Former England star and Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan has said he doesn’t “like ladies talking about men’s football” in a recent interview.What year are we in again?…
Referring to international football being covered by those who used to play professional women’s football, specifically, Keegan said: “I don’t like to listen to ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with that.”
The 72-year-old’s quotes were taken from his own self-titled talk, ‘An Evening With Kevin Keegan’, held in Bristol last week and although he did claim to be a big supporter of the women’s game, he is apparently nnot so keen on female footballers talking about the male sport.
How could women ever hope to match such Kevin Keegan insights as "football is easier when you have the ball" and "Argentina won't be at Euro 2000 because they're from South America" https://t.co/fEMPtaVNmwpic.twitter.com/S6W0g2sEnf
Ah yes, Kevin Keegan, the font of all footballing knowledge.
The OBE-awarded ex-pro and reitred coach reportedly went on to add, “The presenters we have now, some of the girls are so good, they are better than the guys.
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“But if I see an England lady footballer saying about England against Scotland at Wembley and she’s saying, ‘If I would have been in that position I would have done this’, I don’t think it’s quite the same — I don’t think it crosses over that much.”
We have never winced at the word ‘lady’ so much before. The article also claims that these comments were met with applause from large sections of the audience.
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The reaction online and in the media on both sides has also led to another former manager coming out to give this two cents on Keegan’s remarks, as Harry Redknapp appeared on TalkTV to say he was “brave” to come out with these opinions and that he “can see where he’s coming from a little bit”.
"He's very brave for saying it… I can see where he's coming from!"
Harry Redknapp gives his take after former England manager Kevin Keegan said 'lady footballers' are not qualified to express opinions about the men’s international game.@Iromg | @Redknapppic.twitter.com/D59KTh9Zgh
“It’s a great time for the ladies. When I was England manager [February 1999-October 2000] I went to coach the England ladies and I had this perception of what the quality would be like and they were so much better than I thought they were going to be.”
He even joked about being surprised when he was nutmegged by a female professional during a training session. Wow, a professional athlete showing up an aging ex-pro for no other reason than their own sporting ability, we’re stunned…
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Even when Keegan did trying to speak more positively on “good lady presenters”, stating that he was set to be working with Gabby Logan in two days time, instead of acknowledging her as the seasoned sports presenter, pundit, former GB gymnast and household name we all know, he instead referred to her simply as “Terry Yorath’s daughter”.
Honestly, how are we still hearing condescending rubbish like this in 2023? Also, why should, say, Jill Scott’s opinion — an individual who has actually won a major trophy at international level — not count for just as much (if not more) than the countless male ex-pros then get on to talk about every tournament?
Featured Image — Manchester City/Lionesses (via Instagram)/Sky Sports
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
5th October 2023 
