Black managers – the last bastion of racism in football?

The appointments of Terry Connor and Keith Curle as manager of Wolves and Notts County respectively this February meant that for the first time in English football, there were four black managers across the 92 league clubs. A victory then, for diversity and equality campaigners? Not quite. Because while the proportion of black footballers now reaches up to 25%, the percentage of black managers still stands at a paltry 3%. ANDREW BUTLER reports on whether it does matter if you’re black or white.

Ask a fan to name the Premiership’s best ever black football players and they will reply with an illustrious list; Drogba, Henry, Makelele, Ince, Ferdinand.

However, if you asked the same question but about black managers, you will be left with raised eyebrows, thoughtful squinting and chin stroking, before they say, “Oh, who was that guy that chewed the cocktail stick? Jean Tigana!”

The super fan should be able to recall Ruud Gullit’s spell at Chelsea, before going on to say that Paul Ince and Chris Hughton were given no time to impress at Blackburn and Newcastle.

Keith Alexander’s arrival at Lincoln City was supposed to herald a dawning of black managers in the leagues – the first generation of black footballers had now come through their playing careers, and wanted to turn their hand to management.

That was in 1993.

The late Alexander’s son, Matt, believes that while the absence of racism in society has improved, the lack of development in the number of black managers are telling.

The 30-year-old continues: “There needs to be more black managers, not only for the numbers but for what they bring to a club. Every manager has their own different abilities, different backgrounds and different ways of doing things.  

Matt Alexander - now chief scout
at Notts County

“Most black managers would come from a different side of things. In all walks of life people can learn from different styles,” claims Alexander, now working as chief scout at Notts County FC.

The trailblazing path Alexander had forged has dimmed since the mid 1990’s, shown by the number increasing to just three at the end of the 2011/12 season, with Chris Hughton, Chris Powell and Keith Curle flying the withering flag, after Terry Connor’s sojourn into management was brought to an end following relegation – and replaced with the relatively unknown Norwegian Ståle Solbakken.

The hard facts show that whilst there has been a huge influx in the past 30 years of black players into the English leagues, the number of managers has not been reflective of this trend.

Former director of Football Unites, Racism Divides, Howard Holmes, says the issue of the lack of black managers is the last period of racism in football to be tackled.

“It still remains a serious issue. You look at the number of black players compared to the number of black managers, and there’s got to be a lot of questions as to why that is.

“You get people black managers that have taken the courses, done all the necessary steps and then you get managers who turn up without having done courses at all. Having just three black managers does not do credit to the English league at all,” says Holmes.

History

The biggest problem facing black managers in the professional game comes from the history of racism in the English leagues. The past season saw the racism debate rears its ugly head once again with high profile cases involving Luis Suarez and John Terry, and instances in the lower leagues are still being reported regularly.

Indeed, this is a far cry from the constant barrages of abuse that led John Barnes to have to kick bananas from the pitch, or Garth Crooks to endure seeing racist posters from opposition fans, or Paul Canoville having to hear abuse from even his own support.

League Manager’s Association chief executive Richard Bevan says the game is heading in the right direction.

Bevan adds: “It is clear that since the 1960s and 1970s, football has made major steps forward in eradicating racism from the pitches and terraces of football.

“This process could be shown as stages in a journey towards a point where roughly the same proportion of football managers are black as football players. It starts from the terraces, then eradication of racism on the pitch, then into management.”

The historical nature of racism has no doubt harmed the willingness of black players to go into coaching. One may have expected that since the influx of black players happened in the 1970’s and 1980’s, we should have seen this generation in management already. However the LMA report into the issue identifies the ‘lost generation’ of black coaches that have failed to find league employment.

Institutionalised racism?

‘If all your gatekeepers are white, it will always be hard for a black person to come through to these key roles,’ so said former FA chairman Lord Triesman last year. The hierarchy of football is another major sticking point when looking into why there is a lack of black managers.

Holmes feels it is institutionalised racism that is holding back black players into becoming managers.

“The boardroom is probably the most prominent place holding back black managers coming into positions of authority. Why aren’t there more black people in positions of authority? There’s still only one black person sitting on the 100-strong FA Council.

“You could call the lack of black managers the last bastion of racism in football. The game’s still got a long way to go before it can call itself truly free from all forms of racism.”

The stereotypical viewpoint of boardrooms being old, conservative and white may be increasingly outdated, but there is still merit to this claim. If the number of black managers is causing an issue, the number of black people in any position of authority at a football club is possibly even more worrying.

This is a view supported by ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, who is now first team coach at Nottingham Forest.

“If the people interviewing for the jobs are from the older generation are not giving interviews to black managers, then it is wrong. However, if black managers are not applying for a job, then this is a different matter,” says the former Dutch international.

“If the boardrooms are from the older generation, we must realise that a lot of white people in the 1970’s didn’t have black friends.

“In football, the majority of clubs go for people that they know. That’s how it works. If they don’t have anybody in that circle that is black, then it’s unlikely that black managers will come in.”

 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink explains his view on coaching

Lack of success

As with all major shifts in perception, adoption and acceptation, time is what is required. However, it is time that some black managers feel they are not getting.

Bevan notes that it is telling most black managers in the last 10 years have been in their first job, stating: “There have been five black managers who have managed in the Premier League, these include Ruud Gullit, Jean Tigana, Paul Ince and Chris Hughton.

“The only black managers from the United Kingdom to have been appointed to an English Premier club are Paul Ince and Chris Hughton. It’s striking that none of the managers have as yet established themselves as long-term Premier league football managers.”

Many feel that once one black manager has had a long spell at a top Premiership club, perceptions may change. Chris Hughton is the most likely to take up this mantle, having been assistant manager at Spurs, as well as manager at Newcastle, and now Norwich.

Veteran broadcaster Colin Slater has been working in the game for over 50 years, and feels it is a problem that lies at the top of the game, and not one you can observe in the lower leagues.

“If it seems to be the case that clubs at the higher levels are reluctant to appoint black managers, lower league clubs do not seem to find this a problem. The career of Keith Alexander is the best proof of this.

“He was a popular and respected figure in the game and came near to achieving real success.

“Other black former players have also had their chances but have not lived up to huge – probably too high – expectations. Notable among these is Paul Ince who has been at many clubs without coming anywhere near his success as a player.”

However the argument that black managers on a whole are unsuccessful are based on false premises. A closer look at the history of black managers throughout the English league shows most have enjoyed periods of success at their respective clubs. [See panel] 

The Glass Ceiling Effect

Despite the major incursion of black players to the English leagues in the past 30 years, the number that have gone into coaching following it has not followed this trend. From the 1,300 coaches that hold the UEFA B license – one below professional standard – only 4.8% are black.

Hasselbaink explains that this may not be a problem to do with race.

“Many players do not want to become coaches. You have a lot of players who say they don’t want to be in football because it’s long hours. Everybody thinks it’s easy but it’s not.

“Players who have just finished their career want freedom to do what they want. If you continue into coaching or management, you’re still being dictated your time.”

Ex-Torquay and Brentford manager Leroy Rosenior said that there is a ‘glass ceiling’ effect for black managers in the game. The effect allows black coaches to get to a certain level of management, without being able to get the top job.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - the legendary striker is now
assistant manager at Nottingham Forest

However Hasselbaink feels this theory can only go a certain way to describe the difficulties, as there would be no point in trying to manage if black coaches were the subject of a glass ceiling.

“I want to achieve the highest of the highs as a manager. If I believed there was a ceiling, then it would be better for me not to compete. You just have to give the job to the right person.

“If I thought there was something holding me back, there would be no point in getting out of bed in the morning.”

It is a view supported by Alexander, who sites examples where management roles have become colour blind.

He says: “You look here at County we’ve got Keith Curle. I didn’t know him that well before he came to the club, I knew he was a good coach and he did well with everyone around him.

“It wasn’t until he came here that I saw that he could be green and he would be a successful manager. He’s just that type of person. He brings positive people around him and he makes everyone around him feel good.

“I don’t care whether you’re black, white, green or yellow, it’s irrelevant. If you bring that quality to the table it doesn’t matter.”

A real problem?

It is quite clear that the lack of black managers is an area that has been identified by many in the higher echelons of the game as being an issue that needs to be addressed. However for the regular fan in the stands, it seems as if though this is not an issue at all.

After surveying 105 people on the issue, 61% stated that it did not matter to them whether the manager was black or white, but rather they just wanted the best man for the job. [See panel 2]

Does this mean then, that for the majority of football fans, it is not seen as a major issue? Therefore is it something that only bureaucrats and authorities feel should be dealt with?

Towards a solution

Highlighting the problems surrounding the lack of black managers shows the depth of the issue. However when you ask anyone within the game what to do about it, you find yourself left with a resounding, “I’m really not sure. It’s tricky.”

One way to solve the problem is to encourage organic growth in the numbers. The evidence for improvement has already been apparent, with 23% of coaches enrolled on all coaching courses from a black and ethnic minority. This, alongside a £3 million government grant solely to encourage black coaches into the game when the National Football Centre opens later this year, should mean that from grassroots level up, there will be a change.

A way forward? Notts County now have a
number of black coaches

For Holmes, this is the best solution.

“We have to force the authority’s hand in some ways, and the best way to do this is to get coaches trained. More money obviously means more black coaches will be able to get trained up.

“We need to raise the awareness of it as well. Education, awareness and money are the most important things in addressing this issue.”

For Alexander, a radical overhaul of the archaic system of selection is what is required.

He claims: “The only way things are going to change is if a black player – someone who has earned millions from the game – buys a club.

“I remember speaking to my dad about this, and he said this would be the only way to change things. I know if my old man won a £5 million lottery, £4.9 million of it would go on buying a club. He’d be running it, managing it and he’d be kit man.”

But with the dawn of foreign ownership, it seems as if the stereotypical hierarchy has already been shaken – yet the situation for black managers has stayed the same.

Rooney Rule

Forget Wayne, the only Rooney many black managers are concerned with is Dan Rooney. The owner of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers was the first to notice that in American Football, something must happen to encourage more black general managers. Therefore in 2002 it was legislated that at least one black candidate had to be interviewed for a management vacancy at any NFL franchise.

“The Rooney rule is so polarising in American Football, but it has undoubtedly made an improvement for equality,” states Holmes.

“Over there you’re either for it or against it. Here there’s more of a consensus to take measures to change behaviour in society. It would definitely have a chance to work in the English game, but it would need to be adapted from the NFL.”

The number of black coaches in the NFL rose from 6% in 2002 to 22% in 2008, and saw the first black coach to win a Superbowl, after Tony Dungy took his Indianapolis Colts to a famous win in 2007. The theory behind the Rooney rule without doubt increases equality, but some have questioned whether it is just positive discrimination. Others question the merit it would have in English football.

Alexander is unsure about how this could be implemented.

“American football and English football are totally different things. Anyone that has been in football knows that it is unlike anything else in the world.

“Don’t get me wrong, we could use parts of the Rooney rule, but we have to devise our own way of doing things over here.”

The Rooney rule is the only solution for many campaigners to increase the number of black managers. But what do the fans think? The survey found that just 12% thought a Rooney rule would be appropriate, and there should be no reason for the preferential treatment of black managers.

The lack of black managers is without doubt an issue that needs to be resolved in the modern game. Football is one of the shining examples of how racism can be removed from many factions of the game, but the disproportionate number of black managers is certainly worrying – especially given the distinct lack of progress that has been made over the past 20 years.

Whether or not a Rooney rule, or similar, will be implemented, it is clear that the situation is not easily resolved – perhaps the reason why a viable solution has not been available as yet. When it comes to an answer to the lack of black managers, we are all left with raised eyebrows, thoughtful squinting and chin stroking.