Here at footballgirl.com for over a year we have been receiving a bag full of letters and even more emails. From players needing clubs, parents wanting to know about how to help their children and readers like you who just want to have their say. So here are some of the best.
Hello Anne here,
I was wondering if it would be possible to work for footballgirl when I leave school. I am 16 years old and have followed the website for a year now. I think its great that we have something that is dedicated to just female soccer. I like the change to all white background also, this has made the sections easier to find. I have played soccer for 8 years and love the gane but my love is growing for the photography part of the sport.
I will be going to college to study photography and would love to one day become an intern at footballgirl hopefully get to work with the people at Studio mai teo.
Anne,
San Fransisco, America
--------------------
hej
I read some months ago about the top 10 players from EURO 2009 and was shocked not only to find any of the England players in the list. Some of the England players like Kelly Smith deserved to be on the list. She played well throughout the tournament especially against Russia. Then there is Karen Carney from Chicago who was on fire in every game and when they left her out they nearly lost to the Netherlands.
They have some of the best players in the World and their youth team are the best in Europe. It is weird that you guys and girls at footballgirl have an England section but do not appreciate the talent we have in England. Great job on spotting and supporting Lianne Snaderson and putting Gemma Dvaison on some list's before but that is it. We have talent.
Emma Hunsley
--------------------
When will you guys and girls get back to the way you were. When I first looked at the site in summer 2008 the interviews were longer and much better. There were better articles and the 'Ma City' section was great to read.
I remember reading about Lyon through the eyes of Sandrine Dusang. It was a great piece and told me more about a city I always wanted to visit. Now the section has random people (who is Robin Stafford?) and poorer players (Essi Sainio??) just talking garbage. No enthusiasm and give you no real insight into their city. If they do not want to write/talk about their city then we don't want to read it.
Is it something to do with the change in editor. We miss the days of Tiago Merlot and his writing style. He was straight to the point with his questions and his writing style was investigative. You left with questions about female football that nobody else asked.
Here in America its all about 'soccer' so there are no real interviews or anything artistic. Its all about playing safe, taking money off the kids in rubbish camps were they just run, run, run and a bunch of players who get paid but never have time to spend with the community. Plus the site was updated more regularly.
No offense to the new editor but she does not have a clue what she's doing. The site changing colour and tone was a great idea but this was an artistic decision and I remember that it was Tiago Merlot and the intern's idea. The editor, the Moller girl used to write neat stuff when she was guesting here or there but to leave the website in the hands of a girl who worte hundreds of letters to Tiago was the wrong move.
What happened to all the young players that were featured in the 'future stars' section? Tiago's message every month (not every 3 months) was a good read. Now its like a female hippie convention. Too much nicey, nicey about players and their teams.
I say good luck and I hope this letter is amongst others who feel the same way I do. The whole website can't be about 'girly' things and being nice. That is for the kids and teenagers. There are some of us out there who want to know more about the game. Much more indepth interviews and probing questions. I'll keep reading because I'm a fan but I'm more interested in what studio mai teo will be doing. The photo section has been revamped and looks great. The comic book art is a real innovation while the rest seems to be just bland. If I wanted bland I would go to the WPS websites we have here in the states. Read about players and their day trips to the mall or a local school, looking at countless pictures of fans and players signing autographs like they are gods. Boring.
Cheers,
Michaela Gonzales,
Brentwood, California
--------------------
I wanted to say thank you to your writer Robin Stafford. 2 months ago I read his piece on 'the science of sleep'. This was great and I showed my daughter who is a big fotboll player, that it is important to get some rest. We printed the article and gave copies to the rest of our team. Sleep is important for school and the brain and it is hard to get this message through to young players.
Thank you once again. It is a great website with lots of content that is interesting. It is great and inspiring to know that some people out there are interested in solely covering female football.
Debbie Haugen,
Goteborg, Sweden
--------------------
Update the bundesliga section! and please help the clubs here. Female football is big here when there is a world cup or we win but every week there is not much support. The DFB (German football association) think they are leaders who are doing their best but they are not.
The 'aura' around the national team and their staff is ridiculous. A facade. We took our daugther to a tournament in Sweden and had time to watch some top level games. You could see the players signing autographs, talking to the crowd and other international players walking around the satdium.
Here in Germany it is never like that. The players think they are some kind of superstars. If it was not for us the supporters of the game they would be playing in front of empty stadiums. It is us who buys the tickets!
I read last week that you are now doing marketing for players and clubs.
I have sent a letter to the dfb telling them about your website and that the service you provide. I know you have done some work with Swedish clubs and it would be great to have you come here. Your editor is German and she would also understand how to help us .
Here there is a focus on getting people who do not like female football to be interested but that does not make sense. They do not like female football as some people don't like horse riding. Posters of hald dressed women will not make me watch horse riding!
Like America we try and put beautiful girls like Bayern's Nicole Baneki and HSV's Kim Kulig on posters and magazines but we should promote football not 'models'.
We need something cool and hip not the German version of cool and hip.
Katrina Gunter
Dusseldorf, Germany
--------------------
Please send your views to letterz@footballgirl.com
