The FA wheel me out once a year.. and there’s a whole generation of black England players whose experience is going to waste VIV ANDERSON EXCLUSIVE

struggle to adjust when the music stops, Anderson is saddened by an entire generation of black players’ know-how and insight going to waste.

He believes the FA must catch the wave created by the Black Lives Matter movement to seize the opportunity for change.

The former Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Manchester United full-back said: “I only get wheeled out once a year by the

FA, to mark the anniversary of my England debut or for Black History Month.

“For the other 11 months, I’m stored away in cotton wool – but if they rang me to ask what I thought about various issues during the rest of the year, I would be happy to give my opinion.

“We talk about progress in terms of greater representation of black people within the game, but nothing actually gets done.

“It’s not just about me. There is a whole generation of black players who served England with distinction and their experience is simply going to waste.

“I’m talking about Ashley Cole (107 caps, left top), Rio Ferdinand (81 caps left), John Barnes (79 caps, right top), Sol Campbell (73 caps, right), Paul Ince (53 caps), Emile Heskey, Andrew Cole, Luther Blissett, Ricky Hill... I could go on. What are they all doing now? We should be giving these people a voice instead of leaving them to twiddle their thumbs.

“They have countless honours and hundreds of international appearances between them, but they’re in danger of being lost to English football – and that’s a crying shame.

“Even Gary Lineker, one of the most high-profile people in the game – who acknowledges there are already too many old, white men running the FA – said on TV this morning he had never been asked for his views on anything by our governing bodies. How can we ignore so much expertise around us? It’s such a waste.”

While racism has been marginalised to some extent on the terraces – not before time – and more than 25 per cent of professional clubs’ playing staffs are black, Anderson has seen little evidence of meaningful progress higher up English football’s food chain.

He points out there are few black owners, chairmen and directors, and the number of BAME coaches and managers is disconcertingly low.

Anderson said: “How many black faces do you see in the boardroom? How many black managers are there among the 92 League clubs? The FA preaches diversity, but the head count tells a different story. When I was manager of Barnsley and the late Keith Alexander was in charge of Lincoln in 1993, I believe we were the first black managers in the League – and 27 years on, there is still only a handful.

“If we’ve gone from two black managers to maybe six or seven in three decades, that’s hardly a revolution.

“As much as I enjoyed the last World Cup, and cheering for a multi-racial England team who reached the semi-finals and did us proud, there weren’t many black faces among the management, backroom staff and the FA hierarchy. “If we want players to aspire to those jobs in future, they need to see the road ahead is clear.

“They need a pathway.”

PAUL ELLIOTT has received a glowing endorsement on his suitability to become the next FA chairman. England boss Gareth Southgate named former Chelsea defender Elliott, above, as the ideal candidate to replace disgraced Greg Clarke. Elliott, 56, already sits on the FA’S inclusion and advisory panel. And Southgate said: “I’m highlighting Paul because I greatly respect what he’s done within our organisation. What I admire about somebody like Paul Elliott is that he’s committed himself to football administration.” Southgate warned anything mirroring Donald Trump’s controversial presidency could not be tolerated. He said: “We should have a football person – and that’s why I like the fact Paul sits in on the board, because we have a football person in there. “So, yes, there’s a frustration in the process in terms of electing Paul. “But I do understand that’s to stop a mad person coming in and bringing in five of his mates on board. “You could have a situation like we almost could have in America. “There has to be some sort of constitution, but I think we’ve all been frustrated at the speed of change. “I don’t know if Paul’s the right person for the main role. That’s not a decision for me.”