Players do need to be protected, Gerrard's double standards
The aftermath of Arsenal's victory was surrounded by mixed reactions following Steven Gerrard's comment about Bukayo Saka's request for protection for players from officials. The Arsenal youngster had asked for more protection from the referee after being the subject of many tackles in the game and eventually left the pitch with a bloody leg. In the match against Aston Villa, amidst another tackles against the teenager, there was one lunge by Tyron Mings, who although may have gotten part of the ball, caught Saka badly with his follow through, which meant the player required medical attention and caused a stir among the players. Steven Gerrard in his reaction said that Saka should toughen up and get used to it as football is a contact sport, emphasizing that he (Gerrard) still has screws in his hips, had undergone 16 surgeries and struggles to keep up with gym work, all in the aftermath of having had a career in football. I'm trying to imagine the wisdom behind Gerrard's comment. If you are "suffering" from tackles you suffered during your playing days, does that mean someone else must also go through that? Do you want other players to also live with screws in their hip for the rest of their lives? To think that this is coming from a Steven Gerrard, who when he was Rangers' coach called for same thing, is stinking of the highest level of double standard. These were his exact words in November 2019 ahead of Rangers' game against Livingston: “We expect a certain level of protection. That is not to take away from what Livingston are trying to do because we accept the fact that that is their style, we respect that. It is none of our business how they play. But when our players are going down with stitches in their nose and 20 stitches across their head, it is my job to protect the players.” What has changed in three years? Or was he just been a bitter loser? I would have believed that the sensible thing to do was to echo the call for the protection of players, but I understand he must have been sore after that loss I'm sure he wouldn't have been happy either if his players were on the receiving end of such tackles. We all understand that football is a contact-sport game and these tackles are inevitable. However, more needs to be done to ensure players' safety when these tackles are beginning to cause harm to players. That you earn a living through a contact-sport is not an excuse for you to live the rest of your life after football on wheelchair, with broken legs, ribs or arms. In the past, players careers have been halted or distorted following horrendous injuries from dangerous tackles that only earn the culprits match bans, sometimes nothing and nothing more. The victim may nurse the consequence for life. Aaron Ramsey's injury suffered in the game against Stoke City in 2010 from a Ryan Shawcross tackle saw him miss 9 months of football. Take away such a length of time from a 19-year old like Ramsey with a damaged leg, he definitely didn't follow the same trajectory he was before the injury and that told on his Arsenal career. Saka is right to have called for protection, just like any other player would have. He's been fouled 42 times in the league alone, making him the ninth most fouled player in the Premier League this season. Last season, he was fouled 64 times, being eighth most fouled. I understand that a lot of players have bastardized this "protection" by fooling referees with simulations, nonetheless, this shouldn't be an excuse not to protect genuine calls. The Premier League also need to be consistent with their calls. They assess personality in taking decisions, in my opinion. If that Mings' tackle was committed by Granit Xhaka, it's a straight red card because he has become a soft target for referees. I remember an Arsenal game against Crystal Palace where Aubameyang won the ball but his follow through caught the Palace player, he was sent off. Gerrard could have done better by acknowledging that football is a contact sport, which we all know, then state that players have a right to call for protection, which he had done both as a player and then a coach, instead of asking people not to talk just because he's suffering from something that can be avoided for for the younger generations. I hope he's not hoping the boy ends up with screws in hips like him. Thank you for reading.
Players do need to be protected, Gerrard's double standards
The aftermath of Arsenal's victory was surrounded by mixed reactions following Steven Gerrard's comment about Bukayo Saka's request for protection for players from officials. The Arsenal youngster had asked for more protection from the referee after being the subject of many tackles in the game and eventually left the pitch with a bloody leg. In the match against Aston Villa, amidst another tackles against the teenager, there was one lunge by Tyron Mings, who although may have gotten part of the ball, caught Saka badly with his follow through, which meant the player required medical attention and caused a stir among the players. Steven Gerrard in his reaction said that Saka should toughen up and get used to it as football is a contact sport, emphasizing that he (Gerrard) still has screws in his hips, had undergone 16 surgeries and struggles to keep up with gym work, all in the aftermath of having had a career in football. I'm trying to imagine the wisdom behind Gerrard's comment. If you are "suffering" from tackles you suffered during your playing days, does that mean someone else must also go through that? Do you want other players to also live with screws in their hip for the rest of their lives? To think that this is coming from a Steven Gerrard, who when he was Rangers' coach called for same thing, is stinking of the highest level of double standard. These were his exact words in November 2019 ahead of Rangers' game against Livingston: “We expect a certain level of protection. That is not to take away from what Livingston are trying to do because we accept the fact that that is their style, we respect that. It is none of our business how they play. But when our players are going down with stitches in their nose and 20 stitches across their head, it is my job to protect the players.” What has changed in three years? Or was he just been a bitter loser? I would have believed that the sensible thing to do was to echo the call for the protection of players, but I understand he must have been sore after that loss I'm sure he wouldn't have been happy either if his players were on the receiving end of such tackles. We all understand that football is a contact-sport game and these tackles are inevitable. However, more needs to be done to ensure players' safety when these tackles are beginning to cause harm to players. That you earn a living through a contact-sport is not an excuse for you to live the rest of your life after football on wheelchair, with broken legs, ribs or arms. In the past, players careers have been halted or distorted following horrendous injuries from dangerous tackles that only earn the culprits match bans, sometimes nothing and nothing more. The victim may nurse the consequence for life. Aaron Ramsey's injury suffered in the game against Stoke City in 2010 from a Ryan Shawcross tackle saw him miss 9 months of football. Take away such a length of time from a 19-year old like Ramsey with a damaged leg, he definitely didn't follow the same trajectory he was before the injury and that told on his Arsenal career. Saka is right to have called for protection, just like any other player would have. He's been fouled 42 times in the league alone, making him the ninth most fouled player in the Premier League this season. Last season, he was fouled 64 times, being eighth most fouled. I understand that a lot of players have bastardized this "protection" by fooling referees with simulations, nonetheless, this shouldn't be an excuse not to protect genuine calls. The Premier League also need to be consistent with their calls. They assess personality in taking decisions, in my opinion. If that Mings' tackle was committed by Granit Xhaka, it's a straight red card because he has become a soft target for referees. I remember an Arsenal game against Crystal Palace where Aubameyang won the ball but his follow through caught the Palace player, he was sent off. Gerrard could have done better by acknowledging that football is a contact sport, which we all know, then state that players have a right to call for protection, which he had done both as a player and then a coach, instead of asking people not to talk just because he's suffering from something that can be avoided for for the younger generations. I hope he's not hoping the boy ends up with screws in hips like him. Thank you for reading.
Players do need to be protected, Gerrard's double standards
The aftermath of Arsenal's victory was surrounded by mixed reactions following Steven Gerrard's comment about Bukayo Saka's request for protection for players from officials. The Arsenal youngster had asked for more protection from the referee after being the subject of many tackles in the game and eventually left the pitch with a bloody leg. In the match against Aston Villa, amidst another tackles against the teenager, there was one lunge by Tyron Mings, who although may have gotten part of the ball, caught Saka badly with his follow through, which meant the player required medical attention and caused a stir among the players. Steven Gerrard in his reaction said that Saka should toughen up and get used to it as football is a contact sport, emphasizing that he (Gerrard) still has screws in his hips, had undergone 16 surgeries and struggles to keep up with gym work, all in the aftermath of having had a career in football. I'm trying to imagine the wisdom behind Gerrard's comment. If you are "suffering" from tackles you suffered during your playing days, does that mean someone else must also go through that? Do you want other players to also live with screws in their hip for the rest of their lives? To think that this is coming from a Steven Gerrard, who when he was Rangers' coach called for same thing, is stinking of the highest level of double standard. These were his exact words in November 2019 ahead of Rangers' game against Livingston: “We expect a certain level of protection. That is not to take away from what Livingston are trying to do because we accept the fact that that is their style, we respect that. It is none of our business how they play. But when our players are going down with stitches in their nose and 20 stitches across their head, it is my job to protect the players.” What has changed in three years? Or was he just been a bitter loser? I would have believed that the sensible thing to do was to echo the call for the protection of players, but I understand he must have been sore after that loss I'm sure he wouldn't have been happy either if his players were on the receiving end of such tackles. We all understand that football is a contact-sport game and these tackles are inevitable. However, more needs to be done to ensure players' safety when these tackles are beginning to cause harm to players. That you earn a living through a contact-sport is not an excuse for you to live the rest of your life after football on wheelchair, with broken legs, ribs or arms. In the past, players careers have been halted or distorted following horrendous injuries from dangerous tackles that only earn the culprits match bans, sometimes nothing and nothing more. The victim may nurse the consequence for life. Aaron Ramsey's injury suffered in the game against Stoke City in 2010 from a Ryan Shawcross tackle saw him miss 9 months of football. Take away such a length of time from a 19-year old like Ramsey with a damaged leg, he definitely didn't follow the same trajectory he was before the injury and that told on his Arsenal career. Saka is right to have called for protection, just like any other player would have. He's been fouled 42 times in the league alone, making him the ninth most fouled player in the Premier League this season. Last season, he was fouled 64 times, being eighth most fouled. I understand that a lot of players have bastardized this "protection" by fooling referees with simulations, nonetheless, this shouldn't be an excuse not to protect genuine calls. The Premier League also need to be consistent with their calls. They assess personality in taking decisions, in my opinion. If that Mings' tackle was committed by Granit Xhaka, it's a straight red card because he has become a soft target for referees. I remember an Arsenal game against Crystal Palace where Aubameyang won the ball but his follow through caught the Palace player, he was sent off. Gerrard could have done better by acknowledging that football is a contact sport, which we all know, then state that players have a right to call for protection, which he had done both as a player and then a coach, instead of asking people not to talk just because he's suffering from something that can be avoided for for the younger generations. I hope he's not hoping the boy ends up with screws in hips like him. Thank you for reading.