Retirement
Upon retiring Marsh became a pundit, earning a reputation for his outspoken views on the game.
He was involved in a long-running banter with Bradford City and its supporters in the 1999–2000 season, in which he flippantly dismissed their chances of survival in the Premier League - which were generally regarded as slim by most observers due to their relatively meagre resources, and the fact that the club had last played top flight football in 1922. Confident as he was in his prediction of their relegation he offered to shave all of his hair off if they stayed up, which they subsequently managed. Marsh honoured his bet and had his hair removed in the centre circle of Valley Parade Bradford City's home stadium and raised a lot of money for charity by doing so, much to the amusement of Jeff Stelling and co-presenters at Soccer Saturday, as well as the Bradford City supporters, who forgave him for his derogatory remarks.
Marsh remained with Sky Sports and presented on Gillette Soccer Saturday for a total of 11 years until he was sacked in January 2005, because during a live broadcast he joked about the Asian Tsunami and was promptly fired by Sky Sports, when he said: "David Beckham has turned down a move to Newcastle United because of trouble with the 'Toon Army in Asia'." Marsh apologised on air and subsequently, however this was not enough to save his job.
Marsh then appeared as a player for Manchester City and a pundit in Sky One's Premier League All Stars in September 2007.
In January 2008, Marsh threatened to return his nine international caps in protest at the Football Association's appointment of an Italian, Fabio Capello as the manager of the England national football team rather than appoint an English coach.
Marsh has appeared in the 2007 series of ITV's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! where he was the fifth person to be voted off the show, Celebrity Come Dine with Me on Channel 4, in January 2009 in which he came in joint second place tied with Abi Titmuss, the Alan Titchmarsh show on ITV in March 2009, and Celebrity Coach Trip on Channel 4, in November 2010 partnered with Cheryl Baker.
Read more about this topic: Rodney Marsh (footballer)
Famous quotes containing the word retirement:
“Adultery itself in its principle is many times nothing but a curious inquisition after, and envy of another man’s enclosed pleasures: and there have been many who refused fairer objects that they might ravish an enclosed woman from her retirement and single possessor.”
—Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667)
“He who comes into Assemblies only to gratifie his Curiosity, and not to make a Figure, enjoys the Pleasures of Retirement in a[n] ...exquisite Degree.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“The student who secures his coveted leisure and retirement by systematically shirking any labor necessary to man obtains but an ignoble and unprofitable leisure, defrauding himself of the experience which alone can make leisure fruitful.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)