Sunday evening in Tallinn. As expected by the Estonians, Putin is clearly trying to expand his war into a struggle on multiple fronts. However, this reflects increasing panic inside Russia. The Ukrainian armed forces have inflicted significant damage on the Russians, and the atrocities that have been unleashed by the Putinists reflect an army that is an increasingly degrading into an undisciplined rabble. Here in the Baltic the cut off of gas supplies to Latvia has been greeted with a shrug. Estonia and Lithuania have been able to take most of the strain, and there is no immediate threat to the Latvian economy. A clear lesson to Germany that any point of leverage or weakness will be exploited, no matter what. It is suggested here that the probable attack on Bulgaria could be matched with activity in Belarus that reduces the threat from Lukashenka.
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian diplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
Surely they'll earn a packet now if they go into say punditry
No, but the WSL will benefit from bigger crowds, though it is only competitive at the top end.
I think it needs a system like the SPL, where it splits into a top half league and a bottom half league at the end of the season.
Player pay derives from attendances in the flesh and tv deals. I’m sure the next WSL will get a boost from this, but ultimately the crowds are still patchy. But probably growing, and hopefully attracting more and more young girls to the sport.
Sunday evening in Tallinn. As expected by the Estonians, Putin is clearly trying to expand his war into a struggle on multiple fronts. However, this reflects increasing panic inside Russia. The Ukrainian armed forces have inflicted significant damage on the Russians, and the atrocities that have been unleashed by the Putinists reflect an army that is an increasingly degrading into an undisciplined rabble. Here in the Baltic the cut off of gas supplies to Latvia has been greeted with a shrug. Estonia and Lithuania have been able to take most of the strain, and there is no immediate threat to the Latvian economy. A clear lesson to Germany that any point of leverage or weakness will be exploited, no matter what. It is suggested here that the probable attack on Bulgaria could be matched with activity in Belarus that reduces the threat from Lukashenka.
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian dimplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
A tourist visa ban on Russians may have more effect in a Russian winter, but may have an adverse impact on Russian refugees. I suspect a lot of the brain drain, and even ukranian refugees have got out via Russia on tourist visas.
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
Surely they'll earn a packet now if they go into say punditry
No, but the WSL will benefit from bigger crowds, though it is only competitive at the top end.
I think it needs a system like the SPL, where it splits into a top half league and a bottom half league at the end of the season.
Player pay derives from attendances in the flesh and tv deals. I’m sure the next WSL will get a boost from this, but ultimately the crowds are still patchy. But probably growing, and hopefully attracting more and more young girls to the sport.
USA have equal pay with the men for internationals ISTR.
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Thats... a point of view.
Meanwhile on Planet Earth it is the people who wanted and supported Brexit who own it, not the people who predicted the disaster and opposed it tooth and nail.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Nah, the shitshow is purely a Tory Brexit, and everyone knows it.
And why do Tories keep trying to blame others for Brexit? Do they find it embarrassing?
Surely they'll earn a packet now if they go into say punditry
No, but the WSL will benefit from bigger crowds, though it is only competitive at the top end.
I think it needs a system like the SPL, where it splits into a top half league and a bottom half league at the end of the season.
Player pay derives from attendances in the flesh and tv deals. I’m sure the next WSL will get a boost from this, but ultimately the crowds are still patchy. But probably growing, and hopefully attracting more and more young girls to the sport.
USA have equal pay with the men for internationals ISTR.
And if we go down that route fair enough. However I don’t buy equal pay arguments across the board for women’s football as the standard is thin, and men’s football currently generates vastly more money. But that is currently and who’s to say that can’t change?
Sunday evening in Tallinn. As expected by the Estonians, Putin is clearly trying to expand his war into a struggle on multiple fronts. However, this reflects increasing panic inside Russia. The Ukrainian armed forces have inflicted significant damage on the Russians, and the atrocities that have been unleashed by the Putinists reflect an army that is an increasingly degrading into an undisciplined rabble. Here in the Baltic the cut off of gas supplies to Latvia has been greeted with a shrug. Estonia and Lithuania have been able to take most of the strain, and there is no immediate threat to the Latvian economy. A clear lesson to Germany that any point of leverage or weakness will be exploited, no matter what. It is suggested here that the probable attack on Bulgaria could be matched with activity in Belarus that reduces the threat from Lukashenka.
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian dimplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
A tourist visa ban on Russians may have more effect in a Russian winter, but may have an adverse impact on Russian refugees. I suspect a lot of the brain drain, and even ukranian refugees have got out via Russia on tourist visas.
Then let them apply for political asylum. If they are just coming for tourism, why should we let them in at all?
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Indeed, some ‘larger’ chaps have started adopting the idea.
My neice flew to Ohio for a 2 year sponsership at an American college on Wednesday as a goalkeeper. Talk about timing. In 2 years time there will be more than double the number of full time female football players in this country. This whole tournament has been lift off but to win, jeez.
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Oh I don't know. Just wait for a reply from Leon and you will be ok.
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Nah, the shitshow is purely a Tory Brexit, and everyone knows it.
And why do Tories keep trying to blame others for Brexit? Do they find it embarrassing?
Well, I'd rather we had pressed the brake at Lisbon and Europe had stopped there. So I'm still quite angry at those parties who prevented that outcome. But I'd rather be out than in as it is now. I'm fine with it. But make no mistake, we are where we are because Lab and LD were so dogmatically pro-European.
Surely they'll earn a packet now if they go into say punditry
No, but the WSL will benefit from bigger crowds, though it is only competitive at the top end.
I think it needs a system like the SPL, where it splits into a top half league and a bottom half league at the end of the season.
Player pay derives from attendances in the flesh and tv deals. I’m sure the next WSL will get a boost from this, but ultimately the crowds are still patchy. But probably growing, and hopefully attracting more and more young girls to the sport.
USA have equal pay with the men for internationals ISTR.
Edit. Bit more complex. They do in principle. Seems the massive difference in FIFA prize money is the practical issue.
Sunday evening in Tallinn. As expected by the Estonians, Putin is clearly trying to expand his war into a struggle on multiple fronts. However, this reflects increasing panic inside Russia. The Ukrainian armed forces have inflicted significant damage on the Russians, and the atrocities that have been unleashed by the Putinists reflect an army that is an increasingly degrading into an undisciplined rabble. Here in the Baltic the cut off of gas supplies to Latvia has been greeted with a shrug. Estonia and Lithuania have been able to take most of the strain, and there is no immediate threat to the Latvian economy. A clear lesson to Germany that any point of leverage or weakness will be exploited, no matter what. It is suggested here that the probable attack on Bulgaria could be matched with activity in Belarus that reduces the threat from Lukashenka.
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian dimplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
A tourist visa ban on Russians may have more effect in a Russian winter, but may have an adverse impact on Russian refugees. I suspect a lot of the brain drain, and even ukranian refugees have got out via Russia on tourist visas.
"Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down."
Sunday evening in Tallinn. As expected by the Estonians, Putin is clearly trying to expand his war into a struggle on multiple fronts. However, this reflects increasing panic inside Russia. The Ukrainian armed forces have inflicted significant damage on the Russians, and the atrocities that have been unleashed by the Putinists reflect an army that is an increasingly degrading into an undisciplined rabble. Here in the Baltic the cut off of gas supplies to Latvia has been greeted with a shrug. Estonia and Lithuania have been able to take most of the strain, and there is no immediate threat to the Latvian economy. A clear lesson to Germany that any point of leverage or weakness will be exploited, no matter what. It is suggested here that the probable attack on Bulgaria could be matched with activity in Belarus that reduces the threat from Lukashenka.
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian dimplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
A tourist visa ban on Russians may have more effect in a Russian winter, but may have an adverse impact on Russian refugees. I suspect a lot of the brain drain, and even ukranian refugees have got out via Russia on tourist visas.
Then let them apply for political asylum. If they are just coming for tourism, why should we let them in at all?
In order to apply for asylum they need to get here first.
Sunday evening in Tallinn. As expected by the Estonians, Putin is clearly trying to expand his war into a struggle on multiple fronts. However, this reflects increasing panic inside Russia. The Ukrainian armed forces have inflicted significant damage on the Russians, and the atrocities that have been unleashed by the Putinists reflect an army that is an increasingly degrading into an undisciplined rabble. Here in the Baltic the cut off of gas supplies to Latvia has been greeted with a shrug. Estonia and Lithuania have been able to take most of the strain, and there is no immediate threat to the Latvian economy. A clear lesson to Germany that any point of leverage or weakness will be exploited, no matter what. It is suggested here that the probable attack on Bulgaria could be matched with activity in Belarus that reduces the threat from Lukashenka.
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian dimplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
A tourist visa ban on Russians may have more effect in a Russian winter, but may have an adverse impact on Russian refugees. I suspect a lot of the brain drain, and even ukranian refugees have got out via Russia on tourist visas.
Been posted several times - an in depth study of the Russian economy under sanctions…
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
I'm not really bothered whether they wear make up or not.
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Yup, another thing women have to spend money on and test out to do something men can do without much thought.
Otoh, on hot days I have to vaseline up my nipples to avoid horrendous chafing.
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Nah, the shitshow is purely a Tory Brexit, and everyone knows it.
And why do Tories keep trying to blame others for Brexit? Do they find it embarrassing?
Well, I'd rather we had pressed the brake at Lisbon and Europe had stopped there. So I'm still quite angry at those parties who prevented that outcome. But I'd rather be out than in as it is now. I'm fine with it. But make no mistake, we are where we are because Lab and LD were so dogmatically pro-European.
This is a deeply infantilising narrative, as if Brits didn't have their own reasons to vote out (e.g. the presence of foreigners in their country, who they didn't like). To be expected, though, now that people hate it, but hard to remember that just two years ago politicians were crowing that they were winning by owning Brexit.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Yup, another thing women have to spend money on and test out to do something men can do without much thought.
Otoh, on hot days I have to vaseline up my nipples to avoid horrendous chafing.
I have got a funny story about vaseline and my good self is anyone's interested ...
edit: in fact, I've got *two* stories involving my good self, vaseline and *innocent* members of the public...
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Yup, another thing women have to spend money on and test out to do something men can do without much thought.
Otoh, on hot days I have to vaseline up my nipples to avoid horrendous chafing.
I have got a funny story about vaseline and my good self is anyone's interested ...
edit: in fact, I've got *two* stories involving my good self and *innocent* members of the public...
Francesco Comito @FrancescComito · 3m ❗️Statement by the Ministry of Defense of Serbia - "Due to the large amount of misinformation about the clash between the so-called "Kosovo police" and the Army of Serbia, we declare that the Army of Serbia has yet not crossed the administrative line at the moment."
Can't help thinking a lot of this stuff is happening because Joe Biden is perceived as weak.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Incidentally, since Mrs J took up running, and talking to a female (amateur) triathlete, I've come to understand that sports bras are known as things like 'breastplates', and are in some cases akin to body armour to restrain the forces.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
I'm not really bothered whether they wear make up or not.
My sister played football for Southampton under-18s in the 1990s. She always said she was only the straight one in the team.
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Nah, the shitshow is purely a Tory Brexit, and everyone knows it.
And why do Tories keep trying to blame others for Brexit? Do they find it embarrassing?
It is a bit odd. Or perhaps not. Maybe it's like when you hit a car it's always because the other guy didn't indicate.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
If only someone had had that idea before 🤔
Yes, and when they did, it turned into a one-dimensional slugfest. To be honest, I do enjoy watching a game of Rugby League. But it's essentially a training exercise; so.ething you do to work on running lines and tackling. It's basically a less good version of rugby union. Also, as an ex-flanker, no. :smile
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Thats... a point of view.
Meanwhile on Planet Earth it is the people who wanted and supported Brexit who own it, not the people who predicted the disaster and opposed it tooth and nail.
It is a very valid point of view that Cameron could have won an In-Out EU Referendum early in the life of the Coalition, with both him and Clegg in the rose garden saying it was unthinkable we should leave. Before Farage got his ducks in a row.
But the LibDems were fucked up by their earlier political posturing.
Basically, the UK could have been locked into the EU. But the pathetic politicking of the LibDems robbbed you of that chance.
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
The other welcome thing about the women's football result is that the final went ahead without thousands of blind drunk and drugged up scumfilth trying to storm the stadium. It's actually possible to be proud of this team without having to cringe at the barbarism of the fans.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
The quality wouldn't but it might improve it in other ways - eg not so distanced from communities and fans.
Brexit is almost a direct result of the Blair/Brown Government failing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Remember: Blair had twice promised a referendum on the EU Constitution. In early October 2007, the European Scrutiny Committee (which had a Labour majority at the time) had found that the treaty was "substantially equivalent" to the rejected constitution - and yet still they ignored the vote: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7034052.stm
There was a substantial public majority in favour of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Just as there was for a referendum on the EU Constitution before it. The Liberal Democrats decided to play that by going for a full in/out referendum on the EU (sound familiar?) whilst Labour basically ignored it, and pretended it was both different and that it had got a smashing deal. David Cameron gave a "cast-iron" promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but it was wholly ratified into EU law by December 2009, well before he took office, so he couldn't offer one when he took power in May 2010 - all he was able to do was to "not let matters rest there."
That's why the mood on the Tory backbenches was so febrile from almost the moment Cameron took office - we'd been done over and they were furious about it. There was a massive loss of trust between the UK and the EU. And the only way out was for the EU to substantially renegotiate with the UK on the basis that the Lisbon Treaty had not yet come into effect here, antebellum c.2007-2008, which they wholeheartedly refused to do.
Labour and the EU are far more responsible for Brexit than they'd care to admit, or ever will admit.
Don't also forget Ed Davey leading a walkout of the Lib Dems in order to stop them having to fulfil a manifesto pledge and vote for a referendum on Lisbon on the highly spurious grounds that there wasn't an in-out referendum on EU membership on offer. Twats.
The LibDems own Brexit.
Thats... a point of view.
Meanwhile on Planet Earth it is the people who wanted and supported Brexit who own it, not the people who predicted the disaster and opposed it tooth and nail.
It is a very valid point of view that Cameron could have won an In-Out EU Referendum early in the life of the Coalition, with both him and Clegg in the rose garden saying it was unthinkable we should leave. Before Farage got his ducks in a row.
But the LibDems were fucked up by their earlier political posturing.
Basically, the UK could have been locked into the EU. But the pathetic politicking of the LibDems robbbed you of that chance.
Heh.
How would the UK have been locked into the EU? If LEAVE won 45% and Farage was on top in the polls, would the EU be policy for a generation?
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
If only someone had had that idea before 🤔
Yes, and when they did, it turned into a one-dimensional slugfest. To be honest, I do enjoy watching a game of Rugby League. But it's essentially a training exercise; so.ething you do to work on running lines and tackling. It's basically a less good version of rugby union. Also, as an ex-flanker, no. :smile
Yes. Don't know how it survives without the excitement of a 2 minute break to set a scrum every five minutes to look forward to.
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
If only someone had had that idea before 🤔
Yes, and when they did, it turned into a one-dimensional slugfest. To be honest, I do enjoy watching a game of Rugby League. But it's essentially a training exercise; so.ething you do to work on running lines and tackling. It's basically a less good version of rugby union. Also, as an ex-flanker, no. :smile
I’m not partisan. I grew up in Canterbury, I think the nearest RL club was in France, Union was my game. International RL is a joke. However the NRL in Oz is the world’s best club competition in either code. A mug of coffee and a bit of Aussie League on Saturday morning sets up my weekend nicely.
The other welcome thing about the women's football result is that the final went ahead without thousands of blind drunk and drugged up scumfilth trying to storm the stadium. It's actually possible to be proud of this team without having to cringe at the barbarism of the fans.
Modesty prevents me from saying that I posted on here months ago that Putin's adventure would trigger some kind of new shit in and around Serbia.
Tbf, whatever it is it hasn't prevented you saying that you posted on here months ago that Putin's adventure would trigger some kind of new shit in and around Serbia.
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
To be fair, they won mate. More than can be said for the men.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
We all follow politics, so can surely correctly translate "it's important not to compare X with Y" where X is what you are promoting.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
In a game I once refereed a corner was due but some players started scrabbling around in the grass looking for something, so suspecting a lost contact lens I held up play for a moment and joined in...until I discovered an earring had come out.
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
It is a real shame that Milosevic's government wasn't properly purged after he was ousted. Then this twat Vucic would be safe in prison where he belongs.
By the way for all those kind pb-ers advising me on a day out of london with my daughter - we ended up going to Hatfield House and gardens
My god what a place. Stupendous. Incredible history going back to the 9th century. Jaw dropping interiors. Lovely gardens. Epic parkland. Famous paintings. A fine fine church. And - naturally - the oak tree where Gloriana heard she was queen. Good queen Bess. And the hot sun came out
We had a fantastic day, a great picnic in the park, and I got back in time to see England win the cup at Wembley
The other welcome thing about the women's football result is that the final went ahead without thousands of blind drunk and drugged up scumfilth trying to storm the stadium. It's actually possible to be proud of this team without having to cringe at the barbarism of the fans.
I'm sure my Mam gave it her best shot.
Bet you're glad you sneaked that bum flare out of her handbag mind..
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
If only someone had had that idea before 🤔
Yes, and when they did, it turned into a one-dimensional slugfest. To be honest, I do enjoy watching a game of Rugby League. But it's essentially a training exercise; so.ething you do to work on running lines and tackling. It's basically a less good version of rugby union. Also, as an ex-flanker, no. :smile
I’m not partisan. I grew up in Canterbury, I think the nearest RL club was in France, Union was my game. International RL is a joke. However the NRL in Oz is the world’s best club competition in either code. A mug of coffee and a bit of Aussie League on Saturday morning sets up my weekend nicely.
By the way for all those kind pb-ers advising me on a day out of london with my daughter - we ended up going to Hatfield House and gardens
My god what a place. Stupendous. Incredible history going back to the 9th century. Jaw dropping interiors. Lovely gardens. Epic parkland. Famous paintings. A fine fine church. And - naturally - the oak tree where Gloriana heard she was queen. Good queen Bess. And the hot sun came out
We had a fantastic day, a great picnic in the park, and I got back in time to see England win the cup at Wembley
THAT IS A GOOD DAY
There'll be a massacre or asteroid strike or summat there soon on previous form. Steer well clear.
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
That may change. Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
To be fair, they won mate. More than can be said for the men.
Small margins, but important. The men too drew in normal time.
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
To be fair, they won mate. More than can be said for the men.
Oh indeed. I’d kick out Southgate tomorrow and get that woman manager in. She’s a winner. He isn’t
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that it is football, and therefore intrinsically boring.
Well I might have taken that view. But I'd say to the untutored eye women's football is a lot less boring than men's. I don't know why. Someone suggested to me it might be because there aren't the massive resources devoted to understanding and closing down your opponents. It's like you get when a new young player bursts onto the scene, before the rest of the league works them out - except everyone in the tournament is in that boat. Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
I am an ignorant fool when it comes to football, but I would not be surprised if that was correct.
I think it’s partly that, but also partly the lack of top level depth. Even in this tournament we’ve had a side concede 8 goals in a game, and WSL has similar thrashings. It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower. The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
Slower, and also smaller. We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Or make it 9 a side. Similarly rugby union would benefit from removing flankers from the game and being 13 a side.
If only someone had had that idea before 🤔
Yes, and when they did, it turned into a one-dimensional slugfest. To be honest, I do enjoy watching a game of Rugby League. But it's essentially a training exercise; so.ething you do to work on running lines and tackling. It's basically a less good version of rugby union. Also, as an ex-flanker, no. :smile
I’m not partisan. I grew up in Canterbury, I think the nearest RL club was in France, Union was my game. International RL is a joke. However the NRL in Oz is the world’s best club competition in either code. A mug of coffee and a bit of Aussie League on Saturday morning sets up my weekend nicely.
My biggest criticism of women's football was it was passionless, I mean when did you see a female footballer take off her shirt when she scored a goal, but I see that criticism is no longer valid.
My biggest criticism of women's football is that some of them feel the need to wear make up. It's just odd. Going out to play a game of football, need to look pretty... Some of the men's team are little better, however. Once upon a time vanity was sort of looked down on.
When all's said and done you are such a wonderful old fogey @Cookie.
Don't ever change! (Though I expect you'd find it impossible tbh.)
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
Male footballers are probably the most trained group of sportsmen on the planet, and, apart from something like running, selected from the biggest group of potential participants.
Many of the women, even at England level, won't have had much training until they joined a WSL club, and it's only recently that they've been mostly full time - and that's still just those at the top.
We're still a very, very long way from where you can compare the players directly, but it's come a long way already.
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
It is a real shame that Milosevic's government wasn't properly purged after he was ousted. Then this twat Vucic would be safe in prison where he belongs.
Yet, this Tpyxa account (no blue tick note) wrote this:
"TPYXA ⚡ Middle East @middleeasttime · 20m Close the border between Kosovo and Serbia
Kosovo army plans to attack northern Serbia at midnight"
How? Am I being stupid? Kosovo is to the south of Serbia
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
Meanwhile. Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
🇷🇸Serbian President Vučić:
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
It is a real shame that Milosevic's government wasn't properly purged after he was ousted. Then this twat Vucic would be safe in prison where he belongs.
Yet, this Tpyxa account (no blue tick note) wrote this:
"TPYXA ⚡ Middle East @middleeasttime · 20m Close the border between Kosovo and Serbia
Kosovo army plans to attack northern Serbia at midnight"
How? Am I being stupid? Kosovo is to the south of Serbia
We discussed that earlier. Possibly poor translation. Means northern Serb areas (of Kosovo). Where barricades have been set up. Maybe.
One thing to remember, is while this is great publicity for women's football, there is a strong history of women's football gaining much larger coverage around large tournaments and then this quickly dissipates over the next couple of years, and doesn't translate into actual regular attendances and viewership's increasing that much.
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Yes. I’m genuinely delighted that England have won. And against Germany. In extra time. At Wembley
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
To be fair, they won mate. More than can be said for the men.
Oh indeed. I’d kick out Southgate tomorrow and get that woman manager in. She’s a winner. He isn’t
One key thing is that Wiegman is completely ruthless. She dropped the captain of 8 years from the squad because she was not fit, coming back from injury.
Comments
It is certainly now critical that the Russian threats, and indeed actions, are dealt with on our terms and not on theirs. Where he intends to escalate, we should stay cool and where he shows weakness we should match the Russians in ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. A tourist visa ban, as proposed by Estonia, is only a part of the next package of sanctions. Despite the nonsense printed in the UK media this weekend, people should be in no doubt that the Russian economy is at a dead stop. The Ruble is rising *because there has been a total collapse of imports*. Another few weeks and the Russian transport infrastructure will start to break down.
So, although Putin now wants to watch the world burn, sensible discussions should be taking place within the NATO alliance and also with China. The Putin famine must now be addressed for the sake of the global South and to reduce the blackmail Russia is using in Africa. There should be a measured and proportionate response to the various Putinist provocations.
On the other hand the Russian Embassy in London, which has openly supported war crimes, should now face greater sanctions. Many in the Baltic are outraged that the Embassy twitter account has not been suspended and the press office expelled from London. Indeed given the depravity of the Russian diplomatic commentary, why is there a Russian Ambassador still in London? The Russian Ambassador in Talllinn is summoned to the Foreign ministry so regularly that he must be getting dizzy. The Russian Ambassador in London should be dealt with similarly.
The only way to stop Putin is to defeat him. That may require a long hard slog, but there is no other way, there is no deal he will keep and no truce he will not break. We must be ready at all levels to stop this evil regime from unleashing a yet worse barbarity. The Estonians do not beleive that the victory will be easy, but they are determined to see this through. Let us hope that the rest of the NATO alliance is equally clear sighted. Putin is evil and evil must be defeated or we may have no future at all.
Not quite as loud as you get for a men’s match, but still - loud
This has clearly resonated
@TheGeoffHurst
European Champions. Unbelievably proud. #Lionesses
7:35 PM · Jul 31, 2022·Twitter Web App"
https://twitter.com/TheGeoffHurst/status/1553811487898083329
I think it needs a system like the SPL, where it splits into a top half league and a bottom half league at the end of the season.
It had never occurred to me before, but running without a proper sports bra is apparently next to impossible.
And with that, I've probably reduced the level of discourse on PB...
Meanwhile on Planet Earth it is the people who wanted and supported Brexit who own it, not the people who predicted the disaster and opposed it tooth and nail.
Conclusion: men's football would benefit from having fewer resources.
And why do Tories keep trying to blame others for Brexit? Do they find it embarrassing?
But make no mistake, we are where we are because Lab and LD were so dogmatically pro-European.
Bit more complex. They do in principle. Seems the massive difference in FIFA prize money is the practical issue.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/2022/feb/23/uswnt-equal-pay-settlement-world-cup-soccer
Interesting. Why?
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4167193
Otoh, on hot days I have to vaseline up my nipples to avoid horrendous chafing.
They're a likeable lot.
It’s also true that the pitch size and goals are the same, hence there is a bit more space and time as the players are a bit slower.
The main thing is not to compare to men’s footy, but to enjoy it for what it is.
edit: in fact, I've got *two* stories involving my good self, vaseline and *innocent* members of the public...
What a crap week. David Warner, Bernard Cribbins and now her.
https://twitter.com/batlethbabe/status/1553809682707501057?s=21&t=MAu52WMgs7STblU_-XGioA
Well done Lionesses!
Beth Mead surely SPOTY?
Vucic is addressing the Serbian people.
We could make men's football a much better spectacle by having a maximum height of 5'10".
Incidentally, she did a massive amount for women and ethnic minorities in space.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols#Work_with_NASA
The prime examples of this were the two previous incarnations of the Woman's Major League Soccer in USA. After the huge success of the 1999 women's world cup - The final having a 90,000 attendance, they were quick to establish a pro women's league within months of the world cup. Wages went up to $200,000 a year for top players, a huge amount in 2000. However the post world cup excitement quickly did not last and it folded into bankruptcy after 3 years, the exact same thing happened to the second version around 2007.
The reason women have such tight wage caps linked to turnover now is to prevent these inevitable financial collapses happening again, it's great to see women's football increase but the turnover is still way way below that of the men's, some WSL match's still saw some matches falling to reach 1,000 in attendance for last season.
Those calling for much higher wages is such a strange thought to me, surely if you actually care about women's football becoming a more established sport, then surely you would prefer that money invested in grassroots football to help the game grow, not into a handful of top playing stars, which when this has happened before has lead to women's leagues actually folding and hurting the game.
Don't know if that's changed much.
To be honest, I do enjoy watching a game of Rugby League. But it's essentially a training exercise; so.ething you do to work on running lines and tackling. It's basically a less good version of rugby union.
Also, as an ex-flanker, no. :smile
But the LibDems were fucked up by their earlier political posturing.
Basically, the UK could have been locked into the EU. But the pathetic politicking of the LibDems robbbed you of that chance.
Heh.
Modesty prevents me from saying that I posted on here months ago that Putin's adventure would trigger some kind of new shit in and around Serbia.
"All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!"
https://twitter.com/TpyxaNews/status/1553820136301367297
Hahahahah
Nonetheless I stand by my previous observations that the skill level is seriously low compared to the mens game. Ponderous, clumsy, sometimes comically bad
Women’s football has a charm and grace of it’s own and should probably be seen as an entirely different sport, and it could do well. Can’t ever see it attracting anything like the enthusiasm of the men’s game, however. Not even close
No it wasn't a ladies game.
My god what a place. Stupendous. Incredible history going back to the 9th century. Jaw dropping interiors. Lovely gardens. Epic parkland. Famous paintings. A fine fine church. And - naturally - the oak tree where Gloriana heard she was queen. Good queen Bess. And the hot sun came out
We had a fantastic day, a great picnic in the park, and I got back in time to see England win the cup at Wembley
THAT IS A GOOD DAY
Steer well clear.
That'd very err .. something
Don't ever change! (Though I expect you'd find it impossible tbh.)
Many of the women, even at England level, won't have had much training until they joined a WSL club, and it's only recently that they've been mostly full time - and that's still just those at the top.
We're still a very, very long way from where you can compare the players directly, but it's come a long way already.
"TPYXA ⚡ Middle East
@middleeasttime
·
20m
Close the border between Kosovo and Serbia
Kosovo army plans to attack northern Serbia at midnight"
How? Am I being stupid? Kosovo is to the south of Serbia
Maybe.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12016/12633153/steph-houghton-omitted-from-englands-23-player-squad-for-womens-euros-but-fran-kirby-included
How many similarly crocked male "star" players have we taken to competitions? There seem to be a few every time.