Welcome to 2017! And eight days in, it’s time for one of those apologies again. You know, the cringing acts of self-abasement issued in order to save someone’s job and for which there was no need whatsoever.
Northampton Town got well and truly stuffed by Bristol Rovers on Saturday. Five nil. And Bristol Rovers aren’t much to write home about – even Charlton hammered them. So Northampton manager Rob Page was incensed. He lambasted his team at half time and later said that it had been a case of ‘men against girls’.
Yup. You know what’s coming. Here’s his apology:
‘After the match I made a comment, when speaking to our local media, about the game being a case of “men against girls”.
‘I immediately realised that this comment was totally unacceptable. No offence was meant by it and I apologise wholeheartedly if any was caused.
‘This was an error of judgement I made in the heat of the moment shortly after a very difficult defeat, but that is no excuse, I accept that.”
Men against girls seems to me a perfectly apt allusion. Girls are useless at football. So are women, come to that. Women’s World Cup winning sides would be very easily beaten by your average pub team, assuming the pub team had lots of men in it. The USA women’s team is regularly hammered out of sight by a bunch of young lads against whom they train.
Mr Page groped for a handy allusion and came up with one. He could have said men against geese, or men against wardrobes, but men against girls will do just as well.
The 2016 counter-revolution still has a certain distance to run, I think…
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in