When it comes to the black people involvement in football (at least in England) the situation is clear – they are trustworthy as players and nothing more. According to the stats in February 2022, 43% of all players in the Premier League are black. But when it comes to any other roles, the numbers are devastating: Only 8,9% of all managerial and admin roles are held by black people, managerial positions are even worse (4,4) and the executive and ownership roles are the worst (1,6). In fact, after the Patrick Vieira sacking by Crystal Palace, there are no black managers in the Premier League. In fact the situation is not much better in the Top 5 European leagues as well. With the sacking of Nantes’ coach Antoine Kombouare on May 9th, there is no single black coach in Europe!🗣 John Barnes: “It’s a tremendous honour because I’ve been looking around since they started doing them and thought, ‘When am I going to get one? I’d love one!’, particularly as it is appropriately in the area of Anfield.I’m so happy that it’s on working class people’s houses,… pic.twitter.com/O726uxadDu— TheKop.com (@TheKop_com) April 26, 2023 This damning statistic will get just a little better when the new season starts, as Vincent Company will lead Burnley in the Premier League. But sacking black coaches is not the problem, the problem is the opportunities for them, which are clearly missing. And John Barnes thinks that too. Former Liverpool and Newcastle player tried himself as a coach, but failed and hasn’t lead a team since 2009. He started his managerial career with Celtic in 1999, but was sacked after only four months. As an ex player, Barnes sees similarities between him and another Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. Racism is preventing Wilson from becoming a managerSteve G also started his career in Scotland, just in another Glasgow giant, Rangers, and from there, he got the opportunity to manage Aston Villa. A chance which Barnes never got. The same goes for Frank Lampard.“What would you say if I told you that I had a better win percentage than Steven Gerrard at Rangers? So, why wasn’t I given longer at Celtic?Apparently my 65 percent win ratio at Celtic is not great, but Steven Gerrard’s 64 win ratio at Rangers is great and that’s why he got the Aston Villa job. Regardless of experience and whether he should or shouldn’t have got the job, it’s amazing people say that’s not bad. I love Frank Lampard, but do you really think with Frank Lampard’s record, that if he was black, he would have been given the same opportunities?“ said Barnes in a podcast run by former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan.‘Racism must end, it will psychologically damage so many kids’Barnes also went as far as comparing USA presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.“You tell me that if Obama had the character of Trump he would have survived? White men are given longer and therefore leeway to be arrogant and be whatever they want. They are go-getters and if you’re black or female, you can’t be that way. In football terms, chairman don’t sack managers, fans sack managers. Why are fans quicker to lose faith in black managers than white managers? It’s because of the perception of a black person’s ability to lead” explained Barnes.##NAJAVA_MECA_7261504##As far as his managerial record after Celtic, a call from the Jamaican football federation came to Barnes and he took over, but left after a year, claiming he would like a chance in club management. Tranmere Rovers came calling, but sacked Barnes in 2009 after winning only two out of 11 league games. He never got the change afterwards. Recently, players like Callum Willson and Jermaine Defoe admitted that they are not into becoming managers, due to racism or the lack of black peers.
