John Barnes plays "the" card.

John Barnes (great player, shite manager) has come out today and said that he believes he's not been given a chance to manage again in British football since being binned by Tranmere........because he's black.

Sorry John, it's got nothing to do with the colour of your skin, mate, it's probably because fans of both Celtic and Tranmere still grit their teeth and shake their heads at the very mention of your name.

Because you are a shite manager.

Here's a quote from one distinguished football analyst:

"Football analyst Clive Matthews said that Barnes raised some interesting arguments, before pursuing them in completely the wrong way.

He told us, “Are there racist boards and chairman in football who are unwilling to give a job to a black man? Almost certainly.”

“But if your club management record includes an almost 50% loss rate – even though you managed Celtic who could win 75% of their games if they were managed by Nick Clegg – then you’re going to struggle.”

So there you go......

And I'm more than a little disappointed at Barnes for making such a crass assertion, if I'm honest.

Comments like his do a massive disservice to all the black people out there who are actually good at what they do and have overcome racial prejudice to rise through life's ranks through sheer hard graft and ability.

I honestly always thought John Barnes was better than that.....

I like John Barnes,he speaks well,but this is simply nonsense.
Like Bobby Charlton,he was never cut out to be a manager.

Massive bellend.

If a football Chairman thought a peedo could get him promoted he'd sign him up the day he left prison.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Massive bellend.

If a football Chairman thought a peedo could get him promoted he'd sign him up the day he left prison.

Shush. Don't give Oysten any ideas!

Is it cos I is black?

No it's because you are utterly shit.

I fuckin' despise that woman.

She's on a par with Thatcher - yeah....that's how much I hate her.

(And I'm a Socialist.)

Breadman wrote:I fuckin' despise that woman.

She's on a par with Thatcher - yeah....that's how much I hate her.

And her chum,Portillo.

boltonbonce wrote:

Breadman wrote:I fuckin' despise that woman.

She's on a par with Thatcher - yeah....that's how much I hate her.

And her chum,Portillo.

I quite like watching him in Great British Railway Journeys...

karlypants wrote:I quite like watching him in Great British Railway Journeys...

You racist Karlypants. Portillo is a nazi look......

That was the panel at John Barnes' last interview.

Keighley & Worth Valley Utd FC.

He didn't get it......

Its cos he's black.

Why does Portillo always dress like an extra from Hi-De-Hi?

boltonbonce wrote:Why does Portillo always dress like an extra from Hi-De-Hi?

I was looking for an image to prove you wrong but you're right

Barnes has a woeful managerial record. It has absolutely nothing to do with colour. The late great Sir Bobby Moore tried his hand at football management but never matched anything like his playing career. Chris Powell and Chris Hughton are still in management because they have shown they have the necessary aptitude. Jimmy Floyd is doing a decent job at lower level and Ruud Gullit managed both Chelsea and Newcastle. It aint what you do it's the way that you do it.

Johnny Barnes managed Jamaica for a bit - bringing his wealth of professional experience home and all that. I wasn't impressed and he didn't last long. We now have a white German chap managing the team and we just won the Caribbean Cup and beat Venezuela and Cuba 2-1 and 3-0 in friendlies over the past few days. I don't think Barnes isn't a manager because he's black and it was an unfortunate thing to say.

Keegan wrote:Johnny Barnes managed Jamaica for a bit - bringing his wealth of professional experience home and all that. I wasn't impressed and he didn't last long. We now have a white German chap managing the team and we just won the Caribbean Cup and beat Venezuela and Cuba 2-1 and 3-0 in friendlies over the past few days. I don't think Barnes isn't a manager because he's black and it was an unfortunate thing to say.

I think there's still a hangover from the 70s and 80s when black players received appalling abuse and I'm thinking of that lad who was the first black player for Chelsea who hated home games because his own fans racially abused him. Barnes was in the second wave of black players and despite being an amazing talent, still had to put up with abuse and bananas.
Whilst that sort of shit has finally been eliminated from the modern game, I still reckon there are Boards and Chairmen around the country whose time has passed but still cling on to power and will judge people on the basis of skin colour.
Barnes didn't help matters by starting his managerial career at Celtic where the pressure is enormous and he was thrown in to manage players who were not as talented as he was himself. The only memorable thing from that stint was the defeat to Inverness Caledonian and the fabulous headline "SuperCaleyAreFantasticCelticAreAtrocious".

We'll never know if Barnes experienced racism in the Boardroom or not, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if there was some truth in what he's saying.

Of course there's an element of truth in the notion that some club owners are still racists at heart - nobody's disputing that.

But it just sounds like a cheap shot by Barnes to say he's being held back purely because he's black.

Any way you spin it, his record as a manager is poor.

And it's disappointing that he's not self-aware enough to acknowledge the fact that it might be this that's putting people off employing him, instead of making this fatuous argument.

And just how did he get the Celtic gig?

He had no track record in management and was a complete gamble, so you could argue that he only got the job because he was John Barnes, ex-England star and well known face.

He actually got a leg up simply because of who he is, not the other way round.

Monumental lack of judgement by Barnes making these claims.

He also made a total hash of things with Tranmere Rovers where he had Jason McAteer as his no 2.

Barnes got the Celtic job on dalglish's recommendation

Ah looks like Ramsey at QPR is now using the race card, apparently when if he leaves them in the summer he will struggle to get another job due to his skin colour.

....nothing to do with that his record with QPR has been piss poor.