PATRIOT GAMES
There are a lot of billionaires making global headlines at the moment and even if we were dying of thirst, Football Daily wouldn’t go for a pint with any of them. Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe almost certainly wouldn’t want to come for a pint with us, given our backstreet local’s clientele boasts no end of foreigners of every stripe and shade, all of whom are apparently more hell-bent on annexing the pool table than “colonising the UK”. A man who is so patriotic he would do anything for his country except live or pay taxes in it, Big Sir Jim has plumbed unprecedented depths of unpopularity among Manchester United fans by embarking on a diatribe against immigrants that played fast and loose in its use of far-right rhetoric and was backed up by wildly inaccurate statistics.
While the usual suspects – your Nigels, your Tommys, your Julias, your anonymous Social Media Disgrace boot-lickers – have of course applauded the United co-owner’s ‘straight-talking’ it has not gone down so well in more enlightened circles. The UK prime minister, the Greater Manchester mayor and assorted United fan groups have been among many, many folk to condemn his deranged comments about ‘forrins’ relying on handouts, labelling them crass, offensive and unhelpful. Never one to turn down a government handout himself – specifically when it comes to funding Ineos or a Wembley of the North stadium project – Big Sir Jim has also been accused of outright hypocrisy given his own immigrant status as a tax-dodging resident of a Mediterranean principality. “Offensive and wrong,” barked Keir Starmer. “Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country. Jim Ratcliffe should apologise.”
While Big Sir Jim is undeniably entitled to his wrong opinion, like many strident advocates of free speech he has forgotten it can often have unwelcome consequences. The irony of a man whose English football team is essentially a United Nations assembly of talent complaining about foreigners is unlikely to be lost on Michael Carrick and his players, who will be unimpressed when they get asked to comment publicly on his nonsense so soon after unwelcome questions about haircuts were put to bed for the foreseeable future. Outside of Old Trafford, the FA is currently assessing whether Ratcliffe has brought the game into disrepute before deciding whether he has broken any rules. Describing his words as “disgraceful and deeply divisive”, the anti-racism group Kick It Out reminded him that United play in a city whose cultural history has been hugely enriched by the very people he is targeting.
On the plus side, the man who seems hell-bent on stealing his rejuvenated team’s thunder for reasons best known to himself has since issued a classic non-apology apology. Earlier on Thursday, Big Sir Jim said he was sorry if his “choice of language offended some people but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth”. To Football Daily’s untrained ear it sounds like he’s only sorry so many of his detractors are such woke snowflakes for being appalled by his right-wing views.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is: ‘To Dare Is To Do’ and yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that. They didn’t realise that, to actually win, you’ve got to take some risks. I felt like they were saying: ‘We’re one of the big boys.’ And the reality is I don’t think they are” – Ange Postecoglou pulls no flamin’ punches in the wake of Thomas Frank’s firing.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. I am sure I am in tune with 1,057 others when I suggest that Tottenham Hotspur did a Frank appraisal of their situation and decided to have a frank conversation with Frank to explain that, frankly, his tenure as manager was not good enough and that, as soon as their franking machine could print off the postage, Frank would be getting a frank letter, asking him – frankly – to do one. Which is a great shame, as he seems to be a really good guy and, as his time at Brentford shows, he is a very good manager. As an Arsenal fan, I now wish him well, which I haven’t been able to do since June last year” – Andrew Kluth (and no others).
In yesterday’s Football Daily (full email edition), we have Liam Rosenior making sure his players are ‘switched on for 90 minutes’. Can I be one of 1,057 pedants pointing out that, according to no less an authority than Big Website, games now last an average of 100 minutes, 36 seconds? Demand more, Liam. Demand more” – Simon Riley (and no others).
This may be scant consolation to Rod de Lisle (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) but Leicester’s capitulation against Southampton, while spectacular, is eclipsed by at least one other game. Back in 1957, Huddersfield Town – managed by Bill Shankly, who, were he still around, would surely win letter o’ the day so often you’d probably drop it altogether as a feature, and also featuring future Wolves manager Bill McGarry as a player – somehow contrived to turn a 5-1 lead in the 63rd minute away at Charlton (who had also been down to 10 men since the 17th minute) into a 7-6 defeat” – Simon Gill.
It doubtless won’t be much consolation to interim Leicester boss Andy King, but given that his team weren’t playing against 10 men when they threw away that 3-0 lead to lose 4-3, it probably wasn’t the worst half in the history of football” – Nick Payne.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Andrew Kluth. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
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