Quote Originally Posted by J R Hartley View Post
You trying to make out Sol Campbell to be some kind of Johan Cruyff football visionary that the game is being deprived of because of the colour of his skin is off the wall odd, even by your standards. You can’t wait to derail any managerial thread with your poor old Sol, being treated unfairly because he’s a black man sob story and it’s tedious as ****.

So a few players started at a higher level which you’ve got a bee in your bonnet about. I’ve already given you many examples of white players on his level, who had to start down on a level he thought was beneath him.

Patrick Vieira has just been given the Palace job without any lower league experience but haven’t heard a peep from you on that. Thierry Henry got given the Monaco job because of his name. Chris Powell and Chris Hughton went straight in at Championship level in fact Hughton went in at PL level as a caretaker manager for Spurs and Newcastle. Darren Moore is another who has shown he wanted to be a manager and been given opportunities.

Ledley King is assistant manager at Spurs. No different to John Terry being assistant manager at Aston Villa.

As for other opportunities there’s never been a better time for black ex footballers to get media work. Darren Bent got his own radio show, Alex Scott is presenting football focus and Jermaine Jenas is even presenting the One Show!!
I'm making a comparison between sol and his contemporaries, **** me, it's like pulling teeth, can't you grasp that? Some of them (who got decent managerial jobs) who were top class players as well. Sol Campbell applied for plenty of jobs but had to settle for a club that were on the brink of going out of the league, yet, he had his coaching badges and a top class career behind him, much like gerrard, lampard, Robson etc. None of them started at that level, they were trusted.

Things are changing, especially in media, and that's great. It isn't in football though, as it isn't at managerial level in most industries. When black footballers broke onto the scene, there was a mis trust. Could they handle the cold weather, the physicality of the game, they were only good as skilfull bit part players, they were quick, not to be trusted in positions of influence, etc. The racists were saying those things.

Now that stigma has been banished, the next one is trust in positions of power and decision making. That's my opinion and belief.