Alan Shearer's dementia film

[Ned Stark]

Very good I thought, quite a few points for consideration, science is not yet conclusive but I don't think anyone would be surprised if the findings eventually confirm what many are thinking.

Institutionally it seems there has been a shocking reluctance to actually engage with this issue, Shearer had Gordon Taylor all but squirming on his plush sofa when trying to make out the FA is so much more committed to this than FIFA/UEFA. Compensation claims are being talked about for one thing but also the implication for the game is potentially huge: heading the ball has been banned in the US for under 11s - could it be that heading the ball would actually be banned in the worldwide game at all levels? And would that be a bad thing or potentially an improvement for the game? Shearer spoke to John Terry about how football has changed already since he began - there is much less emphasis on heading the ball now, more on playing it to feet which was pretty squarely credited to the influence of foreign coaches in England, as it goes.

I suspect many will be up in arms about the prospect of losing heading from the game but if you think about it would it be such bad thing? The game is called football, after all...

 

[Katarino]

I'm 55, I remember the leather balls we were heading as kids felt like being punched. I think the anyone playing in the pre "plastic coated" era might have a case. Modern balls are like balloons and if they ban them then you automatically have to ban boxing and MMA as well.

 

[Ned Stark]

I'm 55, I remember the leather balls we were heading as kids felt like being punched. I think the anyone playing in the pre "plastic coated" era might have a case. Modern balls are like balloons and if they ban them then you automatically have to ban boxing and MMA as well.

well the research they are doing uses modern balls and there was some evidence in the programme that heading those causes pretty immediate changes in brain processing, whether those changes are implicated in dementia remains to be seen but there is no doubt the changes are there, they showed it clearly

 

[Katarino]

I'm ****ed then............

 

[Ned Stark]

I'm ****ed then............

d'oh worry mate, they ay come to conclusions yet!

I'm just glad that in games lessons when I was at school when the ball came anywhere near me in the air I was prepared to ignore the screams of all the other kids to "Heeeaaaddd iiittt!!!!!!!!' and let it bounce on the floor.

Didn't make me look cool, I'll admit but maybe I have a few more brain cells as a result!

 

[BlahBlah]

Modern balls are like balloons and if they ban them then you automatically have to ban boxing and MMA as well.

You might say that the objective of boxing or MMA is to hit the opponent so the risks are known and accepted, but contact sports like rugby are becoming more dangerous every season as players are become ever bigger and stronger with new training techniques, better diet, and scouts trawling the Pacific for truly massive players. Jonah Lomu wouldn't look frightening in today's game. The injury rate in both forms of rugby is becoming a real problem, and concussions are a major issue and very very common.

 

[QB Wolf]

I’d quite like them to ban heading for under 11s, I don’t encourage my 8 yr old to head the ball at all.

 

[Deleted member 3573J]

I never used to head the ball when I played for the school team or sunday football, I played defence so there was plenty of opportunity for me to bottle out of it. The football's in the 90s were far heavier than they are today as well and would soak the water when it rained, so I don't think it's just the really old balls.

 

[Jonzy54]

I never used to head the ball when I played for the school team or sunday football, I played defence so there was plenty of opportunity for me to bottle out of it. The football's in the 90s were far heavier than they are today as well and would soak the water when it rained, so I don't think it's just the really old balls.

The really old ones had laces too which hurt like hell if you headed that .Jeff Astle's wife said the laces increased the problems caused by heading a heavy ball.
Thankfully in the late sixties the laces disappeared.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Its an interesting one for me, im proper on the fence with it. Whilst its awful (if proven) that heading a ball can give you damage, i also dont want our game having that took out of it. Its become sterile enough with the amount of fouls given for challenges that even 10 years ago the ref wouldnt even think of giving.

Re the weight of balls. The actual size and weight of the ball hasnt changed in over 40 years, its just now with the coating they use, they absorb zero moisture.

 

[Stingray II]

Interesting. Imagine a corner and it's a foul if you head the ball. I'm not opposed to the idea. I would like to see it tested in a few friendly games to see what happens.

 

[Wall heath Wanderer]

Nothing can beat the feeling of heading a 5yr old falling apart football as the worn and split leather flaps into your eye. Kids these days, i dunno.