Top four footballers who inflicted uncharacteristic harm
In the 2010-2011 season of the English Premier League, several players have been pin pointed already as not those sort of players, who will injure others with the intent to do so. There has been a lot of debate on this but some of the excuses have been bordering
on comedy.
Surely, no one goes on the field with an absolute intention of injuring the opposition’s players but some common sense and technique has to be practiced more often than not when tackling for the ball.
These injuries that have resulted in broken legs, ankles and feet give rise to another question that how does one deal with the aggressors in these incidents in question. Well, that is a discussion for another time, for now, the first player in the list
is no other than Stephen Hunt. Stephen Hunt used to play for Reading back when his tackle on Petr Cech took place.
Petr Cech was playing for Chelsea back then under Mourinho in the November of 2007. The tackle unfortunately resulted in a broken skull bone for the Czech Republic goalkeeper, something that required treatment through extensive surgery and rehab before he
got back to regular first team football.
Stephen Hunt was one of the first ones to wave the “he is not that kind of a person” card after he spoke to the media following his tackle on Petr Cech. In his interview, he specifically said that I’m not the sort of person who deliberately targets an opponent
to hurt him. Hunt was backed up by his team’s captain, Graeme Murty, who said that he is “not that sort of player”.
Everyone knows what Martin Taylor is about, he is such a nice fella, he hasn’t got a “malicious bone” in his body, these were the words of Birmingham’s Stephen Kelly after his team mate, almost killed Eduardo Da Silva of Arsenal with a studs up challenge.
The tackle broke Eduardo’s leg, foot and ankle from several angles and even the T.V camera’s practiced caution when they were replaying the incident.
Something, that needs to be answered by Martin Taylor himself. Missus Taylor herself described her sweetheart as a “gentle giant” while trying to defend the Birmingham player. Of course she needs to be asked that if a player is aware of the fact that a stud’s
up challenge is a dangerous one that can cause severe injury to the opposing athlete then why would they go with steel studs through the air anyway?
Next on the list is Ben Thatcher of Manchester City fame. Before Arab sheikhs landed in Manchester with all their cash and expenses, Manchester City were living a life of humility. In danger of getting relegated, City were under the management of Stuart
Pearce in August of 2006.
After Ben Thatcher’s elbow knocked Pedro Mendes off the pitch and rendered the Portuguese midfielder unconscious, Pearce defended his defender by saying that, Ben Thatcher is a very good lad off-the-field, who is very protective of his children and wife.
Ben must’ve been aware of the fact that a forceful blow with one’s elbow to anyone’s face or head is bound to result in some sort of trauma or injury. Only one reason can justify this act, maybe Pedro made a nasty joke about Mr. Thatcher’s wife or kids?
Another player, who is a recently media branded criminal, is Karl Henry. Lately, Henry was dismissed during the Wigan versus Wolves matchup for his mischievous tackle on Gomez. However, before the match, Henry’s team mate, Kevin Doyle came out in defense
of his club captain and said that Karl is indeed a very “fair player”. The striker emphasized the fact that Henry is not at all a “dirty player”.
Thankfully, Doyle isn’t an authority on who’s dirty or not as Henry has been sent off twice in his last eleven league matches for Wolverhampton Wanderers. If that wasn’t enough, the midfielder is known to profess his love for putting in a heavy tackle or
two even when kicking it around with his pals in a park.
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