As soon as the BBC expelled Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker and the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned in disgrace as head of the Church of England, the wake-up call was heard: replace them both with women!
Popular wisdom said that the solution to these two very different crises was a fair and firm female hand on the helm.
All I can say is: What nonsense! What snowflake ignorance!
As a football fan and lifelong practicing Christian, I have skin in both games.
And I have no hesitation in saying that pushing women into high-level positions simply because they are women would be disastrous for everyone involved.
First, football. I watch any game I can on Sky Sports, especially if my beloved Spurs are playing, and every Sunday I sit down to watch Match of the Day on repeat (before church at 11am). I am not a fan of Gary Lineker’s political outpourings, for example the way he compared the language used by the last Conservative government in relation to its immigration policy to “that used by Germany in the 1930s”. And I remain outraged that the BBC has accepted his £1.35m pay package.
However, for 25 years he has been a passionate and knowledgeable host of Match Of The Day, first earning our respect with 80 caps for England and becoming the country’s record World Cup goalscorer.
When he talks to us about football, he knows what he’s talking about. I just hope whoever they choose to replace him does too. But the way things are going, I have a lot of feelings.
New BBC Sports Director Alex Kay-Jelski, who was instrumental in dumping Lineker to “shake things up” and attract a younger audience, was reported to be in talks with former Lioness star Alex Scott, pictured, to replace him. him, writes Amanda Platell
I am not a fan of Gary Lineker’s political statements, for example the way he compared the language used by the last Conservative government in relation to its immigration policy with “that used by Germany in the 1930s”, writes Amanda Platell.
When Lineker talks to us about football, he knows what he’s talking about. I just hope whoever they choose to replace him does too, writes Amanda Platell.
This week it was reported that the BBC’s new Director of Sports Alex Kay Jelski – who was instrumental in dumping Lineker to “change things up” and appeal to a younger audience – was in talks with former Lioness star Alex Scott to replace him.
She became the BBC’s first women’s football expert during the 2018 Men’s World Cup and she’s a pretty girl.
However, when I comment on men’s football, I find it laborious and, more importantly, uninformed. That’s what you’d expect from someone who, despite success in women’s football, has never played at the much faster and more skilled level of men.
The English men’s top flight has been a power in world football for many years, but the truth is that it has had no experience in it. And, inevitably, that shows in their expertise.
What makes the BBC think Alex would be suitable as Lineker’s replacement? It’s not that it was a box office success. As the presenter of Football Focus on Saturday lunchtimes, she reportedly managed to lose a third of the show’s viewers in three years, with many fearing she would be axed entirely.
The Beeb has also reportedly been considering replacing Lineker with a ‘job share’ between the host of sister show Match Of The Day 2 (shown on Sundays), Mark Chapman, and sports presenter Kelly Somers, an offer which Chapman understandably declined.
The aunt seems determined to shoehorn a woman into Lineker’s seat.
All I can say is that if Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Sports Director pictured, thinks it is a good idea to get rid of former stars who played at the highest level in the best and toughest league in the world for players like Alex and Gabby, then you’re in for a rude awakening, writes Amanda Platell
A number of female bishops are already being touted as replacements for Welby (right), including the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, 61, left, writes Amanda Platell.
It is no coincidence that BBC staff now fear that Lineker’s departure could mean Match of the Day heads for a woke graveyard, going the way of Football Focus, which appears to be aimed at ‘millennials and snowflakes’ instead of the bulk of MOTD viewers. which are mostly football-mad middle-aged men (and a few women like me), an audience the Beeb seems hell-bent on getting rid of.
The talented Gabby Logan, whose sporting career as a rhythmic gymnast sadly ended due to injury at the age of 17, is also vying for a key role as a football presenter.
However, she has never kicked a football in her life, except with her children or her rugby ace husband Kenny; nor, to be fair, has broadcaster Chapman either.
Meanwhile, The Sun newspaper reveals BBC staff fear fan-favorite Match of the Day pundits could also be booted to reduce the number of middle-aged and male former players.
The news comes as Football Focus has been ridiculed for using influencers and celebrities such as Jordan Mainoo-Hames, a Love Island model.
Your connection with football? His brother Kobbie plays for Manchester United and in England.
All I can say is that if Alex Kay-Jelski thinks getting rid of former stars who played at the highest level in the best and toughest league in the world for players like Alex and Gabby is a good idea, he’s in for a rude awakening.
Just like those leaders infected by the awakening in the Church of England do insist that the vacancy soon to be vacated by Archbishop Justin Welby be filled by a woman.
Several female bishops are already being touted as his replacement.
Iranian-born LGBT champion and Bishop of Chelmsford, Guli Francis-Dehqani, 58, came straight out of the shortlist as the favourite, having already been the first woman from an ethnic minority to be ordained a bishop.
Then we have the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, 61, the first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords, who preaches that God is neither male nor female and has criticized the CofE for its “lack of diversity” .
And Rose Hudson-Wilkin, 63, the Church’s first black bishop, a “powerful symbol of change” who has denounced the CofE for its “institutional racism.”
Just as woke leaders in the Church of England do insist that the vacancy soon to be vacated by Archbishop Justin Welby, pictured, be filled by a woman, writes Amanda Platell.
Rose Hudson-Wilkin, 63, the Church’s first black female bishop, a “powerful symbol of change” who has called out the CofE for its “institutional racism”, writes Amanda Platell.
All very good and progressive, but such speculation about who should become our first female archbishop fails to take into account the complexities of the World Anglican Church, of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is the world head. His followers include conservative traditionalists from around the world, especially in sub-Saharan African countries, from Kenya to Namibia.
Such congregations are unlikely to readily accept a woman as head of their Church. Even here in Britain, 600 parishes still refuse to accept female vicars.
In my church, when consulted about electing a new vicar, the majority of the mostly small-c Conservative congregation stipulated a traditional High Church Anglican pastor, with no “merry doves” and certainly no women.
Rebuke us for our intolerance if you want, but we are traditionalists (just ordinary people who seek solace in prayer) who believe that God is a man and that Jesus died for us. To people like me, a woman reading the sermon and preaching the Gospel still seems strange.
In my opinion, a female archbishop would baffle the World Anglican Congregation of parishioners. This is over 85 million people, of which the UK constitutes around a measly 685,000.
I have already said it and I expect a lot of opprobrium for my opinions.
I’m not saying that the Church of England or Match Of The Day – or, indeed, any other organization – shouldn’t have a female figure. I’m simply arguing that the best and most qualified person should get the job and that progressive values should not prevail.
The Church now faces so many challenges that the selection of a new archbishop could not be more vital. As for who presents football, well, it may not be that urgent, but let’s not forget that it is also a national religion.