- Apr 13, 2006
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True but per my previous post you can find lots of black players with the attitude of there is no point in getting their coaching badges.
There is a difference in not wanting to go into management and wanting to but not believing you will get a fair shot.
A problem for me is the targeting of ex-players (no matter their ethnicity), as being a good player requires a totally different skillset to being a good manager. The presumption that former players should go into management is somewhat twisted and weird to me - just because you're the best banker doesn't mean you'd be best at running the bank!
Being a great player requires an admirable skillset mix of athleticism, quick thought of mind, teamwork........very little of which is needed as a manager, where decisions are more considered, tactical, financial and require a lot of soft skills. The only thing I see in Sol Campbell's favour is his experience as a player and what he might have picked up from his previous managers, but in reality, he appears to have very few of the required attributes and soft skills for the job.
Look at the best sport managers, and although they have often had a career in sport and worked with good players and coaches, they seldom were the best of footballers themselves.
Whilst ethnic diversity is underrepresented in management, I fear that they are targeting the wrong candidates towards those jobs and that is only exacerbating the problem as they inevitably fail.......and the more they fail the more of a problem it becomes!
Furthermore, there is most definitely an old pals network going on within football, as it is unconceivable that the same managers that have failed over and over again keep getting employed, and coupled with a lack of good quality candidates makes it difficult for anyone to get their foot on the ladder.