Source: Daily_Mail
Graham Poll: No place for Karl Henry and Nigel De Jong
How often after a player suffers a broken leg do we hear that the tackler 'is not that sort of player'? There are plenty of 'those sort of players' around and a few have been involved in bad injuries already this season. None were sent off and if they are left unchecked, they could cause further serious problems. Manchester City's enforcer Nigel De Jong and Wolves' newly-styled hardman Karl Henry are both tackling in a way which is designed to 'let a player know he's there'. Wild: Karl Henry flies in on Jordi Gomez to earn a red card at the DW Stadium More from Graham Poll. Graham Poll: Van Marwijk is a credit to football for axing reckless De Jong04/10/10 Graham Poll's official line: Tom Huddlestone should have seen red but Tottenham deserved their penalties29/09/10 GRAHAM POLL: Until Steven Gerrard and co start showing Respect, the FA are fighting a losing battle27/09/10 Graham Poll: Bungler Stuart Attwell must take a break after his latest gaffes26/09/10 Graham Poll: We need ruthless refs as time really is no laughing matter20/09/10 Graham Poll - The Official Line: Blunder refs should have spotted key incidents19/09/10 Graham Poll: Do Arsenal need more protection from referees? No way!16/09/10 Graham Poll: I was wrong at Everton. and 10 years later, so did Atkinson13/09/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Delivered with excessive force and often made while airborne and unable to pull out of that challenge if it becomes clear that the ball has gone. Even when the ball is played - there is often a follow through which appears intended to 'leave a mark' on an opponent, either physically or psychologically. Neither studio pundit for ESPN - Kevin Keegan and Nicky Butt - thought that there was anything wrong with De Jong's challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa. This was despite the show's presenter Ray Stubbs rightly highlighting that the second leg wrapped around Ben Arfa, causing his leg to break. I fully understand Butt seeing the tackle from his viewpoint he has but Keegan really should be opposed to a player who intends to 'let Ben Arfa know he's there.' I am sure that Xabi Alonso knew that De Jong was there in the World Cup final when he planted six studs - kung-fu style - into his chest. Meanwhile, how lucky was Wigan's Jordi Gomez to escape unscathed after what can only be described as an assault from Henry on Saturday? Referee Lee Mason rightly dismissed Henry but that would not have saved Gomez from serious injury. It was refreshing to hear an honest appraisal of a poor tackle by his own manager and Mick McCarthy accepted Henry's culpability.'I've no argument at all with the red card,' said the popular Wolves boss. 'It's ill-judged, it's mistimed - it's very theatrical.' Agony: Hatem Ben Arfa is carried off against Manchester City on SundayI am not sure about the 'theatrical' aspect but let's be grateful that a manager accepts his players guilt. McCarthy also said that he would be talking to Henry about his tackling this week. He must ensure that the pace is reduced and the control increased. Of course, referees should never pre-judge players but should prepare fully and research the style which these hard men adopt. While all managers - and not just Mick McCarthy - need to look at their 'enforcers' who ignore the duty of care all players must exercise towards their fellow professionals. Three broken legs in a season is too many and we are only seven match days into this season. Good week for.James Collins Bad week for.Marcin Borksi Aston Villa's Collins escaped a clear red card when he cynically brought down Aaron Lennon during Tottenham's 2-1 win. You can often tell from a player's reaction that he fears the worst and that was certainly the case at White Hart Lane. Collins immediately jumped up and insisted that he must not be dismissed. Some feel that the cynical nature of his foul should affect the decision but that is not the case. Merely the fact that Lennon was heading directly to goal and had a clear and obvious goal scoring opportunity - which he did.Polish referee Borksi who, despite indicating that there would be four minutes added on in the match between Steaua Bucharest and Napoli in Romania, actually allowed play to continue for eight. It was in that eighth exra minute that Napoli scored their equaliser in the 3-3 draw. The Romanian fans expressed their disgust with his decision by laying Polish sausages outside the Polish embassy the following day. I made some mistakes in my career, but never suffered the sausage treatment.