Rival watch
- Thread starter Spurlock
- Start date
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Honorary, though he could Jack Charlton it, due to his paternal grandmother being from London.
Jeremy Clarkson has a couple of honorary doctorates, yet the media don't always refer to him as Doctor Clarkson
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That's why Charlton did what he did, (as did Terry Wogan, who took out British citizenship just so that he could use the "Sir" in his name). Honorary Knights can't claim the title.
Yes
But in a 50-50 challenge on the ground the player getting there second is almost always penalised. While if you miss a header and butt the opponent it is rarely a free kick.
Headbutts are generally a lot different to ground tackles in my opinion. It's not often either player knows of the other's positioning when going for a header, as in Cahill-Mason's case, Mason had his back to Cahill while Cahill's eyes seemed fully fixated on the incoming cross, it's a terrible collision and a horrible outcome for Ryan but as much as I despise Cahill and everything to do with Chelsea, I don't think there was any intent nor would I say Cahill deserves any punishment, he alone took a nasty bump too, so that's punishment enough while also being left with the guilt of hurting a fellow pro.
Tackling on the ground, even if the culprit fully believes they can get the ball, they know full well there's always a risk of tackling badly or just missing the ball and so if you go in strong and wipe a player out, then a foul/ booking/ sending off depending on how severe it is, is fully warranted. It's a more conscious decision, you know there's an opposition player and you know that your actions could lead to something bad. Butting is generally a shock to both players, regardless of who comes off worse.
There are issues with aerial challenges that need to be looked at more - jumping at players without looking at the ball, leading with an elbow, swinging elbows in the direction of an opponent and players making contact with opponents once they're airborne causing them to fall awkwardly. All of them are very dangerous and sometimes intentional - see Fashanu's assault on Gary Mabbutt.
I'm not sure that too many players use their head intentionally to cause injury, maybe some are reckless but that's very difficult to differentiate from an honest but fractionally mistimed effort to play the ball. I think that the game is in need of the 4th official watching the game on a screen and communicating with the referee as to intent and the dangerous nature of some challenges. At present, too much is missed and someone else is going to get badly hurt. 'The powers that be' - FA or PL need to act to protect players from these reckless or intentional challenges and the current system doesn't achieve that.
All of that being said, I see nothing to suggest that this was anything but a terrible accident.
I'm not sure that too many players use their head intentionally to cause injury, maybe some are reckless but that's very difficult to differentiate from an honest but fractionally mistimed effort to play the ball. I think that the game is in need of the 4th official watching the game on a screen and communicating with the referee as to intent and the dangerous nature of some challenges. At present, too much is missed and someone else is going to get badly hurt. 'The powers that be' - FA or PL need to act to protect players from these reckless or intentional challenges and the current system doesn't achieve that.
All of that being said, I see nothing to suggest that this was anything but a terrible accident.
If I had a metal plate in the front of my head and was a footballer I wouldn't be able to wait until I got the chance to play against John Terry or Charlie Adam.
Clashes of heads are extremely common. Ryan Mason isn't even the first Hull player to suffer a serious injury this season. Robbie Brady was knocked out in October playing for the ROI v Georgia. In March last year, the same player lost two front teeth in a clash of heads with teammate Gary O'Neill when at Norwich. The internet is littered with stories of serious injuries at both professional and amateur levels from clashes of heads.
In almost every case, there is a report of how two players both had their eyes fixed on the ball as they rose to head it. Their only focus was to head the ball; they were unaware of approach of other players - or if they were aware, they were intent on getting to the ball first. Bear if mind there could be four, five, six players in close proximity to each other, all jumping and aiming to make contact first with the ball with their head. Once a player is committed to leaping in the air, they have little control of their body thereafter. It's inevitable that there will be clashes of heads on a frequent basis and the risk of serious injury resulting must be high. A number of players all challenging for the ball at the same time with their head is deemed acceptable and part of the game whereas 50/50 challenges on the ground are judged by a far more exacting standard, where a player risks will be seen to commit a foul if that challenge is slightly mistimed or done with a lack of regard for another player's safety. That seems an anomaly. The risk of serious injury to another player is far greater when many players challenge for the ball in the air. It's worse the lower you go down the football pyramid because having tall, physically strong players who are good in the air at corners and free kicks are such an essential part of a team's make up in both attack and defence. It's much harder to find players who are as effective with the ball at their feet.
So what should be done?
It's hard to see what can be done without significantly changing the nature of the game. I've no idea.
In almost every case, there is a report of how two players both had their eyes fixed on the ball as they rose to head it. Their only focus was to head the ball; they were unaware of approach of other players - or if they were aware, they were intent on getting to the ball first. Bear if mind there could be four, five, six players in close proximity to each other, all jumping and aiming to make contact first with the ball with their head. Once a player is committed to leaping in the air, they have little control of their body thereafter. It's inevitable that there will be clashes of heads on a frequent basis and the risk of serious injury resulting must be high. A number of players all challenging for the ball at the same time with their head is deemed acceptable and part of the game whereas 50/50 challenges on the ground are judged by a far more exacting standard, where a player risks will be seen to commit a foul if that challenge is slightly mistimed or done with a lack of regard for another player's safety. That seems an anomaly. The risk of serious injury to another player is far greater when many players challenge for the ball in the air. It's worse the lower you go down the football pyramid because having tall, physically strong players who are good in the air at corners and free kicks are such an essential part of a team's make up in both attack and defence. It's much harder to find players who are as effective with the ball at their feet.
So what should be done?
It's hard to see what can be done without significantly changing the nature of the game. I've no idea.
David Moyes has signed Lescott.
He seems to trying to reassemble his Everton team from around 6-7 years ago. Nobody's told him that most of them are over the hill now.
He seems to trying to reassemble his Everton team from around 6-7 years ago. Nobody's told him that most of them are over the hill now.
Make everyone wear a Cech-style helmet. Job done.
It might come to that! Skull caps in rugby, helmets in cricket...it's all about protecting the players from the risks rather than reducing those risks.
Shrewd footballing investment and mild mannered human being, Granit Xhaka, appears to be having some temper trouble. Perhaps his manager, Mr Wenger, could help him with th...................or maybe not?
Granit Xhaka: Arsenal player questioned over racial abuse allegation
By Richard Conway
BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent
Granit Xhaka was sent off during his team's 2-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been interviewed under caution by police following an allegation he racially abused an airline staff member at Heathrow on Monday night.
Swiss Xhaka, 24, is believed to have been with a friend who had visited him in London and was returning home.
The man is understood to have arrived late for his flight back to Germany and was not allowed to board.
It is at this point that the racial abuse is alleged to have occurred.
Arsenal have declined to comment other than to say it is a private matter that is now in the hands of the police.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told the BBC: "Police were called at 19:29 GMT on Monday, 23 January following an allegation that a member of staff had been racially abused at Heathrow Airport, Terminal Five.
"The allegation was made by a third party. Officers attended and spoke with a man in his 20s. He was not arrested. He voluntarily attended a west London police station where he was interviewed under caution. Enquires continue."
Granit Xhaka: Arsenal player questioned over racial abuse allegation
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By Richard Conway
BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent
- 1 hour ago
- From the sectionFootball
You must log in or register to see images
Granit Xhaka was sent off during his team's 2-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been interviewed under caution by police following an allegation he racially abused an airline staff member at Heathrow on Monday night.
Swiss Xhaka, 24, is believed to have been with a friend who had visited him in London and was returning home.
The man is understood to have arrived late for his flight back to Germany and was not allowed to board.
It is at this point that the racial abuse is alleged to have occurred.
Arsenal have declined to comment other than to say it is a private matter that is now in the hands of the police.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told the BBC: "Police were called at 19:29 GMT on Monday, 23 January following an allegation that a member of staff had been racially abused at Heathrow Airport, Terminal Five.
"The allegation was made by a third party. Officers attended and spoke with a man in his 20s. He was not arrested. He voluntarily attended a west London police station where he was interviewed under caution. Enquires continue."
No doubt the Mail will report that story as another "intolerance of the left" hatchet job...
He allegedly called a staff member a ****ing white bitch in German, so they'll be very confused on what to think!
I'm a bit puzzled myself, to be honest. Isn't he white?
Oh boy, this is about to get remarkably complicated...He allegedly called a staff member a ****ing white bitch in German, so they'll be very confused on what to think!
I'm a bit puzzled myself, to be honest. Isn't he white?
Xhaka is Kosovo Albanian, and compared to the rest of the former Yugoslavia there is a strong influence from the Ottomans - for example, the most recent census in 2011 states 95% of Kosovans are Sunni Muslims, while Christianity is mainly observed by the small minority of Serbs and Bosniaks who remained in the country after Yugoslavia broke up. This also goes some way to explaining why Xhaka and Shaqiri have more Turkic features while members of the Croatia or Serbia squads have more Slavic features.
So if he did say it, and let's be honest we're probably going to hear six or seven variations of what he said in the next week or so, that goes a little way towards making sense of it.