Petr Cech needed surgery for depressed skull fracture.

Rollo Tamasi

that is disgracefull, if i was a chelsea fan i'd be so embarrased at all this rubbish. He really needs to get a touch line ban for acting the spa

TheMonster

I hope Hunt sues for slander and wins - Mourinho has taken this too far.

thebaz

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Shay Given is out for at least six weeks, I suppose Harewood shouldn't be allowed play for that duration too?

I'm massively confused as to what you want to happen Hunt exactly.

I wasn't go reply , at the risk of getting banned , but as your a mod -

A 3 match ban would have been just in my mind --

Cant believe the hate generated here , its Cech with the fractured skull ---

so start posting the insults -- i'm in good humour

Xavi6

thebaz wrote:

A 3 match ban would have been just in my mind --

Only a 3 game ban for the horrendous crime committed?? The same as for any regular straight red card?

You're in generous mood tonight.....

MrJoeSoap

thebaz wrote:

I wasn't go reply , at the risk of getting banned , but as your a mod -

A 3 match ban would have been just in my mind --

Cant believe the hate generated here , its Cech with the fractured skull ---

so start posting the insults -- i'm in good humour

Accidents happen, but I don't believe Cech has a fractured skull because of any malicious intent from Hunt, and it seems the vast majority of people agree with me. The MOTD pundits, the majority of journalists, even Kevin Nolan all agree that it was an accidental collision.

You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I'm just glad that the FA haven't seen it necessary to buckle under pressure from Mourinho et al at Chelsea. As one of tonights papers said, Hunt probably wouldn't have made as much of a name for himself if he had scored a hat-trick! He'll now be scrutinised so closely that every foul he commits for the next few live games will be talked about and analysed.

I haven't actually met anybody in person who thinks it was anything other than a slightly clumsy and unfortunate accident.

futuredeath

when i first saw it i didnt even know he was irish, and was shocked when i heard even a few people say anything to effect of it being malicious and deliberate.

The Clown Man

I agree with Cudicini:


"It is obvious Hunt did not intend to harm Petr otherwise he should be labelled an assassin.

"But he is Pinocchio when he says he could not avoid him. He went in with a firm leg to get the collision, the fall and a possible penalty."


He certainly did not make any significant effort on his part to limit any chance of Cech maybe getting hurt somehow. Inexperience I'd say but a very dangerous game to play.

Necronomicon

The Clown Man wrote:

"But he is Pinocchio when he says he could not avoid him. He went in with a firm leg to get the collision, the fall and a possible penalty."

Hate bumping this thread but had to quote this particular part; the ball was safely in Cech's hands when Hunt made contact with him, how would going over get him a penalty?

In related news, Chelsea denied today that they are going to make a bid for Gianluigi Buffon, as claimed by the Juve keeper's agent.

MrJoeSoap

WE START the day with an aptitude test. First, find a piece of open land, at least 50 yards uninterrupted. Start running. Get up to full pelt, as fast as you can go, the sort of speed you would be looking to achieve if you were, for instance, a Reading midfield player who thought that he had a sniff at goal after 20 seconds against Chelsea. Are you there yet? Good. Now drop your knee.

Hello again. Were they nice at the hospital? I hope so. Man running fast like that, falls flat on his face, sounds nasty. Still, we have proven one thing: it would have been as good as physically impossible for Stephen Hunt to have fouled Petr Cech in the way José Mourinho has suggested, unless he was willing to risk serious injury to himself.

Those of a less adventurous nature may wish to try the following experiment instead. Walk across the room at normal pace and, in stride, drop your knee. See what I mean? It is an unnatural action. Your body is not conditioned to move in this way unless your aim is to fall forward face first or continue in the style of Max Wall, and neither stance is truly conducive to Premiership football.

Also, if Hunt is genuinely capable of taking people out with just his kneecap at running speed, he would be best advised to hand in his notice at Reading and head straight for Washington DC, because the CIA has vacancies for men such as him and could save a fortune on guns.

Of course, the problem with the knee as a weapon of choice is, as Mark Lawrenson astutely observed on Match of the Day on Saturday night, its vulnerability. The over-the-top tackle is traditionally made studs showing, with the sole of the foot, an area that can withstand great impact (think of jumping from a high wall). The harder the opponent kicks against the studs, the worse his injury, while the assailant’s leg is at an angle perfectly adjusted to absorb pressure.

Compare that with the knee. There is all kinds of stuff around there that a footballer cannot be without: posterior cruciate ligament, anterior cruciate ligament, lateral capsular ligament, medial capsular ligament, fibular collateral ligament, tibial collateral ligament, patellar ligament, transverse ligament, fibular, tibia . . . I’ve missed a few, I know.

Anyway, the point is that no professional sportsman in his right mind would lead with a knee in an attempted assault. It would be the equivalent of trying to win the Tour de France by taking out your rivals with your front wheel. And we are asked to believe that Hunt was in his right mind on Saturday. Indeed, we are asked to believe that he was not just thinking straight but coldly, calculatingly and maliciously about hurting an opponent. While running at speed. And ordering his body to do something that every natural impulse in his brain would have tried to override and reject.

In the matter of minutes that elapsed between the final whistle and Mourinho’s post-match interview, it is unlikely that the Chelsea manager had time to consider his allegations from every logical angle. Nor would he have reviewed the footage of the incident frame by frame, over and over, as would have happened at television studios around the country before the experts that Mourinho so despises gave their verdict.

I sat with Chris Kamara at Sky’s base in Isleworth, West London, on Sunday morning as he slowed down the film and replayed it several times until we felt confident enough to pass opinion. I think this is what happened: Cech collected the ball in his hands, at which point Hunt was roughly two strides away from him and travelling at speed; their juxtaposition was such, though, that Hunt probably believed that if he continued his run along its line there would be no contact, which is why he did not jump; what he did not efficiently factor in, though, was the slippery surface, which took Cech, who was sliding, into his path; this unexpected event accounted for the awkwardness of Hunt’s stance as he collided with Cech; in attempting to brace for the impact, he turned his leg away and was beginning to fall, which is why his right knee clipped Cech’s temple.

If he wanted to hurt him, he could have done it the old-fashioned way and left a foot in.

This was a freak incident which produced a freak injury. Every person who played or plays the game professionally that I have spoken to acknowledges this, bar one.

We should begin by giving Mourinho something he has not granted Hunt: the benefit of the doubt. His team had just won a very competitive match in which two of his goalkeepers had been carried off on stretchers and taken to hospital after physical challenges from Reading players. Protective of his men, as all managers are, it is understandable that he should suspect foul play. In the heat of the moment there is mitigation for his post-match comments, too, however inflammatory they may appear.

Mourinho believed what he said at the time. It would be fascinating to discover how often he has studied the incident since, though, because to continue down this line when the emotion has been removed from the situation seems unreasonable.

Mourinho is an intelligent man. Too often he sees the debate from a selfish perspective, but join the club. Sir Alex Ferguson has never been caught in possession of an open mind when it comes to matters affecting Manchester United. What we believe, though, is that when these men get home, when they sit in front of the fire with a large whisky and reflect, they do not see the game vastly different from the rest of us.

Ferguson knows he could have handled Roy Keane’s departure more skilfully; Arsène Wenger did actually have a view of the stonewall penalty against his team that the referee missed; Mourinho acknowledges that Barcelona were the better team over two legs last season.

This is what makes Mourinho’s — and Chelsea’s — stance so puzzling; that, given the chance to adjust, to soften, they have remained resolutely hardline. Chelsea will press ahead with a complaint to the FA, alleging that Hunt’s challenge was reckless, avoidable and should be treated as an exceptional case, even though there is little hope of success. At least this will open a dialogue around the issue of professional responsibility.

Intriguingly, Mourinho had less of a problem with the challenge by Ibrahima Sonko that resulted in Carlo Cudicini having to go to hospital, even though, in throwing himself at the ball at full speed, Sonko showed scant regard for the wellbeing of the players around him. He was making a genuine attempt to equalise but he had his head down and did not show sufficient consideration for those in his way.

If the injuries that occurred have one positive, it is that the duty of care towards an opponent is now high on football’s agenda, although only the Reading players will know whether they exercised due caution on this occasion. Sadly, there are other issues, too. Within 30 minutes of the finish, Mourinho was using the general reluctance to support his more extreme statements as further evidence of conspiracy against his club. This is nonsense. The outcry after Michael Essien’s tackle on Dietmar Hamann last season, for instance, came because it was an open-and-shut case. What Mourinho must understand is that he is in a minority over Cech and a huge element of doubt surrounds his allegations against Hunt.

It is not only members of the media who are sceptical; the professional game also rejects his view. Mourinho may choose to believe that these opinions are rooted in bias, but that is insulting to the integrity of men such as Bob Wilson and Gordon Taylor, respected figures in the sport with no reason to give anything more than an honest appraisal. Mourinho undermines his arguments when he goes off on these tangents, which are then dismissed as paranoid rants, and valid points are lost, such as the one he made yesterday about treatment times.

It is worthless debating with him in this mood because he will not see beyond Chelsea versus the rest.

Out of interest, I looked at every mention of his club in this column this season: Didier Drogba an early contender for Footballer of the Year; John Terry for England captain; a defence, in passing, of Frank Arnesen, Chelsea’s head of development and scouting, after the Panorama investigation. Not one negative word, apart from a small joke about Mourinho’s new haircut and a minor supporting role in some fun at the expense of Ashley Cole’s autobiography.

Yet Mourinho remains convinced that the world is against his club and will see its refusal to take up arms against Reading and Hunt as further evidence of corruption. “I hope when this is finished it is not the Reading player that has an award for fair play and our goalkeeper who is charged by the FA,” he said on Saturday night, joking yet meaning it.

That is why, while the FA would be correct in taking Chelsea’s grievance no farther, it would be wrong to proceed against Mourinho for his comments, as some have suggested it should. If there is now an exchange about not only fair play but also responsible behaviour, some good will have come out of Cech’s pain and Mourinho’s anger. The Chelsea manager will not see it that way, of course. He will see only plot and injustice. And he will be wrong.

Sometimes there is no design, no cunning plan, no drop of the knee.

Sometimes **** just happens.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8305-2409107,00.html

Best article I've read on it yet.

Nalz

Porato

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=424564&CPID=8&clid=8&lid=4161&title=Porato+waits+on+Mourinho+green+light

growler

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

that is disgracefull, if i was a chelsea fan i'd be so embarrased at all this rubbish. He really needs to get a touch line ban for acting the spa

how exactly would you go about issuing a touchline ban for comments made in programme notes and to the media?

But it's a great idea to ban all managers from the dugouts if they say something untrue / daft / biased

of course there wouldn't be any managers left after a month. :rolleyes:

MrJoeSoap

growler wrote:

But it's a great idea to ban all managers from the dugouts if they say something untrue / daft / biased

Sarcasm, yellow card.

growler

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Sarcasm, yellow card.

doh