Slightly more whinging…
Disclaimer – For the purpose of the Giant Killing Adventure (GKA) I am a
neutral football fan. As a qualified
Psychotherapist, I understand the nature of unconscious bias, and I will try to
keep aware of this always and not let my personal support affect any GKA
posts. I am only mentioning this because
I feel it is relevant to my minor whinging in the previous blog, and then after
that I’ll try not to whinge anymore. I am a Manchester United Fan, the GKA isn’t.
I grew up in a small town, 22.4 miles from Old Trafford and my dad was a
Man United Season ticket holder, so I’ve always supported them. When Manchester
United re-started their Women’s Team last season I bought a season ticket for
£39 (yes, that’s only £39). I had the intention of going to the odd game to
have a look and give support. However, I
instantly ‘fell in love’ with the women’s game because the atmosphere was
different to the men’s game. I am not saying it was better, I’m just saying it
was different. There was far more positivity in the crowd, less complaining,
more encouragement and a greater mix of men, women, girls, boys and family’s.
On the pitch, the games seemed to be played with less diving and less
‘cheating,’ so I ended up enjoying the experience far more than I thought I
would, and I ended up going to every home game, which was £39 well spent. This is the reason I am following the women’s’ FA Cup this season.
So, on the above point, Manchester United seem to be invested in their
women’s team. They’ve got a top manager
in Casey Stoney and they’ve built a good, young team that dominated the Women’s
Championship last season. On the website, they have pictures of the female
players and there is an ‘appearance’ of full support.
However, like I mentioned last Friday it seems like a lot of aspects are
still an afterthought. For example, you
can sync the men’s’ fixtures from their Website directly to your own personal
on-line calendar and when fixture details change, it automatically updates –
all is good, and everyone knows what’s going on. There is no such feature for
the women’s’ fixtures. If you want the
games in your on-line calendar, then you’ve got to trawl through the list and
input your own. I know this is only a
minor inconvenience but is another example of the inequality within the game,
and this is from one of the richest clubs in the world.
Last Friday’s League Cup fixtures still haven’t been published, even
though the game dates and the groups have been announced. Another afterthought
or does The FA still not know what order the games will be played?
One final whinge is this… (final disclaimer as this is a second-hand
story) Last season my friends (old blog guests Tim and
Adam Webster) tried to buy me a United Shirt for Christmas with my favourite
Women's player name on the back. Apparently, they couldn’t get this from the
United Website. When they searched Women's kit on the United Website, all they
found was a tight-fitting women’s fashion shirt (see below). They had to buy me a plain men’s shirt and
then go to a separate shop in Manchester to get the name added. Another minor inconvenience for them, yet
another example of an afterthought.
I’ve just checked the United Club Shop for this coming season 2019/20 and
it seems that they now have a full range of Women’s Shirts with player names
added – so well done United for rectifying this.
Next up… Mossley Hill Ladies FC (and hopefully more positivism).
No comments:
Post a Comment