Reading Women FC Matches

[Jimmy the Tree]

I'm hoping to take my daughter to see the Reading Women's match against Portsmouth tomorrow, but I can't find many details.

Anybody been before and know if there room to park at Tadley? (I'm assuming there won't be that big a crowd), and what the cost is?

Cheers

[Arnie_Pie]

Easy parking do not fear.

[Jimmy the Tree]

Cheers.

Not sure what I'm expecting, but they can't be any worse than some of the men's games I've seen this season.

[Row Z Royal]

Cheers.

Not sure what I'm expecting, but they can't be any worse than some of the men's games I've seen this season.

Nah, of course not.

[Murts-is-Lej]

Hope you didn't try to get there as it was postponed! Their next home fixture isn't until end Jan but they've had quite a few postponed yet to be rearranged: http://fulltime.thefa.com/DisplayTeam.d ... on=2218448

There's plenty of parking at the Calleva ground as they rarely get a crowd of more than 50! Cost of entry is £1 for adults, free for kids (you pay at the refreshment shed!).

I have to say the football is far more skilful and entertaining to watch than some of the hoof-ball I've seen in the Championship, let alone the BSQP! Although they haven't got the fitness levels the mens team have got (not surprising as they're not pro) it's great to see the same passion making up for it at the ends of the game!

[RoyalBlue]

Hope you didn't try to get there as it was postponed! Their next home fixture isn't until end Jan but they've had quite a few postponed yet to be rearranged: http://fulltime.thefa.com/DisplayTeam.d ... on=2218448

There's plenty of parking at the Calleva ground as they rarely get a crowd of more than 50! Cost of entry is £1 for adults, free for kids (you pay at the refreshment shed!).

I have to say the football is far more skilful and entertaining to watch than some of the hoof-ball I've seen in the Championship, let alone the BSQP! Although they haven't got the fitness levels the mens team have got (not surprising as they're not pro) it's great to see the same passion making up for it at the ends of the game!

Glad to see someone else sticking up for women's football and fully agree with your assessment. My daughter is fortunate enough to be playing for the youth team of a women's Premier League club and I can honestly say that their skill levels and style of play are far superior to most boys teams of the same age. They also get stuck in when needed as well. I once saw a different girls team play a boys team of the same age and the ref ended up having to protect the boys from overly hard challenges!!

[Sun Tzu]

The two games shouldn;t be compared.

If Women's football was allowed to develop in it's own right I think it would make a lot more progress. If it is constantly compared to men's football I fear it is doomed to stay very much in the shadows of it.

To compare boy's and girl's level is also difficult. In junior (7 a aside) football it's pretty common to see a girl playing and being a dominant player. This is helped by girls being allowed to play with younger boys, and girls developing physically at a younger age ! But the girls also can develop a very high skill level.

When they have to seperate (at U12) I think the gap widens generally with the boys moving ahead. The best of the girls however are good and don;t suffer by comparison skillwise. How they would compete physically I have no idea and they can;t play in the same game so we'll never find out. The best boys sides are miles ahead of the best girls teams though at the older age groups.

[Fox Talbot]

The two games shouldn;t be compared.

If Women's football was allowed to develop in it's own right I think it would make a lot more progress. If it is constantly compared to men's football I fear it is doomed to stay very much in the shadows of it.

Absolutely right.

So why do they do this 'pretend' we're Reading / Arsenal etc when in reality they've got nothing to do with pro clubs and their fans.

They should develop their own club identities and be accepted (or not) at their own face value. Women's football has a different timbre - even more so than Veterans or beach football - so live with it and love it.

[The Cube]

I went to a game at Didcot at the start of last season which was awful - it was as if none of the Reading players had ever met each other before. So I didn't bother to go again until I happened to be in Tadley at the same time as a match earlier this season. I couldn't stay too long as I had to attend another event, but from what I did see there had been a massive improvement. Decent attacking football and creating chances. Not a great deal of skill in evidence and the chances created were all missed, so some similarity with the men's team.

Attendance was about 70-80, although if you exclude family and friends of players I think it was probably 1. Until I left, when it dropped to 0.

[RoyalBlue]

The two games shouldn;t be compared.

If Women's football was allowed to develop in it's own right I think it would make a lot more progress. If it is constantly compared to men's football I fear it is doomed to stay very much in the shadows of it.

To compare boy's and girl's level is also difficult. In junior (7 a aside) football it's pretty common to see a girl playing and being a dominant player. This is helped by girls being allowed to play with younger boys, and girls developing physically at a younger age ! But the girls also can develop a very high skill level.

When they have to seperate (at U12) I think the gap widens generally with the boys moving ahead. The best of the girls however are good and don;t suffer by comparison skillwise. How they would compete physically I have no idea and they can;t play in the same game so we'll never find out. The best boys sides are miles ahead of the best girls teams though at the older age groups.

The forced seperation at 12 is ridiculous. My daughter and many of her peers were still running circles around most of the boys they were playing against at that age. Furthermore, they were still more than able to cope with the physical side of the game. At the time that my daughter was forced to move to a girls team, she was still widely acknowledged as the bravest, strongest and best keeper in the very good boys league that she was playing in. Players should be selected and allowed to play for teams based solely on their ability and nothing else. Quite frankly, the way the split at 12 is justified on safety grounds is scandalous, particularly given the way that the physical side of the game (crunching tackles etc.) is being discouraged at all levels.

If a girls academy team were to play a boys academy team of the same age, then I would expect the boys to win but the difference would come down to speed rather than skill or physical attributes.

The two games shouldn;t be compared.

If Women's football was allowed to develop in it's own right I think it would make a lot more progress. If it is constantly compared to men's football I fear it is doomed to stay very much in the shadows of it.

Absolutely right.

So why do they do this 'pretend' we're Reading / Arsenal etc when in reality they've got nothing to do with pro clubs and their fans.

With respect, when it comes to the top levels of the women's game, you don't know what you are talking about. They are coached by full-time employees of the club, receive physio and medical treatment from the club's staff, wear the club's kit, use their facilities etc.

I went to a game at Didcot at the start of last season which was awful - it was as if none of the Reading players had ever met each other before. So I didn't bother to go again until I happened to be in Tadley at the same time as a match earlier this season. I couldn't stay too long as I had to attend another event, but from what I did see there had been a massive improvement. Decent attacking football and creating chances. Not a great deal of skill in evidence and the chances created were all missed, so some similarity with the men's team.

Attendance was about 70-80, although if you exclude family and friends of players I think it was probably 1. Until I left, when it dropped to 0.

If you can put your Reading loyalties aside, try watching a game involving some of the Premier League Ladies teams and/or their academies. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the standard of football on display from them.

[Murts-is-Lej]

If you can put your Reading loyalties aside, try watching a game involving some of the Premier League Ladies teams and/or their academies. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the standard of football on display from them.

Reading Women are 2nd in the equivalent of the Championship and have a reasonable chance of promotion to the Premiership this season. Their academy does play the local Premiership academies (such as Chelsea and Arsenal, Saturday mornings at Henwick Sports Ground in Thatcham). The fact that most of the age groups are now starting to compete on level terms means the women's team is only likely to get stronger in years to come (most women's teams are "home grown" rather than bought).

With the current state of the men's team maybe in future I'll be at Tadley on a Sunday afternoon more often than J11 on a Saturday afternoon...?

[RoyalBlue]

If you can put your Reading loyalties aside, try watching a game involving some of the Premier League Ladies teams and/or their academies. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the standard of football on display from them.

Reading Women are 2nd in the equivalent of the Championship and have a reasonable chance of promotion to the Premiership this season.

Fingers crossed that they make it. My daughter would really enjoy playing against the ladies team of the club that she actually supports.