I wouldn't have any feeling towards United vs. City Ladies, just as I wouldn't have any feeling towards a United vs. City basketball match, or United vs. City netball, United vs. City baseball. It's just basketball/baseball/netball team with Manchester United branding in order to attract attention and bring in more money. I wouldn't care a single bit about their success. I wouldn't be naturally attached to it, I can actually think for myself.
Manchester United Ladies Football Club.
- Thread starter Roman Bellic
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I wouldn't have any feeling towards United vs. City Ladies, just as I wouldn't have any feeling towards a United vs. City basketball match, or United vs. City netball, United vs. City baseball. It's just basketball/baseball/netball team with Manchester United branding in order to attract attention and bring in more money. I wouldn't care a single bit about their success. I wouldn't be naturally attached to it, I can actually think for myself.
Is that any different from the Men's team?
Yes, they're the original.
(Although if your point is that supporting any team is illogical then I agree. Supporting Man United is silly and childish and makes no rational sense, but I'm not ready to let go of my remaining amount of romanticism that I'm clinging on to that Manchester United is more than merely a self-serving corporation...but I cant extend that romanticism towards a Manchester United branded basketball/netball/tiddlywinks team)
Apologies if there is a current discussion on this - couldn't find any!
Surely with England's continued success and just a game away from the World Cup Final United can only ignore it for so long?
Also - seeing how many Man City players are in England team should give us that extra motivation!!
Surely with England's continued success and just a game away from the World Cup Final United can only ignore it for so long?
Also - seeing how many Man City players are in England team should give us that extra motivation!!
Didn't City basically buy some of the best players from other Ladies teams?
Slightly ridiculous. If United had a women's team, and they were playing the City women's team, of course any United fan would be on for United. To claim you wouldn't give a shit is either massively misogonistic or you clearly don't have a passion for United.
I agree. If United fielded a ping-pong team I wouldn't help being able to support them! Might not watch 'em much though.
The minimum salary in the US women's league is just $7000 and the maximum salary $37000, Imagine if the Premier League just threw £10m (which is nothing to them) at a professional women's league in England? Even if the players only earned about the same as the UK average salary, having 300/400 fully professional players would make England one of the best national teams almost overnight in the women's game.
I'm not sure, sounds about right though!!
I remember after we beat City last season Toni Duggan posted a selfie with LVG as she's a Utd fan and she got so much abuse on Instagram from City fans!! Some of it was horrific to be fair.
Exactly! I find myself supporting one team over the other in something I don't care about because they wear red or a small detail like that
Feels like Toni Duggan has been around for ages but she's only 23! I just remember her mainly from being at Everton Ladies for years.
To be fair i think a lot of people would feel like that. Personally if you told me United and City's womens teams were playing this weekend, i would want United to win but beyond that i wouldn't have much interest in it. Wouldn't watch it and wouldn't really care if United's team lost if i'm honest.
It's nothing to do with being mysogonistic either i feel the same about United's 'Legends' side and to some extent the Reserves and Academy sides which i don't follow nearly as much as the 1st team..
We used to have a women's team years ago. And I never knew any results apart from when the Utd magazine did the odd feature on them and I happened to notice as I turned the page. So I cannot say I cared too much at all
@stevoc above put it far better than me.
Well no my point wasn't about caring about these basketball or women's teams, but more than he said he wouldn't be arsed about the outcome of United vs City women's. As I said, I'd be on for any team competing with United on their shirt, whether it be the men's first team or an antiques roadshow special.
Maybe so, and I'd feel the same way, but I'd feel a bit chuffed hat we beat City in the women's sport regardless of the fact I probably wouldn't know any of the player's names.
I don't really follow our u21's that much, but when I hear we've won the league or even beat City/Liverpool/Chelsea I feel proud.
It's not misogynistic at all. I quite clearly gave gender-neutral examples that re-affirmed my point.
If you feel the need to belittle my "passion for United" by dismissing my honest and open opinion as misogynistic despite apparant evidence to the contrary, then you are a complete and utter {edited due to RedCafe posting restrictions}
Like I said, I have the ability to think for myself. I appreciate that this is something incomprehendable to the majority of people so I will not mock or belittle you further.
I genuinely wouldn't give two fecks.
I'd imagine so since there's no FFP and even the best players would go for very little money.
Perhaps I was a bit hasty questioning your passion for United, but the majority of United fans would be supportive of any team/individual representing United. I think it's slightly shallow of you to suggest you wouldn't give a tiny bit of a shit if our (non existing) ladies team were to play City.
I wouldn't care that much, I understand your reasoning behind that and I agree. But most of us would care a bit.
No need to be so explosive. You haven't mocked or belittled me what so ever, you've replied to me once... and been overly defensive.
Maybe it's just me then. I find myself supporting random teams on the tele because of the colour they're playing in or if they have any similarities to United.
Besides that, a women's team, or basketball team, would actually be playing for United. A lot of United fans look out for FC United results, for example, because of the same reasons.
Can you blame him for being defensive? You've just tried to label him a misogynist based on nothing.
Claiming to not care about the outcome of a City vs United game just because they're women, and the women's game is less entertaining, is slightly disrespectful.
Calling his a mysogonist is probably a bit harsh. It's late and warm.
This is where a lot of confusion seems to arise in some: We are talking about Manchester United Football Club.
Not Manchester United Sports Club or Ball Club.
nor Manchester United Men's Football Club.
There is nothing in the original stating that it's a football club only for men. And thank you for that, because in that case I'd argue for it to change. A football club being only for men is an anachronism far worse than English football teams not accepting that the game was not only a European game, but a world game. United were pioneers in this, against quick revenue, against the FA, and agains a lot of English supporters as well. All groups of supporters have people that are slow to welcome changes in the world.
The fact that I may have two kids, both playing football, both supporting Manchester United Football Club (one of the grandest of the world), and only one of them is even alowed to dream of one day wearing it's colours - that bothers me seriously. Because whereas only 0.1 per cent of dreamers will ever reach the Theatre of Dreams, even a wheelchaired boy can - and often will - dream of growing limbs and perform at center stage. Anything allowed for can happen, it's part of the crux of football, why it's so big.
Anyone calling themselves Manchester United Football Club should as a matter of course allow for participation of football of all, not half of the people. Then the players themselves may fight to decide wether it's in the top flight or lower divisions. Then the people following football may decide to be a lot interested, a little, or 'not to give a feck'. But not before that point, I think.
Eniola Aluko column: Why Man Utd should join World Cup party
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33404356
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33404356
She's echoed what many have said in this thread. There absolutely no reason (not even commercially) for a club the size and stature of Man Utd not to have a women's team.
It doesnt really bother me that much TBH but it is a bit strange that we are one of only 2 PL clubs who dont have an affiliated womens team
I couldn't care less to be honest. I'd never watch it and the majority on here saying they would are lying through their teeth.
Who can honestly say they've ever went out their way to watch a woman's match? Nothing to do with them being women, it's the standard.
Who can honestly say they've ever went out their way to watch a woman's match? Nothing to do with them being women, it's the standard.
Probably a lot of people really as average attendances are roughly just under a thousand in the WSL.
Anyway if attendances were 50 if wouldn't have any bearing, there's plenty of semi pro clubs who play to crowds of about that, it's about the playing and giving the forum for potential people who would like to play/watch, community spirit kind of. The worlds moved on from anything really ever being one gender only, pro fighting, pro darts, pro snooker/pool. As has been mentioned it wouldn't cost a great deal and would give opportunities to girls to wear the shirt so I hope it happens sooner rather than later and if it took off all the better that the players would be representing the club.
Mate, if it happens great! I just don't think there's a large interest in it.
I'd of been amazed if people on here could of named the England side before the tournament.
I'm not saying they could, and I definitely couldn't. But something has to start somewhere, and if united decide never to try we won't know the potential of it. Just seems to be outdated to ignore that women have a very real place in English and world football currently.
I must say when they were reading out the England team and mentioned Arsenal, City, Chelsea, I found it very wrong not to hear our name as well.
All my instincts say that given how cheap the teams are to run, and the increased TV presence of the teams it wouldn't even need much of a subsidy to start it and it could probably collect some new sponsorships as well. So why not just do it?
All my instincts say that given how cheap the teams are to run, and the increased TV presence of the teams it wouldn't even need much of a subsidy to start it and it could probably collect some new sponsorships as well. So why not just do it?
What you are saying is fair enough and I have no problem with that.
However a couple of things to consider.
Most people on these forums are male. The trouble there is that males on here only view the situation from a male point of view.
There is a growing female football community, girls, women, coaches etc. Man Utd expanded their commercial arm across the world, Asia being a good example of how revenues were increased through those efforts.
If you look back at football videos around the world from pre 1990 you will see virtually no women present in the crowds, pre 1960's and there simply arent any. Today if you look at the crowds you see more and more women attending games. Thats great so the next step in any smart company would be to tap in to that growing market. Womens supporter Man Utd gear exists but there is a lot of potential for it to be grown.
I am biased I have been coaching women and girls since roughly 2006 and I have watched the growth in that short time in NZ where I live. To give you an idea of the growth 15 years ago in NZ there was 1 schools knockout tournament at the end of the season. It featured 24 teams and took a week. Now we have 7 tournaments which have 32 teams each and take a week. Thats for high school age girls. We have just had start 5 years ago a week long tournament aimed at 11-12 year old girls. It runs for a week and has roughly 50 teams. The point of this is to show that there is considerable growth in participation in football from girls and women.
Its showing up at grass roots club football where I now see girls and women in the crowds at local club football watching the men play simply because they like and understand football. 20 years ago the numbers of girls and women doing that were considerably smaller. Its really nice now to be able to go to a football match with a daughter, girlfriend, wife, sister etc etc and discuss and debate and support whats going on in a mens game. It used to be an incredibly rare thing to find that. One of the girls I coached for a number of years is a massive utd fan, courtesy of Beckham. She buys a utd shirt every year, buys anything and everything utd, only a month ago she made her first visit to the UK simply to go to Old Trafford. She has played for NZ at schoolgirl, U17 and U20 level and is currently playing US college football. Earlier this season one of the games she played in was live online and she played in front of 15,000 fans. Not the usual crowd but its not something to be ignored. There are tons of women out there like this girl. Here she is. http://playatlantic.com/node/15290
We are still a long long way from men going to watch womens football because they are fans of womens football however there is this rapidly growing female football community that shouldnt be ignored. Any intelligent company would be trying to tap into that commercial market as soon as they can. Right now I think Man Utd are missing out on a ton of growing commercial opportunities which is simply stupid.
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The interest is growing and United will have a women's team again in the not too distant future.
But it's not for/about you guys though. It is for the thousands of girls who otherwise, do not have the opportunity to play for the club they support. I am a strong supporter for MUFC Ladies team but that doesn't mean I'll be attending any of their games or staying up till 3am to watch a pre-season game on a dodgy stream (I've never done it for the men either). But it doesn't mean someone else wouldn't.
It is a bit embarrassing that, as the biggest club in England, we're one of only two PL clubs without a ladies team.
Something surely has to be done about it?
Something surely has to be done about it?
Ye I get that - like I said, it doesnt really bother me on a personal level but still I would prefer that we had a womens team than not
I like United being the best at stuff, we should be moving in on this. Get Giggsy coaching them. On second thoughts...
I think the 'non-appreciation' of women's football is a cultural thing. I've seen videos of Lech Poznan football fans turning up to U-13 boys games in their numbers. However, here in England, the only teams getting any mainstream support are the senior men teams of club and country.
I have never really seen the 'women' tag in women football and I think it's because of the football watching culture I grew up in. I first got into women's football during the 1999 WWC. Ghana played China and got hammered 7-1. The game was played around 3/4am and I was quite young then so wasn't allowed to watch. But I remember waking up in the morning and seeing people genuinely distressed about the loss. It didn't matter to them that it was only the women's team. I actually ended watched the 1999 final at a friends house about 2 miles away because we had a blackout in our area. In fact, people will sometimes come to our house (we had "cable tv") to watch Ghana's U17 women play a WC game at 6am!!
I have never really seen the 'women' tag in women football and I think it's because of the football watching culture I grew up in. I first got into women's football during the 1999 WWC. Ghana played China and got hammered 7-1. The game was played around 3/4am and I was quite young then so wasn't allowed to watch. But I remember waking up in the morning and seeing people genuinely distressed about the loss. It didn't matter to them that it was only the women's team. I actually ended watched the 1999 final at a friends house about 2 miles away because we had a blackout in our area. In fact, people will sometimes come to our house (we had "cable tv") to watch Ghana's U17 women play a WC game at 6am!!
That's fair enough.
Seems like this would be a cheap way to keep that, then, looking purely at profits. How much can it cost to compete with Lyon and Wolsfburg? An article I found said PSG spends about 7.5M euros for the 2nd placed team in France and Lyon about 5.5 for the best.
"Why United have decided not to follow suit, I'm not sure. They already have one of the best centres of excellence in the country, but once players reach 18 they must find another club."
We have a good women's academy? That would surely cut the cost of fielding a team a massive amount. And it can't be expensive to bring in a few solid players. I know that 3 of Canada's midfielders who started in the knockouts don't even have pro clubs.