Still think your argument has flaws as nothing is straight forward. As BeeH explained the number of black ex footballers applying for the Bees job was nil
This would infer that perhaps Management is not their prefered choice and therefore when doing your research you need to factor in other roles within the game
Beleive PFA has black boss, number of clubs have black coaches as do Academies etc
Agree that such subjects are rarely straightforward, and there may be allowable other reasons why there should be
a discrepancy, but not 10 x times, nor for over two decades, either.
As for the Bees job etc, it may be that black ex-pros aren't applying for Managerial jobs, but you've got to ask yourself why. We all know that pro football is so competitive that it's not enough to be talented; it also takes tremendous commitment and love of the game. Therefore if that commitment continues after playing for a significant percentage of whites, why not for an equal percentage of black ex-pros?
My own guess is that they are just as enthusiastic in carrying on in football, but long experience is telling them that there is nothing down for them in Management, so instead they've diverted to other football jobs, such as doing Media work or becoming Agents etc.
And if you look at the PFA, who ought to know about such things, they have long expressed concern about black under-representation in Management. However, the emphasis of their efforts to remedy this has not been on eg encouraging or assisting black ex-pro's to gain their Badges, or training how to apply for jobs etc. instead, they are concentrating on gaining more Interview places for them:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ule-boost-numbers-black-managers-England.html
This strongly implies that the PFA believes that there already are plenty of black ex-pros out there who are qualified and interested etc, but the problem is that they just aren't being considered for Management, never mind being given the opportunity.
At the end of the day there are no concrete facts to support the idea that black players are discriminated against and if we go ahead with your suggestion we would end up with positive discrimination
As I said in post #251, I am not advocating Positive Discrimination, in fact I am against it.
Rather I think the way forward is first, for the game to concede that there is a problem, as the PFA consistently asserts. Second, for the game to improve its approach to Managerial Recruitment and Training generally (which should help also black ex-pro's, on a "Rising Tide raises all boats" basis). And third, for English football to adopt the Rooney Rule, which has proven notably, if not completely, successful in American Football.
Dare I suggest that of those ex players that want to go into management there are an equal number ( as a percentage of the total ) of both black and white that don't make it
What you are saying is that blacks are no more inherently suitable to make good Managers than whites, which I agree with entirely.
But what I am saying is that if blacks are also no
less suitable, then by (unconsciously) excluding them from the pool of candidates for appointment, then Chairmen/Owners are only recruiting from 75-80% of the available talent pool.
Which might just be allowable/understandable if they had a good record in appointing (white) managers overall. But when you look at the appalling turnover of Managers in football these days (eg average 15 months for a Championship Manager), plus the fact that so many top clubs (esp) have had to look abroad to find good Managers, it tells you that the English game's system of training and recruiting Managers from within the ranks of their own former players is pretty dreadful.
Finally you queried why I suggested things might improve in 12 years : more black British players will have retired from football and taken their badges. If then they are still under represented then your case might have validity
Sorry, but black players have been prominent in significant numbers in the English game for two decades now. And during that period they have also been seriously under-represented in Managerial jobs (unlike in other areas of the game such as Media or Agents).
I see absolutely nothing which has changed since then in the last few years to persuade me that black players will now suddenly start taking their Badges in greater numbers, and/or start getting appointed as League Managers in numbers remotely reflecting the numbers playing the game.
Nothing.
