Letting things slip

Today I watched England play Denmark in Euro 2005. There are always journalists who say that women's football should not be shown because it is not popular enough, just like the African Nations Cup (e.g. Rod Liddle in the Times) or the Paralympics. This shows how far the media has declined because it now seems to think that its role is to reflect society as it is (or was in the past) rather than to anticipate future trends and indeed to set the agenda. And this week's matches have shown that England's women are just as capable of throwing away a lead as their male counterparts.