General Phasing out Heading

yellowbow

yellowbow

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Apologies if Ive missed it but this is a subject that I would have thought would be getting a bit more airtime on these boards. There seems to be a growing noise about the subject and now Terry Butcher has come out this morning to throw his weight behind the banning of heading in the game. He says something along the lines of ‘people just want to see good football, tackling has changed a lot in the last few years and heading is also unnecessary’

I just wondered what other peoples views on the subject are? I know there is a risk and more needs to be learned about reducing the long term risk but, for me personally, if heading was taken out of the game Id probably stop watching. To ban heading, a rule of below shoulder height would need to be introduced. Would a full size pitch then really be necessary, or 11 players a side even? Its not too far a stretch from reality and then, low and behold, we’ll be watching 5 or 6 a side football. Not something Id particularly want to spend the same amount to watch as we do for the present format. Also, would big, physical players be necessary? Anyone who isnt quick with a low centre of gravity would become obsolete and may as well forget it.

Once football has been made completely risk free what would be next? Rugby and boxing wouldnt have much of an argument to carry on as they are now for starters.

I dont mean to be insensitive, I along with too many others, have had family members struck down with dementia. Its an awful, heartbreaking disease, but the potential ramifications of such a huge change to the game we love would be immeasurable and possibly terminal.
 
Think I’ll just await the results of on-going research but as you say the ramifications could be a total change for many sports.
 
yellowbow said:
Apologies if Ive missed it but this is a subject that I would have thought would be getting a bit more airtime on these boards. There seems to be a growing noise about the subject and now Terry Butcher has come out this morning to throw his weight behind the banning of heading in the game. He says something along the lines of ‘people just want to see good football, tackling has changed a lot in the last few years and heading is also unnecessary’

I just wondered what other peoples views on the subject are? I know there is a risk and more needs to be learned about reducing the long term risk but, for me personally, if heading was taken out of the game Id probably stop watching. To ban heading, a rule of below shoulder height would need to be introduced. Would a full size pitch then really be necessary, or 11 players a side even? Its not too far a stretch from reality and then, low and behold, we’ll be watching 5 or 6 a side football. Not something Id particularly want to spend the same amount to watch as we do for the present format. Also, would big, physical players be necessary? Anyone who isnt quick with a low centre of gravity would become obsolete and may as well forget it.

Once football has been made completely risk free what would be next? Rugby and boxing wouldnt have much of an argument to carry on as they are now for starters.

I dont mean to be insensitive, I along with too many others, have had family members struck down with dementia. Its an awful, heartbreaking disease, but the potential ramifications of such a huge change to the game we love would be immeasurable and possibly terminal.
Click to expand...
*facetious reply* bring it on, it would advantage nippy teams like ours and disadvantage big cloggers like Wycombe!
 
Off the top of my head, so to speak. The heavy leather water sodden footballs of the 60s and so on are different to modern footballs.

Though as I’ve never played football since about 13 I’ve never had heading of either heavy or lightweight footballs.
 
The modern ball may be lighter, but the velocity is much greater.
 
It would take a long time to get used to that change, but I could live with it.

Others sports need to make their own decisions.

We can bemoan it all we like but footballers are humans like the rest of us and shouldn’t have to risk dementia for our entertainment, no matter how much they’re paid.
 
Every time my dad can’t remember what he’s doing or where he’s going, can’t speak a sentence without tripping over his words to the point that he just gives up, or sits staring at the TV remote like it’s some sort of alien artefact that he hasn’t got the first clue how to use, I’m completely fine with the idea of watching a game where nobody heads the ball.

The balls are certainly nowhere near what they were in terms of weight, so perhaps the worst damage has been done. Modern footballs move a lot quicker but they’re largely like bags of air, certainly by comparison, although it would be interesting to see some comprehensive data. Especially when it comes to getting a head on goal kicks / up and unders, as well as corners and free kicks that are whipped at pace. Maybe the force is still much higher than people would think despite feeling light to the touch. Plus I guess it would also greatly reduce collisions such as the one that nearly killed Raul Jimenez last year.

Let’s have a referendum.
 
I forewarned a few years ago on these boards that this was coming, if not from the health point of view from the insurance/h&s pov.

I was roundly booed off the stage by the usual "it's part of the game" arguments but it is being more universally accepted nkw that this is inevitable.
 
The surprising truth is that the weight of the ball has not changed through the years.

The dry weight at least. What has changed is the ability of the ball to resist absorbing moisture and other debris this getting heavier.
 
I'm not sure you can ban heading in football without inevitably banning the majority of rugby and all boxing/fighting sports.
 
I wonder if some sort of headwear, similar to that worn by Jiminez could be introduced? Although Jiminez did discard it in frustration towards the end of a game recently. It would take some getting used to but with todays technology needn’t be too much of a hindrance to the players.
 
yellowbow said:
Apologies if Ive missed it but this is a subject that I would have thought would be getting a bit more airtime on these boards. There seems to be a growing noise about the subject and now Terry Butcher has come out this morning to throw his weight behind the banning of heading in the game. He says something along the lines of ‘people just want to see good football, tackling has changed a lot in the last few years and heading is also unnecessary’

I just wondered what other peoples views on the subject are? I know there is a risk and more needs to be learned about reducing the long term risk but, for me personally, if heading was taken out of the game Id probably stop watching. To ban heading, a rule of below shoulder height would need to be introduced. Would a full size pitch then really be necessary, or 11 players a side even? Its not too far a stretch from reality and then, low and behold, we’ll be watching 5 or 6 a side football. Not something Id particularly want to spend the same amount to watch as we do for the present format. Also, would big, physical players be necessary? Anyone who isnt quick with a low centre of gravity would become obsolete and may as well forget it.

Once football has been made completely risk free what would be next? Rugby and boxing wouldnt have much of an argument to carry on as they are now for starters.

I dont mean to be insensitive, I along with too many others, have had family members struck down with dementia. Its an awful, heartbreaking disease, but the potential ramifications of such a huge change to the game we love would be immeasurable and possibly terminal.
Click to expand...

I guess what would hold things up would be that the changes would need to be global.

FIFA and UEFA (among surely others) won't give up their competitions, and our clubs, and the FA won't pull out of them.
 
Headwear isn`t very effective at protecting the wearer against the ball impact.
It does help in "head to head" collisions.
The answer lies in the relative stiffness of the objects involved in the ball head collision. In simple terms, the human head is stiffer than the ball. Therefore on impact, the ball deforms more than the head and the energy continues into the head bypassing the protective layer.

Enjoy: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/39/suppl_1/i40
 
Essexyellows said:
Headwear isn`t very effective at protecting the wearer against the ball impact.
It does help in "head to head" collisions.
The answer lies in the relative stiffness of the objects involved in the ball head collision. In simple terms, the human head is stiffer than the ball. Therefore on impact, the ball deforms more than the head and the energy continues into the head bypassing the protective layer.

Enjoy: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/39/suppl_1/i40
Click to expand...
Also it is the force on the brain that causes problems. Headwear or not, that force still needs to be applied to accelerate the ball away from your head.
 
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