Southampton FC Women

[Holmes_and_Watson]

12 minutes ago, Dr Who? said:

The BBC will get the result in by midnight and update the table 😉 

It will be odd not finding out we've been promoted, until most of the way through the fixture of next season. 😊

[jawillwill]

Ipswich next? Biggest game of the season, by far...

[Holmes_and_Watson]

4 hours ago, jawillwill said:

Ipswich next? Biggest game of the season, by far...

It's going to be really tense just supporting it. Hopefully the players will be calmer! 🙂

[Saint_clark]

So the girls are all part timers at the moment I believe. We pay the men's players anywhere from £50-100k a week, could we not afford to pay these girls just a respectable yearly salary at say £25-30k a year and have them train full time?

[AlexLaw76]

7 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

So the girls are all part timers at the moment I believe. We pay the men's players anywhere from £50-100k a week, could we not afford to pay these girls just a respectable yearly salary at say £25-30k a year and have them train full time?

We are millions in debt. Reckon their is enough appetite to pay higher prices for tickets, shirts and burgers to fund it?

[Saint_clark]

12 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

We are millions in debt. Reckon their is enough appetite to pay higher prices for tickets, shirts and burgers to fund it?

I think the money saved on wages from all the dross we've dropped over the last two seasons would cover it more than easily. 25,000 each for a squad of 25 is only £625,000...that's £12,000 a week. We can pay our entire women's squad for the equivalent of what is probably a single lower championship players wage. 

[AlexLaw76]

8 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

I think the money saved on wages from all the dross we've dropped over the last two seasons would cover it more than easily. 25,000 each for a squad of 25 is only £625,000...that's £12,000 a week. We can pay our entire women's squad for the equivalent of what is probably a single lower championship players wage. 

Ignoring the part where are are millions in debt?

[Lampwick]

9 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

We are millions in debt. Reckon their is enough appetite to pay higher prices for tickets, shirts and burgers to fund it?

Perhaps the men would be willing to forego a very modest part of their wages to fund and help with the ladies' footballing development. Now that would be a statement. I won't hold me breath...

[AlexLaw76]

1 hour ago, Lampwick said:

Perhaps the men would be willing to forego a very modest part of their wages to fund and help with the ladies' footballing development. Now that would be a statement. I won't hold me breath...

Exactly, don’t hold your breath. 
 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Should we get promotion, and wish to push on for a further one, then having a full time team is going to have to be dealt with. We'll only go so far, if we don't.

It's a very enjoyable sport with growing interest and record attendences. I'm all for the club fully embracing it.

Club debts are sustainable, and we remove more surplus wages each year. I'll be looking forward to everyone accepting no transfer business/ club improvements in the other parts of the club, because we have some manageable debts. That's not going to happen. 

So it shouldn't be used as an excuse not to invest in the women's team. As a premier league club, we're in the best possible position to do make those investments in the next couple of seasons.

[Lord Duckhunter]

5 hours ago, Lampwick said:

Perhaps the men would be willing to forego a very modest part of their wages to fund and help with the ladies' footballing development. Now that would be a statement. I won't hold me breath...

That’s a very 19th century outlook on things. The blokes should give the chicks an allowance, bit like housekeeping money I suppose. “Here you are pet, don’t spend it all at once”. 
 

If they can’t generate enough sponsorship, supporters of interest to go professional, then why should the mens game help them out? 

[AlexLaw76]

1 hour ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Should we get promotion, and wish to push on for a further one, then having a full time team is going to have to be dealt with. We'll only go so far, if we don't.

It's a very enjoyable sport with growing interest and record attendences. I'm all for the club fully embracing it.

Club debts are sustainable, and we remove more surplus wages each year. I'll be looking forward to everyone accepting no transfer business/ club improvements in the other parts of the club, because we have some manageable debts. That's not going to happen. 

So it shouldn't be used as an excuse not to invest in the women's team. As a premier league club, we're in the best possible position to do make those investments in the next couple of seasons.

Maybe we should pull-out from trying to sign Broja, chuck Longy a new 2-year deal and plough the remaining wad of cash at the ladies (or what ever we are supposed to call them)

[djharvey]

1 minute ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

That’s a very 19th century outlook on things. The blokes should give the chicks an allowance, bit like housekeeping money I suppose. “Here you are pet, don’t spend it all at once”. 
 

If they can’t generate enough sponsorship, supporters of interest to go professional, then why should the mens game help them out? 

With that logic there would never be a penny from top flight football passed down the line to grass roots!

[The Kraken]

16 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

So the girls are all part timers at the moment I believe. We pay the men's players anywhere from £50-100k a week, could we not afford to pay these girls just a respectable yearly salary at say £25-30k a year and have them train full time?

Not sure I quite agree with this idea at this point. The women’ game still has a long way to develop and it needs to do so organically within some sort of structure that shows that it may live within its means.

That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need a little bit of a helping hand from the club at times, and I don’t think it would be unreasonable to expect a member of the media team is assigned to accompany the team for all home and away games to provide live updates and a decent match report with photos of the game.  Other clubs are already capable of this, whereas our OS is still in the habit of showing “game not started” on the OS when it is either underway or even finished. The last game against Crawley saw fans logging in to the opposition’s Twitter feeds for score updates, Saints seemingly did nothing.that’s really poor, and easily fixed (could potentially even do it on the cheap by having a tie in with Solent Uni and get journalism students to do it as a project, accompany the team on away games etc.).

Not sure if it happens already, but from time to time it would be nice to have one or more of our coaching team attend women’s training and pass on some hints and tips. If one or two of the first team players could spare an hour of their time to do this every now and again, it might create more of an idea that the sides are integrated and follow each other’s fortunes.

Perhaps St Mary’s could be made available for more than a game or two a season. Again this may generate wider interest and start to attract more of a following at games. If the games could also be daytime games that allow children to attend (I see the next game is against Pompey but kicks off at 7.45pm, which is going to be difficult for those with young kids to come along). Get a bumper daytime game on the go and it could even start to bring in new generation of young fans and future players to the womens game.

Just some thoughts, I think there’s probably a few more things we can do better before loading the wage bill significantly. Media exposure during and after games seems the easiest fix, if the club genuinely can’t get this done either by themselves or volunteers then I’m left scratching my head.

 

Edited 1 April, 2022 by The Kraken

[Lampwick]

3 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

That’s a very 19th century outlook on things. The blokes should give the chicks an allowance, bit like housekeeping money I suppose. “Here you are pet, don’t spend it all at once”. 
 

If they can’t generate enough sponsorship, supporters of interest to go professional, then why should the mens game help them out? 

Utter crap

[Dr Who?]

2 hours ago, The Kraken said:

Not sure I quite agree with this idea at this point. The women’ game still has a long way to develop and it needs to do so organically within some sort of structure that shows that it may live within its means.

That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need a little bit of a helping hand from the club at times, and I don’t think it would be unreasonable to expect a member of the media team is assigned to accompany the team for all home and away games to provide live updates and a decent match report with photos of the game.  Other clubs are already capable of this, whereas our OS is still in the habit of showing “game not started” on the OS when it is either underway or even finished. The last game against Crawley saw fans logging in to the opposition’s Twitter feeds for score updates, Saints seemingly did nothing.that’s really poor, and easily fixed (could potentially even do it on the cheap by having a tie in with Solent Uni and get journalism students to do it as a project, accompany the team on away games etc.).

Not sure if it happens already, but from time to time it would be nice to have one or more of our coaching team attend women’s training and pass on some hints and tips. If one or two of the first team players could spare an hour of their time to do this every now and again, it might create more of an idea that the sides are integrated and follow each other’s fortunes.

Perhaps St Mary’s could be made available for more than a game or two a season. Again this may generate wider interest and start to attract more of a following at games. If the games could also be daytime games that allow children to attend (I see the next game is against Pompey but kicks off at 7.45pm, which is going to be difficult for those with young kids to come along). Get a bumper daytime game on the go and it could even start to bring in new generation of young fans and future players to the womens game.

Just some thoughts, I think there’s probably a few more things we can do better before loading the wage bill significantly. Media exposure during and after games seems the easiest fix, if the club genuinely can’t get this done either by themselves or volunteers then I’m left scratching my head.

 

This. There are so many ways of improving the exposure of the woman’s game, that should come under the club umbrella that would cost very little for a little more time. Let’s say right media bod, as part of your job we want you to go to Saints women games and report, oh and you photography bod. If the mens first team are playing the same day then surely someone could cover it. I know I have a go at the BBC not updating the scores and tables for a couple of hours, but the information needs to come from the clubs quicker, and yes one day the BBC might be on it. We are at quite a low level and it does improve if we get out of the league. 

I do think in the future it will be as a whole ‘Southampton Football Club’ from development through to the first team with both sexes involved. One big finance pot.  At grass roots there are girls and boys playing together up to the age of 12. I do not think this will happen in the near future, but as the woman's game develops. 

At the moment the club need to be doing the easy wins, to build up the following, because without it the majority will not gain an interest. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

4 hours ago, djharvey said:

With that logic there would never be a penny from top flight football passed down the line to grass roots!

It’s the most over exposed pastime there is. The amount of coverage, opportunity and exposure it gets compared to the amount of people who are actually interested in it, is off the scale. Some are now suggesting the mens game should cough up so they can go full time, what a load of old pony. They get enough off the back of the mens game, they can’t expect anymore. Being a feminist, I’d rather they stood on their own two feet rather than rely on blokes to help them out. 

Edited 1 April, 2022 by Lord Duckhunter

[Saint_clark]

11 hours ago, Lampwick said:

Perhaps the men would be willing to forego a very modest part of their wages to fund and help with the ladies' footballing development. Now that would be a statement. I won't hold me breath...

Each of the first team squad would have to give up a gigantic £460 a week to pay the women a £25,000 a year salary each. We're either serious about supporting women's football or we're not, it's not a case of giving them a hand me out it's paying them an average workers full time wage to train full-time. 

[Dr Who?]

3 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Each of the first team squad would have to give up a gigantic £460 a week to pay the women a £25,000 a year salary each. We're either serious about supporting women's football or we're not, it's not a case of giving them a hand me out it's paying them an average workers full time wage to train full-time. 

But it does have to be sustainable either on its own which it is nowhere near being able to do and pay a full time wage, or the club take it under Southampton Football Club as a whole. 

To be sustainable on its own there is no way we can pay a wage, but the headache is how you get the sponsors on board and the fans through the turnstiles. The support is required now, but when it becomes sustainable then the club will bring it fully under its wing I’m sure. 

in my mind it is all Southampton FC and the time is right to support all the teams under the heading and finance of Southampton Football Club. Then we can enjoy all our teams as one. At this stage it is not going to impact the first team much at all and will help get the woman’s team where they need to be. 

[suewhistle]

20 hours ago, The Kraken said:

Not sure I quite agree with this idea at this point. The women’ game still has a long way to develop and it needs to do so organically within some sort of structure that shows that it may live within its means.

That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need a little bit of a helping hand from the club at times, [SNIP]

I think that you post some good points. It should be pointed out that Ipswich have some paid players under contract. But making the jump to a higher level is not possible without a bit of investment. The commitment of these players is much higher than at the grass roots level I play where we are sometimes short because, for example, someone has been called to do overtime and aren't financially in the position to refuse it. We didn't play one of the Isle of Wight teams and conceded three points because we couldn't raise a team due to both cost of getting there and the time commitment.

Incidentally, most (all?) women's football plays on a Sunday which means many of the potential crowd aren't able to make it as they are playing themselves.

Obviously Lord Duckhunter is really interested in women's football as he comes on here a fair bit... But his 19th C attitudes are a sad indication of what the women's game has to put up with. I can't be the only poster who thinks his attitudes generally are a bit sad really, but I find ignoring him the best option as he rarely makes a useful contribution to any debate in which he is involved.

I'm looking forward to Euro 2022 and hope there's a good buzz in the city when the three games are played here. Women's football in Southampton goes back a hundred years and the SeaCity museum is going to host an exhibition on the history of women's football in Southampton.

 

[Dr Who?]

52 minutes ago, suewhistle said:

I think that you post some good points. It should be pointed out that Ipswich have some paid players under contract. But making the jump to a higher level is not possible without a bit of investment. The commitment of these players is much higher than at the grass roots level I play where we are sometimes short because, for example, someone has been called to do overtime and aren't financially in the position to refuse it. We didn't play one of the Isle of Wight teams and conceded three points because we couldn't raise a team due to both cost of getting there and the time commitment.

Incidentally, most (all?) women's football plays on a Sunday which means many of the potential crowd aren't able to make it as they are playing themselves.

Obviously Lord Duckhunter is really interested in women's football as he comes on here a fair bit... But his 19th C attitudes are a sad indication of what the women's game has to put up with. I can't be the only poster who thinks his attitudes generally are a bit sad really, but I find ignoring him the best option as he rarely makes a useful contribution to any debate in which he is involved.

I'm looking forward to Euro 2022 and hope there's a good buzz in the city when the three games are played here. Women's football in Southampton goes back a hundred years and the SeaCity museum is going to host an exhibition on the history of women's football in Southampton.

 

Hi Sue, 

I’m going to stick with the one football club for all. I think at this stage it should be one financial pot, as the impact would be minimal. But there are loads of ideas on how to take the next step. 

As pointed out on here, the media coverage needs to be much better all round from the club and nationally, but I do think when it comes to the top flight it is much better, a little like the mens game. But as a club we should be 100% behind our woman’s team in all areas. 

I think the idea of playing on a Sunday is so the core fan base can go and watch both teams, but realistically if we are taking a whole Saturday out to watch the the mens team, then the Sunday is for family. Maybe if the woman’s team went professional a mid week league might be better with an earlier kick off 6pm? 

I do think if we gain promotion we will see the coverage improve, but it is not to difficult to improve things from a media point of view. I think as a club the mindset still needs a big shift to a ‘Southampton Football Club’ all as one mentality. 
 

I’m hoping to get to some games for the Euros and looking forward to the day when Saints FC Woman are playing some northern teams, so I can pop along. 

Edited 2 April, 2022 by Dr Who?

[suewhistle]

Talking of media coverage, the easiest way to follow the U-23s is via Master Bates' posts on this forum, so I think they need to up their game all round!

I quite like your idea of an earlier mid-week kick-off, but the occasional game before the main event on a Saturday would get a good crowd and sell more beer and pies.

I've added a local link to the Euros, let's hope it does stimulate more interest. But compared when I was young it's like chalk and cheese. It would be good to have more qualified coaches, as some of the girls trying out football for the first time at the lower levels really don't have much experience with the kickabout stuff the lads have probably engaged in. These days team creches would also be welcomed, as our young mums find it a struggle, and retaining their experience would be really useful!

https://visitsouthampton.co.uk/womenseuro?utm_ID=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery

[Lampwick]

On 02/04/2022 at 13:24, suewhistle said:

Talking of media coverage, the easiest way to follow the U-23s is via Master Bates' posts on this forum, so I think they need to up their game all round!

I quite like your idea of an earlier mid-week kick-off, but the occasional game before the main event on a Saturday would get a good crowd and sell more beer and pies.

I've added a local link to the Euros, let's hope it does stimulate more interest. But compared when I was young it's like chalk and cheese. It would be good to have more qualified coaches, as some of the girls trying out football for the first time at the lower levels really don't have much experience with the kickabout stuff the lads have probably engaged in. These days team creches would also be welcomed, as our young mums find it a struggle, and retaining their experience would be really useful!

https://visitsouthampton.co.uk/womenseuro?utm_ID=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery

 

Edited 7 April, 2022 by Lampwick

[Dr Who?]

Nice start to the game, flowing with both teams pressing. 

[Dr Who?]

Ipswich probably edging it will intent. Side netting after a well worked move. 

[Dr Who?]

Chances at both ends. This is a very open game. 

[Dr Who?]

Oxford just the 4 up after 26 minutes. They keep on plugging away and will probably be hoping for a draw between us and Ipswich. 

[Dr Who?]

Penalty to Ipswich. 

[Dr Who?]

36 minutes 

Ipswich 1-0 Southampton from the spot. 

Apparently a terrible decision for the penalty, well we are Saints we are used to it. 

Edited 3 April, 2022 by Dr Who?

[Dr Who?]

Town have a couple of chances are are looking to add to their lead. Need to get to half time just the 1 down and regroup. 

[Dr Who?]

Half Time 

Ipswich 1-0 Southampton 

still a long way to go in this game, but as it stands the title race is in Ipswich’s hands and not ours. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

C'mon Saints! They'll have to go for it in the second half.

[The Kraken]

Good to see the Saints media team have recognised the importance of this game and are giving it their full attention.

An hour since kick off and apparently the game has “not started”.

[Dr Who?]

5 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Good to see the Saints media team have recognised the importance of this game and are giving it their full attention.

An hour since kick off and apparently the game has “not started”.

Don’t get me started 😆 

[AlexLaw76]

Hardly anyone cares, social media being live or not.

[Dr Who?]

Right I’ve got to pop out, so no chance of knowing what is happening. Come on Saints! 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

I'm looking at the Ipswich twitter feed.

[Ted Bates Statue]

Just now, Holmes_and_Watson said:

I'm looking at the Ipswich twitter feed.

Ditto

1-1

[Dr Who?]

Get in! 1-1

Edited 3 April, 2022 by Dr Who?

[The Kraken]

1-2!

 

Theyve turned it around!

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Yups! C'mon. That will hopefully have rattled them.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

And as if by magic... 1-2!

[Pilchards]

Get in there, top corner 1-2

We are the opposite of the mens team after leading at half time.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Beaten by The Kraken. Which is fair, as I'm only two detectives compared to him being a giant sea monster. 🙂

[Dr Who?]

That’s just beautiful stuff. 

[Dr Who?]

It’s back in our hands, well a draw would keep it in our hands, but a win would be amazing! We would be very strong favourites. 

[Dr Who?]

Oxford just the 7-0 up. 

[The Kraken]

2 minutes ago, Dr Who? said:

Oxford just the 7-0 up. 

Some Keynsham Cops defending going on in that game.

 

Edited 3 April, 2022 by The Kraken

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Not long now...

[Dr Who?]

Full Time 

Ipswich 1-2 Southampton 

What a result that is. We are now 1 point behind with 2 games in hand.