Kevin Keegan says he "has a problem" with female pundits commentating on men's football
5 October 2023, 08:46
Kevin Keegan has said he has "a problem" with female pundits talking about England's men team.
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The former England manager declared he didn't like to hear “an England lady footballer” providing expert analysis of a match involving Gareth Southgate’s side.
Keegan, who played for and managed his country, made the remarks to an audience of around 250 people to have bought tickets to An Evening With Kevin Keegan OBE in Bristol.
In comments reported by The Times, he said: “I’m not as keen, I’ve got to be honest, and it may not be a view shared. 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.
Insisting he was fully behind the development of women’s football the former Newcastle and Manchester City manager 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.”
The 72-year-old insisted his view was not intent to belittle women's football and women's pundits.
He added: “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.
"It is a great time for the ladies’ game. When I was England manager [from February 1999 to 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.
"I joined in and then I thought, "I’m getting out of this". I couldn’t get the bloody ball and one of them nutmegged me, that finished me off."
Keegan who managed England between February 1999 to October 2000 and scored 21 goals in 63 appearances for the national side between 1972 and 1982 also accused modern pundits of 'talking too much' and suggested analysts of his generation were no longer wanted by broadcasters.
"I worked with Brian Moore, who was the best. At a World Cup final he would say, 'Kevin, don’t talk too much, let the pictures do the talking'," he said..
"A lot of the pundits now talk too much. Don’t keep talking, talking, talking. They don’t want people like us any more, our day is gone, it’s time for the next generation."
