06-02-2020, 19:49
Sorry as I feel for those former players who have developed dementia and the families who care for them, I can't help but reflect on the huge difference between the experience of a man like Jeff Astle and the young players of today. Jeff died at 59 in 2002, so had he lived he'd be 77, making him ten years older than me. That guarantees that the ball Jeff was heading as a boy …… when his brain was still growing by the way …. would have been at least as heavy and difficult to manoeuvre as the footballs I was brought up with.
My early experience was all at centre half. I didn't get a choice. I was the tallest AND I wasn't afraid to head the ball. Quite a lot of lads were scared of heading the ball, even some who were otherwise pretty decent players. That was because the old leather case ball was very heavy at kick off. In wet or muddy conditions it became sodden and not only was difficult to head, but also you had to be able to kick properly to lift it off the grass. Taking a corner or a goal kick would often be down to the kid who could actually get the heavy ball into the air.
In practice matches during Games for the school team's squad at grammar school I can remember the opposition goalie repeatedly kicking the ball from his hands (because that was one of the quickest ways to progress downfield with the old ball). He did well to get it far beyond the halfway line and at centre half I was the one positioned to prevent the attack by winning the header. Some afternoons I headed that soggy ball loads of times, eyes open as I attempted not to head the lace which had the capacity to cut you.
I eventually achieved my ambition and got to play in goal in my dad's mens' team. I also played rugby for the school. Whatever damage that repetitive heading did to me, it did up to the age of 15 …….. but for a Jeff Astle and loads of other lads it went on into the professional game. And if like Jeff you were known to be excellent at it you were expected to do it more and more. Like me he was around to see the end of the heavy leather ball …….. but unless you experienced what those old balls were like it is very difficult to compare those times with modern day football. In those days you'd never have wanted your keeper to kick the ball off the floor if he could get it in his hands. With the ball in hand he could either kick further or use a judicious throw out to start an attack. Poorer pitches meant that with that soggy heavy ball today's rules would have led to a hatful of goals coming from earthbound keeper clearances.
So taking into account improved pitches and balls that now bounce swerve and spin ……. which you can actually float into the area if you want …… I find it difficult to understand why we seem to be moving towards erasing heading from the game. If young players are to be prevented from heading the ball up to a certain age what happens to the skill? How, once they are older, does the heading they now can't do very well and have been trained to fear, become part of their skillset and part of an exciting game? Is the game destined to be played on the floor? Should perhaps the goals be changed to match this new earthbound sport?
I ask because I don't know. I do, however, know that those who are the same age as me will ALL have experienced the same ball as I did during my youth. I am sure the prevalence of dementia amongst ex-players must have something to do with heading the ball. But surely proper science must evaluate the vast difference between the old and new ball AND the way that difference has changed the game itself.
My early experience was all at centre half. I didn't get a choice. I was the tallest AND I wasn't afraid to head the ball. Quite a lot of lads were scared of heading the ball, even some who were otherwise pretty decent players. That was because the old leather case ball was very heavy at kick off. In wet or muddy conditions it became sodden and not only was difficult to head, but also you had to be able to kick properly to lift it off the grass. Taking a corner or a goal kick would often be down to the kid who could actually get the heavy ball into the air.
In practice matches during Games for the school team's squad at grammar school I can remember the opposition goalie repeatedly kicking the ball from his hands (because that was one of the quickest ways to progress downfield with the old ball). He did well to get it far beyond the halfway line and at centre half I was the one positioned to prevent the attack by winning the header. Some afternoons I headed that soggy ball loads of times, eyes open as I attempted not to head the lace which had the capacity to cut you.
I eventually achieved my ambition and got to play in goal in my dad's mens' team. I also played rugby for the school. Whatever damage that repetitive heading did to me, it did up to the age of 15 …….. but for a Jeff Astle and loads of other lads it went on into the professional game. And if like Jeff you were known to be excellent at it you were expected to do it more and more. Like me he was around to see the end of the heavy leather ball …….. but unless you experienced what those old balls were like it is very difficult to compare those times with modern day football. In those days you'd never have wanted your keeper to kick the ball off the floor if he could get it in his hands. With the ball in hand he could either kick further or use a judicious throw out to start an attack. Poorer pitches meant that with that soggy heavy ball today's rules would have led to a hatful of goals coming from earthbound keeper clearances.
So taking into account improved pitches and balls that now bounce swerve and spin ……. which you can actually float into the area if you want …… I find it difficult to understand why we seem to be moving towards erasing heading from the game. If young players are to be prevented from heading the ball up to a certain age what happens to the skill? How, once they are older, does the heading they now can't do very well and have been trained to fear, become part of their skillset and part of an exciting game? Is the game destined to be played on the floor? Should perhaps the goals be changed to match this new earthbound sport?
I ask because I don't know. I do, however, know that those who are the same age as me will ALL have experienced the same ball as I did during my youth. I am sure the prevalence of dementia amongst ex-players must have something to do with heading the ball. But surely proper science must evaluate the vast difference between the old and new ball AND the way that difference has changed the game itself.