West Ham striker Michail Antonio has fired back at criticism from Roy Keane, who suggested player podcasts could be a distraction. Antonio disagrees, calling Keane’s view a “dinosaur mentality.”
Keane, on the “Stick to Football” podcast, expressed his concern that current players appearing on podcasts might take focus away from their on-field performance. Antonio, co-host of the BBC’s “The Players’ Channel” podcast alongside Fulham’s Tom Cairney, strongly disagrees.
Antonio argues that footballers today have diverse interests and shouldn’t be restricted to just football. He points out that many players pursue ventures outside the game, whether in business, fashion, or even music.
“If I’ve got time to do this [podcasting] then why shouldn’t I?” Antonio questions Keane’s seemingly outdated view.
This back-and-forth comes amidst a rough patch for West Ham. They’ve crashed out of Europe and won only one Premier League game in their last seven. Their most recent defeat, a 5-2 thrashing by Crystal Palace, saw Antonio score a consolation goal, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a humiliating loss.
Antonio, currently overshadowed by teammates Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus in terms of goalscoring, has limited time left in the season to silence critics like Keane. With only four Premier League matches remaining and a European spot still within reach, Antonio needs to rediscover his form and lead West Ham back to winning ways.
Nothing wrong with pursuing other ventures or doing podcasts. However, Antonio should be more careful about what he says sometimes, he can come across a right plonker!