Heading in Football

[magic8ball 27,901]

There’s been a drip drip effect over the last few years about the link between heading the ball and Alzheimer's .
 

Recently there are more and more football people commenting on the subject .Most recently David Moyes .

Does anybody think that they will do the unthinkable and actually ban heading in football .With recent claims going into the RFU for head trauma during training maybe football will take proactive steps to stop or reduce future similar claims .

For me taking heading out the game changes the dynamic of the game probably more than any other single element they could change .Defending and even corners would be totally different without heading .Enough to almost make it a totally different game altogether .

I remember back in the day playing 5 aside and the rule there was the ball wasn’t allowed to go above head height but due to the much smaller playing area so corners and free kicks were completely different anyway .

[stevemac 5,009]

1 hour ago, magic8ball said:

There’s been a drip drip effect over the last few years about the link between heading the ball and Alzheimer's .
 

Recently there are more and more football people commenting on the subject .Most recently David Moyes .

Does anybody think that they will do the unthinkable and actually ban heading in football .With recent claims going into the RFU for head trauma during training maybe football will take proactive steps to stop or reduce future similar claims .

For me taking heading out the game changes the dynamic of the game probably more than any other single element they could change .Defending and even corners would be totally different without heading .Enough to almost make it a totally different game altogether .

I remember back in the day playing 5 aside and the rule there was the ball wasn’t allowed to go above head height but due to the much smaller playing area so corners and free kicks were completely different anyway .

No. They won't ban boxing, ufc, or any other physical contact sport. Look at the whole concussion / brain injury scandal in American football, hasn't changed a thing.

I absolutely agree with concussion substitutions though, I think there are safety measures they could put in place but its an occupational hazard at the end of the day, just like other athletes in other sports face.

[mitre_mouldmaster 21,509]

The links are becoming pretty damning, so i think that we will see a gradual change away from heading.

It wont be overnight. It has already started by reducing it in youth football, and I think there will then be restrictions to remove it from training, then eventually it will be stopped alltogether.

To be honest, it might actually be a good thing. It will force the ball to be played on the deck and less of the 'ground is lava' approach that we have in Scotland.

[don logan 8,075]

There may be something in it. But everytime an ex football player gets Alzheimer's, it doesn't necessarily mean it was caused by heading the ball. This is the current narrative though. Jackie Charlton's Alzheimer's has been linked to heading by many. However his brother Bobby has also developed it. I haven't seen much of them playing but Jack was a defender and headed the ball more than Bobby, who was a midfielder. So that looks more likely to be hereditary.

[pollok-bear 7,537]

There may be something in it but heading the ball is part of the game.  Would be very hard to take it out the game.

[berkshirebear 2,771]

On 04/02/2021 at 15:37, mitre_mouldmaster said:

The links are becoming pretty damning, so i think that we will see a gradual change away from heading.

It wont be overnight. It has already started by reducing it in youth football, and I think there will then be restrictions to remove it from training, then eventually it will be stopped alltogether.

To be honest, it might actually be a good thing. It will force the ball to be played on the deck and less of the 'ground is lava' approach that we have in Scotland.

Football without heading would be shite. 

[Domthenbud 899]

Heading in the sixties was like battering your head on a wall, on a wet day, and we have loads of them in Scotland. Heading a ball now is so much easier and softer due to technology but then I,m only playing footie with my grandson. I think progress has come by normal means and hopefully helps, maybe eliminates, the problem. Time will tell. If not there must be plenty of head gear can be used in the event of you having to head a ball without affecting your natural skills.

[Terry Hurlock Loyal 12,133]

Wear Peter Cech helmets.

[hammer93 15,057]

Big calamity Shane has already taken steps to stop heading the ball

[Johnstone Burgh 1,642]

On 05/02/2021 at 19:06, Domthenbud said:

Heading in the sixties was like battering your head on a wall, on a wet day, and we have loads of them in Scotland. Heading a ball now is so much easier and softer due to technology but then I,m only playing footie with my grandson. I think progress has come by normal means and hopefully helps, maybe eliminates, the problem. Time will tell. If not there must be plenty of head gear can be used in the event of you having to head a ball without affecting your natural skills.

Not true. 
 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jul/22/footballers-could-be-at-greater-risk-from-head-injury-says-study

[Domthenbud 899]

18 minutes ago, Johnstone Burgh said:

Not true. 
 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jul/22/footballers-could-be-at-greater-risk-from-head-injury-says-study

Big statement to say not true. However I understand why you would say it after you had read someone else’s opinion. Strikes me that it is a combination of ball velocity and mass of the ball which would create the biggest problem combined again again with repetiveness. Hope that’s spelled correctly. So it would appear there is another opinion, and I must admit it opened my thought process a bit, and this is to be welcomed. Again, however, I don’t think I would dismiss the original theory just as easily as you appear to have done. Not unless the Guardian are the “go to” authority in heading footie.

[Creampuff 22,628]

10 hours ago, Domthenbud said:

Big statement to say not true. However I understand why you would say it after you had read someone else’s opinion. Strikes me that it is a combination of ball velocity and mass of the ball which would create the biggest problem combined again again with repetiveness. Hope that’s spelled correctly. So it would appear there is another opinion, and I must admit it opened my thought process a bit, and this is to be welcomed. Again, however, I don’t think I would dismiss the original theory just as easily as you appear to have done. Not unless the Guardian are the “go to” authority in heading footie.

The Guardian might not be the authority in heading footballs, but the consultant neuropathologist leading the study into the impact heading has on the brain (which the guardian article is quoting) probably is 

[Domthenbud 899]

4 hours ago, Creampuff said:

The Guardian might not be the authority in heading footballs, but the consultant neuropathologist leading the study into the impact heading has on the brain (which the guardian article is quoting) probably is 

I have absolutely no doubt about that. However my main point was that there is another opinion and that is very healthy in reaching some sort of definitive answer to the problem. A problem which must be solved. I admit to being a bit flippant.

[G.E.C. 18,818]

Always been curious to see what it’d be like heading a medicine ball.

[TheFamousPigeon 9,352]

Didn't we have a 20 pager on this before  

[ayrshireranger 8,153]

No way Sir Bobby got his from heading. 

[Mr Soprano 13,964]

If the links prove to be true, then heading should be removed from the game.

[AlCapone 7,678]

Who used to play headers as kids? I used to play it all the time. Won’t be long to I change my user name to Al Zeimer. Who used to play headers as kids?

[Willis 20,919]

On 03/02/2021 at 21:07, stevemac said:

No. They won't ban boxing, ufc, or any other physical contact sport. Look at the whole concussion / brain injury scandal in American football, hasn't changed a thing.

It has tho, there's been a significant drop in the amount of parents allowing their kids to play American football, I know a high school football coach who says they barely get enough players to make a team now because parents are scared of them getting head injuries

I've read that if 20% of the kids who play American football stopped playing then the NFL would likely collapse within the next 10 years but don't know how true that is. But it's certainly having its effect.

That said the damage done from heading a football is probably a lot less than the damage caused by a 350 pound linebacker going full force into your head 10 times every game.

The Will Smith movie Concussion is about this, not a great film but its alright

There are loads of former pro footballers in the states who can't even tie their own laces due to brain damage so I reckon something serious will happen eventually to stop it from happening as often

[stevemac 5,009]

22 hours ago, AlCapone said:

Who used to play headers as kids? I used to play it all the time. Won’t be long to I change my user name to Al Zeimer. Who used to play headers as kids?

What's your username again?

[AlCapone 7,678]

1 hour ago, stevemac said:

What's your username again?

Not sure 

[magic8ball 27,901]

14 minutes ago, AlCapone said:

Not sure 

Just aswell it’s written down 😂

As for the heading ,I grew up in whats now regarded as the west end ,wasn’t then but is now ,moved out the city when I was 10 ,First play time I couldn’t wait to play fitbaw and see what the rest of the class was like .

They couldn’t believe me getting stuck in and heading the ball ,none of them had ever even tried to head the ball ,soon became the norm after that ,