Heading The Ball , Is The End Nigh ?

[A Quiet Monkfish]

I'm going to play Devil's advocate here, because there are a couple of things I'm a bit dubious about.
Firstly, it seems that they are comparing the game of 30, 40 years ago, with the game of today. The old leather footballs, and the muddy pitches of three or four decades ago, are long gone. And...
Secondly, you'd think there would be an awful lot more 'old time' footballers being diagnosed with dementia, after a career spent heading a football. It can't be just the famous names that are affected. Why don't we hear of more? In fact, you'd think there should be hundreds, if not thousands, of ex-players suffering. Maybe there are, and we just don't get to hear about them.

It could be, perhaps, that only certain players are affected. In the same way that some people are prone to cancer, or heart disease.

Since the 1950's there must have been thousands of professional footballers in the football league. Dementia affects one in 14 people over 65 and one in six over 80. That means the number of ex-professionals getting dementia in the past couple of decades would normally be in the thousands - or at least high hundreds, without factoring heading a sodden, heavy leather ball. It's an awful illness, but are old-time footballers who headed the ball a lot more likely to suffer from it ?

[jeepster]

Just think if heading was banned from the begining there would not be Clarks goal Real Madrid no Banks save from Pele football would probably be boring.

[Pedro de la Rosa]

I play 5 a side where you can't head but you can play over head height passes. You can't defend balls over the top. You'll see Vardy etc pulling into a wide channel for raked cross field balls, as the centre back can't head it clear.

[lardy]

I play 5 a side where you can't head but you can play over head height passes. You can't defend balls over the top. You'll see Vardy etc pulling into a wide channel for raked cross field balls, as the centre back can't head it clear.

Chopra would have had 50 goal seasons.

[NYCBlue]

Just think if heading was banned from the begining there would not be Clarks goal Real Madrid no Banks save from Pele football would probably be boring.

No heading outside the penalty area. Would put an end to head tennis in midfield and the majority of defensive headers from kicks out by the goalie. Be interesting to see it tried.