Not wishing to sound totally stupid...but what exactly does a medical in the modern game actually entail? I'm sure it's more than a cupping of the testicles with a turn of the head and a cough. Buy what exactly do they do? Demba Ba failed medicals last year before signing for West Ham and did alright....we've got Wes Brown on the table as we speak....will he pass a medical? Are they different for the age of the player? I don't know...that's why I'm asking...
Well they look at the general health of a player, they dont want him having a heart attack in the 1st game, the general fitness, then they will look for any old injury that may flare up again, or any problems that may flair up. If you have a medical with a hamstring injury you will probably pass it, if you have one with a cruciate ligament injury you wont.
So in the case of Ba...he failed at Stoke but passed at West Ham. Does that mean the clubs were looking for different things or that West Ham were willing to take a bigger risk?
I could be totally wrong but I thought the player was checked for injuries or ailments that would mean they might not be able to play for long period of time. The medical is necessary so the player can be insured. I am sure they check for things like cancer etc as well as muscular bone and ligament damage.
Would you buy a used car without an MOT or warranty? Its just protecting your investment by checking all parts are in full working order.
i imagine they waived the need for ba to pass his medical as they were so desperate to get him in. lots of what has been posted is correct, they'll look at medical history, bloods, that lung volume thing where you blow in a balloon, reflexes, stress tests for all your joints, ligaments muscles etc, for instance someone with a history of knee ligament injuries, they'll ask them to do "cutting" exercises (similar to what hargreaves was doing in one of his youtube vids), and test the responses of the knees, test for pain, swelling, movement in the joint. all to make sure they are signing a fit player who can do what they are paying him to do, and yeah, for insurance purposes as well. that isn't to say a player must be 100% healthy to pass a medical, i bet if michael owen ****s his knee up playing for yernited,, knee injuries weren't covered in his policy, so they will have to pay his wages with no pay out. kind of like if you bought a car that was dangerously close to failing a part of its mot, and aviva had a copy of the report, they wouldn't let you claim when the exhaust fell off
Is passing a medical mandatory? Because, i dont think Ricardo Fuller has passed one in his life, yet he still manages to find clubs.
There was a link on here not long back for that premier passions series Although a few year old you can see a bit of what happens during a medical in one of the episodes.
So i gues no-one really knows......I would have made Gyan pick a car up with his bare hands for £12 million....or is that Hulk? Another question then....does the passing of a medical depend on the quality of the medical facilities? Would a player passing a medical at, say, Swansea get through easier than one at a Chelsea type club?
Paul McGrath, would never pass a medical, never trained, other than raising his arms, but still had a good footballing career.
