A lot has been made of the MP's report into racism in football.This got me thinking about a couple of things.What % of footballers are from ethnic minorities ? What % of MP's are from ethnic minorities ? Personally i think our MP's should get their own house (of commons) in order before picking on football I also find it funny how football is always singled out.I think MP's would be better off looking at racism in other sports e.g. rugby and cricket
MPs are out of touch.. what's new? Most of them come from the same Eton to Uxbridge factory. Most of them don't relate to the common man. I never pay attention to anything politicians have to say. Unfortunately, as long as you're rich, it doesn't really matter who's in power: champagne Socialists or hard right Conservatives.
That's the annoying thing. It used to be that politicians were in business, then moved into politics much later in life. Now you have career politicians who have held very few jobs, and tend to be from the much better off backgrounds. They're intrinsically out of touch with the real world.
You're bringing up the number of players and I'm pretty sure you're missing the point. Those other sports you mention, apart from cricket which is still big in the Caribbean, don't have many black players...so no one expects many ex players to filter up to management positions in those sports. But football, with as many black players as it has, has hardly any black managers, even fewer black board members, and absolutely no black owners.
My union has sponsored MP's.Years ago all those sponsored MP's were people who had worked in factories,mills etc.They had to do exams before the were added to the union list and were then trained in public speaking etc.This was in the days before New Labour.Nowadays most Labour MP's are career politicians
Because I assume black people don't want to play them. This isn't about people being stopped from playing sport. That's not happening anywhere. the fact people seem to only assume that's how racism in sport could manifest is why you're all losing sight of what the point is. Look at it like this. Football, no matter your feelings about it as a fan who loves it, it's a job. People want to keep their jobs and they do that by getting results and performing well. Even the most staunchly racist football manager will choose a good black player over a mediocre white one to get his team winning. The ridiculous notion that a racist will basically cut their own throat to cling onto their prejudice is a completely naive one. A footballer to a manager is no more important than a hammer to a carpenter. Essential for the job, but not likely to be introduced to your daughter. You don't have to be friends, you don't have to have a surrogate father/son relationship. Take Neil Warnock. He famously called El Hadji Diouf a sewer rat...and now he's signed the guy. Why? He needs someone at the right price and at the right playing ability to do a job. Do you really think he likes the guy? Seeing that, why is it then hard to believe that a manager could also not like some of his players due to his personal political views? They have nothing to do with getting goals. So, that's that part...but that part itself doesn't have much to do with the report which basically says the translation from about a quarter of footballers being of an ethnic minority to less than a percent of managers being of an ethnic minority despite a lot of them actively trying (here is where the difference with the above less represented sports comes in...there are not thousands of kids trying to get into these sports, let alone thousands of kids of colour) points to some sort of issue at the very top of the game, not the bottom. Race is always a contentious issue and it will always result in very polarized discussion. I just think people need to look at the deeper implications and then make their mind up, not glance at the issues superficially and then dismiss them based on erroneous reading of what it means.
Good post Highbury. My repost would be, to an owner, or board of directors who appoint the manager, a manager is merely another commodity necessary to win, just like a player, so why doesn't it follow that they wouldn't care about their race provided they were the best person for the job?
Why would you ask that? Couldn't it just be that there isn't much interest from black people to be in those other sports compared to football? Same with the MPs, etc. If for example a PM chooses his ministers based on merit in their fields alone and 95% of them end up being white (or from non-immigrant parents) what is wrong with that? Your comment shows some of that (IMO) perverse understanding of the concept of "equality" some certain groups have.
The managers job, I'd argue, is actually less important than the playing personnel. Look at Chelsea, barring Mourinho, they've maintained the same quality, there or thereabouts, while constantly chopping and changing manager, reaching a Champions League final with Avram Grant and winning it with Di Matteo. what I will say of the managers role is, it's much closer to that inner circle. You get the managers role at a decent sized club and you're now in the Old Boys Club. We've seen what happens when the board and a manager or an owner and manager don't get along. Even the "Special" Jose wasn't immune to his personal relationship with the top brass falling apart, no matter what he could win. The next step for a successful manager is the board. The next step for a successful player is scratching around for pundit work and Dancing on Ice.
Do you remember people leaving the Conservative party because a black candidate had been chosen in the Cheltenham constituency ?
I don't see this thread lasting long but good post Highbury Ghost. The issue goes deeper than some knuckle dragging clowns making monkey chants from the stands. It's also institutionalized and sadly, it tends to be overlooked. There is a disproportionate ratio of black players: black managers which simply can't be ignored.
I totally agree with you.The point i'm making is that politicians should look to themselves and other sports before picking on football
It would be a pity if it got pulled. I'm sure we're all adults and can discuss a deep issue without it getting silly. In terms of the lack of black managers...I wouldn't know what the answer is. From some those that have been given a chance, John Barnes wasn't that good, Ince for me was woeful and Terry Connor last season was given an impossible job, but was out of his depth anyway. I don't think it's an easy issue to tackle at all.
Racism in general frustrates me greatly. Whether it's negative or "positive." It's so sad that in a society as advanced as we're meant to be, people can't just pick the best person for the job regardless of who, or what, they are.
Either you have an agenda or your friend does, either way telling tales makes both of you look silly. This never happened.
Ok, so i have an issue with most of the crap that is thrown around about racism. It is constantly blown out of proportion and is only viewed by society as wrong when its aimed at minorities and particular minorities at that! If people care so much about racism it should work in every direction. (But thats just a personal annoyance of mine and not that relevant here!). As far as there not being "enough" of a certain ethnicity of person i think its ridiculous. Your race should play no part whatsoever in you getting a job, same with gender. Which is why i get so annoyed at people saying we need more female polititions or ethnic polititions - why? I couldn't care less if they are all white, upper class men! It's about who is best for the job. And allowing fear over racism and a desperate attempt to show equality get in the way of having the correct people in jobs is just plain stupidity. It's the same with the new stuff about having a certain % of woman on the boards of companies - why? If there is a woman who on her own merits deserves to be there - give her the job. If there are simply many better options who are men - give the men the jobs! I cannot stand that everyone thinks everything has to be seen as fair between everyone who is different. It is "positive racism" or sexism depending on who we are talking about. But as far as im concerned, positive or not its still racism and its still wrong. The fact we even distinguish between race when looking at things like this shows how backwards the world is. Jobs should be given purely based on who is best for the job and nothing else. THAT is fairness and equality. Not giving someone a job so u have enough black people...... As for the football thing - maybe the black guys who play footy who then try to go on to be managers just arent good enough? Maybe the problem is that it's not guys like Henry who are both good at football and have an understanding of how a club runs that are going for these positions? It could just be that the current black candidates for jobs are simply not as good as the current managers in place.That doesn't mean there are not good managers who are black (Chris Haughton has done a great job over the last few years). But maybe the quality simply isn't there at the moment?
100% it's what she was told. she didn't do it, as she decided to take a different career path. i believe she was advised by someone who was already a Police Officer, rather than anyone who was going to review her application - should have qualified that, my apologies.
It's true. Politicians are humans and therefore hypocrisy is expected of them. The only difference is due to their positions of power, they are held to a higher moral standard and are therefore heavily scrutinized. I am in no way excusing their behavior because actively using expenses (funded by the tax payer) to illegally fund their 'life style' is an insult and a joke. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. And I find it hard to listen to MPs talk about eradicating deep rooted social issues when they'd never step foot inside an inner-city unless there were cameras, a red ribbon and an army of officers to escort them. But I digress. I guess your main point is that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones but unfortunately, people will only sit up and listen when parliament make it an issue (whether it's for their own personal gain or for genuine change). I do think that while THE issue of race is important, too many people are quick to dismiss it because race has become much more of a sensitive issue in this country for past couple of years. The Suarez and Terry incident has definitely shown how divided people are in this country when it comes to understanding of race. While certain issues (IMO) are trivial, ones which I feel are more deserving (institutionalized racism in football) will get ignored due to people who aren't as affected by it, becoming fed up of the issue. Racism is an issue that shouldn't be bestowed solely on football but it is an issue that needs to be discussed. Unfortunately, the people who seem to be in power to make a change are so isolated from it (as you rightly stated) I doubt that very little will come from this 'report'.
