Overreaction Monday ft Concussion protocols, Harry Kane as a playmaker and a stat padding Bundesliga
Overthinking and over-reacting to situations is the human way but when it comes to football something clicks in a person that makes things comical, ludicrous and rarely sensible. That being said after a jam-packed weekend of hysterical fans in Europe, there were bound to be a few hare-brained ideas.
âPlayers and doctors should be trustedâ to make the right decision over concussions
With Arsenalâs decision to not bring David Luiz off the field immediately coming under serious criticism, Troy Deeney has admitted that the club made the right decision.
SC Take: After David Luiz and Raul Jimenez's collision saw the Wolves striker taken to hospital with a fractured skull last weekend, Arsenal allowed the Brazilian to finish the half. That decision has come under immense criticism with many concerned for the defender especially with his head wound bleeding profusely for the remainder of the half. While the change was eventually made at half-time, Troy Deeney revealed that he saw nothing wrong with letting Luiz play on.
The Watford strikerâs comment that players are the best judge as to whether they are fine to continue is not just ridiculous but sets a dangerous precedent. It hands the football the chance to stop the introduction of concussion substitutes, something the game desperately needs. If anything, players should have absolutely no say in the matter because theyâre never willing to walk off the field. This is nothing more than a game and thatâs not worth costing a player his life.
Jose Mourinho transforming Harry Kane into a playmaker is a masterstroke
In light of another stellar performance from Harry Kane, in a North London derby, the world erupted and announced that Mourinhoâs move to transform Kane into a playmaker is his greatest ever.
SC Take: Harry Kane is at his absolute best right now and that tends to leads to the Tottenham strikerâs name being spoken alongside a few hyperboles. Ones that include greatest striker in the game, Englandâs greatest ever, Tottenhamâs greatest ever and so on, but for a serial scorer, it seems that nobody expected Kane to be a great playmaker. Itâs why theyâve handed Jose Mourinho plaudits for transforming him into a great one but hold your horses.
All Jose has done is hand Kane the best chance to thrive, he hasnât transformed Harry Kane into a playmaker because Kane has always been one. That has been the case under Mauricio Pochettino, for England and Gareth Southgate and even during his days out on loan. The Englishmanâs selflessness has often come under immense criticism in the past but it turns out, when youâve got a proper support system, things actually work out in your favour. Who knew?
Bundesliga is nothing more than a statistic padding league
With Timo Werner still adjusting to the Premier League, it has seen the interweb claim that the Bundesliga, the German top flight, is the easiest league to play in.
SC Take: Rather than focus on all the young footballers thriving, or the young coaches transforming the game or even the older players finding their best, the interweb is focused on stats. And more specifically how the Bundesliga is nothing more than a simple, stat-padding league where players from across the world go to âimprove their numbersâ. And all this is based upon what? The fact that Timo Werner, Chelseaâs newest gazillion pound spend, is having a bad run of form.
Sure, his bad run of form does include a one in a million sitter miss, but beyond that Werner hasnât exactly been at his worst. He hasnât scored in any of his last three Premier League games but the Germanâs overall play andâŚthatâs beside the point. Calling arguably one of Europeâs top five leagues a âstat padderâ is a major overreaction, that is even if we do ignore the fact that this is all based on a bad run of form.
Players who canât play a bouncer, donât deserve a concussion substitute
Sunil Gavaskar has revealed that he âdoesnât agreeâ with the concussion substitute because those who arenât good enough to play a bouncer, âdonât deserve a substituteâ.
SC Take: It seems age gets to certain people. First Troy Deeney and now Sunil Gavaskar, with both beyond a certain age in their lives. Itâs at that point where delusions start to seep into their minds and words just start flying out of their mouths. Because otherwise, there is absolutely no explanation for as to why either man would say something like this. More so for Gavaskar who played in an era where helmets werenât as sturdy or as well-made as they are right now.
For those wondering how or why a cricket topic popped up here and then wondering what it means, itâs as if he said a goalkeeper should never play if they can't stop every shot flying at them. Or if he said Lionel Messiâs bad run of form should see him stripped of not just one Ballon dâOr but all six, it's that ABSURD!