Considering the Spring Series are a nine games League and we have already seen six games postponed, is the situation due to bad planning or bad luck ?
Let’s remember that the FA WSL 2 schedule was actually well prepared. All games played at week-end. It looked a lot better than the previous seasons. So how did we end up with so many problems ?
There is a both of bad luck and planning elements, plus some FA gambling that has backfired. If we look game by game.
1. Sheffield v Doncaster : bad luck as the weather was bad and pitch waterlogged. Could the pitch quality be better ? They fit the current regulations, so it is fine.
2. and 3. Doncaster v Villa & Everton v Durham : those two games were planned during an FA Cup week-end and a week before the rest of the matchday schedule.
It makes no sense at all . Either the FA gambled on the fact that all four teams would be eliminated in the FA Cup Round 3 for those two games to go through. And of course, the miracle did not happen. Or you do wonder if the clubs rather than the FA pushed for an original alternative date ?
4.5 and.6 Brighton v Doncaster, Everton v Watford, Watford v Doncaster : Quite a simple explanation to those games being called off.
The FA put a couple of match days inside an international week. To be fair to them the English Football League does not stop during men’s internationals either, so there is consistency in the process.
They gambled that the FA WSL 2 teams would not have enough players on international duty to request postponement. Another fail and now three more games gone. Again there is a clear logic behind this, it is better to have one or two postponed games than having to schedule five or ten games in a busy calendar.
In the end, the fans are frustrated, the table means nothing, but it is a friendly tournament anyway. To me it seems difficult to attract fans when the schedule is so hit and miss.
Seriously speaking, Doncaster will have five games in hand over London Bees in a nine games series. If Chelsea had 17 games in hand over Arsenal in the Premier League a scandal would erupt. Also Doncaster will have to play seven games in five weeks, once they have managed to reschedule all those games. It is groundhog day for the Belles
The big question is will the FA do better for the winter 2017/18 ? Answer on a postcard…
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