bad tackle,seen worse-who cares not the point,lets change the way we tackle!!!!

[Smithy]

In the wake of the Eduardo injury, Arsenal have been described as self-righteous by one paper, Wenger has been described as idiotic by Sebastian Larsson (in an incredibly disrespectful outburst) and so on.

During that time, Martin Taylor has been described as a gentleman footballer who is "not that sort of guy" and Eduardo has been lying in his hospital bed wondering if he will ever be back again fully as a player to pursue his dream.

Once again, football has let itself down by focusing on the wrong thing.

"Martin Taylor did not mean it". I am not sure he didn't but that is not the point and it should not be made the point.

"I have seen many worse two footed challenges that only got a yellow because nobody got injured" so people keep saying. I'm sure that is also true but it is also not relevant.

The point that should have been impressed on every footballer after the hideousness of Eduardo's injury is that the force that footballers carry into tackles have the capability to do the kind of damage that has been done to Eduardo. The fact that it doesn't happen often should not lead players to become complacent and endanger each others' careers.

In the Premiership players tackle in the most silly ways. An Italian or Spanish opponent will stay up and try to pull your shirt or push you off the ball. It is called a professional foul, it is not nice but it is far less dangerous than a Premiership style lunge on the ground which has the potential to cause injury and is erroneously called commitment.

This is the league of broken metatarsals and broken bones. It is not hard to see why. In a situation like this where commentators and fellow footballers should be pointing out to each other just how little force it can take to shatter bones, they are instead pointing out that harder tackles have led to no injury. What short-sightedness!

The arguments we have heard this week about Martin Taylor not being that kind of guy and the fact that there are worse tackles that lead to nothing are similar to ones you hear from the guy who says he was so unlucky to catch an STD from a shy Christian girl that he only slept with once unprotected given that he had slept with much more risky women many times unprotected and never caught anything. Would you not think the guy was stupid for saying that?

Everyday in the Premiership there are numerous tackles that are enough to break four bones let alone the two that Eduardo broke. Apparently, that is allowed to continue because nobody's legs are actually broken. Players defend their team mates and the press calls anyone who complains too much "self-righteous", the FA waits to see the public reaction (as always) and punishes based on public reaction rather than by what vision it wants to foster.

In Italy and Spain, players pull each other off the floor when they foul them. They keep a good spirit in competition which says "we are in each other's hands when we are on the pitch". Footballers forget that they only have each other on the pitch.

They have their career in each others hands and they have to rely on each other to protect their careers and livelihoods. Their managers and fans who scream "commitment" and clap dangerous behaviour will not be able to help them if they cannot play anymore.

After the Eduardo incident, we should all be talking about encouraging players to think of how little it takes to cause serious damage that they sometimes they should consider that no danger posed on the pitch by an attacking situation is ever going to be worse than putting out a fellow professional for 9 months with a question mark over whether he will be able to play again.

It's a shame that football (players, fans, managers, journalists and the FA) have not stood back to think of what really matters here.

What matters is making sure that those who dream to play football and who entertain us with their passion and gifts don't have their careers destroyed unnecessarily.

[Deano11]

can we not keep the topics sharp and snappy i went to sleep on this one after first paragraph

[Guest crosser]

smithy first off surely the three topics you started in five minutes could be covered by one???

Why don't you just let it drop eduardo himself has said these things happen in football edurados teammate bendtner who played with taylor has said taylor tackle not malicious

so if the guy who's career is at risk can move on, a guy who has played with both players says its not malicious lets move on even slaven bilic is not blaming taylor.

So don't you think you should move on or am I asking to much???

[Coopsie]

Eduardo has been lying in his hospital bed wondering if he will ever be back again fully as a player to pursue his dream.

NO HE HASN'T. He was operated on two days ago and told that he WILL be back and ready to play in 9 months time.He will be in plaster for 6 to 8 weeks, just like any normal break or fracture. He will then instantly begin his rehabilitation and start running properly/at full pace in around 6 months, if not even sooner because of his age and recovery powers. He is over the moon with the news, as are the surgeons and medical staff at Arsenal. His international manager "Slaven Bilic" has been on SkySports News giving interviews as to how the injury was not as bad as first feared and it turns out that it was 1 bone and an open dislocation and although it is a severe injury, full recovery is pretty much a sure thing.

iamthebest and crosser are spot on,people have had their say already and I think it's pretty certain that as much as you try, you are going to get no further reaction on this subject. YES the tackle could have been better, YES it is a shocking injury BUT it comes from nothing more than an awful slice of luck and everything bad that could happen in a tackle did happen.

As crosser said, if the guy who has suffered this horrific injury can accept it for all it was "A nasty accident", and move on. Why the heck can't you?. I doubt you'd be even half as vocal on the subject if it was another player from another club?. You're nothing more than an upset supporter who is gutted that a good little player has been taken out of his club for a few long months.

Look on the bright side, he should be ready to play again around christmas time, the January transfer window opens just after christmas, so Eduardo coming back will be like a new signing. If all else fails, you could always have Darren Bent on loan until Eduardo returns.