We love the rough stuff, that's why Nigel De Jong's tackle had 500,000 hits on the net

On the attack: Nigel de Jong's now infamous challenge
11 April 2012

Let's be honest — we all like a bit of the rough stuff. Football is no different and the moral outrage concerning certain tackles this season is a ludicrous overreaction from supporters who want to have their cake and eat it.

We love the Premier League because it is everything that we want it to be. Passion, energy, aggression mixed with pace, invention and incredible skill courtesy of some of the finest players in the world.

The money in English football is here because those commodities trade at a higher value than all others and the combination of high stakes and extreme desire is irresistible.

We miss it when it isn't there — how we longed for it during a largely drab and disappointing World Cup that also contributed heavily to the indifference many presently feel towards England matches.

Not so at club level. Fans pay ever spiralling exorbitant prices and expect to be rewarded with fire and brimstone so how can anyone complain when some take it too far?

After all we are talking about men predominantly in their twenties competing in hostile environments where there is more testosterone swilling about than at a bare-knuckle barn fight in Cirencester.

This is not to condone the lunatics who go out to deliberately injure an opponent — we all remember the just and widespread condemnation of Roy Keane's horrific lunge on Alf Inge Haaland in the 2001 Manchester derby that ended the City defender's career.

However, those instances of obvious foul play are rare. It is a fine — but usually clear — line between a firm challenge and a dirty one.

It is a trademark of the English game — at any standard — that managers send their teams out instructing them to let their opponents know they are in for a battle.

"Stick one on their big striker early, son. Let him know you are there." Ron Atkinson used to call it a "reducer".

Something akin to that was probably going through Nigel de Jong's mind when he tackled Hatem Ben Arfa in the first five minutes of City's game against Newcastle earlier this month.

De Jong has history in this area. His kung-fu kick on Spain's Xabi Alonso in the World Cup Final was a disgrace but this instance is different.

The Dutchman was accused of "unnecessary and excessive force" by Newcastle in a letter calling on the Football Association to act after on-loan winger Ben Arfa was left with a broken leg.
(Parent club Marseille have even demanded legal action). It doesn't look like they will. Whisper it quietly but he won the ball. It was an over-zealous tackle with an unfortunate consequence but you could hardly call it a deliberate leg breaker.

In any case, how was the tackle greeted? With wholehearted cheers from a baying Eastlands mob. Any set of supporters would have been the same. There is a sporting voyeur in us all. Type De Jong tackle Alonso' into YouTube and 13 videos appear on the first page with combined views totalling more than 500,000.

What we are seeing is the collision of traditional tough tackling values that have been inherent in our game for decades with the breathtaking pace at which matches are played nowadays.

Champions League and international games are generally played at a lower tempo as a more considered approach is favoured and those who yearn for the Premier League in its absence like their football fast and furious.

Sometimes furious wins out. It contributes to the unpredictability of the League and explains why Tony Pulis, Mick McCarthy and Sam Allardyce among many place such great emphasis on the physical side of the game.

However, some players are idiots who allow the thuggish element within to emerge in the heat of the moment — De Jong may well be among them as Holland coach Bert van Marwijk believes he "needlessly looks to push the limit".

Wolves' Karl Henry and Stoke's Andy Wilkinson may also fall into that category but as long as there is no clear line of retribution, we will perhaps never know. The only way to eradicate mischievous thoughts from players' minds is to use retrospective video evidence regardless of whether the referee has seen the incident or not.

Compromising the integrity of officials is a real concern for the game but not as much as the integrity of players' bone structures.

The game is cleansing itself — fans of football in the 1960s and 1970s would mock the modern version for such introspection in the face of this issue — and this sanitisation should continue with trial by television.

However, that still appears some way off. No one wants to see bad injuries to any player but if you want your football as cut throat as it presently is, don't be surprised when it happens.

Levy's got a Real deal

Chairmen are often condemned for meddling in team affairs when they should stick to what they know best but Tottenham supremo Daniel Levy appears to have bucked the trend in signing Rafael van der Vaart.

Levy, who has in the past been criticised over his approach in transfer negotiations, acted quickly when Van der Vaart became available on deadline day while Harry Redknapp was oblivious to the opportunity.

Redknapp agreed the deal proposed by Levy and at £7million, Van der Vaart has already proved himself a snip and an early front runner for signing of the season after four goals in six games since moving from Real Madrid.

The locals declare the midfielder one of the best they have seen in a long time at the Lane, while Redknapp has quickly been able to accommodate a player who appeared to be an awkward fit in Tottenham's settled formation.

Redknapp stated upon taking the Spurs job in 2008 that "I would not let anyone else buy my players" which reflects the attitude of antipathy and mistrust among managers towards directors of football.

The game has been littered with stories of chairmen believing that business acumen translates by osmosis to football insight only to find themselves diluting the effectiveness of their team.

Van der Vaart's temperamental character is yet to be tested — the wisdom of this deal may be reviewed if the Dutchman throws a tantrum if things start going wrong at Spurs — but even in that event, his resale value aged just 27 will almost certainly prevent a loss.

All the indications are that Levy's intervention was a masterstroke.

Wales prove England right

England's decision to shun the Home Nations tournament which returns next summer disappointed many but Wales's attitude to their forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier provides considerable vindication.

There was perhaps a feeling that England would gain little in sporting terms from such an event; if that appeared condescending, then the Welsh FA have this week done little to dispel that notion.

Despite the Wales players making it clear they would have a better chance of success at Cardiff City's new venue, the Welsh FA have moved March's qualifier against England to the Millennium Stadium.

Wales have an awful record there but can generate £1.5million —twice as much income compared to Cardiff's 27,000-seater venue.

By selling out the players' wishes in such a manner, the Welsh FA have simultaneously proved both sides know there would be no sporting advantage to regular meetings.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in