Make clubs take a lead on black bosses
THE report commissioned by the Sports People’s think tank into the lack of black and ethnic minority managers in the English game makes fascinating reading. Prepared by Dr Steven Bradbury, a sport and sociology lecturer at loughborough University, it goes far beyond the usual regurgitating of depressing statistics, taking the discussion into wider areas. Bradbury discovered, for instance, that there were fears — groundless, one hopes — that a black coach might not be able to command a dressingroom populated by white overseas imports, some from countries with well-reported race issues. language is also seen as contributing to a lack of opportunity, with black footballers more likely to be praised for their athletic qualities, rather than intelligent play. this makes a white coach a safe choice, the black coach a risk. It is also perceived black players are not interested in management. Bradbury concludes: ‘once your body is worn out, as a black player football is done with you. If you are a white player there are opportunities beyond your playing career.’ the statistical evidence
would suggest that this, while clearly a mild generalisation, is true. But another passage is contradictory. ‘A black coach is always seen in his racial self, not in terms of his professional identity,’ Bradbury adds. ‘White coaches are never defined by their whiteness.’ Where to go with this? For it would seem the very process of trying to encourage more black coaches merely adds to that sense of definition. The ideal would be an environment in which black and white barely exist, like the pop charts. Who knows how many records are by black artists? The day equality has arrived is the day we stop being able to count black managers. Yet to get us there, we need to keep reminding ourselves of that meagre total — meaning Chris Powell or Chris Hughton are never just coaches, but always black coaches, making them rarities and accentuating difference. It is hard to imagine how black managers can ever avoid being defined by race, when even the wellintentioned Rooney Rule points out that here comes a black guy, your mandatory interviewee. A better answer, surely, would be to have more people of colour in executive positions so black candidates for management became, in time, a natural option. An inclusivity executive could be made a required position by the leagues. Indeed, it shouldn’t be hard to find a respected former player or a figure in the local community who could serve that purpose at every club. And even if progress for black managers takes time, at least there will be 92 black ex-players working from within. And change will come.