Heading the baw

[compo 6,074]

I see we no have former England captain Terry Butcher calling for a ban on heading the ball ,in these woke times I can see it being banned from the game your thoughts to ban or not to ban .

[Scott7 5,106]

There seems to be a lot of data connecting heading the ball with Dementia. On the other hand many people die of it who never headed a ball in their lives. If the evidence is there, it has to be banned unfortunately.
 

Thornton, Kichenbrand, Millar, DJ all great with headers and Thornton and Millar weren’t tall. Can’t think of anyone similar in the modern game.

[Gonzo79 13,541]

Boxing might be in bother then.  Running wrecks your legs, so that should be looked at.  The dangers faced in extreme sports, like mountain climbing...etc. 

 

I think taking heading out of youth football might be an idea.  Once you become an adult (that's a debate for another day) you should be able to decide whether you want to header the ball.  

 

Calvin Bassey seemed to be ahead of the curve last night and has decided to opt out of headers before any rulings are made.

 

 

[Bill 13,717]

This isn't something to be flippant about and if the evidence is compelling then there should be no hesitation to remove heading from the game. 

[MacK1950 2,226]

1 hour ago, Bill said:

This isn't something to be flippant about and if the evidence is compelling then there should be no hesitation to remove heading from the game. 

Should that happen then I foresee many many fans being lost to the game.

[Bill 13,717]

2 hours ago, MacK1950 said:

Should that happen then I foresee many many fans being lost to the game.

I doubt it. Personally I think it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to play football with feet

[ChelseaBoy 2,226]

21 hours ago, Bill said:

This isn't something to be flippant about and if the evidence is compelling then there should be no hesitation to remove heading from the game. 

Well lets see the evidence. It has been closely guarded as despite some high profile cases i doubt it shows cases in octagenarian footballers being higher than the general public. 

 

Also, they need to prove that modern balls cause the same alleged issues that the older balls octagenerian footballers would have been playing with cause. 

 

If proved then boxing would certainly be banned. 

[RANGERRAB 3,252]

The ball used today is a lot lighter than previous times. Maybe today’s players will be less likely to develop dementia from heading the ball than previous generations. If there is a genuine link.

[Bill 13,717]

2 hours ago, ChelseaBoy said:

Well lets see the evidence. It has been closely guarded as despite some high profile cases i doubt it shows cases in octagenarian footballers being higher than the general public. 

 

Also, they need to prove that modern balls cause the same alleged issues that the older balls octagenerian footballers would have been playing with cause. 

 

If proved then boxing would certainly be banned. 

I remember similar expressions of denial about smoking and cancer in the 60s and 70s. Despite quite clear evidence, there was always a large section of the smoking community bleating about the credibility of "evidence" while studiously turning a blind eye to it. 

 

To be clear, I haven't seen data to support a causal relationship between heading a ball and dementia. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means I'm not in possession of it if it does. All I have said is that if it does exist then there should be no digging in of heels to support a state of denial in those who can't embrace change.

 

And do we seriously think the researchers are incapable of factoring in different ball design, amount of heading, etc?

[ChelseaBoy 2,226]

2 hours ago, Bill said:

I remember similar expressions of denial about smoking and cancer in the 60s and 70s. Despite quite clear evidence, there was always a large section of the smoking community bleating about the credibility of "evidence" while studiously turning a blind eye to it. 

 

To be clear, I haven't seen data to support a causal relationship between heading a ball and dementia. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means I'm not in possession of it if it does. All I have said is that if it does exist then there should be no digging in of heels to support a state of denial in those who can't embrace change.

 

And do we seriously think the researchers are incapable of factoring in different ball design, amount of heading, etc?

I dont think we know as they haven't shared their work to any degree. 

 

I would be amazed if they can actually link it tbh, as they will also have to consider what each of these ex players did after finishing football, with many ending their careers much earlier than todays players. 

 

With training methods changing i doubt todays players even do heading practice anymore and how do thy compare a professional career of say 10-15 years from an amateur footballer who may have played 15 - 20 years with heading the ball still virtually the same technique. 

 

I feel they will try to make the science fit the required answer and until we see some evidence it should be treated with some healthy sceptism.