I wonder if England's success at the Euro 17 will prompt new rounds of media questions to the Glazers why we are the only team with no women's team.
Why do we not have a women's team?
- Thread starter Jaybomb
- Start date
I think we should have a women's team. Women's football has started to get a larger fan base and most 'top' teams have one. I think we are missing out.
Conversation with daughter during Euro 2017:
Big brother: who do you like to watch more, Ada Hegerberg or Zlatan?
Little sister: Hegerberg.
BB: whaaaa? Do you know Norway U16 beat the women's NT in a training match? How can you prefer someone so
much worse?
LS: I don't know, it's like when I see the women, I can sort of imagine in a way, that that could be me, like, in my head. That doesn't work with Zlatan. It makes it more fun to watch. Actually, it makes it more fun to play also.
Big brother: who do you like to watch more, Ada Hegerberg or Zlatan?
Little sister: Hegerberg.
BB: whaaaa? Do you know Norway U16 beat the women's NT in a training match? How can you prefer someone so
much worse?
LS: I don't know, it's like when I see the women, I can sort of imagine in a way, that that could be me, like, in my head. That doesn't work with Zlatan. It makes it more fun to watch. Actually, it makes it more fun to play also.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/07/tv-audience-england-womens-football-lionesses
With about 200 million TV viewers (4 m watching Holland v England in GB alone) watching players of Barcelona, Bayern Münich, Chelsea, Lyon, Arsenal, Ajax, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, PSG and Man City show it up in the Euro 2017, I expect new rounds of enquiry from fans, community and journalists into why Man Utd still haven't got any senior players.
So far, it looks as though the Glazers are going to put themselves on the wrong side of history, unless the 'reviewing the possibility of a team' actually means they are looking at it again.
With about 200 million TV viewers (4 m watching Holland v England in GB alone) watching players of Barcelona, Bayern Münich, Chelsea, Lyon, Arsenal, Ajax, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, PSG and Man City show it up in the Euro 2017, I expect new rounds of enquiry from fans, community and journalists into why Man Utd still haven't got any senior players.
So far, it looks as though the Glazers are going to put themselves on the wrong side of history, unless the 'reviewing the possibility of a team' actually means they are looking at it again.
It is a tough subject and I have enjoyed reading the different opinions throughout by all.
To be honest I back United's decision on this either way. If they decide to eventually go out and start up a team then that is great from them but if they feel it is not a venture they want to go down then sane again, fine with me.
I understand that if United started a woman's team it would be a great boost for the popularity of the sport but it seems like an easy option. I feel there would be more respect for the women's game of they develop at their own pace off their own back. Yes it will be hard but if they get to where the want to get, it will be well worth it.
As for comments stating it would be great for Girls to play for their dream club, do you think it is fair they will get an easier route than those Boys who have the same dream but with a far inferior chance of achieving this?
To be honest I back United's decision on this either way. If they decide to eventually go out and start up a team then that is great from them but if they feel it is not a venture they want to go down then sane again, fine with me.
I understand that if United started a woman's team it would be a great boost for the popularity of the sport but it seems like an easy option. I feel there would be more respect for the women's game of they develop at their own pace off their own back. Yes it will be hard but if they get to where the want to get, it will be well worth it.
As for comments stating it would be great for Girls to play for their dream club, do you think it is fair they will get an easier route than those Boys who have the same dream but with a far inferior chance of achieving this?
Infinitaly fairer than the current situation for girls, who have zero chance.
The only thing stopping a boy from playing for Man United is how good they are at football. Girls can't play for Man United because they are girls.
Sorry I should have been clearer, I meant on the basis of us getting a Woman's team. There are great Male players who just can't make it at United (I am talking first team where it really counts) due to the high standard , whereas due to sheer lack of numbers a Girl would be able to effectivley walk straight into a United shirt.
The whole arguement can go round and round and there is great opinions for & against the (re) introduction of a Female side.
The only argument against a female side is that it would not be profitable enough (or at all). I respect that, United are not a charity but it is a shame because as you say, it would be a huge boost for womens sport.
It being respectively easier for a girl than a boy to play for United is not really a reason not to do it.
The issue of (professional) female football is at present being somewhat 'forced', in reality except for a few favoured players at the pinnacle , the majority of participants are amateur, or semi-professional at best.
When professional women's football becomes attractive to larger audiences then it may get wider financial support, but until it draws the kind of audiences and interest that the male game does, then for a club like United its something best left alone.
Look at the media coverage of United as it stands, imagine the level of coverage and the kind of coverage we would get with a female equivalent, at present it would add no value to the club and for some sections of the media, just a bigger target to aim at.
The men's game and pretty much every major sport got financial backing because it was already popular and attractive to large audiences, whats happening with the women's game is in reverse.
From a BBC article late last year: "While Notts County are one of just four top-flight clubs with an average attendance of more than 1,000, their numbers have dropped by almost 17%.
Sunderland, in their second top-flight season, experienced the biggest decline - almost 24% to 710 - while Liverpool averaged gates of 724, a fall of almost 10%."
City have the biggest average attendance for a womens side which is about the same as Chester FC. City charge £6 for a ticket which is a third of what Chester charge, a team that finished 19th in the conference last season.
That certainly isn't attractive viewing for the Glazers.
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Which clubs are like United? The other premier league clubs have women's teams. Barcelona and Atletico have women's teams, Real Madrid are just getting going with theirs.
If you mean, other clubs owned by the Glazers. Sure. I'm not a shareholder so I've got no say in getting the club to do it. I'm just a long time supporter, who wants it to happen. Not as an immediate business venture, but as the act of a good corporate citizen of football and Manchester.
The more negative press they get on the issue the better. Eventually the cost of setting up the team may be worth it, if only due to the bad PR. Once established, I actually think United's marketing expertise will make sure that our actual expenses are minimal.
I think a big reason might the fact that we are somewhat publicly traded, from a cold business perspective not having a woman's team isn't much of a PR hit right now and running any potential woman's team at a loss means answering some questions from Wall Street and the club's lenders.
Yes, spot on!
This is why I referred to the professional women's game is being 'forced', or at least trying to defy the laws of sponsorship "much shall have more" certainly.
Football or Soccer, domestic or world wide, male or female versions, its all becoming more 'showbiz' and moving towards the 'three-ringed circus'. It is now very much a product designed for the mass media, which is why there are very few PL games featuring the top 6 clubs ko at 3.00pm on Saturdays.
EPL have talked about a '39th fixture' being played on neutral ground (meaning USA, China, or somewhere similar) where there multi-millions of potential customers and in 2022 we're to have a 'winter WC' played in 40 degree heat. Also don't think AVR has gone away, just because they made a 'pigs ear' of the trial, like brexit it will continue to be re-run, until the powers that be get the result they want!
Women's professional football will become the third ring in the 3-ringed circus
Very few, in the sense I was referring to previously.
As we all know, United is a multi-million pound world wide branded business now, quoted again as we know, on at least three major stock market's around the world, all the other clubs have other reasons for starting women's teams which may eventually become financially viable, we do not, at least not at present.
Barcelona and Madrid are effectively state-funded, either directly or via taxation, (made to fit FFP rules though!) they therefore are obliged to respond on a social basis, we are not.
We are in the top three world wide 'cash-cow' sports businesses, no other football or soccer teams are. There is no justifiable financial reason to take risks with women's professional football at United. Yes there may be a 'clammer' from some quarters, there may even eventually become a legal requirement to set up a Man United female Football team, but for the moment there is not and the club rightfully, in my view, deems on the balance of risk, we are better off not engaging.
I stand with the Glazers ant their fight for true equality.
According to Google Men and Women are the same. ..so therefore let's address the elephant in the room that equality is bullshit.
Make pro football open to any Pronoun and scrap all this ridiculous inequality.
According to Google Men and Women are the same. ..so therefore let's address the elephant in the room that equality is bullshit.
Make pro football open to any Pronoun and scrap all this ridiculous inequality.
Ah yes, the classic "having women and men compete separately is the true inequality".
Thanks for your input, it added a lot.
Get a sense of humour.
Apologies. So much shite has been spouted in this thread, that my natural reaction is "ugh, this again". Thread's made me knee-jerkish.
Thought this was quite interesting, as there's a brief history of the now defunct United Women's team printed inside: http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.c.../manchester-united-ladies-fc-programme-1992-2
This is a good post. As a grown man who has been watching football all his life there is very little that interests me about women's football (insert joke about them swapping shirts at the end here). But for a whole generation of young girls it could be huge. I think it's about time United got with the programme.
They're different "dreams" IMO -- women could obviously never play for the men's side (and reap all the benefits: huge crowds, premier competitions, massive salaries, etc.), so it makes sense that their path would be "easier." I'd have no problem with a women's side -- young female fans would have something more comparable to work towards, look up to, and support.
Why does this really matter ? Are we supposed to support the team if we did have one ?
I don't see any reason if we did have a women's team that I would want to choose them over another womens team. Is not like they would of have players that can go on to play for our first team.
It's a redundant topic for me in a forum for United's first team
I don't see any reason if we did have a women's team that I would want to choose them over another womens team. Is not like they would of have players that can go on to play for our first team.
It's a redundant topic for me in a forum for United's first team
That's because you don't have any emotional attachment to Manchester itself. Completely understandable.
You don't know that and your wrong by the way.. Thanks for trying the old chestnut though . It's got nothing to do with location or women rights etc ,
If there's a women's team and yes probably should be I would still see no reason to follow them over another womans team .they may wear a united shirt but that means nothing in regards to supporting our first team.
It may not mean anything to you, but then maybe you're not its target audience. Whereas there are United fans who are.
But it would still be supporting the organization. Odd that your first inclination would not be to support their women's team. I can't wrap my head around that.
We shouldnt for now. Not financially and viewer wise motivating and i'd like us to concentrate on what's more important, getting the first team squad sorted and getting back to winning ways. Then we could reopen the case.
Doesnt mean we are the richest club means we should have one just cause. We also have a sizeable debt behind it.
Doesnt mean we are the richest club means we should have one just cause. We also have a sizeable debt behind it.
Why would I ? If Manchester united introduced whites only clothing or men's only clothing should I support that? If they announced Donald Trump sponsorship is that ok?
You can't say you should support the organisation in anything they do. That's not the answer
I'm not saying I wouldn't support them but more so I don't see why I should support them over another womans team .
Oh and before someone says I'm comparing a women's footballl team to trump or any thing else I'm clearly not. I'm just pointing out how absurd it is to say if you support a football team then you should support anything that club decides to do
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What's absurd is how strongly you seem to feel about it!
Agreed. If they're wearing the shirt and the badge, then they're as much a part of United as the Youth teams.
I hate these types of posts.What's absurd is how strongly you seem to feel about it!
Don't want a womens team at all. Why should we? What because everyone else is, because the media pressure from the top to push women in sport and everything else? Fair play to women who like football, but every time BBC sport site rams down my throat womens football I look away, they have a womens football link site, yet when you click football their stories and news floods the mens ones which I acutally want to read, however, there is no mens link so that I can boomark 'mens football' just to read that.
Hope MUFC never does one. Its allways the same, well the sheep do it, so we must. NO. DO NOT WANT>
Hope MUFC never does one. Its allways the same, well the sheep do it, so we must. NO. DO NOT WANT>
Im not entirely against but yeah, it shouldnt be a priority or explored for now. We should get back to winning ways and get the first team rebuild sorted before exploring it. Not having a women's team is not a bad thing even if we're the only ones. We're MUFC. We do what we want. Not because we should do so under pressure.
No offense, but your post is insane. Giving the women a team of their own causes you to leap to create an equivalence to white supremacy? Uh, OK. Totally the same thing there.
Agree with this. Let them develop the game naturally rather than pressure the men's game to force it. At the moment the standard is barely above a decent amateur level and we have other things to concentrate on.
We should have a women's team. It isn't hard to figure out...
Yes that's exactly what i was doing especially in the part of my post where I said I wasn't doing that .
For the last time i was pointing out how absurd the notion is of being told to support a women's team would be just because they are wearing united shirts
A women's Manchester united Team is not the same as a Manchester united boys team or reserves team .Therefore I don't see why I would choose to follow them whether I'm from Manchester or not .
I realise that's not the issue here but as the thread is in the Manchester United first team forum i just felt like pointing it out .
I love these type of posts
But seriously, imagine being so vehemently against something that is really just a positive thing. I can understand being ambivalent towards the idea, but really, where is the harm for anybody??
It just seems like chastising everybody who isn't acting completely nonchalantly towards an issue is now a thing on the caf.
I don't see the problem. He can be against it if he wants.