Which end of the stick do I grab?

Owen Coyle, manager of Burnley, sorry, Bolton Wanderers FC is complaining about the abuse dished out by football fans. He has a point.

He, unfortunately, has the wrong point.

He calls the baiting of managers and coaches "a social problem". I can see his point. What he is complaining about is the abuse he received from Burnley fans when they played Bolton on Tuesday. Until two weeks ago, he had been the manager of Burnley.

Burnley fans were upset that he left, during the course of a season, to manage a rival club. Now, here's the real point. Of course they're going to be upset. Of course, they are going to show their resentment. Did they go too far? Probably. But there was an underlying reason for doing.

Speaking out like this is self-serving. It attempts to deflect criticism away from himself. The trouble is, it also deflects criticism away from the football fans who hurl abuse for absolutely no reason. Here, I'm referring specifically to racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments. The racist ones are less common in British football now, although they do occur.

Lumping the abuse towards Coyle for leaving a club in the lurch to pursue his own agenda with homophobia is egotistical nonsense. It denigrates the unwarranted abuse dished out. Coyle should be rightly upset by the abuse he received. However, he ought to take it on board and remember it when it comes to choosing the timing of his next appointment. If he's still with Bolton, he'd do better to wait until the end of the season and be open and polite about what he's doing.

It's not the same Owen. If you were black, gay or female you'd be insulted that you attempted to suggest that it might be.