‘It is a measure of how terminally centrist our nation's politics have become that Gary Neville's mild criticism of Nike was hailed by a rancid few as evidence he's a lippy Bolshevik nutcase.
‘The truth is that Neville, who so often provides a reassuring reminder that there are plenty of intelligent footballers out there, could have gone an awful lot further. He could have said that the moment Thierry Henry enlisted the help of Nike for his Stand Up, Speak Up campaign, the Frenchman shot a hole in his good intentions.
‘He could have said Henry should not have been seduced by the lure of Image is Everything. He could have said the Arsenal forward's anti-racism statement would have been more powerful if it had not been bankrolled by a multi-national firm with a reputation for guerrilla marketing.
‘And he could have said that before Nike get involved in anti-racism campaigns in future, maybe they should think a little more deeply about the fact that the average wage they pay workers in their south-east Asian sweatshops is less than £500 a year.
‘Perhaps Henry might care to Stand Up and Speak Up about exploitation of cheap labour in the Third World, too. Just don't mention it to Nike. They might think there's a wristband in it. Made in Bangkok, obviously.’