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Man Utd are back in the title race… but Andre Villas-Boas is not a head of the injury game

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06:02 Unknown 0 Comments

I WAS annoyed to hear about a bug in the Arsenal camp ahead of their game against Manchester United and in the end it was Tomas Rosicky and Per Mertesacker that missed out.

David MoyesHappy David Moyes celebrates with Robin van Persie [PA]
I wanted to see the side that took three points away from Borussia Dormund attempt the same at Old Trafford in the interests of a game that actually tells us something about this seasons title race. The problem with a bug is that we can always reason that the result is not a true representation because the game is not quite the humdinger we were hoping for, when actually that doesn’t give credit to United who got a great but slightly ugly win.
They needed that much more than Arsenal. They were at home, they are still yet to take flight properly under David Moyes and they needed the points to avoid being left behind in the title race.
In relation to the other teams, only Southampton and Liverpool made significant gains this weekend. Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham and Everton were all thwarted in their hope of three points and, in fact, the loss does little to Arsenal except cut their lead a little and put a damp-squib-end to what could have been a truly amazing week for them.
Significant about the game at Old Trafford was grit and determination from United to take the spoils. I don’t like their game yet this season. We aren’t seeing any great or emphatic football yet from them as a team - but with Rooney playing as he did, I wouldn’t begrudge them the wins when they get them.
I shudder to think of United without Rooney this campaign and don’t think David Moyes is getting enough credit for firstly getting Rooney to stay, and secondly getting him to the form he is currently showing.
Every week I hope we will see answers to the question of who is a genuine title contender this season and so far, almost every week, the questions remain unanswered. A look at how the title odds change from week to week will tell you that actually no one knows anything for sure yet. Chelsea were poor against West Brom and I still don’t know what Jose Mourinho is trying to do.
I don’t understand why he doesn’t rate Juan Mata, who I think is a little bit of the answer to making them consistently good again. Manchester City have now dropped points to Cardiff City, Aston Villa and Sunderland away this season. It’s like they can’t get themselves up for games they must win to stamp their authority at the top of the table. I expect more from them because of their squad.
Manchester United are in it - not right up there, but they’re there or thereabouts and Arsenal, the most consistent team of this season, have only just started to take on opponents that will help us form an opinion about them. Their January transfer dealings might be more important then anyone else’s in terms of more strike options in the long run.
Liverpool and Southampton are on great form this season and for the moment, we must take them as seriously as the rest of the teams up there, despite how far off the pace they ended up last season. It’s all about the marathon not the sprint of course. I want answers - someone give me some!
Andre Villas-BoasAndre Villas-Boas has been criticised for his handling of the Hugo Lloris situation [PA]
I sincerely hope when I come to write my column again next Sunday we are not still talking about concussions and bangs on the head in football but suspect that incidents involving Wojciech Szczesny and then Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford might prolong the discussion started after Hugo Lloris wasn’t taken off the pitch in the game against Everton.
I’ve said my piece repeatedly this week on the dangers of potential head injuries. I had a huge row with my talkSPORT co-host Mick Quinn on air this weekend about football’s embarrassing arrogance on this topic, so I’ll make this as quick and painless as I can.
It’s not OK to take the “well he’s fine anyway so what’s the problem” attitude. It’s reckless and stupid. It also flies in the face of medical opinion. Taking the correct steps for anyone who take a bang to the head is not rocket science. This is about sensible PRECAUTIONARY medical intervention. Of 100 people knocked unconscious, 99 of them will develop a concussion. Concussion CAN lead to serious problems but can be no more then a bit-of-a headache.
Where’s the harm in being cautious and getting checked?
Taking a player off negates the possibility of a more serious injury; one knee to head (a la Lloris v Lukaku) can lead to a bump, a concussion, a headache - a second bump to the head on the same afternoon increases the possibility of a serious problem. No one is immortal and football can’t afford to take these risks; as a sub plot to this, a growing trend of litigation in other sports over head injuries should serve as a warning to football to be careful with it’s subjects.
Nemanja VidicNemanja Vidic makes his way off the Old Trafford pitch with a head injury 
“It makes AVB look at the least a little stubborn, at the most pretty stupid”
Nemanja Vidic was assessed at half time for United on Sunday and ended up going to hospital after a collision with his own keeper. It’s not clear yet whether Szczesny was out cold after a head clash with Phil Jones. Caution should have been the only option there if he was.
It wasn’t just the decision on the day to allow Lloris to continue, I think that AVB could have put that to bed pretty quickly, but he didn’t and I think he ended up with egg on his face yesterday. Just 3 days before their game against Newcastle, AVB launched a staunch defence on the Lloris decision - he even went as far as to mention the amazing medical intervention that helped saved the life of Fabrice Muamba last season. What an irrelevance - Muamba’s very being was saved on the pitch that day - Lloris was a matter of simple precautionary medical sense. No comparison. Long and short of it?
Lloris was not well enough to play on Sunday. A week after he wasn’t taken off the pitch, which makes AVB look at the least a little stubborn, at the most pretty stupid.
I suspect the issue of Lloris will fade into the background pretty quickly at Spurs in favour of a discussion over their loss on Sunday. Tim Krul may have had the afternoon of his career at White Hart Lane in the early kick off, the Newcastle keeper made more saves in one game then any other keeper in the Premier League since Opta started keeping track of the stats in 2006 - but the Spurs fans I hear calling into talkSPORT don’t have much love for the game their team are playing at the moment and despite the start to the season they’ve had, I am not sure their loss to the Magpies will wash with AVB’s harshest critics.

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