Tackling

[Creampuff 22,630]

If Nani's feet are planted, that scissor action shatters his leg.

[ScottBF2 3,540]

If Nani's feet are planted, that scissor action shatters his leg.

But his feet aren't planted... and the foot doesn't scissor round until the ball is won and Nani is clear of Kompany.

I wonder though if we are now going to see an unprecedented wave of red cards on match days because we sanction "ifs" and "maybes?

[papaguy51 941]

This studs up rule is a lot of bollocks.

I play football pretty regularly, as a centre back, and you need to have one foot open to get as much surface area on the ball, especially in a 50/50.

As someone has said, are you meant to go in with a pointed toe?!

[Creampuff 22,630]

But his feet aren't planted... and the foot doesn't scissor round until the ball is won and Nani is clear of Kompany.

Does he have to have planted feet and a broken leg to make it a bad tackle?

Nani getting out of the way does not make the tackle any cleaner.

[ScottBF2 3,540]

Does he have to have planted feet and a broken leg to make it a bad tackle?

Nani getting out of the way does not make the tackle any cleaner.

But it was a perfectly clean tackle, he took the ball, didn't touch the man and didn't put Nani in danger with his tackle.

[Creampuff 22,630]

But it was a perfectly clean tackle, he took the ball, didn't touch the man and didn't put Nani in danger with his tackle.

Had Nani not been aware enough to jump, the tackle could very well have ended his season.

[ScottBF2 3,540]

Had Nani not been aware enough to jump, the tackle could very well have ended his season.

Had Nani been standing still with a planted foot there could be a case for that but his momentum would have thrown him over Kompany.

[Creampuff 22,630]

Had Nani been standing still with a planted foot there could be a case for that but his momentum would have thrown him over Kompany.

That doesn't mean it couldn't have injured him

[ScottBF2 3,540]

That doesn't mean it couldn't have injured him

There are alot of scenarios we could think up where Nani gets injured and alot where Nani doesn't get injured, the fact is he wasn't injured and Kompany was sent off for winning the ball...

[Scott-RFC 308]

The slide tackle will eventually be a bookable offence

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

the current laws were written by people who should have known better and were put there to make the game a better spectacle for fans and players alike, but they ended up making the game so fucking confusing and technically made the goalkeeper a protected species, along with forwards who are suddenly wearing tackle free deoderant, so as soon as you go near them they drop to the ground as if being hit by a fucking tank.

I have played with (and against ) four Australian Captains...six Australian World Cup final players...Two Scottish internationists, who would all kick fuck out of you as quick as look at you, but when you did it to them, they never moaned or feigned injury, and after the game ended you all went and had a few beers and a good chat about the game..... and they weren't even in the ball park when it came to REALLY tough cunts like Bobby Shearer, Harold Davis, Willie Woodburn, Tiger Shaw, Davie Meiklejohn and many others of their era.

How would the likes of C.Ronaldo and Messi have gone in those days when the ball had a lace on it and weighed about 25 kilos soaking wet.... your boots were like tackety boots with studs hammered into the sole...and there were no sooky fuckers who tried to get players carded and sent of for nothing????

C. Ronaldo wouldn't have lasted five fucking minutes before he got stretchered off crying....Messi????? Not a problem to the wee man at all.

Now would these olden day players cope in the modern day game? I think the majority would struggle unless they changed their tackling habits mighty quickly and upped their fitness because the game is much faster these days with lighter equipment, and fitness and diets are very scientific, not to mention training programmes.

I think the problem Is to many formally attacking players ended up in positions of influence over the game and want to do as much to protect what let's face it makes the game more exciting in terms of watchability.

Having said that I love nothing more than seeing a huge well timed fair crunching tackle it lifts everyone and gets the adrenaline pumping in my opinion.

I also agree with you about players leathering the crap out of each other then being friends after the game was actually an important factor of what was a man's game.

I have a question for you regarding Australian football if you can answer it how does football differ in Australia compared to here we all know that sport there tends to be "rougher" Aussie rules being one example and the physical play that rugby etc is played there I wondered how much roughness is in the game there.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

the current laws were written by people who should have known better and were put there to make the game a better spectacle for fans and players alike, but they ended up making the game so fucking confusing and technically made the goalkeeper a protected species, along with forwards who are suddenly wearing tackle free deoderant, so as soon as you go near them they drop to the ground as if being hit by a fucking tank.

I have played with (and against ) four Australian Captains...six Australian World Cup final players...Two Scottish internationists, who would all kick fuck out of you as quick as look at you, but when you did it to them, they never moaned or feigned injury, and after the game ended you all went and had a few beers and a good chat about the game..... and they weren't even in the ball park when it came to REALLY tough cunts like Bobby Shearer, Harold Davis, Willie Woodburn, Tiger Shaw, Davie Meiklejohn and many others of their era.

How would the likes of C.Ronaldo and Messi have gone in those days when the ball had a lace on it and weighed about 25 kilos soaking wet.... your boots were like tackety boots with studs hammered into the sole...and there were no sooky fuckers who tried to get players carded and sent of for nothing????

C. Ronaldo wouldn't have lasted five fucking minutes before he got stretchered off crying....Messi????? Not a problem to the wee man at all.

Now would these olden day players cope in the modern day game? I think the majority would struggle unless they changed their tackling habits mighty quickly and upped their fitness because the game is much faster these days with lighter equipment, and fitness and diets are very scientific, not to mention training programmes.

I think the problem Is to many formally attacking players ended up in positions of influence over the game and want to do as much to protect what let's face it makes the game more exciting in terms of watchability.

Having said that I love nothing more than seeing a huge well timed fair crunching tackle it lifts everyone and gets the adrenaline pumping in my opinion.

I also agree with you about players leathering the crap out of each other then being friends after the game was actually an important factor of what was a man's game.

I have a question for you regarding Australian football if you can answer it how does football differ in Australia compared to here we all know that sport there tends to be "rougher" Aussie rules being one example and the physical play that rugby etc is it similar to how you grew up watching it or a more European style.

[Ozblue 4,332]

I think the problem Is to many formally attacking players ended up in positions of influence over the game and want to do as much to protect what let's face it makes the game more exciting in terms of watchability.

Having said that I love nothing more than seeing a huge well timed fair crunching tackle it lifts everyone and gets the adrenaline pumping in my opinion.

I also agree with you about players leathering the crap out of each other then being friends after the game was actually an important factor of what was a man's game.

I have a question for you regarding Australian football if you can answer it how does football differ in Australia compared to here we all know that sport there tends to be "rougher" Aussie rules being one example and the physical play that rugby etc is played there I wondered how much roughness is in the game there.

You could be correct about what type of player has influenced the rules lately, mainly Platini I guess. As to your question about the 'rougness' of Australian football, It's obviously played to the rule book more these days in the A-League than it was pre~ A League, because the Australian referee's are more professional than they used to be, but I think it's a lot more rougher than say, the EPL for example.

Even when we were booting fuck out of each other way back in the 60's 70's and 80's here, supporters of other footy codes were calling our game "Poofter footy" because they were so used to blood and guts in Rugby league or AFL (depending on which State you lived) and now they don't even regard football as a "mans game" at all because of all the divers, con artists, and current rules of the game.

[Ozblue 4,332]

I think the problem Is to many formally attacking players ended up in positions of influence over the game and want to do as much to protect what let's face it makes the game more exciting in terms of watchability.

Having said that I love nothing more than seeing a huge well timed fair crunching tackle it lifts everyone and gets the adrenaline pumping in my opinion.

I also agree with you about players leathering the crap out of each other then being friends after the game was actually an important factor of what was a man's game.

I have a question for you regarding Australian football if you can answer it how does football differ in Australia compared to here we all know that sport there tends to be "rougher" Aussie rules being one example and the physical play that rugby etc is it similar to how you grew up watching it or a more European style.

Some teams play a more European style football while others tend to play a more "British" type game, (depending on who coaches them) but I think we will end up more a mixture of European/South American style because of all the different migrants who came from all over the world, rather than mainly British type players and coaches that were the norm when I came here in 1966.

The Australian teams are far more technically minded than teams in the SPL, because we work more on passing/ movement/ technical skills in Australia and New Zealand ( Wellington Phoenix) than they seem to do in Scotland....I know this for a fact because I have seen Rangers training sessions a couple of times and I've seen A-League teams training sessions also, so the difference is very noticeable for me as an ex player and manager.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

Some teams play a more European style football while others tend to play a more "British" type game, (depending on who coaches them) but I think we will end up more a mixture of European/South American style because of all the different migrants who came from all over the world, rather than mainly British type players and coaches that were the norm when I came here in 1966.

The Australian teams are far more technically minded than teams in the SPL, because we work more on passing/ movement/ technical skills in Australia and New Zealand ( Wellington Phoenix) than they seem to do in Scotland....I know this for a fact because I have seen Rangers training sessions a couple of times and I've seen A-League teams training sessions also, so the difference is very noticeable for me as an ex player and manager.

Thanks very much for your post I've always been curious about football over there and the standard of the game as well.

What is the most popular code over there and where does football rank in overall sports ie cricket golf etc.

[Ozblue 4,332]

Thanks very much for your post I've always been curious about football over there and the standard of the game as well.

What is the most popular code over there and where does football rank in overall sports ie cricket golf etc.

It depends on what State you live in, mate! In Victoria and South Australia and Western Australia, it is AFL. In New South Wales and Queensland it is Rugby league. We play our professional football in the Summer months so we don't have to compete with these other footy codes, because most people would go watch these other codes instead of coming to watch the A-League.

About the only football code we are more popular than is Rugby Union...but our attendances are getting better....In fact,our attendances for the majority of clubs put the SPL to shame apart from games at Ibrox or the piggery.

Cricket is widely regarded as our National sport and the Australian captaincy is regarded as a more important job than the prime Minister's, and the crowds are huge at the cricket. I don't think sports such as golf really draw massive crowds unless it's the Australian open, but lots of people play golf on a social level.

Weirdly enough, the biggest participating sport for juniors and amateurs is our code of football, way above all the other football codes combined....One day, our football will be equal to the others as long as we can get television coverage which is holding us back big time here because the major TV companies have a vested interest in these other codes of football.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

It depends on what State you live in, mate! In Victoria and South Australia and Western Australia, it is AFL. In New South Wales and Queensland it is Rugby league. We play our professional football in the Summer months so we don't have to compete with these other footy codes, because most people would go watch these other codes instead of coming to watch the A-League.

About the only football code we are more popular than is Rugby Union...but our attendances are getting better....In fact,our attendances for the majority of clubs put the SPL to shame apart from games at Ibrox or the piggery.

Cricket is widely regarded as our National sport and the Australian captaincy is regarded as a more important job than the prime Minister's, and the crowds are huge at the cricket. I don't think sports such as golf really draw massive crowds unless it's the Australian open, but lots of people play golf on a social level.

Weirdly enough, the biggest participating sport for juniors and amateurs is our code of football, way above all the other football codes combined....One day, our football will be equal to the others as long as we can get television coverage which is holding us back big time here because the major TV companies have a vested interest in these other codes of football.

I didn't realize there was so much difference between states around Australia regarding most popular sports thought the most popular would be the same nationwide.

I did know football wasn't the most popular sport as it is here and in most places around the world in fact but I wondered what the most popular ones were though.

Do the tv companies invest heavily in other sports over there I'm guessing cricket is far and away the most popular though god knows why its so boring .

What's the Rangers support like in the main mate.

Sorry for the questions I'm facinated by Aussie culture though.

[Ozblue 4,332]

I didn't realize there was so much difference between states around Australia regarding most popular sports thought the most popular would be the same nationwide.

I did know football wasn't the most popular sport as it is here and in most places around the world in fact but I wondered what the most popular ones were though.

Do the tv companies invest heavily in other sports over there I'm guessing cricket is far and away the most popular though god knows why its so boring .

What's the Rangers support like in the main mate.

Sorry for the questions I'm facinated by Aussie culture though.

Oh there's a MASSIVE difference between States to what is the main sport of football. Cricket is definitely THE national sport though, although obviously not the most attended due to smaller stadiums (apart from the MCG in Melbourne)

The TV companies and the print media invest BILLIONS of dollars into AFL (channel 7) and Rugby league (channel 9) + News limited (print media) ans we only see the A-League on cable /satellite pay TV....AND we never get any coverage or news stories about our football on the commercial channels....and any print media coverage we get is begrudged.

We have a lot of Rangers supporters clubs in Australia, but our club falls down massively with merchandise awareness and exposure in the main, where as the scum shirts you see EVERYWHERE. in sports shops. We as a club had a great opportunity to make inroads when we signed Matty Mckay, but we have fucked it up and possibly have lost potential fans because of it.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

Oh there's a MASSIVE difference between States to what is the main sport of football. Cricket is definitely THE national sport though, although obviously not the most attended due to smaller stadiums (apart from the MCG in Melbourne)

The TV companies and the print media invest BILLIONS of dollars into AFL (channel 7) and Rugby league (channel 9) + News limited (print media) ans we only see the A-League on cable /satellite pay TV....AND we never get any coverage or news stories about our football on the commercial channels....and any print media coverage we get is begrudged.

We have a lot of Rangers supporters clubs in Australia, but our club falls down massively with merchandise awareness and exposure in the main, where as the scum shirts you see EVERYWHERE. in sports shops. We as a club had a great opportunity to make inroads when we signed Matty Mckay, but we have fucked it up and possibly have lost potential fans because of it.

How many tv channels is there on free to air tv down there and football seems to suffer a bit from other companies paying for coverage on the telly. It seems like it would be similar to a new sport starting up and trying to get publicity in the UK or likes of curling etc.

The marketing potential of Mckay should have been exploute

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

Oh there's a MASSIVE difference between States to what is the main sport of football. Cricket is definitely THE national sport though, although obviously not the most attended due to smaller stadiums (apart from the MCG in Melbourne)

The TV companies and the print media invest BILLIONS of dollars into AFL (channel 7) and Rugby league (channel 9) + News limited (print media) ans we only see the A-League on cable /satellite pay TV....AND we never get any coverage or news stories about our football on the commercial channels....and any print media coverage we get is begrudged.

We have a lot of Rangers supporters clubs in Australia, but our club falls down massively with merchandise awareness and exposure in the main, where as the scum shirts you see EVERYWHERE. in sports shops. We as a club had a great opportunity to make inroads when we signed Matty Mckay, but we have fucked it up and possibly have lost potential fans because of it.

How many tv channels is there on free to air tv down there and football seems to suffer a bit from other companies paying for coverage on the telly. It seems like it would be similar to a new sport starting up and trying to get publicity in the UK or likes of curling etc.

The marketing potential of Mckay should have been exploited a lot better than it was but that oppertunity seems to be past now though maybe it has lost us fans but we could get them back through other means surely.

Is the Rangers support over there mainly ex-pats or is there a large native population of Bears.

[Ozblue 4,332]

How many tv channels is there on free to air tv down there and football seems to suffer a bit from other companies paying for coverage on the telly. It seems like it would be similar to a new sport starting up and trying to get publicity in the UK or likes of curling etc.

The marketing potential of Mckay should have been exploited a lot better than it was but that oppertunity seems to be past now though maybe it has lost us fans but we could get them back through other means surely.

Is the Rangers support over there mainly ex-pats or is there a large native population of Bears.

There are basically four commercial channels + the ABC and SBS (Special Broadcasting Service), which are Government funded stations with no adverts. SBS is known as the "Wog channel" because it has a lot of shows from overseas and presenters from foreign backgrounds....We actually see the World Cup on this channel and it has football shows, but the pay TV (Fox sports / Setanta / ESPN) are the ones you need if you are serious about watching football from around the world. I have them all so I can watch football 24/7 if I feel like it.

As I said previously, the two commercial TV stations and News Ltd. have a vested interest in ensuring AFL and Rugby League get MASSIVE exposure non stop and remain in the public eye, while not giving a toss about football.The only time we get ANYTHING in the mainstream media is when the World Cup comes around and Australia qualifies....Then every fucking man and his dog becomes an expert on the game,even although they couldn't tell you a Harry Kewell from a Rio Ferdinand.

The problem here is that football has always been perceived as a game that immigrants played and was called "Wog ball" from post WWII times, mainly because ALL clubs had names that mirrored their ethnicity, for example; Pan Hellenic / Sydney Olympic etc which were Greek based.....St. George Budapest ( Hungarian) Colo-Colo ( Chile) Polonia (Polish) Hakoah (Jewish) Marconi (Italian) etc.....

It wasn't until all these ethnically named clubs were told to change their names to something more Australianised and the A-League was put into motion that we started moving onwards to something resembling acceptance from the non-footballing public.

As to your question about gaining / losing supporters, we have a massive untapped market here that the club doesn't take advantage of unfortunately, because although the EPL merchandise is King by a long way, there is still an opening for us by signing Aussies. It was amazing the amount of people from different ethnic backgrounds who started "supporting" Rangers when we had Moore, Vidmar and Muscat on our books, and it was very evident when Rangers played in Sydney and you could hear all these different accents from people wearing Rangers colours.

Which of course leads me to your final question....Mainly our fan base are ex-pats or their descendants, but when we sign an Australian, we definitely get more interest from non-Scots ancestry Aussies. It's the same when I wear Rangers shirts when I go out anywhere, because I've lost count of the amount of times I've been stopped in the street by people who want to know what club is it from, and where did I buy it?...OR I get "LOVE the shirt, mate! as they pass.

[sco22y 287]

i felt sorry for yakubu's 1st red card since he came to england today.he looked absolutely gutted. yes it was a high boot but not near as bad as that c*nt craig today on jelavic. good on blackburn on going on and winning.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,700]

There are basically four commercial channels + the ABC and SBS (Special Broadcasting Service), which are Government funded stations with no adverts. SBS is known as the "Wog channel" because it has a lot of shows from overseas and presenters from foreign backgrounds....We actually see the World Cup on this channel and it has football shows, but the pay TV (Fox sports / Setanta / ESPN) are the ones you need if you are serious about watching football from around the world. I have them all so I can watch football 24/7 if I feel like it.

As I said previously, the two commercial TV stations and News Ltd. have a vested interest in ensuring AFL and Rugby League get MASSIVE exposure non stop and remain in the public eye, while not giving a toss about football.The only time we get ANYTHING in the mainstream media is when the World Cup comes around and Australia qualifies....Then every fucking man and his dog becomes an expert on the game,even although they couldn't tell you a Harry Kewell from a Rio Ferdinand.

The problem here is that football has always been perceived as a game that immigrants played and was called "Wog ball" from post WWII times, mainly because ALL clubs had names that mirrored their ethnicity, for example; Pan Hellenic / Sydney Olympic etc which were Greek based.....St. George Budapest ( Hungarian) Colo-Colo ( Chile) Polonia (Polish) Hakoah (Jewish) Marconi (Italian) etc.....

It wasn't until all these ethnically named clubs were told to change their names to something more Australianised and the A-League was put into motion that we started moving onwards to something resembling acceptance from the non-footballing public.

As to your question about gaining / losing supporters, we have a massive untapped market here that the club doesn't take advantage of unfortunately, because although the EPL merchandise is King by a long way, there is still an opening for us by signing Aussies. It was amazing the amount of people from different ethnic backgrounds who started "supporting" Rangers when we had Moore, Vidmar and Muscat on our books, and it was very evident when Rangers played in Sydney and you could hear all these different accents from people wearing Rangers colours.

Which of course leads me to your final question....Mainly our fan base are ex-pats or their descendants, but when we sign an Australian, we definitely get more interest from non-Scots ancestry Aussies. It's the same when I wear Rangers shirts when I go out anywhere, because I've lost count of the amount of times I've been stopped in the street by people who want to know what club is it from, and where did I buy it?...OR I get "LOVE the shirt, mate! as they pass.

Thanks for the detailed reply sorry I didn't get back quicker was working but from what I can gather with regards to the situation its similar to here but with football dominating rather than AFL or cricket but in reverse.

It seems like in the early days of football there that it was a fairly racist sport with every group of immegrant supporting there own "kind" in a way.

You get the people who pay football no attension whatsoever for four years who become an expert on the game come world cup time It's so annoying because it takes time away from genuine football men such as your good self me and others who love the sport above all and when its the showcase of the game people who don't follow it should get off the bandwagon.

Regarding the untapped market in Australia you could say that with any country with ex pats living there the USA Canada perhaps even South America or Africa as well because as you said people only started to like us when there was a few Aussies playing with us that would most likely happen with whatever country we bought players from.

I think we see that with the " Team America" situation we have just now we have increased awareness about our club over in the States now but it would be amazing to work out how to gain maximum fan support everywhere. Down Under being a main starting point for this because we have a good loyal base already there in place.

It's a wonderful feeling when you get someone praise you for your shirt like that because you realise how massive and important to people worldwide we actually are.

[Jimfanciesthedude 25,550]

here is the fifa rules about serious foul play

"Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

now someone define to me what is excessive force,

everyone is saying that had nani's leg been planted or had he arrived a second earlier his season could have been over, well his leg wasnt and he didnt arrive earlier

if ref's are to use this excessive force shite, then how long will it be before a standing 50/50 tackle is given as a red card, think of two committed players going in for a solid 50/50 at full pace, someones ankle could quite clearly be broken simply because he lost the 50/50, will that be a red card?

and with this excessive force ruling, it means that every single ref will have a different view on a foul, and thats where the problem is

kompany was sent off in that game, yet anyone watching the west brom v norwich game yesterday will easily admit that the norwich defender that gave away the penalty is lucky to stay on the park

its the same as the "denying a goalscoring opportuinty" rule, there is no clear definition there, one ref may feel that a certain situation is a goalscoring opportunity while another ref may feel it isnt

the man united penalty yesterday was a clear goalscoring opportunity yet zat knight stays on the park

[Ozblue 4,332]

Thanks for the detailed reply sorry I didn't get back quicker was working but from what I can gather with regards to the situation its similar to here but with football dominating rather than AFL or cricket but in reverse.

It seems like in the early days of football there that it was a fairly racist sport with every group of immegrant supporting there own "kind" in a way.

You get the people who pay football no attension whatsoever for four years who become an expert on the game come world cup time It's so annoying because it takes time away from genuine football men such as your good self me and others who love the sport above all and when its the showcase of the game people who don't follow it should get off the bandwagon.

Regarding the untapped market in Australia you could say that with any country with ex pats living there the USA Canada perhaps even South America or Africa as well because as you said people only started to like us when there was a few Aussies playing with us that would most likely happen with whatever country we bought players from.

I think we see that with the " Team America" situation we have just now we have increased awareness about our club over in the States now but it would be amazing to work out how to gain maximum fan support everywhere. Down Under being a main starting point for this because we have a good loyal base already there in place.

It's a wonderful feeling when you get someone praise you for your shirt like that because you realise how massive and important to people worldwide we actually are.

You have sort of summed it up quite nicely there, mate!

As a player and manager, football has been my whole life, and as a supporter,Rangers has been my whole life ever since I walked into that old stadium (probably carried) all those years ago in 1953-54...and it will remain so until the day I leave this planet.