Paul Ince can strike a blow against prejudice if, as seems very likely, he is appointed as the next Blackburn manager on Friday: prejudice against him being young, gifted and English.

Of course, Ince's appointment would provide hope and encouragement to a generation of black British coaches that their qualities will, finally, be taken seriously by the footballing establishment.

Equally, it would be a significant appointment in that Ince is a young English manager who has made his name in the lower divisions and who is seen as a bright hope for the future of the game in this country. There are frighteningly few others of which the same could be said.

It is a bit unfair to burden Ince with the tag as being the first black English manager in the Premier League, but at the same time what a blow would be struck for equal rights.

It is also rather unfair on the Premier League clubs to charge them with innate racial prejudice because three of them - Newcastle and Chelsea (Ruud Gullit) and Fulham (Jean Tigana) - have appointed black managers in the past. The two personalities involved just weren't English.

It does show that Ince and other black coaches face twin barriers to overcome in making it to the top. First they have to get past the discrimination practised by mainly lower league club officials and chairmen - and that hardly be disputed given than 20 of professional footballers are black, but only 1 per cent of coaching staff.

Secondly, they have to surpass the obstacle that Premier League usually look for a quick managerial fix, and all too often that means a foreign manager. The knock-on effect of that has meant the disappearance of the traditional method of bringing up a promising manager from lower down the ladder.

On both counts therefore Blackburn would deserve huge praise if they appoint Ince.

Their chairman, John Williams, is one of the good blokes in football. He preaches the virtues of stability, loyalty and patience, values that have led to Blackburn consistently finishing in the top half of the Premier League in the last seven years, and what a great opportunity for a young manager to be given charge of a club with that attitude.

Yes, Ince would be something of a risk compared to Sam Allardyce. With Allardyce you pretty much know what you are getting and what you can hope for, both in terms of the style of football and the results.

But Ince would be to take a slight risk in the hope of gaining more, much more. It would be the sort of risk that the wealthiest brokers in the City take every day: one that is carefully calculated in that the promise of immense gain far outweighs the threat of minor loss.

And who knows - Paul Ince is currently the manager of MK Dons, a modest football club of unfashionable heritage. On Friday, if Blackburn do announce his appointment, then he might suddenly find himself the favourite to be appointed the next England manager a few years down the line.

*****

FIFA's decision to take no action against Real Madrid after Manchester United's complaint about them 'tapping up' Cristiano Ronaldo was hardly unexpected.

After all, had they moved against Real Madrid then every club in Europe could have found themselves in the dock, and not least among the Manchester United.

What! United tapping up players? Surely not...

Well in 2003, after United failed to sign Ronaldinho from Paris St Germain, the French club's president Francis Graille said: "Manchester United were foolish to assume they could cut the deal directly with the player."

*****

Euro 2008 has been hugely refreshing in that teams which relied on old trusties and play-safe tactics - ie those who prospered in the 2006 World Cup - have been found wanting against those who have given youth its head and put their faith in attacking dynamism.

Let us just hope that the tournament continues in the same vein and that Portugal, Croatia, Holland and Spain progress through their quarter-finals against Germany, Turkey, Russia and Italy.

*****

Both the BBC and ITV's pundits have been dreadfully poor all tournament.

Alan Shearer and Sam Allardyce have been having their own competition to be the worst of the worst, but so far it has been impossible to separate them.