Can we survive?

As you might have guessed, I've spent the last couple of weeks watching the ever-changing bottom half of the Premiership, wondering who's going to be relegated. It's been even more exciting than the race for top spot (well, it's never that exciting, really, is it? We all know it's going to be Man U, Chelsea or Arsenal up there... Hopefully Man City will pep things up a bit more next season).
Anyway, back to the bottom. Apart from West Ham, it's still all up for grabs. I always felt that Wolves were just about good enough to stay up (without any bias), but have they left it too late? Will they lose to Blackburn? Will I have any fingernails left after next week's games? My predictions are that Blackpool and Birmingham will join West Ham in the championship (sorry to any fans of those clubs); on the other hand, it could be Wolves and Wigan. Or maybe Wigan and Blackpool...
That's the great thing about football - no-one really knows what will happen. It's what keeps us all watching.

The Women's Super League - an update

Well, the Women's Super League is half way through. The eight teams are having a break as players prepare for the Women's World Cup that starts at the end of June.

The table looks like this:

Team                           Played    Points
Birmingham City              7          17
Arsenal                            6          13
Chelsea Ladies                7          12
Everton                            6           7
Bristol Academy              7           7
Doncaster Belles              7          7
Lincoln Ladies                 7           5
Liverpool                         7           3


As you can see from the points there seems to be a definite gap between the top three and the bottom five. I'm not sure how true a reflection of the teams this is. I've watched Lincoln Ladies play three times and read the reports in the Lincolnshire Echo for matches I haven't attended and in my opinion the difference in standard between them and their opposition hasn't been that great. The Lady Imps have never once been swamped or thrashed by their opposition - even Birmingham and Arsenal. When they've lost it's been by one goal. The main missing ingredient seems to be the lack of a striker to put the ball away. If it's the same for Liverpool, Doncaster and Bristol the mid season break will give coaches a chance to shore up the deficiencies and come out firing on all cylinders after the World Cup. Well, that's my theory anyway!

I think the FAs initial idea of 'pooling' talent has worked fairly well. The idea of sharing the top players round has made for much more even and fast paced games. What I'm not sure about is how the original 'base' team has adjusted to the new hotshot signings and vice versa. Teams take a while to bed in and get used to each other. And how do some team members like the fact that while they're earning peanuts, four of their squad are on £20K (still peanuts but jumbo variety). I'd love to be a fly on the dressing room wall!

One good thing about the new league has been the increased interest in media terms. There was a whole ten minutes about the origins of the game on the One Show last Wednesday. Gabby Logan interviewed Gail Newsham about Dick, Kerr Ladies (see previous blogs). In girls magazines, too, women footballers are increasingly being mentioned and features. This is real progress. The more girls read about, and see, sportswomen as media-worthy the more they'll choose them as role models instead of vacuous wannabes who've done nothing more than look pretty and got ahead thanks to daddy's money.

The daily newspapers have been less enthusiastic. After an initial flurry of interest it's back to the same old mass reportage of the men's game and nothing about the women. The good old Guardian seems to be about the only one who regularly reports results. However on a local level it's a different matter. The Lincolnshire Echo has been fantastic at supporting their WSL team. On Friday they carried a whole page report of the match between Lincoln Ladies and Chelsea, complete with photos, interviews, stats and marks out of ten for each player. In other words, they got the same coverage as the men's team. OK, poor Lincoln City FC have just been relegated out of the football league so there's not a lot for the Echo to write home about there but to be fair the Echo has always been generous in it's coverage of the women's game. Well done that paper!

Twitter is even better. Through that I've discovered that there are loads of websites and contacts dedicated to women's football. http://www.shekicks.net/  is one. So we're getting there. Now, if my Girls FC books can be part of that groundswell, I'll be chuffed to bits!

Helena Pielichaty http://www.helena-pielichaty.com/

Keith Mansfield

I’m Keith and I’m a Derby fan. There – I’ve admitted it. I actually grew up in West Bridgford, Nottingham, the location of the City Ground. However, from when I was five years old I shared a season ticket to the Baseball Ground, then home of Brian Clough’s Derby County, with my older brother. We alternated matches, but I seemed to get all the good ones. My dad’s from Derby and I guess he didn’t want us led astray by the locals.

Keith Mansfield in front of the Clough & Taylor statue at Derby County's Pride Park Stadium

In those days the pitch was famously a mudbath, but the football was beautiful. Under Clough and assistant, Peter Taylor, Derby won the league title and reached the semifinals of the European Cup (the days when the Champions League was for champions only), losing controversially to Juventus. A few years later we won the league again under Dave Mackay and I remember watching us demolish Real Madrid 4-1 at the Baseball Ground in another European Cup campaign, with a Charlie George hat-trick.

Nowadays, the Pride Park pitch is a smooth carpet of green, like a snooker table, but the quality of the football doesn’t live up to it. There’s a new Clough in charge, young Nigel, tasked with cutting the wagebill while delivering mid-table Championship mediocrity – it’s not a recipe for excitement although briefly, earlier this season, we found ourselves playing some of the best football for years. Could next season see a promotion charge? Might Clough Jnr take the Rams in the same direction as his father? Right now it seems far from likely, but success in football’s so much about confidence and momentum. Whoever we support, we know it doesn’t take much to spark our enthusiasm and what’s great is that things can change so quickly from one season to the next – from one game to the next. So, come next August, we can all believe again, however mad it might appear now.

I write books about a boy called Johnny Mackintosh (and his sister Clara). They’re really science fiction adventures, so you might wonder what I'm doing on this blog, but there’s a lot of football in all the stories. On the very first page of my very first book, Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London, we meet Johnny in his school football kit – white shirts and black shorts that just happen to mirror Derby’s. Early in the second book we even visit the site of the now demolished Baseball Ground. And Johnny plays matches in all the books.

As well as being a fan all my life, I captained my school and university teams and I want the football in my stories to read as authentically as possible. I love this blog and can’t wait to write some bits and pieces for it. For those of you still with things to play for at this the business end of the season: (a) you’re lucky and (b) I hope it goes well for you.

You can read more about me at http://www.keithmansfield.co.uk/.

Here come the girls!

The Women's Super League kicked off last night. At 5.30 Chelsea took on Arsenal in front of the TV cameras and a crowd of over 2000. Arsenal bagged the three points with a 1-0 victory over their London rivals. While that was going on I travelled to Sincil Bank, home of Lincoln City FC, to watch Lincoln Ladies take on their 'local' (as in 40 miles away) rivals Doncaster Belles.

Lincoln City are struggling in League 2 at the moment (they should never have got rid of ace ex- Huddersfield Town manager Pete Jackson so readily) and their ground could do with a bit of TLC. Nevertheless I find the old terraced housing that surrounds Sincil Bank comforting, a throw back to times when football was a game for the working classes located in the heart of their community. I'm all for a bit of nostalgia - and humour. I loved the fish and chip shop on the corner called the 'Back of the Net.'

There was an air of excitement outside the turnstiles. A quick survey of the queue showed a fair mix of people - male and female, young and old. I bought a programme - £1.50 - and liked the fact they were giving away postcards of some of the players with them. I got England international Sophie Bradley.

At the turnstiles I flashed my season ticket with pride (£24) and my daughter and her boyfriend paid their £6 entrance fee. Once inside, all the fans were ushered into the main stand - there is no need for segregation at women's matches. The crowd is neither large enough not ugly enough to warrant it. We found seats towards the back and above the half way line.

We could have done with a few drums and a 'singing end' to keep the momentum going but we did have a Donny Belles fan with a handbell (bell - Belles - gerrit?). Everytime it rang I thought lessons had ended or we were at a boxing match. I hope Arsenal fans don't bring a cannon (though Everton can bring toffees...)

Then the two teams emerged into the cold night air and the applause of the 742 crowd.

Guess who the ref was? Sian Massey, the fourth official caught up in the Richard Keys/Andy Gray sexism row (see earlier blog). Anyway, that small distraction aside, the match began. Doncaster Belles came out the stronger and looked more assured on the ball and in set pieces. Lincoln took longer to settle. Sue Smith and Jess Clarke got plenty of the ball but were thwarted by a solid Belles' defence.  Belles pushed and pushed and Vicky Exley deservedly scored just before the end of half time.
 Bringing on Sophie Walton after the break seemed to add that bit of impetus to the Imps. The second half was much more lively and both sides played some great football. My daughter, who'd watched the Chelsea v Arsenal match on TV, said they were just as good as the London teams. Casey Stoney (ex Arsenal) began to exert her influence with some beautifully controlled crosses. Sue Smith came closest to scoring the equaliser and keeper Kay Hawke pulled off an absolutely brilliant save towards the end to prevent Belles going 2-0 up.

So Belles drew first blood and took the three points but Lincoln Ladies have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of; they showed great potential. Ace captain Megan Harris and her team can hold their heads high and go into the next match full of confidence.

 Lincoln Ladies

Post-match post mortem

 Read the full match report on Lincoln Ladies website or Doncaster Belles'

Helena Pielichaty 

  

Women's Football - WSL

Tomorrow, Wednesday 13th April 2011, is a momentous day in the history of football. It's the day the new Women's Super League is launched. At 5.30 pm Chelsea take on Arsenal at the Tooting and Mitcham FC ground and at 7.45 Lincoln Ladies play Doncaster Belles at Sincil Bank. The Chelsea Arsenal match is live on ESPN.

The intitiative shows that, over a hundred years after Nettie Honeyball organised the first women's match between London North and London South, the FA is finally taking women's football seriously.

Nettie Honeyball, in full kit, organised the first games between two women's teams in 1895 to show that women were more than 'mere ornaments.'

        The super league will run for two years in the first instance and consists of 8 teams. The teams have been selected not only for their standard of football but also because they proved they can be commercially viable. Four players on each team will be paid up to £20,000 each. Top international players have been shared out between the clubs in an attempt to pool the talent so that no one team dominates. Whether this works or not waits to be seen. Arsenal Ladies have reigned supreme for a long time in the women's game with Everton chomping at their heels.

Tomorrow I'll be using my season ticket (£24.00) to watch Lincoln Ladies take on Doncaster Belles. Manager Rod Harris's Lincoln have the ebulliant England international Sue Smith on board as well as Jess Clarke, Casey Stoney and Sophie Bradley.  This is on top of an already decent squad who have been going from strength to strength over the years.

England midfielder and now Lincoln Ladies player Sue Smith

I really hope the WSL gets the attention and credit it deserves. Signs in the media are good and with the Women's World Cup coming up at the end of June things could be really exciting. England Women recently beat the USA 2-1. As the USA are ranked no.1 in the world that's a terrific boost ahead of the campaign.

Even better, I think, is that women's football has been filtering through to girls' magazines. In the current edition of Shout (#471) there's a double page feature on Liverpool's Hanna Keryakoplis. How brilliant is that? Women footballers in there between Lady Gaga and the Snog, Marry or Avoid quiz! Dead right too. Sports women have always been the healthier alternative to cat walk models and pop stars as far as role models go. I'd much rather have my daughter impressed by someone who looks good because she trains hard and is fit than because she's been airbrushed to fake perfection.

So I hope you'll all be following the women's game and supporting your local side whether they're in the WSL or not. The Premier League (National Division) still contains plenty of top teams. Huddersfield Town Ladies (North-East PL Division) for example were the half time guests on the pitch at the Galpharm on Saturday as they've recently linked up with HTAFC.

Nettie would be proud.

Helena Pielichaty http://www.helena-pielichaty.com/

Girls FC series for 8-11s out now

Bad Break for Pilks

Anthony Pilkington

Say it ain't so!  Only three days after commenting on how well Anthony Pilkington has been playing for Huddersfield Town and disaster strikes. The number 11 had his ankle and fibula broken during the League 1 match against Rochdale last night.  As I write, he is having an operation to re-set his leg but it means he'll be out for at least the rest of the season. It's such a shame as he had been playing some excellent football, showing that extra bit of flair on the ball and netting 14 of the goals that has helped keep Town in contention all year and made him a favourite with the crowd.

I wish him well but advise him to stay off the caramel lattes (a request he put out on Twitter this morning) during his convalescence! 

                                                                                                  Helena Pielichaty

The League 1 title race heats up...

March 5th: Yeovil Town v Huddersfield Town

Attendance: 3,620

So we've arrived at this part of the season. The 'tickly' part as Steve Bruce said the other day.  The leagues are dividing themselves into thirds. The top third is going for promotion, the bottom third is panicking about relegation and the middle third is checking how many points they need to either join the top third or avoid being sucked into the bottom third.  One thing for sure is that very point counts from here on in.

The top of League 1 currently looks like this:

Brighton              32  played  65   points

Bournemouth       34  played  61   points

Huddersfield      34  played   57 points

Peterborough       33  played  56   points

Southampton        32 played   55   points

MK Dons             35 played   55   points

Brighton & Hove Albion are certainly looking like contenders for one of the two automatic promotion places. They've been consistently good all season. Bournemouth likewise. I'd love to see my team, Huddersfield, swap places with Bournemouth but after watching them at Yeovil on Saturday I am not getting my hopes up.

I haven't been to as many games as I would have liked to this season but every match I have attended, I've seen a different team on the pitch. I don't mean in terms of players - the names on the backs of their shirts are the same. I mean performance.  When I watched our opener against Notts County back in August I was filled with awe. Town were brilliant throughout the 90 minutes. They tore the newly promoted side to shreds and their 0-3 win away from home was a declaration of intent. A month later, I attended the Town v Yeovil match. Often slow to get going, we were atrocious for the first half and a deserved two-nil down until someone switched the 'on' button and hey, presto, the incisive play returned and we triumphed 4-2. Then there's the third type of Town match.  The type where they're slow to get going but there's no 'on' switch in the second half and the entire match is a woeful display of slopping passing and no one talking to each other. To make things worse, these matches are usually against opposition we should, in theory, beat. Strugglers like Dagenham and Redbridge for example or, like on Saturday, Yeovil Town. Yeovil, only 4 points above the drop zone, should have meant three points in the bag. But no.

It was just one of those awful matches where both sides played substandard football. It didn't help when Lee Peltier (ex- Yeovil, ironically) raised an elbow and was sent off after 12 minutes but even so Town were a shadow of the mighty team who took on Arsenal in the FA Cup only weeks earlier. In-form striker Anthony Pilkington showed some flare and in defence Peter Clarke was solid but all in all it was lack-lustre stuff as grey as the clouds above Huish Park. It was 1-1 in the end - Antony Kay equalised from a free kick - but we only just deserved the point.

On the plus side, the cornish pasty I had in the ground was lovely and the stewards at Yeovil were polite and friendly, if too zealous at checking the content of women's handbags. 'Could you lift your purse up so I can see underneath it?' the guy asked as he peered into mine.

'Are you expecting trouble?' I asked.

'It's Yeovil policy,' he explained.

'There's nothing in it. We're not Leeds fans, you know,' I joked.

'Don't mention Leeds,' he said, his face paling.

It's not great, as anecdotes go but it's the best I can do, given the circumstances.

Never mind. I'll keep the faith, as always. Come on Town. Up and at 'em.

Helena Pielichaty