Source: Daily_Mail
Danny Murphy calls a truce in tackling row
Danny Murphy has hit back in the row over his attack on the managers of Wolves, Blackburn and Stoke by insisting his comments have been "blown out of all proportion". [LNB]Fulham captain Murphy caused a storm when he pointed the finger of blame at Mick McCarthy, Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis for the recent rash of dangerous tackles in the Barclays Premier League. [LNB] Head strong: Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy sparked a debate on tackling [LNB]Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference in London nine days ago, midfielder Murphy branded some challenges "ridiculous" and "brainless" and claimed managers had to take responsibility for sending out their players "too pumped up". [LNB]Thursday saw outraged Blackburn boss Allardyce call on the 33-year-old to be "man enough" to apologise and further condemnation followed yesterday from Wolves' McCarthy, Stoke's Pulis and several of their top-flight colleagues. [LNB] But writing in his programme notes for Fulham's Premier League match with Tottenham today, Murphy claimed his words had been taken out of context. [LNB] 'Much has been made of some comments that came from a conference I was asked to speak at last week,' he wrote. [LNB] 'These were taken out of context to a large extent, and were blown out of all proportion. [LNB]'For the record, I have a huge amount of respect for the managers of the clubs that I named, and for their achievements in the game. [LNB]'Anybody who listened to the debate in its entirety would have understood the points I was trying to make, so let's draw a line under it.'[LNB] Shocker: Wolves' Karl Henry saw red for this tackle on Wigan's Jordi Gomez[LNB]McCarthy yesterday branded Murphy's jibe "a silly comment without a great deal of knowledge", while Pulis accused the midfielder of being "selective" and of pursuing a career in the media. [LNB]The Stoke boss questioned why Murphy had neglected to mention a tackle by Manchester City's Nigel de Jong that left Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken leg, as well as Joe Cole's dismissal for a rash challenge on his Barclays Premier League debut for Liverpool earlier this season. [LNB] Murphy was defended by his own manager, Mark Hughes, insisting the player was simply "an honest guy with forthright views". [LNB]Hughes added: "Maybe the fact we had recent history against the teams he mentioned was fresh in his mind and he was giving examples. [LNB]"We're disappointed by the reaction to it. You must respect he has an opinion. He was being honest." [LNB]However, Hughes did suggest Murphy may not have gone about it in the right way. [LNB]He said: "He wanted to make a point. Whether he did that in the right manner is open to debate." [LNB] De Jong's a marked man! Mancini fears for City midfielder after Ben Arfa horrorWenger and Hughes jump to Murphy's defence but Pulis and Mcarthy hit back[LNB] [LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Hatem Ben Arfa, Danny Murphy, Mark Hughes, Mick McCarthy, Joe Cole, Sam Allardyce Places: Newcastle, Liverpool, London
