It was as if Stoke City had studied the disgraceful tactics of Birmingham City and seen them as a blueprint rather than a dire warning.
And in one way they were right. After all, if you can cut out a player totally for a year or maybe more, and just risk a 3 match ban – well, why not? It is a simple tactic. Share it around between the other disgraceful anti-football clubs and they can all help each other. Take out the footballing club, return football to the thugs.
Diaby, Eduardo, Ramsey… how much longer do we have to take this?
The answer is, as long as the EPL and UEFA rule the way football is run in Europe. No matter how evil the attack on a talented player the worst you get is three games out.
All we have to do is look at what Birmingham did. They took the three games out for their player, refused even a simpering apology, and then brought him back into football continuing their evil approach.
What made it so much worse was the referee. It wasn’t that he was the only bent ref we have seen, but that he was so naff at being bent, just shrugging off blatant penalties and fouls throughout the game.
Sky were part of it too. Expressing surprise when the evil maniac who carried out the attack was sent off. “And its a red…” they screeched as if it could have been something else. They might have said, “And all he will get is three matches out, while Arsenal once again lose a player for a season.”
Stoke should be removed from football – as should Birmingham have been. The owners and players who have conspired to act in this way should be removed from football.
Football should be a game in which players with skill can celebrate their skill and revel in their ability. We should appreciate that skill no matter what.
What Stoke do, what Birmingham did, is not football, any more than the hopeless rotational fouling of so many lower clubs is not football.
But meanwhile all the EPL do is remove corrupt Portsmouth from the EPL while leaving the courts to work out what to do with the Redknapp and his ex-pals.
Football could be great again, but not with the owners, players and supporters of Stoke around who cheered and cheered while Ramsey was taken away.
Stoke City FC, its players and supporters are an utter disgrace.
(c) Tony Attwood 2010.
I am so frustrated…. Tony can we protest to the FA? How about Stoke?
I actually dont know on what channel I was watching game as I was changing it often as commentators were annoying me, but before Aron injury on which ever channel I was, they were “prizing” strength of Stoke and teams who learn to outmuscule Arsenal showing them what real man are look alike.
What to hell we are watching last years on TV, or (if you are born under lucky star) on stadium, gladiators whose only idea is to stop player, what ever way is possible. And pundits have only words of prize for that. Since when being Bully is something what is appreciated and being wise silent kid is something what is bad and worthless.
I see nothing than gladiators on the pitch playing against us, but arent gladiators part of ancient Rome and did human kind made any further step from enjoying in watching people slaughtering eachother.
But tonight we showed we have balls, you can beat Arsenal, but you cant win.
PROUD TO BE GOONER
It is a f$cking disgrace. They are f$cking heathens. I feel like throwing up.
F$ck you, Stoke. F$ck you, FA. F$ck you, you biased and racist English media.
A team filled with thugs like Stoke City shouldn’t be allowed to play in Premier League.
In fact, they shouldn’t be allowed to play any football at all.
If you wish to voice a complaint here is that club’s info.
Media & Communications
Telephone: (01782) 592123
E-mail: media@stokecityfc.com
Tony and everyone who has contacts even the D&Grs need to mass e-mail this irrational behavior!
Does anyone have FA contact info?
I am e-mailing Stoke now!
PS we need a calm collective voice of dis-content! No vulgarity!
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4454712,00.html
Shawcross and Stoke have previous. And we PREVIOUSLY complained. Enough.
So Shawcross is now in the England squad now?
I think that says it all. English football is beyond repair.
Goodnight gentlemen.
To Whom it May Concern,
I would like to voice my discontent about Mr. Shawcross’ blatant tackle on young Aaron Ramsay. This type of tackle no matter if pre-meditated or not does not belong in Football. I also wish to voice discontent of documented pre-meditated physical play against Arsenal. It is apparent that your Manager teaches and accepts cheating via illegal tackles and rough play when competing against Arsenal. As a result Arsenal are without Aaron Ramsay indefinately and so are the Wales national team. For that I expect a full apology to me as a Fan and Arsenal as a club by Stoke City FC, Mr. Shawcross, and your Manager. Anything less in my eyes would be unforgivable.
Respectfully,
Chris Geczy
Gentlemen,
We can’t blame Stoke or Shawcross for this type of play. I blame the FA. This type of tackle is now so common in English football and it has become a norm. I don’t think Shawcross meant to hurt Ramsey because this is what he is instructed to do. Yes the Tackle was bad but this is what English football have become. All brawn and no substance. Well Arsenal loses another player for a year and hopefully our Lads can stay strong and follow through with the title.
From Cesc remarks I think he will leave English very soon because of the physical style of play. It’s not that he does not love Arsenal, but why stay and endure this kind of rough play?
Im deeply upset for our Aaron but i also feel very sorry for young ryan shawcross you CANNOT say he went out to ruin Aarons season or maybe career its not fair the poor boy was clearly upset Aaron was traveling at pace ant Ryan went for the ball just a horrible accident but i do Agree with that genius we have called fabregas we just aint protected enough at all the fa and eufa need to sit down and address this. Im as angry as any other Arsenal fan but dont be to quick to judge ryan i really do feel for the lad!
OK Otariq you complain I will voice my concern!
Once again, Mr. Shawcross, the thug emerges. Whilst not the most endearing of players, it was Adebayor that he injured by slamming into him and injuring him , putting him out of the game in 2008, and at the time the ball, and Adebayor, were out of play, over the touch line. Was that the act of someone so distraught that he was tearful as he left the pitch, or the sudden realisation that he is not going to go to the World cup, will be out of the next three games ?
Perhaps he should be banned for as long as Ramsey is out of the game, and if that should be the end of Ramseys career, then so it should be Shawcross’s
If he Shawcross thinks he is such a hardman, hero and not a coward, join up and go to Afghanistan, your type are what drags the standard of football down.
You just wait until the same thing happens to Wayne Rooney or another high profile English International and you will see a completely different reaction. there wont be any of this he’s an honest player and a nice guy bullchit eh.
Wayne Rooney with a shattered leg in a world cup year and SKY would be leading the cavalry charge for massive ban and sanctions against the club.
Makes me sick. The commentary on RTE in Ireland already stated that it wasn’t a red card and the ref got it wrong. Sound familiar anyone? No doubt the same crap will be echoed on the BBC.
What the situation requires is a multimillion pound civil action that costa the offending club ereal money and makes them think twice about using the same tactics in the future.
I despair of the the treatment we get sometimes.
I also don’t think that Shawcrofts intension was to injure Ramsey.
However, while managers of less tallented teams prime & encourage their players to play this way…
…while the ‘physical’ aspect of the game is applauded by pundits who themselves last kicked a ball when every kind of challenge known to man was deemed acceptable…
…& while the FA do FA to bring it under control by reviewing the ridiculous 3 match ban ruling…it’s going to continue.
My wife had a novel solution…ie that the player who committed the
tackle be banned from playing for as long as it took the injured player to return to fitness!!!!!
Great article Tony. I agree with you and have written my own version and some more on the ref and the rest of the lot that all stand on the sideline and applaud when the Arsenal players are kicked.
DISGUSTING!!!!
Itwas a bad tackle I agree,I don’t think Shawcross should be vilified .This kind of thing happens 1 in every 1000 tackles perhaps more it seems to happen to our players more(joy of being a gooner).
Oh for god’s sake, stop embarrassing yourselves. I’m an Arsenal fan, but I don’t believe for one minute that Shawcross deliberately set out to hurt Ramsey. Yes it’s absolutely sickening to see another one of our hugely promising players injured in this way, but let’s not get carried away by saying absolutely ridiculously juvenile things such as ‘Stoke City FC, its players and supporters are an utter disgrace.’
I would bet all I had that Stoke’s supporters were as sickened by the injury as any Arsenal fan was, and the applause for Ramsey from all sections of the ground as he was stretchered off would appear to confirm this.
Come back soon Aaron.
The useless ref also missed a blatant pen for Ramsey.
Poor kid,i’m so angry.
Michael Bollocks should also be banned for the season with his coward tackle on Tevez.
Get well soon Ramsey!
I hear all the outrage, anger, sadness, sorrow and disgust at what happened this day. Football is a less innocent pastime from what we saw today. Spoken by someone who saw a stadium ripped to pieces as a 10 year old…..and didn’t attend another game for 20 years as a result……
All I say to you all is this: make your protests, complaints, expressions of concern, when you make them, from a place of icy calm, not from rage and hatred.
And I also say this to you all: take many, many deep breaths, take long walks, go running, hit a boxing ball, do anything in the next 36 hours to take your minds off this in the way which works best for you.
And when Monday comes, think about what you wish to do. It will not be less cogent, less potent or less meaningful as a result. It can still come from the heart and the soul.
Feelings. Wishes. Firm requests. Sanctions for lack of response.
But don’t descend into hatred.
Blatent bullshit.I have not commented on this website for a while but today i have too. As much as shawcross is a prick the referee was blatentlty setting that game up. Watch the second half and you will see there was a point where almunia was trying to throw the ball out to sagna and i think it was sidibe who held almunia back. The referee was watching and he didnt blow his whistle and didnt even say f all then tried to pretend that he was waving play on but almunia was thrown to the ground and the play was slowed down. I always said that Arsenal are up against it. They must destroy the PREMIERLEAGUES idealism wih all guns blazing and win this league. No more feeling sorry for our selves time to carry on destroying this league and us as fans need to use this fustrating energy and REAPPLY IT POSITIVELY AND THEN send it to aaron ramsey and the team with love and support because i know this team can do it. From a Mancheter gunner TO ALL GUNNERS ITS WAR. PUT ON YOR FAN WAR BOOTS.WE NEED TO STOP ALL THIS SEGREGATION BULLSHITT AND SUPPORT THE TEAM
Good idea frm your wife Wilsheres dad,stoke are average without the time wasting Delap throws.
The concept of football skill & technic in this country of mine makes me ashamed to be British (in footballing terms) at the moment. I say, let’s redeem ourselves by sacking all the bent Refs, the mediocre managers, the thugish footballers, the dullard iZombies (pundits et al) and the clueless Football authorities.
tony tony , stoke fans did not cheer, but gave a standing ovation to ramsey, i think i respect them for that. but the referee was UTTER SHITE.
I have only been following your site for a short time but thanks to this article I shall not be returning. I’m a huge Arsenal fan. I love Rambo to bits. But to accuse Shawcross and Stoke of conspiring to injure one of our players for a year is absolutely ridiculous. Ramsey put himself in danger by the way he went for the ball. Yes Shawcross went in too hard on him but no player would ever try to do that to a fellow professional (apart from maybe a certain Mr Keane). Shawcross’s reaction when walking off was just further evidence as to whether he meant it or not. I hope you regret writing this article after the emotion of tonight has calmed down. Thanks, LenH.
Stoke fans also sang “he’s only got one leg” to Ramsey as he was carried off.
C*nts.
Can I point out the fact that Eduardo came on the field after that. Credit for him to even dare to step on the field.
Well Stoke fans can sing what they want, but there is a danger they will reap what they sow.
Sadly, this kind of challenge could completely end Ramsey’s career.
There is a sense of deep outrage, but it cuts much deeper than football. Our whole society is apathetic and corrupt to the core.
The same forces that run football run everything.
Anyhow I don’t want to get too political, but its all corrupt folks. Terribly corrupt.
There are lots of victims in this stinking rotten society and Aaron Ramsey is just another one.
The positives –
1. This incident will bring the team together, unlike the Birmingham one which broke everything up.
2. Cesc would have to stay a little longer now cos Ramsey was supposed to be his successor.
I wish Ramsey a full and speady recovery.
The way the match played out was predicted by stonecoldarsenal blog in his match preview today.
I was so disgusted by the tackle and the injury to Ramsey and I wondered how much longer the EPL will allow this to go on! In the last 3 years, Diaby, Eduardo, and now Ramsey. And the British press keep taking about “physical football”, yet wonder why England has not sniffed the world cup since 1966.
I refuse to accept that Shawcross had no evil intent when he came in for the tackle-that is the result you get 9 of 10 times with that lunge! This is sad and ridiculous.
P.S-Otariq- I dont know how you can read Fabregas leaving The Arsenal soon from his statement.
Meditation, It indeed is a war and we are on course to win it.. Lets get behind the team..
Walter, I feel Wenger wanted to prove something and so sent Eduardo on to the field. He is mentally strong and this helped the team up their performance in the final few minutes and score 2 goals. He gave the team belief that its not over yet and the switch to 4-4-2 worked brilliantly at the end.. They are no longer boys but men with steel balls..
Mark, agree with you, and if you sow Chel$ea game today, you could see fans cheering Terry and what he done to Bridge. I mean, on what values we rising our kids and whole society.
And than you see tonight game and see what happens to Aaron…
What are messages?
“We could see the team was shocked but this team is very strong mentally and we will do it for Ramsey as well because he deserves it”. This quote from Wenger was exactly what I was expecting.
Arsene Wenger: “Spare me the articles about how nice Shawcross is, please.”
Well, all the guys talking about “it was not his intention”, dont be so naive– its a fucking 50-50 ball and he comes in thundering fully knowing what might happen if he didnt get the ball, every sliding challenge at this level has malice.. am not saying that players should leave the 50-50 balls alone but there is a way to tackle.. and he goes crying, and the commentators sympathizing with him, what the fuck? nobody gives a rat’s ass if that son of a fucking thug regrets what he did! its a 19 year old kid who could lose his career just because this midtable mediocre filthy bastard will do anything to win a tackle… @ Otariq: What do you mean they are “instructed to do so”? There is something called being rational, ofcourse that cunt of a pulis tells you “be at his feet” do you mean to say that Shawcross is fucking so retarded as to take it literally? Even if your manager DID tell you to kick the players and the players do it, then they are not human beings and hence lose the right to play .. And I have seen games the Refs have been pretty biased against us but never like this mudblood Walton! Booking Song for muscling out the pea-brain GORY DELAP? Even the unimaginably biased commentators were surprised at that… If the English FA cant protect technically gifted players then it’ll be the end of EPL, fuck I might as well watch bull fighting just dunno the channel its telecast on!
Calibre,
They are instructed to get stuck in and let the Arsenal players know they are there. This is how Arsenal is played each and every week. Blame the FA, for if they would have taken action years ago when this happen to Eduardo we will be pass this. Why did this not happen to Wayne Rooney or Frank Lampard? I bet the FA would change how games are called.
It’s the FA fault.
Screw reviews of the match. Neither the match nor the win matters anymore. Even if we go on to win the premier league and dedicate it to ramsey’s injury, what the hell does it matter? The poor chap’s leg is gone. Its a career threatening injury. It wasnt malice on shawcross’ part but what the hell? WHY US? GODDAMNIT WHY US EVERYTIME? Arsene’s damn right this time. I no longer believe in so many coincidences. Everybody wants to screw our quick witty players. This injury is as worse as the eduardo one. At final score, they said FOX sports refused to air replays of the tackle because it was so sickening. Players nearby were either mad with fury or reduced to tears. Shawcross knows he might have destroyed the career of one of the best young talents across the globe. I saw the team-huddle cesc summoned after the match. I am sure they want to deliver the good news to his bedside that they have won the match but it ****** DOESNT MATTER. Is there anything left at all? What’s next? Next week, it will be the same scenario all over again. Some other thug from another thuggish team might as well try shooting us with a shotgun and piss on the dead body. People have been trying such stupid tackles on fabregas all the year round as well. WHAT if CESC went for the ball and this INJURY happened to him? I DONT WANT TO SEE ARSENAL WINNING SILVERWARE. All I want to see is their art form and magical passing on the field without coming across lame crunching tackles. NO, I f***** DONT want Arsenal to play PHYSICAL and show their mettle. Bloody cunts who designed the laws of this game.
I don’t normally write into these but i am sooo annoyed, digusted and upset by this ….. i also won’t put into words what i was saying at the time …..Three very bad injuries in four to five years from absolutely horrendous over the top tackles committed on the same team ARSENAL ….. as an Arsenal fan and football fan this has got to stop. All we keep hearing is get stuck into Arsenal and they will struggle with the physical side, is everyone (media/pundits/opponents) happy now that a great 19 year old talent has suffered a broken leg ….. i agree Arsene this is totally unacceptable and something must be done …..three game ban for this is ridiculous !!!!
What i want to know is why Shawcross committed the tackle…the ball was clearly gone…..there was no danger…..so why did he go in like that? Same for Taylor on Eduardo and Smith on Diaby !!
Was it to rough up Arsenal and get stuck in?
I don’t think Shawcross meant to break his leg but unfortunately he HAS even Pulis said it was a poor challenge
I feel absolutely gutted for Aaron Ramsey, get well soon Aaron you’ll be back very very soon in the red and white and i really do hope the Arsenal boys win the premiership for you !!
Come on Arsenal !!
Basically all teams have concluded that the way to beat arsenal is to be extra hard with them on the tackle. Our players are not very big, except for Bendtner and some of our defenders, so blunt force on them is the best aproach. The opposing manager might not say: go out and hurt them, but they stress hard tackling is a must to disrupt there game flow. And unfortunally when you miss the ball you are going to crush someones bone. I believe if the EPL and the Referees are going to allow this tactics, then they should allow every team to have enforcers like in Hockey. Arsene please get 4 thugs next year, include one in the bench each game, sub him in last 5 minutes to f**k up one of the opposing players. A three match ban for each will assure you will have one available at all times. screw fair play, most clubs in the EPL don’t give a damn about it anyway.
Even if Shawcross didn’t directly think I’ll break his leg with this tackle it was done with an air of wreckless abandon because of the culture set by Pulis and his ilk, endorsed by corrupt referees and excused by a bigotted media.
I’m sure he is sorry for what he’s done and probably does feel terrible about it but it is too easy to be wise or contrite after the event.
Tony, I am beyond furious. Here I am, hours after the game, and I’m still madder than hell. And all the articles about what a nice lad Shawcross is are only stoking my rage.
This is our 3rd player in 5 years to get his leg broken on the field of play for the unforgivable crime of being a better footballer than his opponent. Yet again, the culture of allowing opposition teams kick the skin off our players because we “don’t like it when we get kicked” has paid full dividends. When was the last time a Chelsea, Man Utd, or Liverpool player got his leg broken?
The refs allow opponents kick our players repeatedly, and then produce cards for our first offences. Today, Song got booked when Delap had been pulling him! It is beyond ridiculous, and I have had enough of this fucking bullshit.
i don’t ask for extra protection. i just ask for the referees and the FA to do their jobs, to do what is right, what is fair.
is that so difficult?
Just got back from the game today and I have just seen TV replays of the so called tackle that broke rambo`s leg. It pretty much sums up what I thought at the time, it was a tackle of pure frustration. Frustration because they couldn`t bully us and frustration because it was actually us who were bullying them, they knew they were never going to outplay us and today they knew they were never going to outbattle us. You could could count on the fingers of one hand how many 50/50s we lost today and as a Gooner it`s the proudest I`ve felt walking out a ground for a good few years. The way the team reacted to the Eduardo injury cost us the title a couple of years ago, but the way the boys responded today might just win us it this season. The whole team were fantastic today but I`ve got too give special praise to Eboue and Gael who I thought had his best game in an Arsenal shirt for a good 18 months. Only 3 points off the top now, come on you Gunners.
My e-mail to them:
‘Dear’ Stoke City Football Club,
I have yet to watch yesterday’s match between your ‘good’ selves and Arsenal, so I have not seen the latest destruction of one of our players.
If your team think it is ‘big’, ‘manly’, or whatever to break the legs of other players – possibly destroying their careers in the doing – then you really should reconsider your place in this sport. Yes, sport not battle.
How about your team, or the individual involved, being forced to pay the player’s wages and cost of treatment and rehabilitation as some sort of compensation for what happened?
I doubt there will even be an apology. There was none from Birmingham last time.
Please consider yourself relegated to the SCUM of the EPL. I hope you fester and die there.
Gunners for life.
Peter.
Ive watched that tackle ten times now and all i see that was wrong with it was that shawcross was stupidly slow in trying to kick the ball, rambo got in there incredibly quick and got badly injured for his troubles. It was a nasty accident, i dont blame shawcross.
I still blame Taylor.
Ramsey should be banned for 3 matches for the psychological trauma inflicted upon Shawcross.
Although Ramsey is ‘not that sort of player’ it cannot be a coincidence that this is the third time in 5 years an arsenal player has inflicted emotional distress upon an unsuspecting opponent.
Here is the link to the FA; http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/WhoWeAre/ContactUs.aspx
Also; I know Arsenal will have a way for all of us (fans) to wish Aaron Ramsay well but I sent along my best wishes on the Arsenal.com website I also copied my e-mail I sent to Stoke City website.
Guys,
I have read 8 arsenal blogs today and have 100s of comments. However all this venting serves no purpose unless we can turn it into action.
What can we do …? Lets bombard the FA/UEFA/EPL with emails. Lets get the picture of the tackle publicity. As scary as that picture is … I think its important that people see it to realize what effect this kind of RECKLESS/Persistent Fouling has.
RAMBO .. Here’s wishing you a quick recovery.
oh FCK Shawcross FCK STOKE FCK PULIS .
Thanks for the Stoke link, here’s my email-
To whom it may concern.
I think your Manager is a disgrace, he has the temerity to actively promote anti-football but then, on the other hand, honestly believes he has the high morale ground to insult Arsene Wenger.
Before Saturdays game Fuller is quoted as saying “we will get stuck into them” so what’s all this rubbish about Shawcross “not being that kind of player”? He’s obviously been encouraged to be that kind of player by Pulis.
It sickens me that Football has stooped so low, that young talented mens careers are sacrificed for your clubs ideals.
I hope you get relegated.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Pulis says at half time ‘Break ‘is legs’ and then……….
Pub Football team Stoke ………..Bolllox!!!!!!!!!
You saw that 2-footed tackle that Faye committed to get the ball?
It was also a 50:50 ball, and CLichy was smart enough to jump and did not tried to play the ball.
On BRUM, divine justice was done as their team imploded and relegated.
Pray teh same divine justice and Arsenal Curse strikes Stoek City and relegates ’em this season of the enxts eason at teh very altest.
CHelski vs Stoke City next weekend, an FA Cup tie.
WIll be most interesting as both teams are going to go in hard.
And if an English international is seriously injured, just watch how the media will bray for “justice”?
Fabregas leaving?
I believe that after the BRUM match, Hleb was so shaken that he was never the same player again and was angling for a mvoe away from English football.
And a few years back, Van Persie warned that flair players are getting very little protection and physicality will drive flair players like him and Fabregas out of the English game.
We all knew that every team nowadays are targetting Fabregas for a good kicking to keep him quiet. And it is a matter of not if, but when will Fabregas suffer a serious injury on another 50:50 ball incident liek he was injured WHEN ON THE GROUND when ALonso performed that tackled.
SImilarly, if you recalled a previosu incident against CHelski, Terry 2-footed lunge at Fabregas when he was falling on teh ground. Luckily there was another player between ’em, else Fabregas will certainly be seriously injured – just a 3-match ban for Terry then.
Another incident was that of Liverpool ve Everton when Pienaar was fell by a tackle and Gerrars was charging in with a slide tackle and his knees connected with his ribs. Easily, a broken ribs.
And with this kind of dirty plays, deliberately comitted to intimidate players, and ENglish referees jsut take it as mundane stuff in a typical highly physical and committed English FOotball – adn those pansies and softies crybabies of a Johnny Foreigner, always whingeing, play acting, diving cheats, etc..cannot even play a man’s game without crying…..I wil not blame Fabregas and Van Persie, disenchanted by zero protection form referees and are presently contemplating life elsewhere.
3 serious injuries within a 5 year period is too much to swallow:
Once a happenstance;
Twice is a coincidence;
Thrice? @#$%^&@#
Here is what I sent to the FA:
“The FA is in part responsible for the horrendous act committed against Aaron Ramsay today at Stoke City FC.
The facts are that Stoke City FC have reportedly strategized to affect this fixture by acts of intimidation. This act alone is not necessarily grounds for an investigation but certainly silence by FA on that rumour is troublesome. And, now what do we have? Stoke City FC not only demonstrating these reported acts throughout the match, the FA accepting that, a referee allowing it, and a young Wales International fighting for his career.
I have seen the FA stand up for absolutely nothing as far as Arsenal are concerned. All that I ask is the FA investigate the rumours. Investigate the manager & player. And, hold them accountable for the act if found guilty.
Finally, this is the third similar act of hostility portrayed against the Arsenal within 5 years. How do you account for this? The FA should have its own internal investigation and be held accountable for allowing this to occur.
I have lost a great deal of respect for the FA especially in recent years and in recent weeks.
Respectfully,
Chris Geczy
Sadly, its an Arsenal player and the British media, FA, and EPL aren’t likely to take any
serious action.
Poor officiating breeds this type of horrific injury. However, all of the English officials are inept.
Not only should the player get an extended ban, but the official should also be suspended, demoted to 1st division matches.
I’m not sure if this was a turning point for Arsenal, but the effort by our players was sensational.
Good email Chris. Bet it gets no reply!!
If we want to hear our voices heard, I will repost a suggestion by Andrew on the usually excellent Goonerholic blog:
“Every gooner around England and abroad has to make the FA realize that enough is enough
“Every gooner with a blog has to criticize the FA because its because of their rules that this has happended to us year after year
use this website to complain to the FA
http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/WhoWeAre/ContactUs.aspx
another one for the FA
http://www.thefa.com/feedback/
“This is for the premier league
info@premierleague.com.
“I know you must be thinking that we can do much but we have a chance to finally stop this there are around 50 million arsenal fans world wide and its only 1% of them do somthing about it then we can atleast make the FA sit up and think about it.”
The same “nice boy” Shawcross broke Francis Jeffers ankle with a tackle from behind about 3 years ago.
Last year, “Mummy’s Boy” Shawcross executed a two-footed challenge on Adebayor at the Ems, for which he did not even receive a remonstration. Adebayor was an Arsenal player at the time.
It is no surprise then that he is rewarded with an England call up. What better way to ensure a bagfull of red cards and quick exit from the World cup?
RoyVasey,
Probably right. I just needed to do something. This is Edu all over again. It hurts! I have a 10 year old for God Sake and this stuff is terrible to see. I wish the Ramsay’s well!
Shocking foul on Ramsey -typically over zealous, mistimed, over the ball. Referees and the media establishment are not only not protecting teams that try to win with skill rather than brawn, they are openly encouraging thuggery of this type. Was it deliberate? No but it was reckless and it has profound consequences- but not for Stoke City or their vile fans. Just because Shawcross is not criminally responsible for breaking an opponents leg does not mean he is not totally responsible for such a reckless challenge.
Shawcross and Stoke City should pay the price- legal action and medical bills.
I have booked a ticket to go to England and in my ninja suit I will personally mug and shatter the knees of Shawcross, Martin Taylor and Dan Smith. You read it here first. Soon they will break another leg just to bait me out but next time I’m using a sniping rifle.
The problem is the FA…..aptly named because they always do sweet FA.
As long as they tacitly endorse the culture of thuggery in the game, by turning a blind eye to all the wrong things, like Shawcross’s off the ball off the pitch whack on Rosicky a year or two back, and Managers who verbally endorse violence, etc etc etc……
as long as all this stuff is tacitly condoned, by limp refereeing, and the useless FA…then this is what you will get in an ever more professional game.
30 years ago the likes of Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh looked as if they could have had a fag during the game.
The Hammers used to get well oiled before matches……..
BUT this is 2010, and you’ve got 22 very fit athletes on the pitch.
The fact that the FA has failed to properly monitor the game and adjust to the changes is a pure outrage.
What Arsenal should do is bring a legal case against Stoke. It doesn’t matter if it never gets to court.
As a test case it’ll show Arsenal’s commitment to defending its players against thuggery.
It’ll also stop opposition managers and players thinking they can kick Arsenal out of a game.
A little late to still find myself mulling the implications of what I saw yesterday.
Walter
On the Eduardo substitution: Possibly the intention was not purely tactical, it must have sent a message of sorts to both sets of players before the crucial closing stages of the game?
Props to AW, yet again.
IndianGooner has already commented upon that thought, doh!
What a substitution!
Just close your eyes and try to think if that was one of your kid, a 19 year old kid who was playing football but ended up on a stretcher like that……
It’s a sad sad day for every Arsenal supporters, but a very good day as we saw the rally against the accusation of this team having no fire and will to win.
Fuck off chelski, fuck off manure, fuck off stoke, fuck off the leg breaker overrated cunt……it’s time for EVERY GUNNERS to stand up and be counted in this hughly exciting run-in.
My condolences go out to Aaron and his family…let this incident motivate you to recover and succeed.
Having read the various messages left on this blog, I felt propelled to write a letter to the FA. I agree with those who believe addressing this incident through formal channels is far more effective a method. I have also sent a letter to the Arsenal Supporters Trust to hopefully initiate a petition to do more to kick out this kind of unsporting ‘mentality’ from the modern game.
Its a big ask, but somewhere along the line, it has to start. Lets rally together…
LETTER TO THE FA
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing out of profound concern over what I have recently witnessed with regards to the Stoke City and Arsenal game on the 27/02/10. It is shocking to see a team well-reputed to systematically approach football in a ‘physical’ nature eventually commit what was inevitably a tragic incident.
The major concern I have with this is that incidents like this could and should be prevented at all costs to protect the values and image we have of the modern game of football. The photographic images are shockingly self evident as to the damage it could cause the overall image it has. With the huge popularity football now enjoys, people of all ages will have been exposed to this incident and this will send out a cluster of images that football is not what it ought to be. A team known for its ‘physical’ nature versus one known for its ‘technical’ ability – this is the end result. Is this what football truly represents?
Professional sportsmen at all levels of sport have a standard of safety which are intended to protect those involved. If a team, for example, is well known and reputed to have an aggressive ‘physical’ nature, then shouldn’t this standard of safety incorporate this as evidence of intent and try to prevent this kind of aggressive and unsporting mentality to culminate into a regrettable incident that has now unfortunately put a talented and aspiring young individual’s career in grave jeopardy?
Shouldn’t the governing bodies that attempt to uphold the safety of all who are involved do more to pre-empt such scenarios for the sake of those directly at risk and also those who deeply believe in the values of sportsmanship, football a pillar that represents this ideology, helping to support the fabric of our society as whole?
As the governing body of the EPL, the FA must do more to prevent and deter such unsporting behaviour spoiling the foundations of football we look up to and support.
I am deeply appalled by this incident and am followed by many others who feel the same way, not just because of its horrific nature, but mainly because this could evidently have been prevented. It has not. My fear, if not vigorously and comprehensively addressed immediately, incidents like this will continue to happen with freakish regularity, and those who have been made tragic examples of, such as Aaron Ramsey, will have struggled in vain.
It easy. To cut out such tackles, ban the player involved for as long as the injured player takes to recover.
Good comment by shotta-gun. I just left the following feedback on FA’s website. Let’s all Arsenal fans do something about it!
Stop the “KICK ARSENAL” campaign!
Three blatant career-threatening tackles vs Arsenal players in 4 years – bad enough to take out couple of years out of the footballing career of the player, if fortunately not severe enough to end it altogether.
Before every match the Managers and the Players talk about how they’re gonna “get in the face”, as Arsenal “don’t like it up’em”. The disciplinary records for these teams are there for all to see – they’re always bottom of the Fair Play league. The Refs turn a blind eye to every tackle that is an accident waiting to happen and react only when a leg is broken instead of nipping the problem in the bud.
I demand to know that is the Football Association, responsible for footballing matters, is actually doing to sort out the problem. Why doesn’t it take action against the players, managers and media-pundits who advocate the best way to stop Arsenal is to KICK ARSENAL??
Tony, i’ve been reading your excellent posts for some months now and I have to say, you’ve always been measured and pragmatic in your output. I’m sure that Ryan Shawcross meant no malice or intent with his tackle on poor young Aaron but that’s actually very irrelevant. Today you, like myself and nearly all of our fellow gooners that i’ve read, heard and spoken to, have finally, and rightly so, vented our genuine and deepest feelings at what has been happening and has now happened again to one of our young lads.
The frequency of these kinds of incidences should be negligible within our modern game by now and have been confined to the dark-ages where they belong; along with some of those pundits and hacks who, unfortunately, used to play in that way and still advocate it. What really confuses me most, however, is how the two-faced, xenophobic, incompetent and irresponsible British footballing media, and authorities, continue to act as supporters of this policy of play which will ultimately (rather naively on their part) conclude with a British national football team NEVER EVER again winning another international tournament as the rest of the footballing world and authorities continue to move on to develop a more civilised game that does not tolerate such physically harmful tactics. I have never felt so angry and despairing after any game of football as I feel today!
To have to constantly accept the over-exuberant tactic of “in their face” physicality against our players, without anyone ever being held fully accountable when it goes wrong (hiding behind a banner of “no professional footballer ever goes out to intentionally hurt another fellow pro”), is totally irresponsible, and is bordering on criminal in the real world! To keep saying that these incidents have a greater chance of happening to Arsenal because “of the way that they play”, and “anyway – Arsenal used to stick their foot-in when Viera et al were playing for them”, is utter nonsense and has actually given dangerous carte-blanche and license for it to continue as it does. The question one has to ask is, if we were Barcelona or another big European “footballing side”, or if Ramsey had been Xavi or Iniesta, would this type of play be allowed to continue in Britain? I don’t believe so. When any footballer or team play football, as does any employee or employer in their chosen profession, they have to take full responsibility for ALL of their actions and they should accept the consequences with a commensurate punishment should an ill-event occur (for example look at what occurs in the various forms of rugby)! This, for some bizarre reason, never ever seems to happen in football and therefore people never learn and change is never made.
It is now seriously time for the myopic British footballing world to finally start reflecting properly before it becomes too late and, perish the thought, before one of its “golden-boys” (i.e. Rooney, Gerrard or Lampard) suffer the same career-threatening fate rather than a very talented young lad from Wales who may now never get a chance to go to the world cup. Would they be as dismissive and defensive then?!
All my best wishes to you Aaron and i’m sure you’ll be back playing again soon after a full recovery; becoming one of the best players that Arsenal and the British Isles have ever produced!
i nearly cried…well actually their were tears in my eyes,what the f%@#$ tackle…..but u have to admit football is a physical sport and shit happens, but yes if it was intentional then he shud be punished but making fouls for team sake is part of football…..
really feel sorry for ramsey…he was looking good but now he will surely take 1.5 to 2 seasons to shine again…..
but your article is more of an emotional burst i think….put urself in shawcross shoes, wud you do any kind thing to end someone career??i don’t think so. I think u wrote this just after the game, and i too wanted to kill shawcross at that time, but things just goes on.
GET WELL SOON RAMSEY…
Fuck Shawcross. He can train Monday with England, what a joke!
Ramsey will be in bed for the next few weeks at least.
Sorry fella but it’s the do gooders of this world spouting that tripe that make me sick!!
Ban him from playing til Ramsey can play. Make him pay damages!
This Sh*t can be cleared up quite quickly with one swoop. I have said for years now
a) If a player is injured in a game the player that injures him should leave the field until either a) the injured player returns or b) is substituted
b) where a player has suffered a break the offending players should be suspended from the game for at least the same time as the injured player
In my opinion that would soon keep the thugs quiet !! I am absolutely outraged but let me tell you this life has a strange way of turning things upside down and just as Eduardo’s break almost on the same day 2 years ago began our demise, I firmly believe the way the boys responded last night is the beginning of our march to the title !!
I agree completely with you Wonderman.
The punishment should be very severe but do you really think the Fa will do such a thing ? Not even in our wildest dreams they will couse they are F$$$$ng as$$$$les.
I think they opened a bottle of champagne after the incident… just like after the Eduardo horror.
The pathetic excuse that “Ryan Shawcross is not that type of player” is patently not true as he has already broken the leg of another player and tried on another Arsenal player before.
http://content.thisis.co.uk/sentinel07/homepage/ad_panel/sentinel_backpage.pdf
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1083214/Arsenal-striker-Adebayor-ruled-weeks-Stoke-clash.html
In view of his past he should get a none months ban. Breaking the leg of an opponent is rare but twice breaking the leg of an opponent in such a short career is a pattern that should quickly be shot down. The FA should throw the book at him and at Stoke.
Stoke are team of thugs, wrestler and rugby players who foul their ways to victory and safety in the premiership.
Because of the little Englander mentality, teams are allowed to kick and maim others with impunity.
Because of the Ramsey’s injury, nobody mentionned that we had two legitimate penalties appeal turn down (unless the rules have changed and shoving and kicking is now allowed against Arsenal).
Dany pugh committed the worst foul a two footed lunge at Eboue who saw it coming and got out of the way. If he had not moved away he would have had a broken leg like Rambo. Because the player got the ball, the refere considered it an acceptable tackle. It was not it was RECKLESS and DANGEROUS.
As it was mentionned by somebody else before, Clichy had the same kind of incident with Fayet who would have broken his leg if he had not moved away.
Song was booked for winning cleanly the ball and will miss two games.
In the mean time a thug that has wrecked the career of at least two fellow professionals will be banned for three games and will represent his country against Egypt.
How do you reconcile that with fair and honest refereing.
The answer is for English referee to apply the rules and stop making excuses and leeway for lower team. They are referee not equalizer. Some simple rules that are never being enforced by the England referees:
+ persistent fouling is a yellow card
+ overtly physical play is a reckless tackle. According to the laws, reckless tackle is at minimum a yellow card.
+ deliberate professional foul is a yellow card.
+ dangerous play that put in danger the physical integrity of another player is a red card. Even if you do not make actual contact.
+ tackle from behind is at least a yellow card and if there is contact a red card.
Valentin, I couldn’t have said it any better.
I’m thinking of writing another open letter to my colegues in England.
I start tonight and send it to Tony.
Stoke’s manager’s a Welshman and considering Rambo is the most promising talent they have in their national side, I’m sure he’s genuinely gutted. “It was a bad challenge” is a concession from the poorly handled analysis and response post Eduardo’s break.
Lets be honest, this is also a hang over from the kicking Cesc got in Europe against Porto. Porto said before the game they needed to stop Cesc, it was disgusting how several of the Porto players were on the pitch for the duration of the match, for sure the Stoke lads will have watched this and joked about it in the build up to the match.
Football is suffering as the stakes are so high. If not policed by the referee things get out of control as we know, but it is the FA and UEFA that must face the music here. All three players at Arsenal have suffered premeditated violent conduct on the field, not simply strong challenges and there is an obvious connection.
I like the comments regarding a financial obligation/remuneration and both parties absence from the game for the same period as the injured player, anything to improve upon than the lame three match bans and personality witch hunts post match.
Ligaments and metatarsals are one thing…… but to snap bones takes force and that’s the sickening truth that makes any defense based on an individual’s normal behavior irrelevant. It’s reckless and if you’re a professional sports person, you know your job. Have never forgiven Man-IOU, Paul “Scones”, for kicking Reyes off the park, Reyes never recovered from the experience and it was so obviously premeditated, reminded me of how some coaches praise that blood and guts commitment.
Arsenal are no angels, simply more technically gifted than many of the sides they play. They are not lightweight as in previous seasons but cannot always compete due to a lack of continuity in decisions and protection from the referees and “the suits” in the game.
Slightly off topic, but the BBC commentators were fairly ascerbic about the lack of fairness of Phil Dowd in the first 35 minutes of the Carling Cup Final today.
Apparently he had sent off quite a few Utd players in the past and Ferguson was minded to say: ‘The ref was Phil Dowd: what can you expect?’
Today: he didn’t send the Serb off in 3 minutes, the key decision of the game, he didn’t book him, but booked 3 opponents for not much and failed to book Rafael either. A huge ironic cheer went up when he finally booked a Red. The Serb was booked second half, so the decision in minute 3 was doubly incendiary.
There was unanimity on the basis for a sending off from Hansen, Shearer, Southgate, O’Neill, Lawrenson, Mowbray and Lineker. The language was of the order of: ‘if that’s not a clear goalscoring chance, then I don’t know what is………’
I guess public intimidation of refs can work, can’t it??
Lineker et al didn’t check the ‘story’ for Rooney being on the bench. They said he had ‘flu, Rooney when questioned said ‘I didn’t know about that, my knee was a bit sore’. Didn’t see owt to suggest that……at the end, Lineker reckoned SAF would pull Rooney from the England squad. Perhaps it was just his little joke??
That’s life right now, I guess.
Sickening tackle. I hope Aaron’s gonna be OK. Have seen him play a few times in the Carling Cup, uniformly excellent.
I send an email to Lord Triesman, chair of the FA management board, c/o House of Lords via http://www.writetothem.com/lords
Dear Lord Triesman,
AARON RAMSEY BROKEN LEG, 27 February 2010
I write to you in your capacity as chair of the Football Association (FA).
I am a concerned football fan, deeply distressed by the broken leg suffered by a promising young British football star, Aaron Ramsey, on 27 February at Stoke City’s ground.
I am concerned that a career may have been ended, and that the only sanction the FA will seek against the perpetrator of this reckless and possibly career-threatening challenge is a three-match ban.
I would hope that given the propensity for the players of certain teams to suffer career-threatening injuries far more frequently than others in the Premier League, that the FA will immediately inquire formally into the conditions that have led this unacceptable culture of thuggery in our national game to develop, and to find ways of mitigate it through the use of stiffer sanctions (fines, bans eg Belgian FA 15-game ban, criminal prosecution for assault).
As you are aware, England is keen to host a World Cup in the near future. Unfortunately, until our national game is scourged of the vicious thugs who think they can maim highly skilled players simply because they are unable to impose themselves any other way, I fear it is unlikely that England would be seen as a suitable venue.
Yours sincerely,
I was young, fit with a 32inch waist the last time England won a major football tournament…even then in 1966 we needy Nobby Stiles to kick the foreign flair players and Ramsey to reinvent the beautiful game…its no coincidence we have won nothing 40 years on when we still place more importance on physical presence rather than silky skills. TV coverage of the game encourages and admires a player and teams that “play it hard and stop the talented players that try to play football like the Arsenal. If we dont win another trophy in my lifetime but continue to play the game as it should be played then I will die a happy fan!
For a totaly disgusting, thoughtless shit headed point of view you should have heard that fat git Alan Brazil on Talkshit on Monday morning, if anyone had any doubt about that stations view on Arsenal Football club and Arsene Wenger they would have been totaly dispelled, they hate us with a passion that is scary, just ask Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror who was subjected to ridicule and distain for aggreeing with Arsene Wengers point of view, as he left the studio they laughed and said there he goes with his tail between his legs!!!!
Thats how much talkshit hates the Arsenal !!!!