Arsenal v Birmingham - EPL | 17-10-09 | 3pm |

[alboots101]

look...they are not very bright....they wanted a reaction..they got it...one lad in super duper level got chucked..its gonna piss you off..its supposed too.

i live with the ****s..so i`ll be asking them the last time they won something...including or excluding the LDV cup.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Stevo: Please do, it'll be interesting.

Here are the replies so far (trimmed a bit for ease of viewing, but I've left every opinion in, so please don't assume I'm leaving anything out to make my point )

Looked like a cracking challenge to me !

Why the caffuffle ?

I also thought it was a good challenge

Cracking tackle

That really is a top class tackle

Don't see any problem with that, perfect tackle. Walcott's fall doesn't look too pleasant though but that's football, you can get hurt

a tackle which though hard was perfectly fair in my view

cracking tackle...

Yep, I'm with the concensus on this - excellent tackle

naughty

Great tackle

his intention was to injury the player. Making a contact with the ball was secondary, it may of occurred first but the first thought was to try and end the players game.

Perfectly acceptable tackle

I really don't, he isn't that sort of player and having just come back from a broken leg himself I don't think he would do that.

I think the tackle was clean, fair, immaculately timed and brave. Going into the tackle, there's more chance of Ridgewell being injured than Walcott

I can't believe that anyone is making a fuss over this one. I suspect a combination of talksport and Eduardo's injury being to blame for the overreaction.I can't believe that anyone is making a fuss over this one. I suspect a combination of talksport and Eduardo's injury being to blame for the overreaction.

I don't rate Ridgewell, never have but that was one hell of a tackle. It was brave, timed well and I believe honest

This one's from an Everton fan

agree, thought it was a quality tackle meself

 

[Klaus Daimler]

As I said, only in England. And it's not something to be proud over.

 

[Invincible]

I don't see anything wrong with that tackle. He clearly won the ball, gets a piece of Theo as well but he's a defender and he needs to show him "he's there". Keown was a master of those kind of tackles and I don't seem to remember any gooner moaning about it.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Those are by no means entirely english points of view.

 

[Tony Montana]

As I said, only in England. And it's not something to be proud over.

This is the English Barclays Premier League.

I think what we think and say about it matters the most.

Harsh, but true.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Stevo: I didn't say they were. Only people supporting an english team would ever say something that ridiculous though.

Tony: I don't think it's too much to ask for the standard of the game to improve even if it happens to be one of the most retrogressive leagues in the world.

Graham Poll has spoken up and given his two cents on the situation, by the way. I don't like him but I think he's got this one spot on:

Down at the Emirates, Liam Ridgewell flew into a challenge on Theo Walcott and, yes, played the ball first. But he then wiped out the Arsenal winger.

The speed at which Ridgewell went into the tackle and the angle of his approach made it impossible for him to avoid Walcott. The challenge endangered the safety of the opponent and therefore should have been punished.

Referee Lee Probert played on, Walcott was stretchered off and now faces a scan on his knee. When will pundits stop condoning such challenges by saying that the tackler played the ball?

 

[otfgoon]

Don't think the tackle was that much of a big deal though a little naughty, but calling it brave?

 

[Stevo the Villan]

I think the "brave" comment referred to Ridgewell having just come back from a broken leg but still puttinghimself about.

KlausI see you rpoint and it's a valid one. But I think it's just part of the game, you can't wrap players in cotton wool.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

It's true of course. Football is a contact sport and I generally dislike people who are moaning about it, but I'll never agree that those kind of tackles are a natural part of the game. There's something seriously wrong with the rule book if it's perfectly fine to injure someone just because you happen to get to the ball first. Those scissor slides are just mad. What if Walcott's leg had snapped, or if he'd damaged his cartilage again and missed the rest of the season? I'd imagine a lot more people would've agreed with me then.

I remember when they penalised the tackle from behind and everyone moaned about how it'd kill english football. It didn't really though, did it. I reckon that there's still a lot of work to be done before we're at the level where you can call some of those challenges for "tough but fair".

 

[thegame24]

He got the ball but he knew what he was doing so hes a ****.

 

[Invincible]

Walcott's terrible first touch allowed Ridgewell to go in like that.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Yes, it's all Walcott's fault that he got injured. People who doesn't excell with the first touch truly deserves to have their medial knee ligaments damaged. What a ****ing idiot. I'm glad he got stretchered off so he couldn't get the chance to embarass us any more.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Hahaha, I think it was a fair tackle but blaming Theo for getting himself injured that's a bit far!

 

[True Gooner]

Walcott's terrible first touch allowed Ridgewell to go in like that.

Please let this be a joke.

 

[AnthonyG]

You really have to wonder sometimes.

 

[Del Boy]

Was a great tackle as far as I'm concerned clearly took the ball and man, nothing really wrong with it.

People are just moaning because its those Brummie ****s again and Walcott is very injury prone.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

People are moaning because old habits die hard in England - mostly because they're not really that old. Imagine that it was merely ten years ago that people moaned about how the english national team was being subjected to the same rules and regulations as everyone else in the World Cup instead of being treated like a bunch of *.

 

[progman07]

Walcott's terrible first touch allowed Ridgewell to go in like that.

So it's either too good, or it's too bad. Eduardo was too fast, now Theo had a too bad touch...

Crazy things. What next, Player X shouldn't have tried to beat his marker?

 

[alboots101]

he goes through the ****ing back ffs...i love a bit of a tackle but ffs..blind sided=broken leg..you know it..i know it and by ****ing hell Walcott knows it.

****ing cowards challenge..i know..i committed enough of `em....wingers got no chance...ridiculous to defend it..sorry but that the way i see it.

you want players careers ruined...fine...i ****ing dont.