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| Keith Curle: I’ve not seen anything to suggest ‘Rooney Rule’ would work | Keith Curle: I’ve not seen anything to suggest ‘Rooney Rule’ would work |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| When Keith Curle first stepped into his office at Brunton Park, Carlisle United’s new manager was confronted by chaos. Grubby magnolia walls, cluttered floor space and junk-filled drawers containing everything from one predecessor’s contact lenses to another’s payslips confirmed the one-time England defender’s hunch that a spring clean was long overdue. | When Keith Curle first stepped into his office at Brunton Park, Carlisle United’s new manager was confronted by chaos. Grubby magnolia walls, cluttered floor space and junk-filled drawers containing everything from one predecessor’s contact lenses to another’s payslips confirmed the one-time England defender’s hunch that a spring clean was long overdue. |
| With the Cumbrians bottom of League Two and without a win it quickly became apparent that the decor was not the only thing which required sharpening up. “Quite early we had a ‘truth and honesty session’,” Curle says. “All the players stood six feet apart in the changing room. I kept pulling two names out of a hat and they had 40 seconds to speak about each other in a negative way and 40 seconds to talk positively. | |
| “It was good but the players were too nice. You’ve got to be able to criticise each other and take it the right way. Players at the top level are more critical of each other because their expectations are higher.” | “It was good but the players were too nice. You’ve got to be able to criticise each other and take it the right way. Players at the top level are more critical of each other because their expectations are higher.” |
| Even so, last Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Tranmere suggested Carlisle’s squad are listening to a coach who had not expected to spend 18 months out of a managerial tracksuit following his dismissal by Notts County last year. | Even so, last Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Tranmere suggested Carlisle’s squad are listening to a coach who had not expected to spend 18 months out of a managerial tracksuit following his dismissal by Notts County last year. |
| Curle, who is mixed race, certainly applied for enough vacancies in the interim. “Do I think I haven’t had enough job interviews because of my ethnic background?” the former Manchester City captain asks. “I’ve got no evidence to suggest that. Apart from the fact that I look at some of the people who got jobs I applied for and didn’t even hear back from and on paper I was as good as them, sometimes better and I’ve not been given the opportunity to even sell myself. But then most out-of-work managers will tell you they should be in work.” | Curle, who is mixed race, certainly applied for enough vacancies in the interim. “Do I think I haven’t had enough job interviews because of my ethnic background?” the former Manchester City captain asks. “I’ve got no evidence to suggest that. Apart from the fact that I look at some of the people who got jobs I applied for and didn’t even hear back from and on paper I was as good as them, sometimes better and I’ve not been given the opportunity to even sell myself. But then most out-of-work managers will tell you they should be in work.” |
| Considering that he and Huddersfield’s Chris Powell are currently England’s sole non-white managers, something is clearly wrong. “Are there enough black or mixed-race managers getting their coaching qualifications and really educating themselves for the role at the minute?” Curle says. “It’s not just about standing on the touchline for 90 minutes. When you’re trying to sell yourself as a manager it’s about your organisational skills, about running various departments. Are you able to bring a professional ethos to the whole football club that’s going to shine through?” | Considering that he and Huddersfield’s Chris Powell are currently England’s sole non-white managers, something is clearly wrong. “Are there enough black or mixed-race managers getting their coaching qualifications and really educating themselves for the role at the minute?” Curle says. “It’s not just about standing on the touchline for 90 minutes. When you’re trying to sell yourself as a manager it’s about your organisational skills, about running various departments. Are you able to bring a professional ethos to the whole football club that’s going to shine through?” |
| Chris Hughton more than succeeded in doing precisely that during a largely successful stint at Newcastle United but since Hughton’s sacking by Norwich last spring, non-white managers have lacked a high-profile English role model. | Chris Hughton more than succeeded in doing precisely that during a largely successful stint at Newcastle United but since Hughton’s sacking by Norwich last spring, non-white managers have lacked a high-profile English role model. |
| “Chris will be back managing soon,” Curle says. “I know for a fact he’s been offered Premier League jobs as a No2 with the possibility of stepping up when there’s a new regime but he doesn’t want that.” | “Chris will be back managing soon,” Curle says. “I know for a fact he’s been offered Premier League jobs as a No2 with the possibility of stepping up when there’s a new regime but he doesn’t want that.” |
| Carlisle’s manager fears adoption of the “Rooney Rule” – a regulation imposed in American football whereby NFL clubs have to ensure black and ethnic minority candidates are adequately represented in the recruitment process – could serve as mere window dressing. | Carlisle’s manager fears adoption of the “Rooney Rule” – a regulation imposed in American football whereby NFL clubs have to ensure black and ethnic minority candidates are adequately represented in the recruitment process – could serve as mere window dressing. |
| “I’ve not seen anything to suggest it would work in English football,” the 50-year-old says. “If you said that for every job vacancy from the Premier League to League Two you had to have one non-white manager available for interview, is there going to be a realistic chance of them getting every job? Or are they just going to be there to tick a box? I don’t see the point if you’re only going to be there so someone can tick a box.” | “I’ve not seen anything to suggest it would work in English football,” the 50-year-old says. “If you said that for every job vacancy from the Premier League to League Two you had to have one non-white manager available for interview, is there going to be a realistic chance of them getting every job? Or are they just going to be there to tick a box? I don’t see the point if you’re only going to be there so someone can tick a box.” |
| Equally, his ambitions for Carlisle extend beyond merely keeping them in League Two. “We’re in trouble, we’re bottom of the league and we’ve got stay in the division,” he says before preparing for Saturday’s game at third-bottom Hartlepool. “But you’ve got to dream – and this club has real potential.” | Equally, his ambitions for Carlisle extend beyond merely keeping them in League Two. “We’re in trouble, we’re bottom of the league and we’ve got stay in the division,” he says before preparing for Saturday’s game at third-bottom Hartlepool. “But you’ve got to dream – and this club has real potential.” |
| It may be impossible to reprise Carlisle’s rise from the fourth division right to, albeit briefly, the top of the old first division in the 1970s, but after the Tranmere victory an optimistic Curle raced down the M6 to Manchester in time to make a speech at his eldest daughter’s wedding. | It may be impossible to reprise Carlisle’s rise from the fourth division right to, albeit briefly, the top of the old first division in the 1970s, but after the Tranmere victory an optimistic Curle raced down the M6 to Manchester in time to make a speech at his eldest daughter’s wedding. |
| Breathing new life into Brunton Park will involve much more than painting his office walls bright white, and introducing a minimalist look but he has won much bigger battles, most notably at Wimbledon. “The first thing Bobby Gould did after buying me was introduce me as the new captain,” he recalls. “Dennis Wise, John Fashanu and Vinnie Jones all just looked at me. It was sink or swim. I learned there’s different ways to fight battles with different people.” | Breathing new life into Brunton Park will involve much more than painting his office walls bright white, and introducing a minimalist look but he has won much bigger battles, most notably at Wimbledon. “The first thing Bobby Gould did after buying me was introduce me as the new captain,” he recalls. “Dennis Wise, John Fashanu and Vinnie Jones all just looked at me. It was sink or swim. I learned there’s different ways to fight battles with different people.” |
| Now he intends to confound a few of the sceptics he has met since checking into a Carlisle hotel. “After arriving here my car key fob stopped working so my clothes were trapped inside it and I had to keep wearing my tracksuit,” he says. “It meant I got recognised in coffee shops. Locals wished me all the best – but with wry smiles on their faces.” | Now he intends to confound a few of the sceptics he has met since checking into a Carlisle hotel. “After arriving here my car key fob stopped working so my clothes were trapped inside it and I had to keep wearing my tracksuit,” he says. “It meant I got recognised in coffee shops. Locals wished me all the best – but with wry smiles on their faces.” |