CHANGE IS FINE BUT MASS CULL IMPLIES IT’S A POLITICAL MOVE

MATT LE TISSIER played his last game for Southampton on January 30, 2002, coming on as an 82nd minute substitute for Kevin Davies against West Ham. Sky may think this makes him yesterday’s man, along with Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson — all three have been stood down from their jobs on the excellent Soccer Saturday programme, replaced by fresher faces. Yet is Clinton Morrison or Tim Sherwood, Tony Pulis or Glen Johnson really more relevant to the modern generation than Le Tissier? His legend endures, beyond that of much younger players, because his highlights reel is extraordinary. And the way young people consume media these days, it is only a matter of time before a YouTube clip of Le Tissier (right), or a video lasting 30 minutes showing goal after spectacular goal, is discovered. My boys were five and four when Le Tissier quit. They all know him, though. They can all relate individual moments from his career, too. It’s not the same with the rest of the Sky panel. More than any of the Soccer Saturday pundits, Le Tissier’s feats live in the present. Equally, wholesale culls diminish general worth. By far the best match reporter on Soccer Saturday is Michelle Owen, who, for some reason, appears to be permanently stationed at Bristol City. Meanwhile, at the weekend, Doncaster Rovers manager Darren Moore was an excellent studio guest for the first Sunday of the season.

Yet the rush to jettison the old has meant the promotion or presence of any new face, certainly a woman or a BAME individual, is dismissed as part of a politically-driven agenda. The excellent Micah Richards has suffered from this, too. Change is inevitable. But it could have been handled considerably better.