Dementia and football

G

Greaseman

Active member
Caught a bit of GMTV and that goon Richard Madeley interviewing Gazza.
Madeley engineered the conversation to his FACT that half the 66 winning team died with Dementia related to heading the ball. Not sure I buy into Madeley's claim as many old people contract Dementia and never played football.

However Gazza did say he spoke with Jackie about them fishing together, and Jack replied "who are you?"

Very sad, but it is contentious it was down to heading the ball. Surely Jacks memory would have faded a lot earlier if that was the case, no ?

What are your thoughts?
 
Greaseman said:
Caught a bit of GMTV and that goon Richard Madeley interviewing Gazza.
Madeley engineered the conversation to his FACT that half the 66 winning team died with Dementia related to heading the ball. Not sure I buy into Madeley's claim as many old people contract Dementia and never played football.

However Gazza did say he spoke with Jackie about them fishing together, and Jack replied "who are you?"

Very sad, but it is contentious it was down to heading the ball. Surely Jacks memory would have faded a lot earlier if that was the case, no ?

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Watch the film Finding Jack Charlton, all the answers to your questions are in there.

Very sad to watch.
 
Greaseman said:
Caught a bit of GMTV and that goon Richard Madeley interviewing Gazza.
Madeley engineered the conversation to his FACT that half the 66 winning team died with Dementia related to heading the ball. Not sure I buy into Madeley's claim as many old people contract Dementia and never played football.

However Gazza did say he spoke with Jackie about them fishing together, and Jack replied "who are you?"

Very sad, but it is contentious it was down to heading the ball. Surely Jacks memory would have faded a lot earlier if that was the case, no ?

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
How about doing a bit of research before coming on here trolling about serious issue
 
Greaseman said:
I have watched it.
Is it indisputable that his dementia was solely due to football ? Nobody can be sure.
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I'll just revert to my medical notes before I answer you.

Do you just want to be controversial or are you in need of attention? We all love you and will give you a virtual hug 🤗 .

Now does that feel better? ;)
 
Without seeing any programme or analysis my guess would be that you can't determine whether each individual case of dementia in an ex pro was caused by playing football because people get dementia without playing. However, I'm also presuming that the rate of dementia is statistically higher in ex pros than the general population or it increases the likelihood of it occurring early and so it can be deduced that playing football is a cause of dementia.
 
Massive thing in American Football at present, CTE, with a lot of ex pros getting diagnosed with this. Think they are ahead of our football looking into the long term effects of repeated head knocks/concussions.
Heading a big, heavy leather football over a period of X years cannot have been good for the head/brain so a definite link would not be surprising.
Agree with Nano, football does not cause dementia but greatly enhances the chances of developing it in later years.
 
Nano said:
Without seeing any programme or analysis my guess would be that you can't determine whether each individual case of dementia in an ex pro was caused by playing football because people get dementia without playing. However, I'm also presuming that the rate of dementia is statistically higher in ex pros than the general population or it increases the likelihood of it occurring early and so it can be deduced that playing football is a cause of dementia.
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Easy statistic to determine whether football has an effect. What percentage of ex pros over 60 currently vs the percentage of over 60’s in general

We’re also seeing with rugby that early onset dementia from impact is having a massive effect there too
 
ForssAwakens said:
Easy statistic to determine whether football has an effect. What percentage of ex pros over 60 currently vs the percentage of over 60’s in general

We’re also seeing with rugby that early onset dementia from impact is having a massive effect there too
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There was a fairly conclusive study looking at that which started the conversation a few years ago.

Was quite a significant increase in pro football populations.
 
Nano said:
Without seeing any programme or analysis my guess would be that you can't determine whether each individual case of dementia in an ex pro was caused by playing football because people get dementia without playing. However, I'm also presuming that the rate of dementia is statistically higher in ex pros than the general population or it increases the likelihood of it occurring early and so it can be deduced that playing football is a cause of dementia.
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In 2017 Alan Shearer took part in a documentary Alan Shearer: Football, Dementia and Me and again it is worth watching (linked below). There is one part where John Stiles, Nobby's son is talking to Shearer and he says that after the death of Jeff Astle in 2002 the coroner stated that heading a ball had contributed to his death and up to the programme being made the FA have done nothing about it and are just treating it as old age (first link).

Shearer does take part in a MRI scan to see what damage has been done to his brain through heading a ball. The MRI scan comes up clear with no damage to him (second link).

Obviously, there needs to be a lot more research carried out looking at dementia in footballers to see how the rates compare.



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Alan Shearer: Dementia, Football & Me | "It's terrible to watch someone you love disappear." Alan Shearer: Dementia, Football & Me Watch now ➡️... | By BBC Sport ScotlandFacebook

"It's terrible to watch someone you love disappear." Alan Shearer: Dementia, Football & Me Watch now ➡️...
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https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10156224033390982



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMoDtIJ_b8I
 
ForssAwakens said:
Easy statistic to determine whether football has an effect. What percentage of ex pros over 60 currently vs the percentage of over 60’s in general

We’re also seeing with rugby that early onset dementia from impact is having a massive effect there too
Click to expand...
I think football can learn from rugby and the concussion rules they have brought in. We had an incident recently when the Sheff United goalkeeper had a head injury and you could clearly see from the TV pictures he was fit to carry on, yet the manager was reluctant to bring him off.

In situations like that the medical staff have a duty of care and must over rule the manager. Even if players have to go off for an assessment, similar to rugby, then it can be only good for the long term welfare of players. At the moment we have a win at all costs mentality in the game.
 
HarryVegas said:
Also worth bearing in mind just how heavy the old caseys were - especially in the wet. Those things were like sponges made out of concrete!
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It always makes me smile when people say the old lace up ball was the same weight as today's ball. They might have been when they started the match but they certainly weren't when they finished. ;)
 
Goalkeepers have normal levels of dementia as per the population as a whole. That sets alarms bells ringing but very worrying is that the stats continue to be very high for outfield players even as we start to reach the modern age and those that played with modern, lighter balls.

Going back to the starting point, my last conversation with Alan Peacock, we were talking about his Leeds days. He told me just how many of his contemporaries had dementia. He then opened that out to England and Middlesbrough, It was staring him in the face that there were very few exceptions. He then told me that he had been diagnosed himself. Very sad to say.
 
Just wondering what people feel the FA could do to prevent it going forward?

I certainly feel that they could do more to support former footballers and address that there is an issue. Having read Hayley's article the other week about Gordon McQueen it seems they have received no assistance from the FA or PFA.

But in terms of the future of the game what could be done? Do you think footballers would just accept it as a occupational hazard and just get on with it? Would the likes of Jack Charlton and Jeff Astle have traded the life they had for one without dementia in their final years. I certainly don't think they would.
 
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