Is it weird because it doesn't fit with your politically correct views? Just because race doesn't matter to you, doesn't mean nobody else cares. In fact the FA are very keen to ensure that our playing and coaching staff reflect different demographics.
Your view that United haven’t been giving white working class players opportunities is wrong for a start. I don’t know why you’re implying that they’ve been racially discriminating when bringing players into the academy. It’s nothing to do with political correctness. I can’t see a reason why Angel Gomes or Mason Greenwood should be considered any differently than Jimmy Garner because they’re not white. Why do you think the racial makeup of a football team is so important?
You’re half right. It’s not the Gomes, Greenwood or Sancho types that concern me though. It’s the BBQs. I’m not a fan of them and I don’t care if it’s not politically correct. As far as I’m concerned, the likes of Buffonge and Bohui are taking up places that should be occupied by local lads.
Neither are what you would call 'big' DJ is on the small side for a footballer. DJ is technically adept anyway. The irony is that he struggles for game time for United u23s.
I can’t comprehend how it isn’t a racist argument. If a white player with a similar size and skill set was playing it would not be mentioned but because the player is black and ‘fast’ it is an issue?
Whether or not this is a racist argument is a matter of opinion. I think we're always entitled to stick up for a minority. Black managers are under represented in the top leagues, so I don't find it racist for Kevin Campbell to say that we should be giving more opportunities to black managers. White players and even English players are becoming a minority in the academies of some clubs. Therefore, I don't think it's racist to fight their corner. However, I can also understand the argument that we shouldn't care about what race our players or manager are.
I'm struggling to get a grip on your point here. Initially you were talking about "white, working class lads". Here, it's "local lads", and then later on you go back to talking about white players. You can't conflate the two, you know? I'm sure I don't need to point out that the likes of Rashford, Lingard, Welbeck, and Wes Brown had stronger connections to the Manchester area than Beckham, Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards and so on.
I don’t think there is a play in the United academy who is more Manchester United than the Salford raised Angel Gomes, well maybe the working class, Old Trafford born and raised Demetri Mitchell.
You’ve all taken what was initially a positive ‘nice to see white, working class lads still getting opportunities’ as a negative and tried to force me to explain it. If I’d said ‘young, English players’, someone would have accused me of being ageist or xenophobic. What’s wrong with Chong etc? We all have different opinions and that’s fine, but you’re trying to make out like I don’t rate any black players. That’s blatantly false when about two pages back, I have posted about how classy Greenwood is. Do you really think I don’t want to see Gomes do well? Stop twisting things.
I don’t want to get into this argument that you guys are discussing but I have seen people being accused of xenophobia before because they would rather see English players coming through rather than seeing a ‘Chong’ coming through for example. I really don’t see this as xenophobia though tbh as in any other industry outside sport, you don’t have an International side that needs catering for and who you avidly support so naturally you want to see more English kids come through rather than foreign if you had a choice. I think if someone was to blatantly come out and say I don’t want him because ‘he’s foreign’ or something on those lines then it’s a different matter.
You think you'd have been called ageist for wanting to see young players coming through the academy? Alright. I really don't think people are twisting anything. You made a comment that I'm sure you knew was provocative, and people are responding to that. For instance, you've brought up players like Bohui and Buffonge and it isn't clear to me whether you think they shouldn't be there because they grew up in London or because they're black. One is an inoffensive opinion and the other is pretty outrageous, so it's probably no bad thing if you take the chance to clarify which one actually reflects your point of view.
I'm also quite confused. Just to clear things up.. are we saying that any racial preference is racist? Is it racist if Rio Ferdinand highlights a lack of opportunities for young, black managers? Or is it only racist to highlight a lack of opportunity for local, white players?
It becomes racist when you start making statements that conflate "local" and "English" with "white". That's easily understood, right?
If a Newcastle supporter wants to see more Geordies in the team, or Mesut Ozil says he's happy to see more Muslim players at the top level.. does that offend you?
Don't worry about offending me, that's not the issue. If a Newcastle fan wants to see more Geordies playing for Newcastle then I get that entirely - it's a community institution as well as a business and I think most local club fans have similar feelings. However if he says he wants more white players, and then goes on to say "oh wait no I meant Geordies, so anyway about these white players..." then I'm going to be interested to know whether he's shifting the goalposts because he hasn't really thought it through, or because his racism didn't get the round of applause he was hoping for.
If my posts are so racist, then please report me. You are confusing me not wanting white lads to be under represented with wanting an all white team. Just because someone talks about black managers being under represented, it doesn’t mean they think Ian Wright should have Guardiola’s job.
If you’re saying race shouldn’t be a factor when picking players or managers, then you may be surprised to hear that I agree with you. I can’t really argue with that. However, it quite clearly is a factor for a lot of people. Therefore, I exercise my right to speak up if a particular group is under represented. Diversity is all about fair representation isn’t it? I’ve said my piece, we all have different opinions and that’s fine. No hard feelings.
I think it's more productive to have the conversation than to report you, to be honest with you. Especially when your point keeps changing - I don't know if you're actually being racist or just expressing yourself unclearly. Personally I'm happy to agree to disagree about players like Garner needing protecting from "BBQs", to use your term. What I do think is insidious is a comment like this: You appear to have conflated your initial "white, working class lads" with "local lads" there. Was that just a mistake or are you denying that black kids from the Manchester area can be considered "local lads"?
Ideally, local lads both black and white would be given opportunities rather than recruiting from London. It's a bit lazy for me, instead of tapping into the potential of a footy mad area that produced players like Scholes and Giggs. Poaching rather than nurturing if you like. Again, just an opinion.
Ok, then I think that's a different point from the one that you seemed to be making in the first place. There are actually three separate arguments here: 1) Man United's youth setup should give more opportunities to local lads because they have a responsibility to tap into the potential of the area. 2) Man United's youth setup should give more opportunities to technically skilled but less physical players (irrespective of ethnicity), rather than crowding them out with quick and/or powerful players who have worse technique (irrespective of ethnicity). 3) Man United's youth setup should give more opportunities to white, working class lads because they're being discriminated against on account of their background. I'm still not entirely clear which of those you believe. The first and second I would agree with, except that I think Man Utd do an OK job on both counts. The third I can't see at all.
First of all, your 100% spot on with points 1 and 2 (in terms of my opinion.) Regarding point 3, I don't think that there is any direct discrimination against white lads. It's more that they're under represented as a consequence of coaches choosing more athletic players (both foreign and English). This is hard to prove and brings us back to the debate about whether English football prioritizes athleticism over technique.
The problem there is that black people are grossly underrepresented in positions of authority in football, it’s an entirely separate matter. I would say having a preference for the race of players is a fairly pronounced form of racial bias which crosses the line into plain old racism.