View Full Version : Ben Thatcher.... Brawling Genius
MidgetMoose
24-08-06, 01:39 PM
Did anyone else see this last night? my jaw dropped to the floor i couldn't believe it. Worst high challenge i've ever seen. Pedro Mendes had a seizure and spent the night in hospital. Its unreal but i can't seem to stop watching it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf92edgiFAw
Todd Bertuzzi got banned for the whole season for something similar in Ice hockey, admittedly he did break the guys neck but the same intent was there. Worst thing is the ref already gave him a red card so the F.A technically can't upgrade it... though im pretty sure they have too.
hopefully the police will get involved and charge him with assault. or GBH.
timwilky
24-08-06, 01:58 PM
What a soft sod. Football is a contact sport. taken out and stays down. Wimp
MidgetMoose
24-08-06, 02:08 PM
heh, mans game but thats taking it a bit far.... and i meant yellow card not red given already... whoops.
Had worse when I used to play rugby, but that is truly OTT for football, he's always been a dirty player tho, even before he played for spurs :lol:
I'd expect a decent length ban for thatcher
timwilky
24-08-06, 02:29 PM
Oh come on, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith etc. had reputations for being hard men. todays players are pussies.
My own team Blackburn seem to have aquired a reputation. But if you want to play like schoolboys play with the boys.
Its a mans game. It is about time the ballet dancers ****ed off and let real men play.
Only rule, if you can't take it, don't give it.
Spiderman
24-08-06, 02:36 PM
Damn that must have hurt :shock: Was he ok?
Oh come on, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith etc. had reputations for being hard men. todays players are pussies.
My own team Blackburn seem to have aquired a reputation. But if you want to play like schoolboys play with the boys.
Its a mans game. It is about time the ballet dancers p*ssed off and let real men play.
Only rule, if you can't take it, don't give it.
to be frank tim, you're talking bollox. yeah granted the game was harder in the 70's and 80's but you seem to be saying that challenge was OK?
doesn't matter what era, that challenge was outrageous.
the bloke went into an epileptic fit and has been in hospital since.
Where the hell was the linesman for him not to see that and hence only the yellow card ?
timwilky
24-08-06, 03:40 PM
Oh come on, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith etc. had reputations for being hard men. todays players are pussies.
My own team Blackburn seem to have aquired a reputation. But if you want to play like schoolboys play with the boys.
Its a mans game. It is about time the ballet dancers p*ssed off and let real men play.
Only rule, if you can't take it, don't give it.
to be frank tim, you're talking bollox. yeah granted the game was harder in the 70's and 80's but you seem to be saying that challenge was OK?
doesn't matter what era, that challenge was outrageous.
the bloke went into an epileptic fit and has been in hospital since.
Keith I don't dispute it was a foul, but it was not the worse foul I have seen and at best was only deserving of a yellow card. If the guy suffers from epilepsy and it is brought on by being taken out on a football pitch. For his own safety he has no business being on one.
Diego's dealer
24-08-06, 03:45 PM
Oh come on, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith etc. had reputations for being hard men. todays players are pussies.
My own team Blackburn seem to have aquired a reputation. But if you want to play like schoolboys play with the boys.
Its a mans game. It is about time the ballet dancers p*ssed off and let real men play.
Only rule, if you can't take it, don't give it.
to be frank tim, you're talking bollox. yeah granted the game was harder in the 70's and 80's but you seem to be saying that challenge was OK?
doesn't matter what era, that challenge was outrageous.
the bloke went into an epileptic fit and has been in hospital since.
Keith I don't dispute it was a foul, but it was not the worse foul I have seen and at best was only deserving of a yellow card. If the guy suffers from epilepsy and it is brought on by being taken out on a football pitch. For his own safety he has no business being on one.
I suggest you watch the 'foul' again a few times. The more times I saw it last night the worse it looked.
It doesn't matter how much of a man you are, you can't be expected to take an arm to the head from someone who's had a 10 yard run-up!
It only takes one punch from someone standing still to floor most people so he's not really being a wuss for staying down after that.
Hope the ole' bill do get involved as has been reported, Thatcher clearly just wanted to hurt him.
Oh come on, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith etc. had reputations for being hard men. todays players are pussies.
My own team Blackburn seem to have aquired a reputation. But if you want to play like schoolboys play with the boys.
Its a mans game. It is about time the ballet dancers p*ssed off and let real men play.
Only rule, if you can't take it, don't give it.
to be frank tim, you're talking bollox. yeah granted the game was harder in the 70's and 80's but you seem to be saying that challenge was OK?
doesn't matter what era, that challenge was outrageous.
the bloke went into an epileptic fit and has been in hospital since.
Keith I don't dispute it was a foul, but it was not the worse foul I have seen and at best was only deserving of a yellow card. If the guy suffers from epilepsy and it is brought on by being taken out on a football pitch. For his own safety he has no business being on one.
i take your point, but i don't see us ever agreeing! :D
it was a shocking challenge, he only had intent on causing him harm, i don't see it any other way. the way i saw it he made no attempt whatsoever to get the ball. ok that happens a lot, but at the angles they were approaching it would have normally been a shoulder charge. he's gone at him throat high with his forearm. :shock: maybe the link doesn't do justice to the foul and it needs to be seen on a proper TV screen.
but as you said earlier, you support Blackburn so your knowledge of football is limited!!* :D
*joke!!!!!
MidgetMoose
24-08-06, 03:54 PM
We only have a reputation cause Lucas Neil is inept at doing anything well and like getting sent off stupidly.
Is wasmore than just a rough challenge, Im not happy at the state of the game today with diving and yellow cards for nothing but he was running at full pace didn't even attempt to play the ball and swung his elbow at his face intentionally, If thats not a red card i have no Idea what is... especially as Andy Todd got sent off for winning the ball.
Mendes is not epilectic either the seizure was briought on by Ben "Product of the Millwall youth System" Thatchers elbow.
fizzwheel
24-08-06, 03:58 PM
the way i saw it he made no attempt whatsoever to get the ball.
Thats what I was thinking to. I dont like the big crack you can hear on the soundtrack when they make contact. It made me wince.
If somebody did that to you in the street in a pub fight the police would arrest you for that. Why is the football pitch any different.
furrybean
24-08-06, 03:59 PM
I'm a City fan and we don't need a player like that. He's just a thug and hasnt got the talent to make it worthwhile tolerating behaviour like that.
Just my 2p
sharriso74
24-08-06, 05:48 PM
Just read in the evening Standard that the police are investigating the incident after a number of complaints and that the FA is looking a what they can do.
Thats so bad it should be removed from this site from not fitting in with the U rating. Shocking show of violence on the pitch.
I'd agree that the game has gone soft but there is no place for a challenge like that!!
It's now time for the FA to stand up and be counted, It's cobblers that the referee has only given a yellow card.
A seasons ban from all Fooball grounds is the minimum he should expect for a challenge like that, as that and more is what you would get if you did that in the crowd.
chris Cambridge City Supporter
the white rabbit
24-08-06, 08:40 PM
I watched all of that hoping to see a brawl. Perhaps some gypsy pugelists. I am disappointed and you breach the 'thread descriptions act'
furrybean
24-08-06, 09:00 PM
....chris Cambridge City Supporter
Sorry, I'm a Man City fan.
It winds me up when dirty reds say "I'm a united fan!" like there is no other United in the country.
....chris Cambridge City Supporter
Sorry, I'm a Man City fan.
It winds me up when dirty reds say "I'm a united fan!" like there is no other United in the country.
Sorry furrybean, i realised that you were a Man City Fan but like you in Manchester I suffer from people thinking theres only one team in Cambridge
chris
Peter Henry
24-08-06, 10:43 PM
Even in both codes of rugby which at the highest level today are more collision sports rather than contact. An action like Thatcher's with no intention other than to hit the opponent illegally would be punished severely.
The game was not better in the old days and the tackles that abounded were just thuggery. The game is better today due to the athleticism and speed of the modern player and yes the much improved playing surfaces. Longing for a return of people getting kicked up in the air is not the way to go.
Have the FA got the cojones to use video evidence after the event to punich Thatcher? They do it here in Spain.
MidgetMoose
24-08-06, 10:54 PM
I watched all of that hoping to see a brawl. Perhaps some gypsy pugelists. I am disappointed and you breach the 'thread descriptions act'
Hehe, i apologise i'll try to word the title better next time :wink:
Jelster
24-08-06, 11:07 PM
[If the guy suffers from epilepsy and it is brought on by being taken out on a football pitch. For his own safety he has no business being on one.
You don't have to suffer with Epilepsy to suffer a fit, a serious blow to the head can bring one on. How you can say that wasn't a red card I'll never know.... Since when has leaading with a forearm been OK for you Tim ??
.
philipMac
25-08-06, 07:25 AM
The reason that this was so nasty is that Thatcher had no intention of doing anything other than milling Mendes out of it.
I have seen rough challanges in Rugby, even Brian O'Driscoll getting pile-drivered into to ground by Umaga was roughly within the game of Rugby. This was just a lad running his elbow as hard as he possibley can into another lad to end his game.
I am jumping on the band wagon, and saying Really Bad. This adds nothing to football other than violence. If you want to see that, watch Ultimate/Pride Fighting.
If i remember riightly. Drunken Duncan Ferguson served time at her majety's leisure for head butting someone whilst playing for Rangers, So in my eyes the english FA should ban the **** and give him time in chokey...let him share a cell with Bubba :D
And as for comparing it to rugby i think its totally unjustified, majority of rugby punch ups are done toe to toe, no cheap shots...unless your freddie mendez and you lump a 6'6" copper (paul Ackford) from behind :lol:
Thats my 2 pennies worth.....back to think of some more jokes :roll:
The Basket
25-08-06, 11:12 AM
That wasn't a challenge. Downright thuggery.
That had nothing to do with football. He went straight for the man...To say anything else would be amazing.
If that was Rugby League then Thatcher would have been sent off and facing a lengthy ban. Even Rugby L has its limits and that passes it by some ways.
The Mass
25-08-06, 11:39 AM
Utterly disgraceful! :shock:
If you do a search on google for Ben Thatcher, the majority of hits come back with links to footy sites, where he has either benn sent off, or booked for a foul.
Just my 2p
I'll go back under my rock now. :?
It's not like that Mendez guy stayed down by choice, by the look of things he was sparked.
How anyone can say that challenge isn't intentional and a disgrace is beyond me. Thatcher was looking at the man, and not at the ball for a start and raised his elbow intentionally.
This would have been different if Thatcher had just run in, as that was a 50/50 challenge. No need to raise the elbow and he's got to be looking at a ban at best, and hopefully some sort of charge of assalut as that is a disgrace.
Basket, you're correct. Even in a game of rugby league that is a clear intentional foul. Raising an elbow is just plain wrong, and Thatcher should have the book thrown at him IMO.
Alpinestarhero
25-08-06, 02:29 PM
I was readin the paper earlier about all that, i saw the incident on tv and it was really shocking. The beutiful game? Hardly. I didnt realise the guy had a seizure though, they can be life threatening so im glad he's ok.
The guy responsible blatantly ran at the guy, he didnt even look like he was gonna challenge for the ball, and made no attempt to slow/stop once the ball was passed away
Really nasty, the guy should have half a seasons wages docked, which should go to a good local charity, and the guy himself banned from football for the rest of the season. So i guess he shouldnt receive any wages at all?
Matt
mpaton2006
25-08-06, 02:36 PM
This is nothing short of ABH, and should be dealt with by the Police. They seem to think they have immunity because it's a sports match.
Had worse when I used to play rugby, but that is truly OTT for football, he's always been a dirty player tho, even before he played for spurs :lol:
I'd expect a decent length ban for thatcher
Hey, Spurs ain't a dirty side! :evil:
I agree Thatcher's a thug, he used to play for Millwall and Wimbledon before Spurs. That challenge was shocking and further action should be taken against him.
Warthog
25-08-06, 05:06 PM
Absolutely sick. Tim I rarely get riled on this forum but your response is disgusting, so shove it. And also, that video is way less U rated than 99% of the stuff said and posted on here.
Sick.
furrybean
25-08-06, 05:35 PM
Me and the majority of my Man City friends agree that the right course for Pearce to take is to offload the lad. No place for him in the side,
Anyone got him in their fantasy football side? :lol:
ArtyLady
25-08-06, 10:18 PM
Oh come on, Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith etc. had reputations for being hard men. todays players are pussies.
My own team Blackburn seem to have aquired a reputation. But if you want to play like schoolboys play with the boys.
Its a mans game. It is about time the ballet dancers p*ssed off and let real men play.
Only rule, if you can't take it, don't give it.
to be frank tim, you're talking bollox. yeah granted the game was harder in the 70's and 80's but you seem to be saying that challenge was OK?
doesn't matter what era, that challenge was outrageous.
the bloke went into an epileptic fit and has been in hospital since.
Keith I don't dispute it was a foul, but it was not the worse foul I have seen and at best was only deserving of a yellow card. If the guy suffers from epilepsy and it is brought on by being taken out on a football pitch. For his own safety he has no business being on one.
A head injury can cause a seizure if it is bad enough - he didnt necessarily have to have a seizure disorder already.
ArtyLady
25-08-06, 10:20 PM
[If the guy suffers from epilepsy and it is brought on by being taken out on a football pitch. For his own safety he has no business being on one.
You don't have to suffer with Epilepsy to suffer a fit, a serious blow to the head can bring one on. How you can say that wasn't a red card I'll never know.... Since when has leaading with a forearm been OK for you Tim ??
.
sorry jelster - I repeated what you said - I didnt read right through the thread.
Ward8124
26-08-06, 03:01 PM
I'd agree that the game has gone soft but there is no place for a challenge like that!!
It's now time for the FA to stand up and be counted, It's cobblers that the referee has only given a yellow card.
A seasons ban from all Fooball grounds is the minimum he should expect for a challenge like that, as that and more is what you would get if you did that in the crowd.
chris Cambridge City Supporter
Cambridge who? lol ;P
Just been catching up after hols and hadn't seen this until just now.
Me and the majority of my Man City friends agree that the right course for Pearce to take is to offload the lad......
Trouble is that off-loading him will mean that he still plays for someone.
He needs banning. Yeah, I know I'm a Red Manc but my view has nothing to do with tribalism.
Tim Wilky:
I doubt that you've ever posted a bigger load of bollox on these forums. Sorry, but that's what I think. No personal offence intended.
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