Debate: were Blackburn right to sack Ince? I | Allardyce heads likely candidates | Commentary: Matt Dickinson | Ince on hiding to nothing | Graphic: Ince domino effect |

Chairmen in England are taken in by fame. In Europe, what matters most is a coach’s qualifications and CV. Want a job in this country? It’s about who your friends are and how good a player you were. Look at Roy Keane, Gareth Southgate, Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Paul Ince, to name a few who moved swiftly from pitch to dugout.

They have managed with varying degrees of success, but all have this in common: when they were appointed, their clubs knew all about the calibre of player they were, but could only guess at the quality of manager they might become.

When Niall Quinn was looking for someone to take charge of Sunderland in 2006, he said he wanted a world-class manager. He appointed a world-class player: Keane, who had never managed before. That kind of thinking is not unusual.

Big names in running to succeed Ince

Sam Allardyce is bookmakers' favourite, but Souness, Mancini, Jones, Keane and McClaren also in frame for Blackburn job

• Hard times no stranger to Blackburn manager Paul Ince

• Will colour or competence have final say on Ince?

BACKGROUND

• You can't reach the top by cutting corners

• Ince was always going to end up the loser

• Analysis: James Ducker

British clubs must stop falling for ex factor

Paul Ince pays familiar price as big clubs continue to employ managers with few qualifications untested at highest level

BACKGROUND

• Ince needs a miracle as Blackburn crash

• Hughes knocks Ince's recent claim

• Ince vows to fight on Liverpool defeat

Multimedia

• Were Blackburn right to sack Ince?

It is far too easy to become a manager in this country — part of a general lack of respect for coaching badges and experience that you do not see on the Continent, where sound theoretical knowledge is expected, even at small clubs. Only in the past few years have courses been taken more seriously, but there is still a way to go.

There remains a laziness among former players that is absent in other European leagues. Too often the attitude is: ‘Why should I study the game? I played it for 20 years.’ And as long as clubs are prepared to take a punt on rookies, the incentive to spend years training as a coach is not there. Despite the complaints of the League Managers Association, clubs continue to employ untested managers with few qualifications who have often been fast-tracked through their courses.

But lots of former players do not realise how hard the job is. During their playing careers, it never occurred to them that managers work 24/7 and need a broad range of skills. While chairmen may be awestruck in the presence of a once great player, respect for the reputation of a new manager doesn’t last more than a few minutes in the dressing-room.

You only have to look at the Barclays Premier League table to know there is a problem with the career development of British managers because Sir Alex Ferguson is the only one in charge of a “big four” club, and that is not about to change. No home-grown manager was deemed good enough to replace Steve McClaren for England. At the very highest level, chairmen look abroad.

Learning on the job is a tall order because it is so demanding and there is such pressure for instant success. It was not a surprise that Ince looked out of his depth at Blackburn Rovers, up against shrewd veterans most weeks. Anyone can fail — look at Phil Brown at Derby County before he joined Hull City. But Ince never appeared to have an overall vision at Blackburn. They never seemed to have an identity or unity as they did under Mark Hughes. Tactics were not right — contrast the way Blackburn lost tamely to Chelsea at home with how West Ham United’s game plan secured them a point at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

But then it’s not Ince’s fault, he is in a system where it’s too simple for inexperienced managers to get high-level positions. Ince will feel he deserved more time, but 17 league games is plenty and on the Continent, where chairmen are more ruthless, he would have been replaced sooner. Now he can go away, analyse what went wrong and resolve to come back wiser at a smaller club.