Forgiven ? No, not by me.

Sky have hit the nail on the head for one of their latest programs, the lure of football and the inanity of reality TV. Their latest program (and no, I won't tell you when it's on) has a former manager coming into a struggling dressing room to help out the current incumbent. All well and good ?

Well, no.

Entitled "Big Ron Manager", former football manager and current media star Ron Atkinson advises an employed up-against-it manager in the ways of football coaching.

The character "Ron Manager" from the Fast Show was an out of date pastiche of 1950's football in the old days, while Ron Atkinson is more:

"Football, isn't it, crosses in the penalty area, hoods for goal posts"

In bred racism, of which Atkinson is guilty, will never disappear in this country while people who spout it are quietly removed only to reappear later to resurrect their careers. Atkinson certainly wasn't going to get anywhere near a football club following not only his initial outburst, but also his subsequent failure to accept that what he said was wrong. It could be argued that he's now actually better off, giving the Max Clifford's of this world an extra weapon in their career revitalization arsenal; Celebrity Big Brother, Page Three kiss-and-tell or casual racism ?

He should be farmed out of the media never to return, a foot-note in football history. Kids in the future who ask who Ron Atkinson was should get the following answer:

"He's what we used to call a big fat racist tosser"