November 2023. Long Eaton.
This is the content you come for; women’s football on non-league grounds, burger and onions, pint of keg Sharp’s Atlantic in a plastic glass. #LivingTheDream
Having completed my last Notts tick at the Bird Hide, a visit to some “proper football” (the terms folk who support every team other than Manchester City use) was a last minute decision,
taken after a complex calculation pitting the merits of a blog post on women’s football (always a winner), complete with photo of plastic sheet manufacturer,
against the bitter cold you get on a non-league ground still advertising the previous afternoon’s entertainment.
Quite what Alan Winfield would have thought about having to cross the Notts/Derbys border to watch the Forest ladies is an unresolvable question.
But he’d have enjoyed the Forest livery,
and the Old Boy greeting you after paying your £3 (a quid for OAPs) was a joy, encouraging you to remember your gloves next time. EVERYONE at Long Eaton was cheery, and any match that plays Kylie Minogue at the start and Depeche Mode at the end is worth your time.
Forest Women play in the 3rd tier, occasionally gracing the “men’s” ground by the Trent. Today’s opponents Sporting Khalsa are from Willenhall, which looks a bit like Long Eaton albeit with a heritage in locks rather than upholstery. A cleverer blogger would have come up with a post title with “unlocking the key” or similar.
But I’m here to tell you the £3.50 burger actually tasted like a burger (NBgSS 3.5), even though its purchase meant I missed the 3rd and decisive Forest goal in their 3-2 win that saw them marching on in the FA Cup.
Big Jim’s stand had comfy seats and a smart bar with £4 pints of Sharp’s Atlantic (unscored, it’s keg, silly), which a huddle of gentlefolk were necking. Do that at the Etihad and you’d never see City again.
The football is of a good quality, the ladies game improving by the year in my (limited) experience. And there was an extraordinary amount of added time, even without VAR, just like the men endure.
But the Old Boy who shouted “Man on, Freya” deserves the life ban he’s bound to get.
retiredmartin 
Great post Martin, and that burger looks like a Hamburger from Hamburg rather than one from Houston. That is, in a bread roll rather than in a sugary, glazed, sesame-speckled, cakey “thing”.
Long may they prosper.
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…and Sheetfabs had been going for decades when I lived there.
Not everything is like breweries, perhaps?
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Sheetfabs is a great name.
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Non league burgers beat league ones every time, though Scottish pies are the best.
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Quite a few women’s sports are now as or more interesting than men’s sports. Women’s basketball in the US is a far superior game compared the men’s version. The skill level is now equal in most sports and the women players try a lot harder from what I see. When you’re bored watch an NBA game and then a WNBA game. Then compare the salaries…
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Really interesting perspective on basketball, Dave.
Since football (soccer) became a non contact sport you need to watch women to see tackles. Honestly.
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I do believe it too. Women’s college hockey is outstanding; Last year’s women’s NCAA basketball tournament was one of the best events I’ve ever followed. The players are absolutely fantastic.
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Martin, Go and watch football at any level below the Conference leagues and you will see plenty of tackles.
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Grass roots football ? Ugh ! No, I’m strictly Prem and Womens FA Cup glory hunting.
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So why still separate teams ?
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Skill can be equal, but size and strength are not. Very few 300 pound physically strong women. The NBA is filled with players of this size.
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Good answer. Glad I left it to you, Dave.
NB My impression is that women in football get away with more physical challenges than they would in the men’s game.
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Dave,
You obviously know more about these things than me but I was curious having picked up a beermat in my nearest pub two days ago that had a local Rugby Club announcing “We are recruiting new players”. The requirement is “Male aged 17-“, but oddly with no upper age limit, and no mention of “size and strength”.
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It is interesting though. Some teen women are now playing on male sports teams. You see this come up with wrestling periodically. And this makes sense. The sport matches by weight classes and isn’t dependent on strength. I do think we are seeing individual female athletes that can compete on a male team.
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