fbpx
Connect with us

Championship

Joey Barton defends Kevin Keegan’s view on female players talking about men’s football

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton defends Kevin Keegan’s view on not liking female players talking about men’s football.

Kevin Keegan had been talking with an audience at an event in Bristol recently, but his comments has sparked quite the talking point on social media.

He said he doesn’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.”

This led to a number of support groups and female fans having their say, with Joey Barton also taking to Twitter to give his opinion.

Barton tweeted: “Kevin Keegan. Ballon D’or winner 1978. England manager. He’s bang on. 👍”

Keegan does say he has been a fan of women’s football in general and even backed presenters themselves as being of the highest calibre, with Gabby Logan being named by Keegan at the time as a top example.

“The presenters we have now, some of the girls are so good, they are better than the guys. It’s a great time for the ladies,” he added.

“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.”

Keegan adds he saw it as “a great time for the ladies’ game” in general while the standard of play when he visited the Lionesses while the boss of England being now higher than he had expected it to be.

A few years ago years ago, then Fleetwood boss Joey Barton made a comment, saying: “It’s a different sport though really, in essence – women’s football should be adjusted for women, physiologically, biologically,” Barton said on the Football, Feminism & Everything in Between.

“The goal sizes and the weight of the ball should be [changed].

“If we’re going to make women’s football better, as a spectator sport, to stand on its own in the marketplace, if you keep playing on the same size of pitches as men with the same size of football as men and men’s rules, you’re always going to have an inferior product – because men are bigger, stronger and faster than women.

“If you tailor it, women’s football could take a lot of strides tactically and technically – way beyond its current limitations.

“Let’s be realistic about it. The size of a football for men is a size five, say we moved the size of a women’s football down to a size four, would anybody really notice the difference?

“No, but I guarantee you in terms of the physicality and the output, level of passes and the range of passes players some of the women players would then be able to do because the ball’s a bit smaller and the ball’s more suited to their physiological state.”

Here’s how fans reacted as Joey Barton defends Kevin Keegan’s view on female players talking about men’s football…

@KinkKee7: I’m a lass and I agree with him 100%

@kellyoxley: @Official_BRFC @thgorringe @waelalqadi please get this sorted. This man is running the team I love and I don’t feel like I’m wanted there. Joey spouts about wanting fans to show up, yet I can tell you, as a female fan, it definitely doesn’t feel like I’m part of that.

@stiddles7: I agree with Keegan 100%.

@StellaMStar: I totally agree with Kevin Keegan. I am a female (Man City) football fan and I cannot abide women commentators. They just don’t do it for me. Men should comment on the men’s game!

@StephenHampson: Jill Scott is on TV too much. Let’s have the best commentators or experts. Not to tick boxes

@CallumLand: Kelly Cates is arguably the best female pundit on TV at the moment and she’s never played the game. I bet she knows more about football passed down by her dad, than most arguing this post.

@MickHodgson23: We all think it , just he’s had the balls to come out and say it !!! 👍🏻👍🏻👏👏👏

@Graham8008M: What he said has been completely taken put of context, he was very complimentary about the women’s game and players. He was talking about when women say they would have done something different on the pitch or criticising the male players when they’ve never been in that situation

@Mannc385: He is 1 million percent right and fair play to him to have the balls to say what so many think but don‘t have the balls to say in this day and age due to the backlash 👍🏻

@benny_hutch: Majority of people agree with him and male pundits too but have that opinion and ur cancelled. Presenters male or female doesn’t matter Pundits have to be relevant to the standard. You wouldn’t have an ex league 2 player giving insight on the champions league final.

@mflem388: You can agree or disagree with him but he didn’t say anything disrespectful was complimentary about a number of presenters just said he felt pundits commenting on a game they didn’t play isn’t for him Micah said something similar about female coaches in men’s game

@Bryanmarshall50: Some brilliant presenters and interviewers – Logan, Woods, Saunders, Cates, Barbour, Abdo are all class. But yet to see a female pundit that is up to standard.

SEE MORE: Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton ‘publicly hangs player out to dry’ after loss to Peterborough

Related Topics
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Championship