Kick the Thugs out of Football

When will the FA and the media start to realise that for English football to progress we need to kick out the thugs from football, It is no longer the case that England will win games because the foreigners do not like the physical part of the game.

 

This weekend saw Kevin Davies win the ball against Gael Clichy, yet his manner of winning the ball almost broke the Arsenal defender’s leg. Instead of the media taking Davies to task over his reckless challenge, he was praised as having in “hard.” It was only six months ago that another English player went in “hard” on Eduardo and we all know the out come of that challenge. 

 

Arsenal and the right of every team to kick them off the park obsess the media. Due to Setanta, we are so far saved playing in front of Alan Parry and SkySports on Saturday evenings, but this commentator took personal pleasure in Arsenal being roughed up. In a game at Bramall Lane, when an English “journeyman” player punched van Persie in the stomach, Parry had a go at van Persie for play-acting!   

 

In a subsequent development to Saturday’s game, it emerges that Kevin Nolan the Bolton captain instructed his players to, “Give him (Walcott) a little kick and see if he comes back at you!” If this is the type of instruction that goes out from players it is a disgrace. 

The FA needs to suspend Nolan for his comments, not ask him to explain what he said, but instant suspension.

 

Referees need to protect a player, which means that if a player is continually fouled, then it does not matter if it is a different player; the offender needs to be cautioned.  Too often referees allow cynical fouls to go unpunished or if a team is smart they will alternate which player commits the fouls.  All we are doing is driving out skill from the English game.

 

As long as the media stands idly by and condones this type of football England will not progress as a footballing nation, whilst the media is not the governing body, unfortunately it sets the agenda for the toothless FA, which is short sighted. Allowing wild lunges to go unpunished or comments by Nolan to pass by, only encourages the thugs in English football to prosper at the expense of the skilful players that we all pay our money to see.