[Other Sport] Wimmin's game yesterday. How was it?

Saw the, er, highlights post-MOTD last night. BHA holding Arsenal to 0-4.

They mentioned the huge Amex crowd (>5,000 apparently). So, from anyone who was there... How was it for real?

Gilliver's Travels said:

Saw the, er, highlights post-MOTD last night. BHA holding Arsenal to 0-4.

They mentioned the huge Amex crowd (>5,000 apparently). So, from anyone who was there... How was it for real?

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It was a new WSL record crowd of 5,265.............and it was on live tv. Not too shabby eh?

rippleman said:

It was a new WSL record crowd of 5,265.............and it was on live tv. Not too shabby eh?

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Free tickets and 5265 attended !!! very shabby I`d say !!!

Diablo said:

Free tickets and 5265 attended !!! very shabby I`d say !!!

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If you are of the BG mind where women should be in the kitchen and not on a football pitch, nothing about the womens' game is going to make you happy is it?

Good to see a team of a high level in the men's game prepared to play WSL fixtures at their home ground. Can't imagine ever seeing Arsenal's ladies playing at the Emirates.

To be fair, I don't think it could've got much better yesterday - around 10x the usual crowd at Crawley. Credit where credit's due to the Albion here.

Obviously Arsenal would've brought a good number of supporters down with the WSL title up for grabs, but it's still an excellent turnout.

It's an interesting quandary for the club:
1. Stay at Crawley, charge for tickets and get attendances in the hundreds
2. Play somewhere in Brighton and Hove, give masses of free tickets out and get attendances in the thousands

Taking yesterday into consideration and seeing as a few hundred fans paying 7 quid each isn't going to bring in any substantial revenue, I'd suggest the latter.

Target a new supporter base of girls aged 5-16 and parents with 10 free home matches for a season and that might fire up the regular interest levels and build loyalty.

The club would probably make most if not all of it back through increased F&B and club merchandise sales. Add on the goodwill factor and it could be a winner.

Putting it in perspective, Everton had 174 at their WSL match against Reading yesterday.

Double post.

A1X said:

Good to see a team of a high level in the men's game prepared to play WSL fixtures at their home ground. Can't imagine ever seeing Arsenal's ladies playing at the Emirates.

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The record WSL attendance, before we broke it yesterday, was for Arenal v Chelsea played at, you guessed it, The Emirates.

hart's shirt said:

To be fair, I don't think it could've got much better yesterday - around 10x the usual crowd at Crawley. Credit where credit's due to the Albion here.

Obviously Arsenal would've brought a good number of supporters down with the WSL title up for grabs, but it's still an excellent turnout.

It's an interesting quandary for the club:
1. Stay at Crawley, charge for tickets and get attendances in the hundreds
2. Play somewhere in Brighton and Hove, give masses of free tickets out and get attendances in the thousands

Taking yesterday into consideration and seeing as a few hundred fans paying 7 quid each isn't going to bring in any substantial amount of revenue, I'd suggest the latter.

Target a new supporter base of girls aged 5-16 and parents with 10 free home matches for a season and that might fire up the regular interest levels.

Putting it in perspective, Everton had 174 at their WSL match against Reading yesterday.

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Like the Withdean perhaps.....?

I was there with the kids, some of their friends. And sat in the north stand for a change (normally East Family)..
It was a strange kind of day very gentile compared to a Saturday .
A few things stood out ..

There seemed to be lots of “neutrals” there ... or at least possible mums that had taken their girls who may play... as there was a lot of clapping for goals.. from people with Brighton tops on .. or at least close family proximity ... oh look, well done, one of those goal things, who are we supporting, the ones in white and blue, or the ones in red ?

Also ... chanting .... not too much of it .. more “Brighton.... Clap-clap-clap”. Repeat ad nauseum ... not even the droning “alllllbionnnnnn, allllbionnnn” that pervaded Wembley and first game back after the semi where it seemed we had forgotten lots of songs ...

Brighton .... clap-clap-clap ... Brighton... clap-clap-clap...

Haven’t heard anything like that since school sports days ..... “Yellow House.. clap-clap-clap”

Still ... on the positive side ... the pies in the North stand are better than in the East .. and I could get into the toilet without queuing.

hart's shirt said:

It's an interesting quandary for the club:

1. Stay at Crawley, charge for tickets and get attendances in the hundreds
2. Play somewhere in Brighton and Hove, give masses of free tickets out and get attendances in the thousands

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I wonder if they'd want 10 more fixtures a season (are there additional cup games as well?) played at the Amex.

Bozza said:

The record WSL attendance, before we broke it yesterday, was for Arenal v Chelsea played at, you guessed it, The Emirates.

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Then I take it back, good on them.

There are 2 absolutely BLINDING strikes in the highlights.

Well, I enjoyed it!

As a previous poster said, lots of cheering and clapping, and children and families enjoying a day out. There was a nice atmosphere.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the lower level of skill etc, but as both teams were similar (theoretically), it kind of evened itself out.

Oh, and the ladies are obviously told to go for it, as there was no sitting back hoping for a 0-0. Refreshingly different!

Bozza said:

I wonder if they'd want 10 more fixtures a season (are there additional cup games as well?) played at the Amex.

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I don't know how long it takes the pitch time to recover, but the games being played on weekends when the men are away would still give a week's recovery.

No idea about the cost of hosting a game at the Amex compared with Crawley. That's obviously a consideration, even with only a couple of stands open.

Either way and with Tony Bloom already covering the money, it might be worth a season's trial at least. In for a penny...

Ubuntu said:

It was a strange kind of day very gentile compared to a Saturday .

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If they'd provided some latkes and gefillte fish it would have been different ...

As a one off game of football in the WSL, it was a bit women against girls, as it were. Not a lot to cheer from an Albion perspective with some OK performances from the likes of Brazil and Williams, and Gibbons has an attitude to the game that any supporter of any club would love. Looked a bit more of a threat when Umotong came on. Dani Buet is a very good player to watch and easily our best. Arsenal on the other hand were very classy it has to be said, and as has been mentioned above, scored a couple of crackers. Worthy champions.

In terms of the wider issue about Women's football, it really is difficult to compare with the men's game. It is clearly different, but does that difference have to be mean avoiding it? I went to the recent England friendly and the standard was far greater than the previous level 10 (step 6) game I had been to. But as I think Danny Baker said recently, if you don't get a crick in your neck as you go past on a bus a park on where people are playing football, you are not a football fan. It really doesn't matter to me who is playing and at what level. I've seen a few women's games this season and there are some really excellent players, like Lucy Bronze, scoring some great goals, (eg Beth Mead). I remember a few seasons ago with the last women's World Cup, the England games were among some of the most entertaining I had season that season at any level. Sure I've seen a few duds, and some of our touches yesterday would have embarrassed an under 12s team, but it is what it is. Its the same great game, just different.

I would say two more things though.

Of the 'live' games I have watched, they have ALL been played in a really good spirit - much better than any of the men's games I have attended this season. That is to the credit of the women's game. Also, I liked the fact there was no segregation yesterday. Okay, I know people will come back to me with 'ah but where is the passion etc.', but just because someone's not effing and jeffing at the players and officials doesn't mean they are less passionate than you are. If you saw the Arsenal players and supporters at the final whistle, you can't tell me they lacked passion. Most of the 'passion' people usually refer to in this context has got nothing to do with football anyway, and is fuelled by booze.

Also, and don't underestimate this, the growth of the women's game is really important in terms of getting girls involved in the game, and possibly sport in general. My daughter has always enjoyed watching the men's team, right from the word go and we've been to plenty of games home and away. But we went to see the women's team earlier in season for the first time, and even though it was, to be fair, a pretty dull 0-0 draw, her interest in the Albion and football in general went on to a different level after that, such that she begged me to travel halfway across southern England to be there yesterday. As her father, I had no idea how much more she would connect with the women's squad than the men's squad, and the influence of the players as role models earning a living from the game. I had probably just assumed the Albion were principally defined by the men's first team, that that was enough to keep her interest going, and that a slower (yes, I stand by that), 'quieter', version of the game wouldn't hold her attention in quite the same way, but was happy to be proved wrong. This is the same daughter who, by the way, asked me a few years back if Sami Hypia's replacement was going to be decided by a public phone vote! If it increases her love (and understanding!) of the game, and others, the subsidy is worth it in my opinion.

Take it or leave it, yer pays your money etc., but its still the beautiful game whoever's playing it.

Gwylan said:

If they'd provided some latkes and gefillte fish it would have been different ...

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Beat me to it. Schmuck!