Quote of the day
"I think the ball was in between them, they've both gone for it fairly and the
follow through is where the collision is."
So says Dave Whelan, Wigan chairman and Jabba-hater.
If he's gone for it fairly, that makes it OK that he fairly went through his knee with all his studs showing, does it Dave?
You'd think a man whose own playing career was curtailed by a bad challenge would perhaps feel some empathy for Massadio Haidara, but no, Whelan goes on to say:
"When I broke my leg in the cup final it was exactly the same type of tackle,...We both went for the ball. It brought back memories. It ruined my career. I am not going to criticise Norman Deeley."
That's spelled D-E-E-L-E-Y, whom he has completely forgiven, but whom he is nonetheless happy to mention in an article talking about a tackle which took place at the weekend, not fifty years ago.
The reality is, it was a terrible tackle.
It isn't a question of whether or not the referee or linesman should have seen it and sent the player off; the simple fact is that the player should not have made the tackle in the first place. That he either didn't appreciate what he was doing was dangerous, or he knew full well and did it anyway, is the point. Football is a contact sport and sometimes accidents happen, but to go through someone's knee with your studs up shows a staggering disregard for your fellow professional's well-being. Whether that was through stupidity or malice only Callum McManaman will know, but apologists like Whelan should frankly learn to keep their mouths shut.
So says Dave Whelan, Wigan chairman and Jabba-hater.
If he's gone for it fairly, that makes it OK that he fairly went through his knee with all his studs showing, does it Dave?
You'd think a man whose own playing career was curtailed by a bad challenge would perhaps feel some empathy for Massadio Haidara, but no, Whelan goes on to say:
"When I broke my leg in the cup final it was exactly the same type of tackle,...We both went for the ball. It brought back memories. It ruined my career. I am not going to criticise Norman Deeley."
That's spelled D-E-E-L-E-Y, whom he has completely forgiven, but whom he is nonetheless happy to mention in an article talking about a tackle which took place at the weekend, not fifty years ago.
The reality is, it was a terrible tackle.
It isn't a question of whether or not the referee or linesman should have seen it and sent the player off; the simple fact is that the player should not have made the tackle in the first place. That he either didn't appreciate what he was doing was dangerous, or he knew full well and did it anyway, is the point. Football is a contact sport and sometimes accidents happen, but to go through someone's knee with your studs up shows a staggering disregard for your fellow professional's well-being. Whether that was through stupidity or malice only Callum McManaman will know, but apologists like Whelan should frankly learn to keep their mouths shut.
Labels: dave whelan, massadio haidara, wigan
posted by Paul at 1:43 pm
2 Comments:
What you say is rubbish! A footballer HAS to go for a 50:50 ball and that's what it was. Yes, he went over the top, but, it was not malicious, he got studs on the ball, which let's not forget was bouncing. Slight misjudgement I will accept, but all this vitriol against a young professional i
s just out of order.
Sorry - but no. There's no vitriol in the post (even though Paul would have been fully justified in venting some), instead just a restrained reaction to a shocking challenge and Dave Whelan spouting hypocritical bullshit (as usual).
Malicious or not, the attempted tackle had the very high probability of causing serious injury and contact with the ball was so minimal as to be almost incidental, and for those reasons it was worthy of a straight red and an automatic ban.
While I can understand the inclination of Martinez and Whelan towards shielding their "young professional" from the ensuing shitstorm, that shitstorm was entirely justified and making light of the challenge can't be excused. They should be ashamed of themselves. Why could no one in the Wigan camp just accept it was a dangerous tackle and apologise?
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