I think we've all come to understand the irrelevance of the misguided whinges from Sol Campbell regarding his being overlooked for the England captaincy, and to dismiss them. Never was there a better example of sour grapes (of whatever variety you think appropriate - black, white, crimson, green or pink) and a pointless reference to race and/or colour of one's skin. I will not elaborate on the complete proof that's come to light regarding the nonsense he was spouting via his book.
Sadly, though, this all coincided with further remarks that put Match of the Day in the spotlight for not having enough black presenters or pundits. This was unnecessary, and again an example of misplaced outrage. There are many causes deserving of attention, but to moan about contributions to television football is hardly one of them. I noted this in my post of 2nd March [Football Round-up] where I pointed out some rather different deficiencies, should one be looking for them. Highlighting that women might be more likely to have noses put out through lack of inclusion, I was of course aware that I was forgetting to highlight other factions that might think representation in football was their right. Would a disabled lesbian tick a box? Would a left-handed vegan from Romania have a better claim for an appearance as a pundit than a bearded bloke with a stammer who supports the Church of Scientology?
There are far too many people ready to be offended, commonly on behalf of other who 'might' themselves have slightly more reason for concern, but are not bothered. The representation of minorities is of course important, but not to the extent that there is bias the wrong way. I recently heard a woman bemoaning the lack of representation of women in Parliament. Well, I accept there's under-representation, but if only 10% of the fucking applications to be an MP are from women, then it's not that surprising if 90% of politicians are blokes! Thus, the only way to manage the situation to achieve a 50/50 split is to fuck off some blokes in favour of anything with a cunt that wants a temporary job. I observe that few women seem to actually want a long-term career in politics anyway; it's sometimes rather more about some limelight before kids arrive, or a stepping stone to something rather better. Yes, this is the same for many blokes, although many do have to try and earn a living as the main breadwinner.
Back to football, then. Whilst the above conundrums were not solved on Saturday, Football Focus took the opportunity to try and appease certain critics, through the choice of Rachel Yankey as the person to sit next to Robbie Savage. Now, before anyone gets too 'offended' (and I don't mean for having to sit next to Robbie) it is not a coincidence that she is female and black. These facts are undeniable, and I suggest that more important than her general abilities, credentials and possible contribution were the two box-ticking aspects. I have no idea whether she is gay or not, and frankly that is totally irrelevant to me, but I suspect someone at the BBC would like to stop hovering over that third box and make another mark (tick). Maybe Stephen K Amos will appear in drag next week - who knows.
Elsewhere (ITV, actually) we've seen Jacqui Oatley standing next to Gordon Strachan and asking him for his views about FA Cup matches. Whilst she made more sense than Gordon (doesn't everybody?) I found the summing up of matches by two people in coats at the touchline of an empty stadium boring as fuck, and feel that neither is suited to the task or particularly qualified to provide me with useful input. Still, it's another tick - I mean for 'women', not the Scots [Alan Hansen ticked that box with indelible ink years ago].
PS. I think there are too few white blokes lounging around in purple pyjamas in big beds on Premier Inn adverts.
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