Who are these people campaigning to change the rules of how our beautiful game is played so that no longer will players be allowed to head the ball to avoid Alzheimer's in later life? They can only point to Jeff Astle England and WBA player and Chris Sutton's dad apparently. When will political correctness not butt out of our lives and let us get on with it. In Hampshire I hear Animal Revolution are harrassing the old (and young)boys who like to go fishing, because it cruel to fish. Well I played football for many years and although some on this site say I am half balmy I don't think its affected me at all. Oh, I eat fish being Danish and wear a full length leather coat - presumably the cow was alreay dead when the made it so get over it you snowflakes. This country was built on brave people like the miners who went into the very bowels of the earth in search of black gold. When will these people learn some respect.
Replies
Oh my god. The bloody snowflake patrol. So sick of you old men complaining the whole time. Please accept our generations collective apology for being born in a different era to you, an era with better technology and health and safety standards. For the record I would like to keep heading in the game and doubt it will be removed but please stop blaming younger people for everything you disagree with. It’s boring. In fact it’s probably scientists your age finding links between brain conditions and heading anyway.
posted by David (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 12:02 PM
Never let it be said that this site is for comments about FFC only. Enjoy reading letters on different subjects - keep it up lads !
posted by Dave (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 12:44 PM
Wonder if this is the same Rich of Cambridge who posted a totally idiotic rant about Emilio Sana a few days ago. What is wrong with these people who detect weakness and "Snowflakes" in every attempt to make the world better. He probably thinks seat belts in cars and helmets for motorcyclists are a sell out to a "gay, left conspiracy". Sadly too many of these idiots who are unable to adapt to the modern world feel obliged to drag us back to the good old days when open coal fires were the greatest cause of death but to campaign for clean air would probably cause you to be called a snowflake. All these morons who complain about health and safety should be excluded from the NHS as they seem to prefer sickness and danger. Let's go back to the days of heading heavy leather balls, head high tackles in rugby, regular deaths in motor racing, when men were men and felt entitled to beat the crap out of anyone they didn't like.
posted by Fair Player (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 12:48 PM
Totally with you there Fair player. What is "politically correct" about trying to eliminate serious injury and life long disability from an activity that is only meant to be a bit of fun. What is wrong with people who try to prevent cruelty to animals? Without them we would still have bear baiting, cock fighting etc. by the way the same brave miners who went down the mines only did it because there was no other employment available and I wonder if they complained about the men who campaigned for pit safety, and called them snowflakes for wanting better hours and conditions and life expectancy. The world is getting better and you can't keep up. Deal with that and leave the rest of us alone you sad old git
posted by Old Bloke (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 1:01 PM
Fair play, fair player
posted by A Snowflake (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 1:09 PM
Sure we would all agree that Political correctness in most cases makes sense. It's when they decide that all sport especially football and rugby must have females to be included in the list of pundits, and of course it " must" be correct to no longer be able to call it a blackboard - no now it's a chalking board the list is endless, And as for the Elf n safety brigade its no conkers for you lads and now the poor little sods can only touch hands when playing tag in the playground !
posted by Dave (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 1:36 PM
Most excessive "Elfen Safety" is driven by a fear of being sued in this evermore litigious society, not by a bunch of well meaning interfering snowflakes
posted by Old Bloke (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 1:58 PM
Being a "snowflake" is not a generational thing; it's a limp-wristed affectation that affects the mentally incontinent of all ages. What is strange however is how Old Bloke and Fair Play turn up at the same time.
posted by The Arizonan - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 3:23 PM
So if your definition is correct, how does trying to improve conditions and avoid long term damage and mental illness qualify you as limp wristed and mentally incontinent?
posted by Old Bloke (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 4:02 PM
Make people aware of the dangers inherent in all walks of life by all means, but don't legislate against their free will to choose their own path through the acceptance of risk. The nanny state has gone way too far in dictating what's best for the plebian hordes and then insisting that we conform to their sanctimonious way of thinking.
posted by The Arizonan - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 4:16 PM
You assume that most people know what's best for themselves when the evidence clearly shows they don't. There's a fine line to be drawn between individual freedoms and and protecting people from themselves. I agree it can sometimes seems a bit overindulgemt but if you look back at the opposition to safety measures introduced ages ago and try to imagine life without them now you'll see that the "nanny state" is more often than not shown to be have been right
posted by Old bloke (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 4:30 PM
Shown to be right or not, it's still a dictatorial philosophy that brooks no dissent, a very "cultish" trait. The ever intruding cult of Health & Safety is driven by those who are invariably risk averse in their own lives and wish to impose their superior judgement on all others. Advise and educate by all means, but refrain from imposition of often flawed concepts on those who choose to educate themselves and think accordingly.
posted by The Arizonan - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 4:44 PM
Another subject we touched on was fireworks - now that the firework season seems to be over till next year,read a letter from a Bosnia war veteran who found rhe loud ( very loud) explosions bought back bad memories for him and wondered if the very loud fireworks should be available from shops,in the old days November 5th was the only night you heard them, now pet owners have to endure weeks of noise which affects their animals. So the question is should people be able to get their hands on them or are they snow flakes and just have learn to live with it?
posted by Dave (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 6:14 PM
I can as an old geezer see both sides of this, we don’t want anyone to suffer with injuries in any sport, football however is a contact sport and some players made a decent career by being good in the air. I must say though the risks now have been drastically reduced by the game itself. Today’s style is not to allow the keepers to lump it up the pitch for the centre forward to flick it on with his head, this means the centre halves have less heading to do. Corners and free kicks are usually played short, unless it’s in the last five or ten minutes and teams are trying to win and throw everyone up the park.
Footballers knew what they were signing up for, it’s a physical game. It is part and parcel of the game. Over the years the safety of footballers has been improved a lot, lighter footballs, lighter boots, better surfaces, superior medical staff at clubs (no more muddy water and a rotten magic sponge if you got a knock), better diets, better training and fantastic rewards.
Anything that can be done to keep people, in any walk of life safe is fantastic and should be applauded, however, it must be done with everyone in mind. As a fully paid up member of the old gits gang I can remember looking forward to watching centre forwards who excelled in the air, most teams had one, they also had a tough bloke at the back. Health and safety will keep improving but it will be done over a period of time. Let’s just hope it’ doesn’t affect the the game too much.
posted by Gaz (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 6:34 PM
I'm not resistant to change when there's compelling reasons to make a change, either in law or in attitude, but there has to be an element of common sense which is often lacking. The overriding concern in many cases of "nanny knows best" is the fear of what might happen, not what has happened or what may indeed happen in rare cases. I'm sure some kids have suffered eye damage from playing conkers but without hard data it's difficult to justify banning the game thus penalising the many for the sake of the (undocumented) few. This same fear manifests itself in the Brexit debate where no amount of reasoned debunking eliminated the bogeyman lurking under the bed. As somebody noted above, one of the major H&S drivers is the fear of being sued and I accept that as a genuine concern that the powers that be might better spend their time addressing than trying to deconflict everything to the point where all risk is eliminated and life is sanitized to the extent of no longer being worth living. Glass of red wine anybody?
posted by The Arizonan - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 7:12 PM
Good post Ari, can’t have a glass of red until I submit my risk and method statement. Cruelty to grapes may get involved.
posted by Gaz (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 7:29 PM
The international break brings on these posts. I had a chuckle. I've just had red meat and a beer. Guess I don't qualify as a snowflake any more because I spend my life doing stuff rather than on Instagram. Old git territory awaits me and I'll be put in my place by some keyboard toting smart @rse in the future. What joy! Posting in peace and genuinely amused.
posted by The troll (Guest) - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 9:16 PM
Enjoy it TT, equilibrium is a very transient state. Dave's question on fireworks and their availability is an interesting philosophical dilemma. The chap suffers from combat-induced PTSD. Seeking some relief from random percussive type noises he's wondering why he, and the rest of humanity, have to endure the drawn-out celebration of a "one day" event with flash bang devices that would probably warrant an ASBO at any other time of year. He has a point: November 5th should be celebrated on November 5th. To my mind this doesn't qualify him for snowflake status; quite the reverse. The true snowflakes in this instance are those who live their lives without regard for others and without any cognition of societal norms unless it affects them personally. Which probably illustrates that there is such a condition as being a macho snowflake.
posted by The Arizonan - Tuesday 12th November 2019, 9:52 PM
The one constant unsaid throughout this post is responsibility. No one takes responsibility for their own actions these days, someone else is always to blame lest they are sued by some silver tongued lawyer who's out to make a name for himself a blight on the whole of society.
posted by Doris (Guest) - Wednesday 13th November 2019, 4:18 AM
Where’s my breakfast ?
posted by Doris,s husband (Guest) - Wednesday 13th November 2019, 7:32 AM
I agree with you @ari, still enjoying the equilibrium. Personal responsibility is key too. Guess I'm going soft in my old age if I'm agreeing with you all!
posted by The troll (Guest) - Wednesday 13th November 2019, 7:57 AM
I live under the shadow of grenfeld. The residents asked for better fire protection for years and the Ken and Chelsea council ignored them. I think Arizona it’s not the risk adverse vs risk takers but the haves vs have not.
posted by Charlie (Guest) - Wednesday 13th November 2019, 1:14 PM
So close you can’t even spell it right , it’s GRENFELL .
posted by Matt (Guest) - Thursday 14th November 2019, 7:15 AM