[Archived] Rovers pull plug on Ladies Super League dream

[Baz]

£120k seems low in comparison to what is being wasted in the rest of the club.

The fact the club have dragged this on and on, before claiming there isn't enough resource (whatever that actually means) is just cruel.

Feel very sorry for the girls involved, and those younger girls who now wont even get the same chances.

[footypix]

Beth Donaghue will play for the England National team, she's one step away...

The fan's have never bothered to travel 20 or so miles down the A666 to watch these players play. Katie Anderton has spent 10 years at the club and scored 197 goals, yet nobody at Ewood Park has ever heard of her.

Danni Oates ,will, at the age of 18 represent Wales as a full international player (at the Algarve Cup), her parent's pay £3,000 a season in travel expenses.

They travel from North Wales to Lancashire 3 times a week for her to play for Rovers, yet they get no recognition from anyone at the club for doing so.

[Bwfcdanny]

Beth Donaghue will play for the England National team, she's one step away...

The fan's have never bothered to travel 20 or so miles down the A666 to watch these players play. Katie Anderton has spent 10 years at the club and scored 197 goals, yet nobody at Ewood Park has ever heard of her.

Danni Oates ,will, at the age of 18 represent Wales as a full international player (at the Algarve Cup), her parent's pay £3,000 a season in travel expenses.

They travel from North Wales to Lancashire 3 times a week for her to play for Rovers, yet they get no recognition from anyone at the club for doing so.

Sorry, but surely this is more of a reason not to spend a 120k on the women's team?

Folk clearly ain't that interested in women's football and like others have said, the club isn't going to recoup that money back.

It's surely more beneficial to put the money into other parts of the club I.E. First team.

My own opinion on women's football is that it's seriously boring, even more so than Championship Football.

[T4E]

A male England U21 player at Blackburn Rovers would be on a contract worth thousand's a week, yet due to being female...she receives nothing for the work she does for BRFC.

that.... i find very sad indeed....

http://www.shekicks.net/flog/blogs/post/720

There's nothing strange in that - the male u21 has a market value that justifies his pay, the female u23 does not. It's pretty straight forward. If that is the basis of your issue here then surely you can see that the "problem" is far far wider than BRFC?

[footypix]

There's nothing strange in that - the male u21 has a market value that justifies his pay, the female u23 does not. It's pretty straight forward. If that is the basis of your issue here then surely you can see that the "problem" is far far wider than BRFC?

Players at Liverpool Ladies get between £500 - £1,000 a week, whilst BRFC values it's programme sellars more than it's own players.

[Blue n White Rover]

The question is, how much income will the Ladies team generate?

We can just about get a crowd of 14,000 at Ewood, and we'd struggle to hit over the 50 mark for the Ladies team. Why waste £120,000?

I'm sorry, I don't really care if they played for a year without expenses. I worked a year without any expenses to get my foot in the door in the industry that I work in. I don't expect any sympathy and nor should they. The only reason they stayed was so they could get this lucrative deal and hoped Rovers would fund it, they didn't. Tough luck.

Every decision you make is a risk, and if they were stupid enough to believe a word Venky's have said, then it's their own fault.

I don't care about Women's football and I don't see why the club should fund a project that is destined for failure. Unless you can propose a viable plan as to how the club can recuperate £120k a season from Womens Football, then I may change my opinion. Until then, a good decision by the club.

[AggyBlue]

The question is, how much income will the Ladies team generate?

I don't care about Women's football and I don't see why the club should fund a project that is destined for failure. Unless you can propose a viable plan as to how the club can recuperate £120k a season from Womens Football, then I may change my opinion. Until then, a good decision by the club.

It's not just about making money though, is it. If that was the case we might as well fold the club.

[DE.]

I don't care about Women's football and I don't see why the club should fund a project that is destined for failure. Unless you can propose a viable plan as to how the club can recuperate £120k a season from Womens Football, then I may change my opinion. Until then, a good decision by the club.

Surely by that logic we should fold the entire club then, as we're losing around £2m a month?

I personally see no future for women's football, it just isn't very good. However, if the club have indicated they would pursue an application and then opted not to because they couldn't be bothered, that's pretty poor. It doesn't sound like it's anything to do with recouping investment.

[Blue n White Rover]

It's not just about making money though, is it. If that was the case we might as well fold the club.

The difference being here, IF and it is a big if, Rovers get promoted then the lucrative TV deal that is on offer, will cover ALL our expenses. If we don't get promoted then players will be sold etc. Football is money, there are no 2 ways about it. Spending £120k has no business sense to it at all. Where as spending £8m on a player does, as there is the huge dividends to reap IF we get promoted. The chances of recuperating that £8m are a lot higher than the Ladies' team recuperating the £120k.

Surely by that logic we should fold the entire club then, as we're losing around £2m a month?

I personally see no future for women's football, it just isn't very good. However, if the club have indicated they would pursue an application and then opted not to because they couldn't be bothered, that's pretty poor. It doesn't sound like it's anything to do with recouping investment.

The fact is they didn't invest, which in my view is a very good business decision.

[footypix]

Blackburn Rovers have lost a season ticket holder and fan of 30 years standing....I won'tt return to watch football at Ewood Park again, I'll finish the season watching the Ladies team and that's it for me....finished with the club.

[DE.]

The fact is they didn't invest, which in my view is a very good business decision.

Yes, and it would also be a "good business decision" to shut down the club entirely as it is a loss making entity. That doesn't mean it's the right overall decision, though.

Even if we got promoted, there's no guarantee Rovers would make money. Most clubs don't, even with big TV deals. We'd at best just about recoup our losses, more than likely we'd continue to lose money at a smaller rate than we currently are.

[Stuart]

It's not just about making money though, is it. If that was the case we might as well fold the club.

+1

As footypix is suggesting, the ladies team is being kept at minimal cost/minimal profile level because we (and I include myself in this) don't value women's football as much as the first team. But then I don't value the reserve team or Under-21 team, or even the academy team, as much as the first team.

Unfortunately, there is no desire from the club to change this.

Given the losses we are already making, the club could fund the ladies team for the next few years, without much impact on the overall debt (relatively speaking), and throw in free match tickets to generate interest; hold some matches at Ewood, like they do with the reserves; target schools, get youngsters interested in ladies football.

The PL is "the best league in the world" because of brilliant marketing and their deal with Sky. If football want to increase the profile of women's football, they need to market it better, make it accessible and generate interest.

Also the PL already had the First Division crowds to draw from but for women's football it's a bit chicken and egg: without the crowds, there is no-one to sell advertising to in order to make it worthwhile providing coverage and market it to the hilt. Without the coverage, there is no interest from fans.

It seems as though the FA Women's league are trying to do something to change this by reducing the number of teams involved (through franchising into two leagues) - which if anything seems to follow the Bundesliga model of fewer teams and with more fans per team.

Parting question: why do Liverpool et al think it's worth investing in the women's game and paying their players but Rovers don't? What longer tem returns are they anticipating that Rovers aren't or don't want to be a part of?

(That ended up a bit of a ramble but I'll click "post" anyway!)

[Blue n White Rover]

Yes, and it would also be a "good business decision" to shut down the club entirely as it is a loss making entity. That doesn't mean it's the right overall decision, though.

Even if we got promoted, there's no guarantee Rovers would make money. Most clubs don't, even with big TV deals. We'd at best just about recoup our losses, more than likely we'd continue to lose money at a smaller rate than we currently are.

The percentage of losses would a great deal lower. Venky's aren't in this because they love Rovers, they're in this for business.

If you had an opportunity to invest £120k in either the 1st team or the Womens team, which would you choose?

That £120k can go a long way in improving the facilities around Brockhall. Heck, I'd rather give that money to local schools to fund footballing projects than to the Ladies team, that's how unattractive the proposition is.

[Stuart]

The percentage of losses would a great deal lower. Venky's aren't in this because they love Rovers, they're in this for business.

If you had an opportunity to invest £120k in either the 1st team or the Womens team, which would you choose?

That £120k can go a long way in improving the facilities around Brockhall. Heck, I'd rather give that money to local schools to fund footballing projects than to the Ladies team, that's how unattractive the proposition is.

If you take them on face value, Venkys aren't looking to make money out of Rovers, they are looking to make money out of Venkys.

I'd suggest it therefore depends on what exposure they think Venkys would get from having a team in the top two tiers of Women's football and by extension how big they think it will become as a "sport" in it's own right ( if you forgive the expression).

I'd argue they don't think much of it. That's assuming they are even aware and/or interested.

[footypix]

Olympic Lyon (remember them) are current Women's Champions League winners, the players are full-time pro and the players earn 125,000 euros a season. The team and the game over the channel get's massive exposure, compared to the UK.

A Rovers successful team in the FA WSL can only be good for Venky's if someone was able to look at the big picture. Arsenal spend £500,000 a season on it's women's team and regularly play in the Champions League. The extra exposure generated is good for AFC.

If people are worried about the cost, these can be covered by BRFC striking a shirt sponsorship deal with a certain chicken/drug company in Pune, India.

Two words are stopping Rovers joining the elite.."legal entity". FAWSL rules say that clubs have to be semi-pro, that doesn't apply to clubs outside, Rovers could go fully professional tomorrow if they wished.

A successful Rovers women's team in the FAWSL is an easy win for Venky's. A product they can market throughout Europe and India for relatively small amount of money..

The fanbase is the whole of Lancashire, not just Blackburn. A properly funded and marketed team can be a success and a place in the Champions League a regular occurrance.

The current board don't see the big picture and have took the easy way out. Nobody watches the team play, because BRFC have failed to market and promote the team properly, they have the whole of the county to market it to.

The FA want to sell the game as family orientated football, it's not marketed at MALE football fans. It's about a family taking their 11 old daughter down to the game on a Sunday afternoon (in the summer) to watch Blackburn Rovers play Doncaster Belles and that child falling in love with football.....creating a Rovers fan and a potential player at the same time.

The board choose not to look at the longer game., even though they take the big cheque from the FA every year for having a Centre of Excellence.

The board don't see the big picture, it's a project that Venky's can get heavily involved in and it benefits both parties for relatively little investment.

10 years ago, they said they wanted to nurture the club, it's this policy that will eventually kill it.

They say money's not the problem, I wouldn't have a problem with VH Hatcheries being on the front of the shirt and this sponsorship paying for the wholething and the seperate legal entity needed to make it happen.

The thing(s) I've learnt from being part of women's football over the last 9 or so years, is RESPECT, DIGNITY, TOLERANCE and most important of all HUMILITY.

The female players have the ONE thing missing in the men's game....and that is they have more than a touch of CLASS about them.

For that I am, extremely grateful. I'm extremely proud to be a supporter of women's football.

I'll be at Radcliffe on Sunday watching my team play...

Men's football.....I won't miss it.

[T4E]

And not many of us will miss women's.

Are we about done now?

[Stuart]

And not many of us will miss women's.

Are we about done now?

I think that sums up the problem faced by footypix, and the rest of women's football, fairly succinctly.

Dismissive and patronising.

Surely you can see that footypix is incredibly upset about this.

Don't you ever use this messageboard to vent?

[cn174]

My points below are a bit disjointed but...

For me the 'connection' between ladies teams and team as in general just isn't there. I have played for both Wigan Athletic LFC and PNE LFC but at no point did I feel like I represented Wigan Athletic FC or PNE FC. Maybe things are different a bit higher up but I'm not sure.

Maybe I'm just not competitive enough but I still find playing girls footy quite dull, although I can just about watch it now - for ages I just couldn't, bored me. However that is not to say I don't think girls should play football, of course they should but to think is is the same as men's footy just daft. (although as an aside one of the main limiting factors for girls in this country I believe is the ban on co-ed teams - in just about every other country in the world girls and boys are allowed to play together - completely illegal according to the English FA!)

it isn't a great deal of money that footypix is talking about at all, and I'm pretty sure we spend £120,000 on many more sh!tter things than womens football. However think about the other teams - if Arsenal somehow become short of money the ladies team would stop being funded way before they'd even contemplate leaving the men's team short of money. Whilst that might not be 'right' that is what would happen.

The culture in this country was completely destroyed over 80 years ago by the FA in the first place. The reason was ladies football was becoming too popular and starting to get bigger crowds than the mens game, and this just wasn't on. In 1922 it was banned and that lasted till the mid 1960s. It didn't really start to recover here till the mid 90s way after other countries. So men's footy has had a good 80 years headstart really, maybe once men's footy has imploded alls that will be left is girls footy so you'll all have to watch it

However...even though I am a girl, I am and always have been better at footy than T4E!!!

[T4E]

I think that sums up the problem faced by footypix, and the rest of women's football, fairly succinctly.

Dismissive and patronising.

Surely you can see that footypix is incredibly upset about this.

Don't you ever use this messageboard to vent?

I am dismissive because I don't enjoy it, or want to pay for it. Very much in line with the vast majority of football fans in the country.

There's a difference between venting and flogging a dead horse. Not that you'd be able to tell what it is.

[Stuart]

I am dismissive because I don't enjoy it, or want to pay for it. Very much in line with the vast majority of football fans in the country.

There's a difference between venting and flogging a dead horse. Not that you'd be able to tell what it is.

I used to think you were a really good poster.

[perthblue02]

My points below are a bit disjointed but...

For me the 'connection' between ladies teams and team as in general just isn't there. I have played for both Wigan Athletic LFC and PNE LFC but at no point did I feel like I represented Wigan Athletic FC or PNE FC. Maybe things are different a bit higher up but I'm not sure.

Maybe I'm just not competitive enough but I still find playing girls footy quite dull, although I can just about watch it now - for ages I just couldn't, bored me. However that is not to say I don't think girls should play football, of course they should but to think is is the same as men's footy just daft. (although as an aside one of the main limiting factors for girls in this country I believe is the ban on co-ed teams - in just about every other country in the world girls and boys are allowed to play together - completely illegal according to the English FA!)

You might be right because not really followed events in Junior leagues closely since moving over here but did they not raise the limit for mixed teams up to 13 years of age a few years ago? I seem to remember that mixed teams could play up to under 11's when I was involved in Junior football from the late 90 's onwards and was dependent on the particular league.

Edit: This is what I was thinking about http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-13538787

[T4E]

I used to think you were a really good poster.

I only wish I could return the compliment.

[broadsword]

I only wish I could return the compliment.

You've really turned into a right tosser.

[T4E]

Luckily you haven't had to change.

[broadsword]

Pithy.