We’ve seen so many horrendous ‘tackles’ this season it’s a wonder such an injury didn’t occur sooner. Wenger’s reaction to Taylor’s challenge led the assorted football media to turn the whole episode into an attack on the Arsenal manager

By: Tom

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I didn’t want to see the photos. But to have an informed opinion on a foul so bad it was literally banned from TV, I felt I had to.

I didn’t need to see the video. Those who have testified on the pious virtues of Martin Taylor need only to look at the images of his removal of Eduardo’s foot from his ankle to see the nature of his challenge, regardless of the nature of the man behind it. The bloody aftermath is of less importance than the contact itself. Clumsiness is no excuse; the argument of innocence through insufficient ability would set a dangerous precedent.

Wenger’s impassioned call to have Taylor banned for life, and his subsequent retraction, created such a furore that the most important points of his post-match interview were ignored: “I knew that was coming for a long time,” Wenger announced. It was the inevitable extension of the idea that, “to stop Arsenal, you have to kick Arsenal.” Criticise Arsenal all you want; for Gallas’s kicking of Nani and breakdown at Birmingham, for the team being terrible losers or for our streak of arrogance, but to attack us for being too soft when hacked all over the grass for 90 minutes is too far.

When Manchester United happily booted Arsenal about Old Trafford to end our undefeated run, Fergie led the way in the idea of Arsenal being “a soft touch.” In his post-match interview on Saturday, Alex McLeish praised his team for their “fantastic” commitment. After Birmingham achieved a draw at Arsenal earlier this season, he cited Alex Ferguson’s advise on how to stop Arsenal as a crucial aid in his team’s performance. The Premier League is increasingly dominated by Ferguson’s disciples. Wenger tried to gain the support of a Fergie fledgling by lending Steve Bruce enough talent to gain promotion, but Fergie’s shadow spreads far across the football landscape, especially north of the Watford gap. If the “BIGGEST CLUB IN THE WORLD TM” is following the Allardyce blueprint, then clearly, Arsenal is a team who “don’t like it at them.” What does that even mean exactly? That our fatal flaw is our lack of a sado-masochistic streak? Wayne Rooney would presumably have sustained a semi to go with the broken leg Martin Taylor had generously provided. I’m sure Cristiano would have rushed over to make sure Shrek didn’t go home with blue balls. But enough cheap shots at bicurious mercenaries and clumsy centre halves. Taylor has been both victimised and martyred, and the incident has generated a debate so polarized and volatile that it has obscured an issue far bigger than one foul, however horrific its consequences.

We’ve seen so many horrendous ‘tackles’ this season it’s a wonder such an injury didn’t occur sooner. Wenger’s reaction to Taylor’s challenge led the assorted football media to turn the whole episode into an attack on the Arsenal manager, rather than express their concern for Eduardo’s injury, and the possibility of it being repeated in the future. When, earlier this season, Rafa Benitez and Ferguson called for more protection for Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo respectively, they too were roundly condemned by the media. But they were not wrong. Arsenal have by no means been the only victims, but it is true that we are widely viewed as a team especially susceptible to violent conduct. When John Carew slid into Alex Hleb from behind, forcing him to a spell on the sidelines, perhaps he had decided that the Belarusian’s achilles heel was in fact his achilles heal. Mark Noble had earlier proved that his shin was not indestructible either. Jose Antonio Reyes was never the same player after the Neville Brothers went tag-team on the Spaniard, and Abou Diaby has only sporadically justified the potential he promised before Dan Smith casually shattered his ankle. “English grit,” although widely viewed as the country’s greatest strength in football, has contributed largely to the nation’s inability to compete with the nations of continental Europe, with their preference for skill and technique. The term “bone-crunching challenge” should provoke disdain, but in British football, it is an act celebrated with more fervour than a display of outstanding flair and creativity.

To escape the stranglehold of British footballing tradition that is suffocating the development of our footballers, action needs to come from the top. What a shame then, that we have such an incompetent bunch of fools adjudicating the game at the FA. Steve Gibson recently launched a scathing attack on the FA for the dismissal of Jeremie Aliadiare’s red card appeal as “frivolous,” whilst Javier Mascherano’s equally illicit provocation was nonchalantly ignored. We have all been both the victims and the beneficiaries of the FA’s incompetence, but its policy over retroactive discipline makes a mockery of its own rules. It is a policy the FA has implemented to cover their own arses, or more politely, “protect the integrity of the Premier League.” Red cards are rarely overturned nor distributed, with contentious issues preferably brushed under the carpet. If Arsene Wenger himself can admit his mistakes, why can’t the suits at the FA? Until the governing body makes a concerted effort to eliminate dangerous play from the beautiful game, vicious challenges will remain the norm, and the English will fall further behind the rest of Europe for their inability to master the sport they created.

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