Open Goal campaign: Security guard refused to believe I was my team's manager - Leroy Rosenior
Leroy Rosenior has outlined the barriers facing black managers - by revealing he was once refused entry to a club boardroom.
It was only 11 years ago that Rosenior took the job at non-League Gloucester City and started his managerial career, despite seeing a lack of opportunities for black ex-players.
He believes the prejudiced view of one security guard at an away game in those days is still present in football.
âThey wouldnât let me in the boardroom,â said the 47-year-old. âThe guard did not believe I was the manager, so I had to go to get my chairman.
âI wanted to make a point that not all managers are 50 and wear a trenchcoat, but they thought I wasnât the manager because I didnât look like a manager.â
Rosenior went on to boss Merthyr Tydfil, Torquay and Brentford, and is now a pundit on the Premier Leagueâs TV channel.
He was at the House of Commons on Wednesday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Show Racism The Red Card campaign - and getting more managers is part of the agenda.
The former Fulham and West Ham striker is in favour of a US-style Rooney Rule coming in, as proposed by the Mirror's Open Goal campaign, and clubs being ordered to interview a non-white candidate for each managerial opening.
âItâs not about giving jobs to black people or ethnic minorities, itâs about giving them an interview," said Rosenior. "Itâs about people in power looking at people and thinking they could do a job at any level.
âPeople are feeling they are not even getting a chance to be interviewed, so itâs a positive rule in that way.
âIt happened to me when I went for an interview at Torquay and didnât get the job but it was thought I could do something later down the line.â
Rosenior also feels many black managers have been lost to football because of a lack of opportunities.
âHow an individual is made up has nothing to do with colour,â he added.
âWe have lost a lot of good black managers. You would think it was a natural step for someone like John Barnes, but he did not get another chance after Celtic.
âLuther Blissett never had the opportunity. Viv Anderson had one opportunity [at Barnsley in 1993-94] and was then lost to the game.
âThere have been many lost and there are other not-so well known people who would have been exceptional managers but were never given the opportunity.â
âI wanted to make a point that not all managers are 50 and wear a trenchcoat, but they thought I wasnât the manager because I didnât look like a manager.â
Rosenior went on to boss Merthyr Tydfil, Torquay and Brentford, and is now a pundit on the Premier Leagueâs TV channel.
He was at the House of Commons on Wednesday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Show Racism The Red Card campaign - and getting more managers is part of the agenda.
The former Fulham and West Ham striker is in favour of a US-style Rooney Rule coming in, as proposed by the Mirror's Open Goal campaign, and clubs being ordered to interview a non-white candidate for each managerial opening.
âItâs not about giving jobs to black people or ethnic minorities, itâs about giving them an interview," said Rosenior. "Itâs about people in power looking at people and thinking they could do a job at any level.
âPeople are feeling they are not even getting a chance to be interviewed, so itâs a positive rule in that way.
âIt happened to me when I went for an interview at Torquay and didnât get the job but it was thought I could do something later down the line.â
Rosenior also feels many black managers have been lost to football because of a lack of opportunities.
âHow an individual is made up has nothing to do with colour,â he added.
âWe have lost a lot of good black managers. You would think it was a natural step for someone like John Barnes, but he did not get another chance after Celtic.
âLuther Blissett never had the opportunity. Viv Anderson had one opportunity [at Barnsley in 1993-94] and was then lost to the game.
âThere have been many lost and there are other not-so well known people who would have been exceptional managers but were never given the opportunity.â
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Open-Goal-campaign-Leroy-Rosenior-ex-Torquay-Brentford-boss-backs-Rooney-Rule-to-try-increase-number-of-black-managers-article799225.htmlFootball League chairman Greg Clarke is backing the Mirror's Open Goal campaign to implement a version of America's Rooney Rule.
Clarke says he is discussing how to increase the woefully-low number of black managers in the game with the other football authorities.
He is attracted by the principle of the Rooney Rule and says the challenge is to find a way of making it work for Football League clubs.
âIâve been working behind the scenes with the PFA, LMA, FA and Premier League, looking at the issue,â said Clarke. âAnd by that, I donât mean kicking it into the long grass.
âIâm a great believer that sport, business and government should be representative of the societies they serve and there is an unacceptable disparity between the number of black players and black managers.
âThe problem is people will say if theyâre good enough, they will get there, but you have to create the opportunity.
âFor example, if you look back a couple of years ago, the number of female directors in FTSE 100 companies wasnât good enough.
âThere were a lot of really, really good women who were not getting the opportunity to rise to the top.
âPressure was put on those companies to improve and now more women are being given that opportunity.
âWeâve got a woman on our board. One diverse member out of eight isnât enough, but at least itâs a start.
âSo I am attracted to the principle of the Rooney Rule and it is all about methodology - ie, how can we best implement it?â
Clarke argues that to import the Rooney Rule from Americaâs NFL to the English game without careful consideration might cause more harm than good.
He remembers from his time with telecommunications giant MTN in the 1990s in Africa how positive discrimination can backfire.
âI used to sit on the board of MTN, which was the biggest company in Africa, in the days of black empowerment when people were appointed because they were black,â he said.
âThe problem was people were appointed before they were ready and bigots then used this as a reason not to appoint black people as directors.
âIt didnât work putting them in a job before theyâd had the necessary training and development and black people had been deprived of those opportunities.
âThere are fundamental differences between English football and American sport. For example, the NFL appoint their managers at the start of the season, whereas here, for good or ill, we hire and fire managers all the time.
âThe PFA recently brought over the lawyer who wrote the Rooney Rule for the NFL and we were able to spend half a day with him.
âHe had some practical advice and he was surprised when we told him that generally League One and League Two clubs have turnovers of less than $10million. They donât have huge staff or HR departments who could implement the Rooney Rule.â
Clarke says this is the challenge facing the authorities because the issue of the low number of black managers in the game must be addressed.
âWe have to do something,â he said. âIt would be unacceptable in five, 10, or 15 years down the road still to say that only two per cent of managers are black.
âThe argument for change is overwhelming and we have to make sure we make that change happen in the best way so it doesnât backfire.
âWe have to do it in a way which works for English football and whether they are black, white, pink or yellow, managers must have equality of opportunity.â
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Football-League-chairman-Greg-Clarke-backs-Mirror-Open-Goal-campaign-more-black-managers-article799223.html
