Friday Ramble: What's to come
The World Cup is approaching and fingers crossed WFC has some exciting plans for coverage of the tournament. Plus, I answer your questions...
This week’s Friday Ramble is not so much an article as it is a pitch - to you!
Hundreds of you have subscribed and supported Women’s Football Chronicles since I launched it in February, and it’s that support which allows me to write this from a coffee shop in Dublin right now, because flights to Ireland and a hotel for two nights cost money!
The World Cup is fast approaching and while sadly due to my commitments here - both work and family - I won’t be able to be on the other side of the world this year, that doesn’t mean our coverage will be any less, and I’m looking forward to having full freedom over what I do during a major tournament for the first time.
Whether that’s some truly unique and insightful build-up content, which will include in-depth profiles on the likes of Ona Batlle and Lena Oberdorf, telling their stories through former coaches, or a first-person look back at the first ever World Cup in 1991, or just analysing the best young players and key stories to look out for when the action kicks off on the 20th, it will all be here on WFC.
During the tournament, more features will pop up, including a fascinating look at the ‘Secrets of World Cup finals’, which will include unique insight from head coaches, analysts and players to unlock the biggest games over the last 32 years, or interviews with former players who took part in the biggest games over the decades.
There will be daily round-ups of key talking points and all being well, some content which will involve some travel to visit clubs who have helped develop some of the stars you will be watching in stadiums or on your TV screens, as well as some tactical analysis features with people well judged to have a strong insight to the national teams playing on any given day.
When I started a Substack, I said everything I do here has to be truly different in order for people to part with their money to access what I write, and I believe the approach to coverage to this World Cup will be different to anything else out there.
A big part of that will also be getting YOU involved, because you guys are already my community, that’s what Substack is all about. You’ll get your chance to ask questions, react to games and debate with both me and each other in a safe space about the talking points both on and off the field.
So, for those of you already here, thank you. For those considering a paid subscription, you can help to support daily coverage of this World Cup - and well beyond it - by hitting the Subscribe now button below!
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Answering your Questions
natalie_17 - How come Man United are good at agreeing contracts but freeze when it comes to paying clubs? Should we be concerned that Glazers also use a credit card for transfers? Who is Martin Ho’s replacement?
I don’t think that’s an issue just for Man United, it’s just magnified because they are a big club and are therefore both in the news and under the microscope more. Agreeing contracts is usually the simple bit if a player wants to stay/join, but a selling club is generally reluctant to sell their best players, which United are currently finding out. Every club works within a budget and while as a supporter I’m sure it’s nice to say go and throw £500k at North Carolina Courage for Kerolin, where does that leave them in other areas while they’re also looking at another forward, and possibly a midfielder and a full-back too, as well as another goalkeeper should Sophie Baggaley leave? A club will always go in low first, as we saw with the men with Mason Mount and now Andre Onana, then usually if a deal can be done everyone eventually meets in the middle.
I don’t know about the Glazers stuff, it’s the first I’ve heard of it, but United have no issue fulfilling transfer fees so I wouldn’t be too worried.
Nothing yet on a replacement for Martin. They will likely go through an interview or recruitment process which takes time, and obviously they still have Charlotte Healy and Carl Green, so I’m sure they’ll take their time to find the right solution rather than rushing something.
anupadu13 - Thoughts on the England bonus row?
It doesn’t overly shock me. The FA has regularly said over the years it doesn’t have tons of money in reserve and sadly like some other federations they seem to think they can put in less now the FIFA bonuses have popped up. I don’t know if it will get sorted, but it’s an unnecessary distraction for the players to have going into a tournament.
Kingwolf84 - What impact will Newcastle going FT have on the FAWNL? Have you noticed more cash flowing around the game because of it?
Not necessarily. It’s interesting because they seem happy enough to go largely with the squad they have with a few subtle additions from their neighbours. I believe they’ve retained something like 16 players so it will be interesting to see how they get on. I think other teams more established in the league have more outright quality, so we’ll see if being full-time can make the key difference. I certainly don’t think it will be a walk in the park.
What you’ve missed
Feature: Haiti has overcome turmoil to reach the promised land
Opinion: South Africa debacle latest example of federations needing to do better
The Big Interview: Manchester City’s Head of Women’s Football Nils Nielsen
You can also keep track of ALL the World Cup 2023 squad lists in our new World Cup hub!
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