Tonight’s Off the Ball Football Show opened with a discussion of some notable off-the-pitch stories.
Ger spoke with Dan McConnell of the Irish Independent about recent anti-Semetic comments made by Wigan owner Dave Whelan while he defended new manager Malky Mackay against racism charges.
Both found the Whelan’s interview with the Guardian bizarre, with McConnell wondering if “Malky Mackay now the acceptable face of Wigan.”
“Does he not realise... that he was speaking as a representative of Wigan?
“It’s going to invite more scrutiny than maybe they’ve ever had.”
A recent statement from the club states that Ched Evans will not return to train with Sheffield United. The inital acceptance of Evans, depite his rape conviction and denial of the crime, spurred international outrage, and the club have now backed down.
Ger wonders whether there should be separate punishments by the law and the FA, which ought to ban him from playing professional football for life.
McConnell acknowledges the complexity of the issues, saying “It’s a difficult one. You have to be consistent with this” and is curious to see how the story progresses:
“He’s a free agent and we’ll see how football acts.”
Graham Hunter spoke about the positive signs shown in the Spanish national team since their humiliating World Cup.
He believes that Vincent de Bosque is open to serious change:
"I’ve seen a real wave of change. I’ve seen a coach who repents the predictable errors made in the World Cup."
Though injuries to players like Thiago and Javi Martinez, along with a “fractious and childlike” media have made things difficult, Hunter is confident the squad will regain the hard-nosed attitude which led them to three straight trophies.
Hunter also spoke about David Moyes’ new start at Real Sociedad, and his game against Deportivo this weekend.
The ex-United manager has got his claws into the job and is focusing on tactical work to help the Spanish team out of their current bottom-half position. He says that the Basque derby in two weeks time will be “a test and one that will be hugely important.”
Also discussed were recent comments by Everton's Roberto Martinez, who said that Roy Keane's suspicions about Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy's fitness are "nonsense."
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