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Saturday 30th  March 2024:  kick-off 3pm

Scottish Premiership - Aberdeen v Ross County

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Aberdeen Ladies


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Aberdeen Ladies were called Aberdeen in name only. The club helped them with strips, but they appointed their own coaches, organised their own games, etc.

 

Now Aberdeen Women, their new name, are officially part of the club, the new management team has been appointed by the club, and they will use the club facilities for training such as sports science and all that jazz. Once Kingsford is built they'll be training there too.

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Have I missed something but I thought we already had a female side in Second Division??  I take it this team wasn't connected to the club as a whole??

 

Aberdeen have actually been relegated twice in succession, which means they aren't in the SWPL at all. In both seasons they had points deductions which didn't help, but also some of their best players left for the central belt. You see, the players (mostly) are very young, and in many cases are at uni. Most want to do sports degrees of some sort, so move down to Stirling or Heriot Watt where they have great facilities and sign for a club nearby. Hibs have been the big benefactor of this. They go to Hibs, they get all the facilities at Oriam, they get Champions League football, play in cup finals, they get noticed and, as has happened recently to eight Hibs players, they  have get offered full-time contracts with big clubs in England. It's a pretty good pathway to playing professional football.

 

With Aberdeen players now getting to use the club's facilities, with Kingsford on the horizon, the hope naturally is that will be a big carrot to attracting players and getting them to stay. But as above, they're actually in SWFL Division 1 North. Get promoted and they go into SWPL 2, then hopefully back to SWPL 1.

 

 

Many will inevitably ask why Aberdeen as a club need to give a shit. Well, women's football is only going to get bigger. I predict the women's champions league will grow and it won't be long until there is serious prize money on offer (winners at moment get €250,000 which is pocket change compared to men's version, but like I say I can see that going up rapidly). In that case, a club like Aberdeen might find a successful women's team to be quite profitable.

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^^^^^^ this

 

The standard at the top level of women's football is roughly that of an under 13s boys team. Some of the shit that occurs during their games is pure comedy gold but for the most part is a total snoozefest. Sadly in the name of political correctness it's going together ever increasing TV coverage.

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Lost one of my Under 14's (mixed team) girls in the summer to Bristol City. She is now playing for England U16's. Her older sister was already part of the Bristol City set up and I have it on good authority from the lad I coach Under 12's (girls) with that she was better than every player in her school year (he's a PE teacher there).

 

I picked up a goalie (who is also part of the Bristol City set up for my Under 14's) in the summer. They train 3 times a week there and as she is one of 3 keepers, is encouraged to play mixed too. In order to help her improve. I think she is almost as good a shot stopper as the lad I have, her distribution is better. She's still too stuck in her penalty area for my liking though.

 

We have two girls in our Under 12 (girls) side, who I think will end up at Bristol City or similar, in the near future. They play for one of the local multi-side per age group clubs for their A team. One is a keeper, probably the best I've seen at that level boy or girl locally. An opinion shared by a coach of another local girls team, who also coaches in Swindon Town Academy set up. The other has the potential to be better than the one I lost from my Under 14's.

 

Anyway point is girls up until 5 years ago could only play mixed till Under 8 or maybe even younger and only in the last season increased beyond Under 16. Beyond that it was girls only and that was stiffling development. They were hardly being challenged by other girls (often just starting out) when they had come from dominating in the mixed game.

 

In addition the only further development they could get was playing County, although it was bringing together the best from that area it was maybe once a week to once a month, this has increased in quantity and I think quality in recent years. Plus we are seeing these academy set ups which are mirroring the boys.

 

Personally I can only see the improving drastically in the next 5 to 10 years. 

 

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Personally I can only see the improving drastically in the next 5 to 10 years.

 

Great to hear kids getting active and good on you for helping to encourage and develop them.

 

Like women's rugby though, I can't help seeing them as vastly inferior technicians, almost like they're not built to excel at the sport. They haven't exactly been contributing to "the beautiful game" so the standard really needs to improve drastically in the years ahead. I find it totally unwatchable at present.

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There was a crowd of 48,000 at a women's game last night, Atletico Bilbao women v Atletico Madrid women in a cup quarter final. The biggest crowd the men's team has had all season is 46,000.

 

The women's FA Cup final had 45,000 at it last season. To put that into perspective, the men's Scottish Cup final in 2015 between Inverness & Falkirk had 37,000 at it.

 

The standard is likely irrelevant. People support a team even if they're poor, and likewise people will support women's football whether they're as good as the boys or not. The main problem in Scotland isn't the standard (Hibs & Glasgow City served up some good games last season), it's more the matchday experience is really poor.

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Aberdeen Women ?

 

Surely not.

 

 

Anyway, Standard was only s'hitey because of the lack of numbers.

The talented ones really were talented.

As for the rest, well it takes a fair bit of dedication to be in a team that plays in a Scottish league.

It's not just pay for the pitch or referee, there's a lot of traveling involved.

 

 

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  • 4 years later...

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