Women and the offside rule - Andy Gray sacked

[Toronto Villa]

I just listened to the Keys interview. He sounded even more of a wanker after the interview. As much as he tried to spin it and defend the aggrieved party the more you felt he was dying to scream, out "I haven't done anything wrong, birds shouldn't be in football". Talk about back peddaling very fast. Glad he and Gray are both gone.

And who the fuck are these mysterious "dark forces" he's on about? He really tried to make himself to be the victim and despite "apologising" just doesn't get what the big deal is. Just lads being lads, nothing wrong with that.

[AV1874]

Chances are most players would think twice about giving a verbal spray to a female lino for a contentious decision too. Positive discrimination? Maybe.

From personal experience I can confirm that is not the case at all. Most players are more likely to give you a spray because you are female and sometimes you have no choice but to flash the yellow or red as some players' IQ's don't justify you giving them credit for intelligence and trying a word on the run warning.

Maybe.

Do you run the line at parks football or the professional game?  Parks players always believe they can get away with murder (though the fines obviously sting a bit more). They don't have the full glare of the TV and written media to contend with.

Would an odious little individual like Ashley Cole want to dent his reputation further by being seen to swear and curse at a female lineswoman/ assistant? He might not be bothered, but there's a chance he'd be more tempted to hold his tongue, for fear of the publicity it would generate.

'He's only winding his neck in because it's a female lineswoman, if it was a bloke he wouldn't care' would be the positive discrimination at play there. But again, if it ends with the result of him and others being less twattish, it could only be a good thing surely.

Wow, this thread has grown a tad since I last looked at it! We had a public holiday yesterday here in Aus and I was too busy having a good time to log on!
I've lined on the top level of men's football in NSW which is televised for highlights as opposed to live broadcast. I haven't recently, but I am not confined to park football.

It seems that players don't give a flying you know what whether cameras are there, maybe it's the generations nowadays, but it could also be the fact that our governing bodies don't take appropriate action when abuse to officials happen.

[Mac]

Only managed 25 mins of the interview so far. And so far he's sounded okay if just a bit miffed about losing the best job he'll get in football.

He's certainly full of himself. And what he'd done.

I agree about "dark forces" - somebody with a grudge is releasing these clips and you have to ask why?

I think his comments about Brady can be defended.  Most of us don't like her either and it's nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman.

I've stepped back from the "hang 'em both" to being bewildered that experienced, mature, professionals can make idiotic comments re a woman's ability to understand offside.   

[Nev]

This has shown what a staggering ability we have in this country to get the wrong end of the stick.

As part of the Big Society I suggest the government make it compulsary for every house to have a dictionary, then maybe, having learnt the meaning of "context" "tone" "responsbility" "bigot" "sexism" and "professionalism", more informed comment could be made.

[Hammer]

Only managed 25 mins of the interview so far. And so far he's sounded okay if just a bit miffed about losing the best job he'll get in football.

I think it's the second 25 minutes which is the really cringeworthy bit.

[Chris Smith]

I agree about "dark forces" - somebody with a grudge is releasing these clips and you have to ask why?

From reading The Guardian report on  this yesterady it appears that these aren't isolated incidents and that they were regarded as bullies by many of the production staff. I think they just waited for an opportunity to present itself and taken full advanatge.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

I agree about "dark forces" - somebody with a grudge is releasing these clips and you have to ask why?

From reading The Guardian report on  this yesterady it appears that these aren't isolated incidents and that they were regarded as bullies by many of the production staff. I think they just waited for an opportunity to present itself and taken full advanatge.

If true, then it makes sense as to why Gray was given the sack.
If he's been acting like a ****** for some time, then this was an excellent opportunity.


Spoke to my Cousin in Spain yesterday, she used to go out with him in the 70's and said he was one of the most sexist people you could ever meet.

[Hammer]

From reading The Guardian report on  this yesterady it appears that these aren't isolated incidents and that they were regarded as bullies by many of the production staff. I think they just waited for an opportunity to present itself and taken full advanatge.

Knowing a few current and ex-Sky employees, I'd say this is certainly the case. Keys and Gray were pretty universally despised.

And fair play to the production staff who blew the lid too. It takes balls of steel to risk their jobs in order to blow the whistle in the way they did. With the systematic leaking, you could tell they had planned this out.

[Stu]

Keysworthy.

This new word has given me an idea. Can we have a word filter for 'banter' please? Everytime someone types it, it ought to read 'talking shit' or something. More suggestions please.

Why? There's nothing wrong with banter. The problem is that people use 'banter' as a substitute for bullying, teasing and abusing others whilst thinking they're clever and very funny. Banter is good humoured exchanges with no malice intended.

I'm just sick of reading and hearing it. Its an attempt at a get out clause for massive wankers.

[Merv]

Dark forces is a touch on the dramatic side. I'd guess that there are a number of production staff who have been spoken to like shit over the years who saw the chance to leak footage they knew would cause trouble; that footage could only have come from Sky.

I'm not feeling too sorry for either of them, though I do think Gray has been pretty good over the years. Keys is a reasonable anchorman, no more. They've both had 15-20 years of earning big money though. ESPN will probably snap them both up in a year.

[Dave]

Dark forces is a touch on the dramatic side. I'd guess that there are a number of production staff who have been spoken to like shit over the years who saw the chance to leak footage they knew would cause trouble; that footage could only have come from Sky.

And there are probably a lot of low-salaried people with access to that audio, one of whom has just doubled the value of his savings account.

[Merv]

Absolutely, don't doubt that. If the two were becoming a problem within Sky, this has been the perfect opportunity to nudge both out of the door.

[TimTheVillain]

Only managed 25 mins of the interview so far. And so far he's sounded okay if just a bit miffed about losing the best job he'll get in football.

He's certainly full of himself. And what he'd done.

I agree about "dark forces" - somebody with a grudge is releasing these clips and you have to ask why?

I think his comments about Brady can be defended.  Most of us don't like her either and it's nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman.

I've stepped back from the "hang 'em both" to being bewildered that experienced, mature, professionals can make idiotic comments re a woman's ability to understand offside.   

The best post on here yet.

I think the pair of them just took it all for granted, easily done after 20 years in a great job I guess.

Bring on Redknapp now, he's far more PC.

[Small Rodent]

Only managed 25 mins of the interview so far. And so far he's sounded okay if just a bit miffed about losing the best job he'll get in football.

He's certainly full of himself. And what he'd done.

I agree about "dark forces" - somebody with a grudge is releasing these clips and you have to ask why?

I think his comments about Brady can be defended.  Most of us don't like her either and it's nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman.

I've stepped back from the "hang 'em both" to being bewildered that experienced, mature, professionals can make idiotic comments re a woman's ability to understand offside.   

The best post on here yet.

I think the pair of them just took it all for granted, easily done after 20 years in a great job I guess.

Bring on Redknapp now, he's far more PC.

If being PC means not being a tosser, then yes.

And I do agree, they both took their job for granted, which I think also reflects on Skys attitude to football fans too. Hooked like a heroin user!

[Hammer]

I think a broadcaster looking to establish itself in the marketplace, like ESPN, will avoid them like the plague. I hope so, anyway.