TUFC Ladies Thread

[Plymouth Gull]

If only you'd chosen to look so far as page 2 of this board Matt, and to a thread that even you posted on many a time..

http://forum.torquayfans.com/viewtopic. ... 34#p122234

Merged.

[Yellow4life]

She was randomly talking to me, where were you?

[ferrarilover]

She was battered and an embarrassment. I asked you how long we'd played and you told me 12 minutes.

Well done Nick, I'd forgotten entirely that this thread already existed. I offer my apologies to the real OP and my thanks to you for merging the relevant threads.

Matt.

[Glostergull]

Ok Guys. I suppose i have to come clean on this. I follow Bristol Academy. although I will take a lot more notice now that United have a team. I thought it might be useful to let other know how womens football is run in England

If you want to look at the big boys in super league. Liverpool dont yet even qualify. They are relative newcomers although granted they have surprising champions elect this year. but up to now they have never really threatened.
Any relation between Mens and Womens football is as likely as Syria asking to run the womens institute and getting the thumbs up.
The big boys in this league are Indeed Arsenal, who are way above all others cos the parent club finance them. Big time. The traditional big players have been Doncaster Belles Birmingham and Everton. Fulham provided a threat for a while untill Mohamen Al Fayed Sold out and got out. Then they dropped like a stone. Croydon also won a couple of titles in the early years when they were inexistance. I don't even know if they are still playing?

But most of the former I mentioned have been there since the first days of womens football at the top. with HArsenall (As Morecambe use to say) Birmingham and Chelsea have been threatening for the last few years but not actually managed to gain any top spot yet. Bristol were formerly Bristol Rovers. Then Rovers ran out of money and the girls decided to try and go it alone. They remain the only team on their own as a total autonamous team with no links to any recognised traditional football club. A fact which they are very very proud of. In fact I have a friend in one of them who gained Nation honours in the England under 21 team, Grace McCatty.

So Arsenal have won the most titles in the premier league and super league (total domination is more the description) with 14 out of 21 seasons as Champions. Everton actauly won the championship in 1998 and Fulham in 2003. Croydon is the nest highest winner to Arsenal with 3 titles and Doncaster with two. Arsenal have won the title the last 9 years on the trot and also 11 out of the last 12 years so we badly need a newcomer to muscle in and take the matle away from them. Liverpool have come good for the first time this year and have been level pegging with Bristol all season. In fact they have had a meteoric rise as they only won the Northern league title in 2009 then two years later win the right to go into the Super league. In fact I have to admit that they put in bids to win the right so in actual fact the super league is actually a francchise. The last match of the season will see Liverpool at home to Bristol and the winner of that match will take the title. A draw will see liverpool win the title. iverpool are top with 33 Points. Bristol are second with 31 points so the clear favourites are Liverpool. But it's not impossible.
Bristol recorded their highest league placing this year but look like finished runner up to Liverpool now. But by looking at the league table you can see that there could be a quite a shift in power as Arsenal have not been this low down the table in many many years. This may not seem particularly newsworthy. But with so many titles going to london no one else had a chance untill now. I do worry if the Premier league big Boys will mirror the mens league in the not too distant future. but this remains to be seen.

Arsenal had a bad start to the season and didn't threaten until late on, by then it was too late.

The next league is the Premier league which has charlton Sunderland leeds Villa and Barnet as previos top players. Indeed Barnet even won the right to be in the super league for the first year. but dropped out due to cost.
Below that league, womens football is regional and the split is Northern. Midlands and South East and South West for the next level down. with a couple of odd names in the past. Bronte (who could be a north Yorkshire team) and one District line (which seems to indicate that they are a London team who have links like Manu and Crewe and Doncaster to the railway. They have effectively 3 divisions in that league with a Premier league and north and South divisions within.
Lower down the scale is County League level. which is split in to Premier league and divison 1. although, as there is only one divison below the premier makes me wonder if they are either hoping to add another division or why they call it division one
So united are effectively are in step 5. sharing company with Forest Green Reserves and Cheltenham Town. If United have any ambitions to rise I suspect they will manage a couple of steps but will find it hard to finance more than a couple of steps to the South West combination. if they achieve that they will have done well. Any higher and it will indeed be marvelous. There is no way they can afford the franchise for the Super league.
The is a wage cap being mooted for next year but at the moment there is a grant of £70k a year for each of the Super League teams. and a limit of 4 players on £20k or over.
Not many players get paid below that level and crowds are pitifuly small. Even the Super league is only getting crowds of between 200 and 500 and of the teams with the highest attendances Bristol. Arsenal and Birmingham with the highest attendances.
A further note is that Bristol Academy are also the only team to have their own stadium. all the others share someone elses
I will see what I can do to get down to Torquay to see the ladies, but it's hard to get down regularly to see the guys so can't make promises. I will still see Graces team though.
So in capping up. The top level or two is promoted by their parent clubs with sponsorship. without that there wouldn't be any sort of effective league above Combination level. It would be just too expensive. Good luck to the ladies and I will watch with interest.

[ferrarilover]

6-2 today against Illogan LFC.

Goughy hat trick, Mrs Hockley with a penno and Hayley Chambers with a couple.

First thing to say is that Illogan played the whole match with 10 men and no subs. Very unfair on them, since they were a bloody good side, probably the best I've seen against us.

We went a goal down early when a long ball forward found a striker who was flagged about 10 yards offside. She laid it back and it was knocked in. The lino flagged but the referee overruled him. I spoke to the ref at full time and he held his hands up to misunderstanding what the lino was saying regards the offside and awarding a goal which should not have stood.

We pressed and equalised with a penalty. A corner was knocked in to the near post and a defender handled it on the line before it was hammered into the roof of the net. Weirdly, the ref ruled out the goal, gave the penalty and didn't send off the defender. Ok, I can accept the decision not to give the red, but to rule out the goal was a but odd. Still, didn't matter, Vicky Hockley stepped up and drove the pen low under the visiting keeper for 1-1.

We then managed to fall behind again to a nicely worked goal from their dangerous, speedy forward. 2-1 at HT and a lot of work to do for an under-performing Gulls side.

A bollocking at half time sorted them right out and the second half went as the rest of the matches have, with Torquay in total control. In fairness to Illogan, they were somewhat hamstrung by the fact that they didn't have anyone who could kick a goalkick much beyond the 18 yard line. This made it easier for Torquay to build and maintain pressure.

The goals soon came, with Goughy finding the net with a deft flick following good work down the right. The third soon followed from Hayley Chambers neat finish across the keeper. A nice volley into the top corner followed from the same player, then a couple from Goughy either side of a hilarious miss. She'd gone clear, rounded the keeper, had two extra touches and managed to hit the side netting with the goal gaping. It was worse than the Torres miss vs Man Utd a couple of years ago.

Illogan were well beaten in the end, but that's no real reflection on just how good they were on the ball at times. Their keeper made some excellent saves (including a one hander to her right which wouldn't have looked out of place in L2). Their number 10 was also a decent player and I'd happily have their number 3 in our team.

Disappointed that there weren't more people there. It's good fun, you really should come along.

Matt.

[yellowforever]

What's the standard like? I must admit I've watched a bit of the Women's Premier League this season (thank you BT Sport) and it looks alright. Ok the intensity isn't anywhere near the men's game, but entry is cheap and seems good fun. I'd definitely go to see the Torquay team, especially if more and more went and the atmosphere was good.

[ferrarilover]

No no no, don't go expecting to see anything like the WSL or WPL, it's a long, long way below that standard. However, what it does offer is football played almost 100% on the deck (they can't kick it more than 20 yards, forcing them to play real football), the chance to see a hatful of goals for people wearing TUFC shirts and the chance to see a match where there are more crossbars than freekicks, no one argues with the ref and no one dives about clutching their face every time an opponent brushes their midriff.
In truth, if you're the sort of bloke who would rather stand on the freezing terrace at Plainmoor than sit at home watching Man Utd, you're probably not interested in the standard of football you watch anyway. It's a good laugh, there's loads going on on the pitch and you get to have a laugh with the players, linesmen and others before, during and after the match.

Prime example was getting to speak to the ref today after the match over a plate of pasta bake. I asked him about a couple of decisions (as detailed above) and he explained them. No need to get upset, no need to come on the internet and vent a spleen over useless officials, but the chance to understand why an official made the decisions that he did. If I didn't have Torquay to watch on a Saturday, I'd go to Buckfastleigh Rangers, because I love watching live football. It's the same reason I'm going all the bloody way to Sid James tonight to watch our reserve reserves get beaten by the Filth. The women's team, for me, is an extension of that and a perfect excuse to watch yet more football.
I'm going to make an appeal to the club today for an official to be present at the next match, which is a vital FA Cup qualifier against a team from Swindon who are in the division above us, but aren't very good. We can win it and that would be great, but it would be better if a representative from the club the girls represent was there to see it.

Matt.

[Behind-the-Gulls]

6-2 today against Illogan LFC.

Goughy hat trick, Mrs Hockley with a penno and Hayley Chambers with a couple.

First thing to say is that Illogan played the whole match with 10 men and no subs. Very unfair on them, since they were a bloody good side, probably the best I've seen against us.

We went a goal down early when a long ball forward found a striker who was flagged about 10 yards offside. She laid it back and it was knocked in. The lino flagged but the referee overruled him. I spoke to the ref at full time and he held his hands up to misunderstanding what the lino was saying regards the offside and awarding a goal which should not have stood.

We pressed and equalised with a penalty. A corner was knocked in to the near post and a defender handled it on the line before it was hammered into the roof of the net. Weirdly, the ref ruled out the goal, gave the penalty and didn't send off the defender. Ok, I can accept the decision not to give the red, but to rule out the goal was a but odd. Still, didn't matter, Vicky Hockley stepped up and drove the pen low under the visiting keeper for 1-

We then managed to fall behind again to a nicely worked goal from their dangerous, speedy forward. 2-1 at HT and a lot of work to do for an under-performing Gulls side.

A bollocking at half time sorted them right out and the second half went as the rest of the matches have, with Torquay in total control. In fairness to Illogan, they were somewhat hamstrung by the fact that they didn't have anyone who could kick a goalkick much beyond the 18 yard line. This made it easier for Torquay to build and maintain pressure.

The goals soon came, with Goughy finding the net with a deft flick following good work down the right. The third soon followed from Hayley Chambers neat finish across the keeper. A nice volley into the top corner followed from the same player, then a couple from Goughy either side of a hilarious miss. She'd gone clear, rounded the keeper, had two extra touches and managed to hit the side netting with the goal gaping. It was worse than the Torres miss vs Man Utd a couple of years ago.

Illogan were well beaten in the end, but that's no real reflection on just how good they were on the ball at times. Their keeper made some excellent saves (including a one hander to her right which wouldn't have looked out of place in L2). Their number 10 was also a decent player and I'd happily have their number 3 in our team.

Disappointed that there weren't more people there. It's good fun, you really should come along.

Matt.

Bloody cheats playing with ten "men"-how did they get away with it!

[ferrarilover]

Haha, you know, they use the male gender too. 'Man on', 'man coming', 'mark your men' etc. Makes me giggle, probably because I'm 6 years old.

Matt.

[happytorq]

Haha, you know, they use the male gender too. 'Man on', 'man coming', 'mark your men' etc. Makes me giggle, probably because I'm 6 years old.

Matt.

probably because it takes less time to say "man on" than to say "woman on".

[Scott Brehaut]

You could say "bird on" instead I suppose....

[ferrarilover]

I'm certain that is the reason, Haps. Still funny though.

Matt.

[Glostergull]

Hi Guys
Well done to United forn their win over Illogan. Not sure where that is but it sounds sort of Cornish,.
Well Brissle Academy went up to Liverpools Halton Road stadium and lost. We battled but against a very wealthy side put together with a huge investment from Liverpools American Owners we did well to even be in contention.
I view Bristol Academy as much Like Torquay United. A well run club with little money. We have the smallest budget and squad in the WSL.
Any club in the WSL had to guarantee that they could match the FA grant of £70,000 with a club generated £70,000. Most WSL clubs can do better than this but Lil Ole Bristol still usurped them all bar Liverpool. even Arsenal could only manage 3rd. and they had won the last 9 titles.
Believe it or not but we took 350 fans to Liverpool. The total gate was 2156. so attendances are growing. I do know that Bristol did have one crowd of 3500 when facing Arsenal in the FA Cup one year when under the umbrella of Bristol Rovers.
W'omens football is definitely on the up. it's not full of overpaid cheaters trying to get one over the ref. neither is it full of players diving. waving wads of dosh at us. Metaphorically. or miserable moaning whinging millionaires trying our patience.
To top it all. Bristol Academy are in the Champions league next year. Now who would have thought that.
Come on United. Lets see you up there in the Prem on year. I am sure you can do it.

[ferrarilover]

Played Taunton Town LFC today and destroyed them 7-1. Best performance of the season and a real step up in quality. Crisp, accurate passing and some absolutely beautiful football. First two goals would have graced the men's game. New forward Sian Chapman got a hat-trick, and super striker Laura Gough did likewise (hit the post with her first touch, followed up the rebound with her second having been on for less than a minute). Goughy came on after 40 minutes and hit her third (a brilliant strike across the keeper into the top corner) on the hour mark. Matt Hockely's wife, Vicky, missed a penno but generally played solidly in the middle of the park. Right back Charlie Maling went in at the very end of the match and seemed to break the nose of an opponent. Purely accidental, but showed excellent commitment.
Man of the match, unusually for a team winning 7-1 was centre-back Randi Cutmore. She is a lovely player and has an incredible touch. She was all across the back line today and nullified absolutely everything Taunton created.
Shame of the day as a dead leg suffered by central midfielder Hayley Chambers. She's hard as nails and has all the tricks. She went in on the keeper following Vicky's penalty and got hurt in the clash.
Jazz Hervin* came on and did well and there were decent performances from all those I've not mentioned by name.

Here follows yet another appeal for fans to come and watch the ladies when they're at home. We're away next Sunday (is it insane that I'm considering going?), but we might well be at home to Exeter the week after.

Matt.

*18 years old and already a properly serious member of the coaching and development of football in England. Works as hard as any person reasonably (or unreasonably) could and is certainly a name to look out for in the future.

[Duncan]

Man of the match,unusually for a team winning 7-1 was centre-back Randi Cutmore

He will be delighted