The games themselves are completely different and shouldn’t be compared, and I think that is the root of the issue with goalposts.”

 

Maria Hasler, former Austrian Youth player and MSc Football Communications & Digital Marketing student at UCFB Wembley, has similar views, believing it is the topic of discussion that has to change rather than the pitch sizes. She said: “I personally think pitch size shouldn’t be changed, but we should remove the habit to compare women’s football with men’s. Female players have an equal amount of technical skills and IQ, and put in the same effort day in, day out.”

 

The debate of changing pitch and goal dimensions is not inherently linked to men’s football, but it is often connected to it. In comparing male and female heights, for example, we are discussing the women’s game in the framework of the men’s, rather than considering what is best for female football in and of itself.

 

This has been an ongoing problem for women’s football since it was first played, and many argue it is the relentless need to measure the game against male expectations and standards that needs to change. If we stop comparing the two, the issue of pitch and goal sizes becomes less relevant. The measurements may have been designed for men, but female footballers have forged their own experiences on the pitch independently of this.

 

As Yankey summarises: “Yes, it is football. But it will be played and looked at in a different way, but that’s ok.”

 

The main issue at stake here is perhaps not meticulous measurements or even physical differences, but a more fundamental desire for women’s football to be appreciated in its own right. Regardless of the size of the pitch or goal.

[McDog]

@Yorkie - thanks so much. Very interesting for sure. I think I lean on the side of leaving it after reading that. Interesting discussion.

[Stal]

11 hours ago, SteV said:

Side note - does anyone know why the fuck Dave Allen the boxer was doing the half time challenge!?? 😂

 

Because Dave Allen the comedian has been dead for about 30 year.

[Miercoles]

I watch a fair amount of women's football and the typical scorelines aren't any different from the men's, it's not like every game is 5-4 or anything like that. Plenty of 1-0's, 2-1, etc. For the daily experience as a fan, the size of the goal doesn't need to change to make it more like men's football.

 

I think you mainly see these outrageous scorelines because the drop-off from strong teams to weaker teams can be massive. You see similar things when the minnows play the big fish in Men's internationals too, there are just more minnows about in Women's. A lot of these countries have programs that are only a few years old, in cultures where women playing sports is not encouraged. Compare that to the US which has had a strong women's program for decades, and where football is one of the biggest sports for girls from 4 years old through college, and you get your 13-0 scores.

 

In other words, Thailand would have gotten fucked in that game whatever the size of the goal was. 

 

 

Regarding goalkeeping, it is an issue in women's football and I think it comes down to player base. It's a specialized position, most people coming up in the sport don't dream of being goalkeepers, so you have an even smaller talent pool in a sport that already has a limited pool. Then you cut that down again when you look for people who are crazy enough for goalkeeping and have the height, it can be tough. So you have some short pyschos and some tall hesitant players in the goal, and then for your minnow teams it can even be like it is in the youth levels where its just the worst outfield player or the coach's kid or whatever. As the game grows, that will get better. If you compare things now to say 2007 when Hope Solo was like the only decent keeper in the world it seemed, there has already been a lot of improvement in the position.

[nbthree3]

 

[Ace]

4 hours ago, nbthree3 said:

 

Who’s that creepy kid? He seems to be everywhere 

[Jack27]

Winning up 2-0

[Jack27]

3-0 up

[Jack27]

4-0

[LiquidAK]

Won 5-1. Not the worst day for the club as a whole eh