It's important to state from the off that I’m not a guy who jumps on the bandwagon when it comes to concussion injuries in football.
After reading in Record Sport about Peter Haring talking about the after effects of being knocked out in a game back in October against Aberdeen, what he was saying struck a chord. Like many former footballers, this issue terrifies me. I’m being completely honest when I state that a career where heading a football was a massive part of my game, I’m 100 per cent affected by it. My memory is all over the place and I speak to others in the game who claim exactly the same.
It is absolutely shot to bits and it’s because of football. I know that’s quite a statement but it’s a fact. Stupid things like remembering to phone someone back or even taking the bins out I forget about, I now have three diaries where I write tasks down so I can remember what I’m due to do.
It’s a huge concern and my assistant Mark Roberts at Glenafton is majorly worried by all of the things now coming out in the press about the industrial injuries which have been inflicted by heading the ball throughout a career. Mark is ten years older than me, he has a history of Alzheimer’s and dementia running in his family and his memory is not great. He’s convinced football is to blame.
Throughout the duration of my own career I was concussed about six or seven times. I just got back on my feet and played on as that’s just what we did.
A few weeks ago I sat down with my Glenafton physio as I wasn’t clear on the heading rule which is being brought in by the SFA. But now I endorse it completely. Not heading balls at training on the day before a game and after one is a start to making sure players are given some protection.
If there is a concern about concussion around any player then they are immediately replaced but in my day that wasn’t the case. It was a quick count of how many fingers the physio was holding up and right back into the game. As a footballer I headed the ball every day, it now scares me to death to think about the damage and the impact which could be around the corner later in life.
My youngest son is seven years old and I watched his team play last week, it was a freezing day and the ball was brick hard. One of the boys headed a clearance after the ball came down from 30 feet in the air, I grimaced and my first thought was that it shouldn’t be allowed.
The lack of memory impacts my life now, badly. That’s why reading Peter’s comments I’m glad Hearts are taking their time with him and he said he is still feeling the effects.
It’s mental to say this but if I was a player now and I was concussed, I still wouldn’t come off the pitch as that’s why footballers need the decision to be taken out of their own hands. It’s that competitive edge which compels players to play on and it’s a dangerous one.
I can hear myself arguing with doctors and physios and telling them I’m not coming off and it’s absolute madness. The problem is that concussion isn’t something you can visibly see in most cases. There is no blood or if it’s a fracture then you can’t continue. Concussion is something where you can’t see that damage you have done to your brain.
Players are loath to come off as they factor in the possibility they will be sidelined for a few weeks and someone will come in and take their place. That’s why the medical people have to call the shots.
If I came off with a head knock and 20 minutes later I felt fine then I felt as though I was cheating myself, my team and the fans. Head knocks were almost laughed at in the past and it’s great to see football changing and showing a duty of care.
It’s back to the Premiership this weekend and Hearts hosting Kilmarnock and already I feel uneasy. Killie are a bogey team for Hearts and for some reason I always get nervous going into these games but hopefully Saturday isn’t one of these games where that jinx hits the Jambos yet again.
A win is a must as they need to hit the ground running and maintain some momentum for the challenges ahead.
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