It sometimes still is, as James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome observed back in 1966, A Mans, Mans, Mans World. But as they pointed out in the last line of that chorus “it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman.”
Maybe I am being naïve but you would think, possibly that the world had moved in the intervening 45 years, but the evidence to the contrary was certainly out there last week in the unlikely environs of Field Mill, Mansfield.
The Stags, in case you weren’t aware, have appointed the youngest Chief Exec in British Football. 29 year old Carolyn Still.
Still was variously described in the press as a “politics graduate from Durham University,” “working for Bulgari and Gucci” (I’d never heard of Bulgari either, but it’s an Italian jeweler apparently …) where she was “a high-flier.”
She said all the right things too, telling the BBC: "It's a great privilege. I intend to add vibrancy and fresh ideas to our approach off the field.” Before adding elsewhere: “'I intend to add vibrancy and fresh ideas to our approach off the field.
'Having attended numerous fundraising events, organised by the club's supporters groups, I am well aware of the passion and enthusiasm that the fans have to see the Stags succeed.
"I want to wake sleeping fans with a lot of different initiatives by liaising with them and finding what they want.
'Much work has been done to develop relationships with key businesses in and around the area, and we must continue to work hard to ensure that our off-the-field commercial activity increases in an attempt to make the club self-sustainable.”
All very laudable, and she seems ably qualified to run the Blue Square Premier Club.
But then there were the headlines. For every reserved BBC and Telegraph “Mansfield Town appoint youngest chief executive in English football” and “Mansfield go for youth policy in new chief executive Carolyn Still” respectively, there was The Daily Mail’s approach: The beautiful game: Meet the glamorous football boss causing a stir.”
Quite apart from the dreadful cliché (any Sub Editor who describes women’s football as “The Beautiful Game” in a headline should be sacked, surely?) what does it matter whether she’s a woman or beautiful or whatever.
Perhaps the worst example of this approach, certainly on the Google Search I did was this opening paragraph from a blog on the Coventry Telegraph written by a chap (I assume it’s a bloke anyway?) called Smithers. “Despite being a self-confessed football addict” he trumpets. “Mansfield Town have never really caught my attention to often. However that's changed today with the arrival of the club's new chief exec Carolyn Still.”
He then goes on to call her “blonde and beautiful.” (And spells politics wrong….).
It was a theme picked up elsewhere in blogosphere, with a sting of derogatory comments about Ms Still’s appearance on message boards and stories that she was romantically involved with Mansfield Chairman John Radford and being forced to defend herself, saying her appointment “was genuine.”
Would a man have to do that? Haven’t we moved past that? Can’t we just judge people on how they do their job?
A lot of our Franchisees are women, at Football Business we pride ourselves on being open to everyone and that goes for our leagues too. Women, men, mixed teams, they all should be able to enjoy playing football with us.
And that is why we have no real comment to make on Carolyn Still – other than to wish her well.
And hope fervently she doesn’t choose to write a dreadful column in The Sun, like another woman in football we could name.
Maybe I am being naïve but you would think, possibly that the world had moved in the intervening 45 years, but the evidence to the contrary was certainly out there last week in the unlikely environs of Field Mill, Mansfield.
The Stags, in case you weren’t aware, have appointed the youngest Chief Exec in British Football. 29 year old Carolyn Still.
Still was variously described in the press as a “politics graduate from Durham University,” “working for Bulgari and Gucci” (I’d never heard of Bulgari either, but it’s an Italian jeweler apparently …) where she was “a high-flier.”
She said all the right things too, telling the BBC: "It's a great privilege. I intend to add vibrancy and fresh ideas to our approach off the field.” Before adding elsewhere: “'I intend to add vibrancy and fresh ideas to our approach off the field.
'Having attended numerous fundraising events, organised by the club's supporters groups, I am well aware of the passion and enthusiasm that the fans have to see the Stags succeed.
"I want to wake sleeping fans with a lot of different initiatives by liaising with them and finding what they want.
'Much work has been done to develop relationships with key businesses in and around the area, and we must continue to work hard to ensure that our off-the-field commercial activity increases in an attempt to make the club self-sustainable.”
All very laudable, and she seems ably qualified to run the Blue Square Premier Club.
But then there were the headlines. For every reserved BBC and Telegraph “Mansfield Town appoint youngest chief executive in English football” and “Mansfield go for youth policy in new chief executive Carolyn Still” respectively, there was The Daily Mail’s approach: The beautiful game: Meet the glamorous football boss causing a stir.”
Quite apart from the dreadful cliché (any Sub Editor who describes women’s football as “The Beautiful Game” in a headline should be sacked, surely?) what does it matter whether she’s a woman or beautiful or whatever.
Perhaps the worst example of this approach, certainly on the Google Search I did was this opening paragraph from a blog on the Coventry Telegraph written by a chap (I assume it’s a bloke anyway?) called Smithers. “Despite being a self-confessed football addict” he trumpets. “Mansfield Town have never really caught my attention to often. However that's changed today with the arrival of the club's new chief exec Carolyn Still.”
He then goes on to call her “blonde and beautiful.” (And spells politics wrong….).
It was a theme picked up elsewhere in blogosphere, with a sting of derogatory comments about Ms Still’s appearance on message boards and stories that she was romantically involved with Mansfield Chairman John Radford and being forced to defend herself, saying her appointment “was genuine.”
Would a man have to do that? Haven’t we moved past that? Can’t we just judge people on how they do their job?
A lot of our Franchisees are women, at Football Business we pride ourselves on being open to everyone and that goes for our leagues too. Women, men, mixed teams, they all should be able to enjoy playing football with us.
And that is why we have no real comment to make on Carolyn Still – other than to wish her well.
And hope fervently she doesn’t choose to write a dreadful column in The Sun, like another woman in football we could name.
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