Absolutely gutted when I heard the news about his diagnosis this morning. Him, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, it's all happening and being reported more often. Alzheimer's and dementia: horrible, cruel disease! Years ago I remember being at Anfield seeking autographs. I ruffled Terry Mac's lovely curly hair and he trod on my toe (it was an accident, I think! ) Such a lovely bloke.
The statistics are grim. 5 times.more likely to be diagnosed with dementia as a footballer and 10 to 1 for some. Heading the ball is directly responsible and nobody is willing to do a thing about until a law suit sticks.
Tbf a lot of these played when balls were like solid rocks so it’s hard to compare to these days. Tricky because in 40 years time the players playing now might all be absolutely fine from it but just don’t have the data.
Thing is, it's not as though it's a newly-discovered phenomenon. When I was a kid "head-the-ball" was slang for an idiot for that very reason. As you say, a casey was a very different proposition to a modern ball, so let's hope the danger is a lot less these days.
We know a lot.more and its not about weight it's about rattling the brain around your skull. Rugby is light years ahead in this.
When Jota headed the ball in yesterday I was made up but I also cringed, looking forty years into the future. They're saying heading should be banned but how possible is it? It's instinctive.
It’s difficult. Look at boxing. Should we ban boxing because it’s 1000 times worse. Ban hits to the head? How far do you take it. Obviously it’s horrible what happened to these older players and something prob does need to be done. As I say, the balls now are so much lighter, half the time barely even feel it touch your head so who knows if I’m 40 years players are gonna have similar problems or not. I guess at least it’s being talked about which is step 1
Gary Lineker as famously said he avoided heading the ball because he didn't want brain damage. He played mainly in the 80s.
It's a dilemma - it would change football almost beyond recognition to ban heading. I suppose - though I don't like it - that it just has to be seen as the risk one takes, as in many sports that involve dangers.
I've hated boxing since I was a teenager because the spectacle of two people trying to beat one another up just turns me off. I know it's voluntary and all that, but I just don't like it.
Read about Thompson the england rugby world cup winner.and tell me. They dont head an object moving at high speed 30 times a game. They go into high speed collisions with fat men. It's all about your brain rattling about in your skull.
No ones talking about rugby? Obviously smashing your head into someone 20 times a game is probably going to have some sort of impact later in life. not sure you can compare that to someone heading a ball.
People are being dismissive of the route to micro concussions that has been documented and I am suggesting Steve Thompson's case shows why the lightness of the ball or otherwise needs to be taken out of the conversation totally. Again its concussive impacts to the head repeatedly rattling the brain around inside You can and should directly compare rugby players hit each other in tackles but not hitting the head par se with actual head impacts heading the ball. American football put big honking great helmets on then crash their big.men helmet to helmet together. It's the brain rattling in the skull again. We simply dont want our particular sport to change that's why this is dismissed or judged by talking a out lighter footballs Its.muddying the water.
Should players wear protective head gear? ... Keep heading but add protection? Could help prevent concussion also.
No, utterly pointless. It's the same as boxing where they remove the helmets in amateur male.boxing (but kept in female as they are sexist) It's a false sense of security. Your head protection doesn't stop you brain slamming into the inside of your skull just like in american football or rugby. Head impacts are only a part of the issue in rugby but they ignore the high impact challenges where they bash it up the middle and two guys hit one guy below shoulder height. They are strong on head impacts but try ignore the conclusive impact of two 20 stone guys.crashing into a guy sprinting at them.
Like I say, there is zero data on whether heading the balls now have any impact to dementia though. I can’t say I’ve played any football with old style balls from the 50s-70s etc. I’m sure some of the older members can correct me if I’m wrong but heading those balls will cause a lot more ‘rattling’ than heading one of today’s balls which half the time you barely even feel when actually heading it. I’m not suggesting heading today’s balls won’t cause issues. Maybe they will. But until get more data on it you just don’t know. If you banned it, would be biggest change football has probably ever seen. People will be outraged but over time (10/15 years) will be the norm and be forgotten about I’m sure a bit like the pass back I guess? But are you banning something which actually doesn’t do much harm? It’s a tough one and if you want to be sure you’re doing all you can then fine, ban heading. But then you also need to ban bouncers in cricket. You need to ban a lot of tackling in rugby and probably scrums? You need to ban any punches above the chest in boxing. If going to take this serious you need to take it serious in every sport that has any kind of impact with the head.
What I would say at the same time, no one is forcing footballers play football. They could quite easily not play football, not head the ball and reduce the risk massively. Same as boxing and any other sport. In any sport there is danger. Heck in day to day life there is danger that things you do can affect your life later. Should we ban cigarettes because later in life they can cause cancer? Should we ban alcohol for same reason? Or should we say the people that smoke/drink/box/head the ball know what they’re doing. Know the risks that it may cause them but have complete freedom of choice in their own actions. Do they want to earn a very very good living playing football with the risk that in 30/40 years time they have have health issues? If so then let them do it.
The zero data bit is a delaying tactic. nothing more. its an excuse to keep everything as is. Yet people are talking about banning kids heading the ball and limiting heading in training. Certainly banning heading would be a fundamental change in the game that would be far far bigger than the back pass rule. you are right there. There is a very quick way to understand this stuff that doesn't require opening up dead players heads and looking in 40 or 50 years time. Cognitive tests can establish baselines and repeat tests can show how a game can affect players HOWEVER there's not a team not league not governing body willing to open the can of worms. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2018.00240/full just an example. rugby focuses on collisions and head impacts. If you fall over, hold your head in any way or get a high challenge you can be withdrawn for these type of tests. Players are forced to however their players bashing into each other for 80mins that don't get a direct head impact but could have 15-20 major impacts per game are not tested i believe. Its the same thing.
Should we ban heading the ball? I don't know, but I suspect that at some point in my lifetime they will regardless. Rules always slowly progress towards more and more safety. Eventually, if more proof is given it causes dementia they will ban headers. I do cringe at the ball-to-head or head-to-ball arguments my grandchildren will be having. "But his head was In an unnatural position". No one would fear playing away to Stoke on a rainy Tuesday evening any more. No reason to fill a team with big louts playing route one football and heading the opposition as much as the ball.
