A LITTLE ALL TOO FAMILIAR....

As the women's league gears up for a weekend of Cup action, looking at one of the semi-final fixtures I could not help but think this fixture wouldn't look out of place in the men's equivalent.

Tomorrow sees Chelsea take on their London rivals Arsenal in the FA Tesco Women’s Premier League Cup.

(The other fixture being Doncaster Rovers Belles v Preston North End)

Another interesting fact is that two of the teams involved in the semi-final matches have both already played in the final (Doncaster Rovers Belles, and Arsenal), something that is evident in the men's game as every year we pretty much see the same teams there, or there abouts.

So does this prove that women's and men's football aren't entirely worlds apart - well based on other issues unfortunately not, but still, a pattern is emerging similar to that in the men's league.

Now everyone knows how much money surrounds the male game and that the top 4 are generally making the most money, i.e Manchester United, Arsenal etc, and this can be down to how much backing they've received financially in the past - most particularly evident with Chelsea over recent years as now they've established themselves as one of the 'top 4' clubs.

If women's teams received more backing financially too, then surely this can only help to open the door further for a lot of other teams looking to compete with the success that Arsenal have managed! Bit of a coincidence that the team that's had the most financial backing in the league is the same team that are constantly winning trophies and containing most of the international players.

So again, clubs - TAKE THE TIME TO BACK YOUR WOMEN'S TEAM!!! It'll benefit everyone involved!

And finally.....Good luck to the teams over the weekend involved with various cup ties, and Chelsea and Preston - there's a chance to set up an unprecedented occasion for yourselves so extra good luck to you both!!