A WOMAN regrets mentioning the Women’s World Cup to her mum, who thinks the England players should be less competitive and “more feminine”.
After Emma Bradford praised the Lionesses’ 6-1 win against China, highlighting Lauren James’ two goals and three assists, her mother Mary reminded her it was “this kind of showing off that scares men away”.
Mary continued: “Well it’s not very ladylike, is it? They’re kicking the ball much too hard so they’ve only got themselves to blame if they get hurt. I don’t think it’s healthy for girls to be so fixated on winning all of the time.”
This led her neatly onto asking Emma what happened to “that nice accountant you were seeing” and reminding her that her cousin Barbara is pregnant with twins.
Emma Bradford said: “With Mum there are certain subjects I know to avoid. But she asked if I was seeing anyone so I panicked and changed the subject to football.
“Then I got her bloody greatest hits. That boring guy Steve I dumped, ‘not getting left on the shelf like an old maid’ and my cousin’s f**king twins.”
Mary denied there was any subtext to the conversation, saying: “It’s about politeness. I just think it would have been nice of those England girls to let the other team have more of a go with the ball.
“Then maybe they’d show more of their matches on the telly. They should ask Gary Lineker nicely, I’m sure he’d sort it out for them.”
