Arsenal reclaimed the Double and Fulham lost their grip on the trophies and from their domination of the English game over the last four years.  Charlton are the team most likely to challenge Arsenal as they came runners up in the league and in the WFA Cup competition, while taking the League Cup themselves.

I didn't see the WFA Cup final, although those who went to Loftus Road or saw it on TV said it was a very good match, the League Cup Final was a bit dull.  But the crowds for the finals and the coverage afforded by BBC and Sky of internationals and big matches is a good sign for the game as a whole.

The major worry has come off the field, with money backing the game disappearing.  It all started with the US Women's league folding around the time of the World Cup.  The golden goal win by Germany was probably the right result, as they were the best team throughout the tournament, with Sweden a promising side who will get better.  USA's third place win over Canada keeps the women's game there in the spotlight, but there are problems behind the scenes which might cause the downfall of the game in America.  On the pitch, the successful generation of 1999 are now being committed to the memory banks, while younger recruits are being bloodied to take the team forward in the future.

But the need for a stable league to develop such talent has been hit by the lack of corporate sponsorship for the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).  Although there were only eight teams involved in the League, it was hoped that it could expand with interest from other sides being included in the competition.  Players from around the world had joined WUSA clubs and the fact that it could only be kept going for three seasons in the home of the "American Dream" does not bode well for other countries trying to set up an infrastructure within their game to take it to a level approaching the men's game.

Built up on the back of the 1999 USA success with Mia Hamm and Brandy Chastain at the fore of their team, the teams were all backed by local cable networks and financed by the owners of the systems, such as Time Warner and Comcast, but as attendances dropped off (from about 8,000 to 6,700 on average) and the associated interest waned, investors viewed the women's game as a loss making enterprise.

TV viewing figures plummeted and the $100 million invested in setting up the WUSA began to become more difficult to justify the existence of the league and the eight sponsors, putting in $2.5 million each were becoming harder to attract.  Only two were willing to stump up the money for the next season ... had it gone ahead.  Debts of $16 million closed the league down, before it had a chance to blossom.  The fact that Philadelphia Charge bore advertising from Band-Aid on their shirts was more than just a sticking plaster on the matter of sponsorship in the American league.

At the time England manager Hope Powell was hopeful that this would not affect the development of the professional women's game across Europe, but only this week, we have heard that Fulham FC are demanding that the women's side become self-sufficient financially, with no more money being put into it by the men's club ... and this just three years after they became the first professional outfit in England, sweeping the board with the side that produced professional performances associated with the money and training they received.  The lack of a wholly professional league to play in resulted in the move to semi-professionalism and now the reversion to the ranks of amateur status once more, unless they can find a sponsor willing to inject £50,000 by the end of June.

About six teams are of a semi-professional standing in the English Premier League, but the chances of the game developing into a full-blown professional set-up might rely heavily on the 2005 European Championships which are being held in England.  League crowds rarely top 100, although big matches attract five figure crowds and it will be a test of the pulling power of the women's game in this country.

As our won club has found, money is a crucial factor in how the club develops.  With the funding help from Damage Control plc, Spurs players and Sportsmatch, Tottenham Hotspur Ladies have moved on to have their most successful season ever as a club.  But the need to maintain that investment in training and facilities means that we have to search out benefactors to maintain what we have achieved so far.

The good things said about the set-up at Spurs Ladies by those players who have joined this season makes me think that we are developing along the right lines.  Concentrating on developing players, the depth of talent at the club will be it's strength and the people at the club are all desperate for the teams to do well.  With a bit of luck, the first team will go on from this season's good progress in League and Cups to push for the promotion that has eluded them so far.  The tough Greater London league has made getting into the Southern Combination very hard, while other routes are less difficult to escape through.  However, there may soon be some reform in the League set-up and we will have to wait and see if this helps THLFC in their quest for promotion.

The attendance of 700+ at the first team game at White Hart Lane against the RAF in May showed that the interest is there.  Just the day before, Arsenal were afforded the opportunity to play their final league game at Highbury, after the last home league game played by the men's team, with many fans staying on to watch.  The 'joke' idea that many football supporters have of the women's game could be changed if they were exposed to it.  It is making that first step into understanding that it is not men's football, but it has it's own merits and can be an exciting and skillful sport.  It is a game that can stand up for itself.  Without that experience most will try to do the women's game down, but one caller to BBC Five Live's 606 phone-in praised the standard of play in the Spurs v RAF match.  It is this promotion of the game that needs to take place to show people that the level being achieved by the Ladies and girls is very high.  Word of mouth recommendation can be a lot more powerful than any other reporting of the women's game.   I have seen some of our players doing things that are the equal of most men of the same age (or older).  This season has shown the first team to be a potent attacking side and throughout the club, all the sides have done really well as they build on each year's experience.

The link with the main club develops and there are many joint benefits to be gained from this association.  The success that the Ladies teams bring have pushed the matter forward, but the massive attendance of women at Premier League football matches these days shows that there is an untapped market who might want to see women's football.  The effort and determination of the players shows that they are fully committed to the game and the news that the men follow how the Ladies are doing is most welcome.   If it was possible to fully integrate with the main club, it could take Tottenham Hotspur Ladies onwards even further from the quickest growing club in London that they are already.  The interest in the Ladies teams by their male counterparts is something that shows that they have an affinity for the THLFC teams.  Perhaps we might see some greater links between the male and female sides.

FA Marketing manager for Women's football Bev Ward said in a Times article back in September last year, "The FA has looked at the viability of a professional women's league in England, but the game is still in a developmental stage.  The FA is committed to working towards professionalism in England when the time is right."

For our Ladies and girls, we will have to hope that the time coincides with the biggest opportunity the FA have of pushing the game to the forefront of the country's consciousness in 2005, with the continent's best proponents of the European game coming to our own doorstep.

It is an opportunity not to be missed. 

Like a nervous forward in front of goal, we must hope that the FA don't miss it. 

Wyart Lane