Authors: Emy Onuora
After Luis Suárez had served his ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, an FA Cup fourth-round tie on 11 February 2012 provided the first opportunity for the two teams to meet since his return. Liverpool and Manchester United lined up to perform the traditional pre-match handshake, with the world’s media keenly watching for any signal or reaction that would provide them with further opportunities
to comment on the relationship between Suárez and Evra. Here was a chance to close the chapter on the long-running saga and concentrate on the football, but Suárez petulantly refused to shake Evra’s hand and immediately re-ignited the whole affair. That afternoon on the radio station Talksport, the incident was the main item of interest, and during the course of the studio discussion, John Barnes accused Patrick Barclay (a football writer for the
Evening Standard
) and many of his fellow journalists of hypocrisy for ignoring racism when Barnes himself had suffered it during his playing days, and for treating it as a feature of the game that was acceptable at the time, in comparison to their over-sensationalised approach today. Barclay was taken aback, not expecting to be on the receiving end of a minor interrogation, and spent a few flustered seconds tripping over his words and finally offering the defence that he would defer to Barnes’s greater knowledge, given his own status as a white journalist. A fellow journalist in the studio came to Barclay’s rescue and moved the discussion on to a related topic, saving Barclay from further embarrassment.
The unwillingness of the media generally to address in any great depth the endemic racism of football’s past may reflect an unwillingness to acknowledge the role they played in contributing to the culture within football at the time. In discussions of historic racist incidents, the blame is usually placed firmly at the feet of fans. With the examples of terrace behaviour cited, this conveniently ignores the media’s complicity.
Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, much of the media actively employed the myths and stereotypes that flew around the game, questioning the attitude and temperament of black footballers. In 1982, Brian Woolnough, a highly respected football journalist, wrote
Black Magic: England’s
Black Footballers.
In his study, he employed many of the stereotypical myths prevalent at the time. Media portrayals of black people outside the context of football were often hostile and derogatory and, within the game, their depiction of footballers could be distinctly unenlightened. Cyrille Regis remarked that a piece of great play or skill would be described as ‘black magic’, a talented black player would be described as a ‘black pearl’ or ‘black gold’, and black players would be described as having ‘black power’. Even as Garth Crooks was saying to Woolnough, ‘I believe the black pearl, black bombshell descriptions have served their purpose. I find it corny’, Woolnough couldn’t or wouldn’t refrain.
In addition to negative or exotic portrayals of footballers, the media typically ignored racist attitudes or allowed them to go unchallenged. In a television interview during the 1983/84 season, Crystal Palace manager Alan Mullery, in responding to an assessment of Vince Hilaire that the attention he had received as a seventeen-year-old had contributed to his unfulfilled potential, defended him, describing Hilaire as being nice enough to want to take home, and then, casually and seemingly from left field, commented on Hilaire’s ‘great suntan’. The interviewer, perhaps embarrassed or surprised, went on to discuss other matters related to Palace’s performance, leaving Mullery’s remarks to go unchallenged. Even in 1990, England legend Geoff Hurst famously described the Cameroon side as ‘niggers in the woodpile’ while acting as a pundit during that year’s World Cup. Again, Hurst’s remarks were barely commented upon.
Racism manifests itself in a number of conflicting ways. Racist insults and banana throwing are the more extreme examples, but in the main it operates in far more nuanced and subtle ways. Media discussions about racism within the
game often give the impression that verbal abuse and name calling are the limits of racism’s reach, undertaken by extremists. However, as offensive and as much of an affront to one’s dignity as racist insults undoubtedly are, they aren’t the issues that affect black footballers most materially.
Racism’s subtle and often intangible modus operandi impacts in a number of ways, most notably excluding black players from managerial and coaching appointments as well as from positions in clubs, FA committees and other forums where key decisions about the game are made. As Paul Davis articulated, football is an important part of the post-
Windrush
experience of black communities, and their contribution to how football is observed as both a domestic and global game is an important one. The game in England has traded significantly on its cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse nature in order to attract star players and sponsorship opportunities and, in this regard, the Premiership ranks ahead of other European leagues. The fact is that this situation has been attained in no small measure by the trials and tribulations suffered by those pioneers who experienced so much hostility without the safety net of anti-racist campaigns and official support. The novelty in the fact that today’s generation of black footballers play without the sense of anxiety before going out in front of a baying, hostile crowd at Upton Park, The Den, Elland Road or Stamford Bridge is something many are unaware of. That those venues are largely free of the kind of poisonous atmosphere that was endemic up until the 1990s is testimony to those who went before them. In fact, many of those pioneers who faced such hostility express a degree of scorn at the inability of today’s generation of footballers to deal with the relatively benign racism they suffer on occasions when it occurs.
That black footballers today express anger, surprise or hurt when they suffer racist insults is to be welcomed. Instances of racism within football and wider society should be viewed as a relic from a bygone age. But football reflects society and within society as a whole, racism persists, even as some outward forms decline. In football, the authorities still want to focus solely on name-calling. The game is quick to bring sanctions against racist insults and there are clear sanctions, bans and fines in place. Even high-profile black players like Rio Ferdinand and Paul Elliott have fallen foul of the guidelines and have faced fines and bans for the use of language that is inappropriate. But there are no guidelines to ensure that black players feel that they can still contribute to the game when they hang up their boots. Attempts to develop ways for this to happen in coaching and management have been met with resistance from football’s movers and shakers and although the press and media in general often like to present themselves in opposition to the FA hierarchy, in practice they share a very similar outlook.
The ground for black footballers has shifted significantly and the current campaigns reflect the needs of footballers who have retired or are near retirement. The reason they keep going in the face of resistance, indifference and hostility is because of their love of the game and the frustration borne of having much to offer but no one willing to accept.
Today, football is fond of telling itself it’s moved on. Moved on from banana throwing and moved on from monkey noises. When black players first became a feature of the game in Britain, there were no black people in the dugout or the press box, as commentators or administrators, in boardrooms or in the crowd. In over forty years, all
that has been achieved is the freedom to play without being called a ‘black bastard’. Taken in its entirety, it’s difficult to assert that the game has made the kind of progress it very often claims for itself.
Football faces significant challenges in the next few years that will have a huge impact on how the game develops. Grassroots football, so important in nurturing the next generation of talented footballers, is in a state of crisis, with little more than an argument about paltry sums of money from a multi-billion-pound TV deal representing the action on the issue. The ageing profile of those who attend matches and do much to ensure that the professional game remains the glorious, colourful spectacle it is, is a demographic time bomb that the game’s leaders seem unprepared to address. How can we get our national teams to regularly qualify and win big international tournaments? Above all, we desperately require some kind of vision or strategy in order to achieve this aim. While equality is about social justice, and that remains an important driver for change within the game, diversity is fundamentally about nurturing and developing the full range of resources and talent at your disposal in order address the key issues that affect the team, the club, the league or the game. Black people, who could bring their perspectives, remain largely absent from positions of influence and leadership within the game, allowed to contribute as players but no further.
John Barnes, frustrated by the way in which discussions about racism are framed, suggests that some kind of ‘truth and reconciliation’ process should be undertaken, enabling those guilty of acting in a racist manner to admit past misdemeanours in order to move the debate on from the current focus on who made a racist remark to whom. This may
enable the game to think about how it might adequately harness the vital contribution that black people can make at all levels. The enduring legacy of the Three Degrees, Anderson, Podd, Bennett, Williams and so many others is difficult to accurately assess. They made giant strides and laid the foundations to allow future generations to play the game in a far healthier environment than they enjoyed – one in which black players now felt comfortable that their mothers, wives and children could watch without witnessing racist hostility. In some ways, they’re football’s Rosa Parks: they allowed others to pick up the baton and continue. When the boardroom, the dugout, the press box and the crowd start to look like more of what we see on the pitch, only then can we more accurately describe their legacy.
However, although that legacy is still to be determined, many of the key players who have contributed so much to the rich story of black British footballers have contributed massively to the game in the UK overall. These players hold records for appearances and goals for club and country, have played a key role in their team’s greatest games or achievements, and are inducted into halls of fame. If football in the UK remains locked within the stark disparities of what is seen on the pitch and what is seen in other areas of the sport, nevertheless, the records and achievements, games, goals and performances of black players will continue to have an enduring impact on the beautiful game.
TO FIND THE
greatest black British team, each of the players who agreed to participate in
Pitch Black
was asked to select their best British XI. Although the survey was open to players from all the home nations, it transpired that only Englishmen received any nominations for the team, except one each for George Berry and, interestingly, Ryan Giggs, who, on account of having a black father, was a legitimate nomination. Amongst the selectors, there was a fair amount of unanimity about the back five, but the real debates took place around selection in midfield and in the forward line. The number of outstanding candidates for attacking midfielders and strikers caused some interesting tactical dilemmas as to how participants selected their formations. It’s not a particularly scientific survey, but it’s produced an attacking side with a solid back four, one holding midfielder, two attacking midfielders and three strikers offering creativity with plenty of goal threat. Overall, the selectors did a fine job.
James didn’t have a great deal of competition for this spot, Alex Williams being an obvious alternative, but James was the stand-out contender for the keeper’s berth and deservedly
so. In a league career spanning over twenty-five years, James made over 500 Premier League appearances, the third-highest number in history, and gained fifty-three caps for England. He occasionally suffered lapses in concentration, which meant that he could be an erratic performer, earning him the nickname ‘Calamity James’, but he was big, athletic, agile and an excellent shot stopper and in many ways he was the first modern keeper.
Closely challenged by the claims of Paul Parker and to a lesser degree by Danny Thomas, Viv Anderson makes the side in the right-back slot. A much better defender than he gives himself credit for, he was deceptively quick and also good in the air and a threat in set pieces. He was never afraid to put his foot in. As well as him being a fine defender, his status as the first black player to gain an England cap justifies his inclusion. He was also the first black manager of a league side since the 1960s and the first black player to win the European Cup. He was awarded an MBE in 2000 and inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.
Never seriously challenged for his position, Ashley Cole was selected by all but one
Pitch Black
participant for the left-back berth. Cole had a long career with Arsenal, Chelsea and Roma, and an examination of his medal haul makes impressive reading. He won three Premier Leagues, seven FA Cup winners’ medals (the most of any player in history), one League Cup, three Community Shields, one Europa League and one Champions League. He was also twice the UEFA Player of the Year, once England Player of the Year and won
107 caps for England, making him the first black player to play for the country over 100 times.
The reason his selection was almost unanimous is because he was without peer. In an England side that consistently failed to live up to expectations, Cole was usually free of any blame. A quick, very consistent performer, he was an attacking left-back, but also excellent defensively, and had a couple of epic encounters at international level with Cristiano Ronaldo and managed to nullify him. Probably England’s greatest ever left-back.
Unanimously selected for the team, Ferdinand won eighty-one caps, making him second only to Ashley Cole as the black player to win the most for England. He formed a centre-back partnership with Sol Campbell for England at the 2002 World Cup and was England’s first permanent black captain, although injury prevented him from leading the team into the 2010 World Cup.
He captained Manchester United, with whom he won six Premier League titles, one FA cup, two League Cups, five Community Shields, one Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup.
An excellent reader of the game, strong, quick, good in the air, excellent in bringing the ball out of defence and in his distribution, he was twice the most expensive defender in the world.
Campbell comfortably made the team, although the claims of Des Walker made his selection far from a foregone conclusion. Quick, strong, dominant and good in the air, Campbell
won fifty-three caps for England and was the first English player to represent the national team at six consecutive tournaments. He was also only the second black player to captain England. He was part of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ side that went unbeaten during the 2003/04 season, after his acrimonious move from Spurs. During his career he won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup and one Community Shield.
Ince appeared in just about every participant’s team. He was a more creative influence during his West Ham days, before becoming a tough, combative, box-to-box midfielder. At Inter Milan, at Liverpool and for England he operated as a holding midfielder, winning fifty-three caps for his country. He won two league titles, two FA Cup winners’ medals, one League Cup and one Cup Winners’ Cup medal. He was the first black player to captain England and was the first black British manager to manage a Premier League side. He would be this team’s captain.
It would be easy to dismiss Cunningham’s inclusion as sentimental or iconic, but as a right-sided attacking midfielder, his inclusion makes sense. David Rocastle and Mark Chamberlain were both nominated, but Cunningham made the side ahead of them. Strong, skilful and lightning quick, he was the first black player of his generation to represent England and earned six caps for the full England side. He went on to become the first Englishman to play for Real Madrid.
A roll call of John Barnes’s achievements is worth reflecting upon for a few moments. Seventy-nine England caps, PFA Footballer of the year, two Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards, two league titles, two FA Cups, an MBE and a writing credit for the words for the rap in New Order’s ‘World in Motion’.
He started as a quick, skilful winger, and when his pace left him, he added maturity, experience and a few pounds to reinvent himself as a midfielder who kept things ticking along, always available for teammates and ready to deliver an incisive pass. Of all the ex-players who were surveyed for this team, only two didn’t vote for him. One was Barnes himself, and the other was a player who admitted Barnes probably deserved the accolade but, for a variety of reasons, couldn’t bring himself to include him. Winning the PFA and Football Writers’ Award in the same season, and winning the Writers’ Award two years later, bears testimony to the fact that for three or four seasons, he was the best player England had. He should probably have been the first black player to win 100 England caps but he was wasted by successive England managers who stifled his talent, then left him out of the side when inevitably he was ineffective.
After finishing his playing career he had extremely brief managerial spells at Celtic and Tranmere either side of a stint managing the Jamaican national side. His goal against Brazil is quite rightly lauded, but the final goal for Liverpool in a 4–0 win in October 1987 better showcased his wide range of talents. Pressing the ball and winning it on the halfway line, he carried it to the edge of the QPR penalty area, where he skipped past a challenge from Terry Fenwick and,
showing superb balance and poise, beat another defender before calmly stroking the ball past David Seaman. Not only was he overwhelmingly selected for the greatest black British team, but he was also selected as the best black British player of all time.
There was a great deal of debate about Andy Cole’s inclusion, not because he didn’t deserve it, but for tactical reasons. The debates centred on whether Paul Davis should be included as an extra midfielder, but in the end Cole was selected as one of three strikers. Andy Cole is the second-highest goal scorer in Premier League history. During his career with Manchester United he won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two Charity Shields and one Champions League medal and later, with Blackburn Rovers, he won the League Cup, giving him a winner’s medal for every domestic club honour. Cole won PFA Young Player of the Year and fifteen caps for England.
Regis was almost unanimously selected for inclusion in the side. Given some of the strikers who failed to make the team, his selection demonstrates how good he was. Les Ferdinand might count himself unlucky to not be included in the team, but Regis’s achievements make him more than worthy of inclusion. He graduated through non-league football to go on and win PFA Young Player of the Year as well as five England caps. Regis was nominated as an all-time great by both West Brom and Coventry City, where he won his only domestic honour, an FA Cup winners’ medal. One of the legendary Three Degrees, he was awarded an MBE in 2008.
A unanimous inclusion, Ian Wright began his career in non-league football before going on to form a legendary strike partnership with Mark Bright at Crystal Palace. His goal-scoring exploits for Arsenal won him the First Division Golden Boot in 1991/92 and elevated him to iconic status. He became Arsenal’s all-time post-war leading scorer until his record was broken by Thierry Henry. He won a Premier League, two FA Cups, one League Cup and one Cup Winners’ Cup. He was awarded an MBE in 2000 and selected for the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005. He won thirty-three caps for England.
Les Ferdinand
Paul Davis
David Rocastle
Des Walker