Bank Should Have Learnt From Soccer – Letter to the FT

This letter was printed in the Financial Times on Monday July 7th. You can read it on FT.com here.

Sir,

In Martin Wolf’s excellent guidance notes to Mark Carney (Comment, July 5) he writes: “The appointment . . . was a bold move. It is wrong to expect miracles . . .”  He does not appear to share the enthusiasm of the chancellor and others about what “the outstanding central banker of his generation” can achieve in the UK.

Maybe Mr Wolf felt reminded of the appointments of Sven-Göran Eriksson and fabulous Fabio Capello, who were supposed to revitalise the English national team and who were heralded by the Football Association in much the same fashion.

As a German, I find it equally incomprehensible to appoint a non-English person to either job. London prides itself, rightly so, as one of the most important world centres of financial expertise and the homeland of football – and can’t find suitable candidates?! Apart from everything else, where is the British pride?

Britain’s economic future will in any event not be decided by the financial wizardry of a central banker nor will the English football team’s performance be enhanced by coaches from abroad or home. Both have the same problem in common – the system under which they work is wrong.

Author: Bob Bischof

German Robert (Bob) Bischof has lived and worked in Britain for 40 years. He is convinced that the two countries can gain much by learning from each other. Well-known for his outspoken comments on economic, political and industrial issues concerning Britain and Germany, he is a regular contributor to a range of newspapers and other publications, including the Financial Times and other national papers. View all posts by Bob Bischof