Shawcrass was either unfair or incompetent, I want to think that he is incompetent..

You do not show any sympathy to the actual victim of the tackle Aaron Ramsey but chose sides with the aggressor and took umbrage with someone who didnt even say half of the rubbish you quote.

You are certainly a strange person, if your views are always this twisted.

If your son leg were broken 3 times in 4 years. It is only natural for you to ask if it is this conincidence? Or if this sport is too rough for him?
Football is becoming a joke in England. Violent has no place in any sport.
I am sorry Lou Macari, you are the one who is out of order. Together with the Terrys, the Coles, the Shawcross and others.

How unfortunate is it that yet another pundit completely misses the point? At NO point druing Arsenes' post match press conference did he accuse Shawcross of deliberately attempting to break a players leg. But he did say that the challenge was not acceptable and rightly so!

Idiots who continue to avoid the issue will result in more challenges like this occuring in the future. A genuine reckless attempt at getting the ball it might have been, but ultimately he did not get the ball and now a player of 19 has a broken leg.

Please focus on the real issue.

Macari's statement "I’m really disappointed in him because if he honestly, deep down, believes Ryan Shawcross’s tackle on Aaron Ramsey was intentional, then there’s something wrong with him." is ridiculous. All tackles are intentional, LOL. Unless you mean Shawcross did not intentionally hurt Ramsey. To believe it is really really naive. If you keep tackling that way, sooner or later someone will get hurt. Tackling by swinging your leg with the intention to sweep the ball and the player all together is reckless at best and savage at worst. To claim that there is no intention shows that there is nothing between your ears. Take your pick. His track record suggests that this nice lad had injured opponents before and was lucky to avoid a red card on those occasions.

A few things to note about Ryan Shawcross and Stoke:

1. He broke Francis Jeffers ankle.

2. He damaged Adebayor's ankle in 2008 and put him out for 3 weeks.

3. Stoke's Ricardo Fuller said before the FA Cup game that Stoke would be "rough and aggressive" on Arsenal.

No one believes that Shawcross intended to break Ramsay's leg, but the rough and aggressive intent of the challenge made it reckless and just because he didn't intend to hurt Ramsay doesn't exclude him from blame.

Ironically I feel sorry for Shawcross because this isn't something he wanted to happen, but if teams continue to go in hard on Arsenal players these accidents will continue to happen.

I remember a few years ago when Paul Davis was suspended for 9 games for punching a player who had made a racist comment against him. The player was back the following week. Ramsay will be out for 20-30 games yet Shawcross will be back in 3.

If the sentence for violence and reckless challenges was longer, you'd see fewer of them for sure. Over to FA, UEFA and FIFA then.

You feel sorry more about Showcross then over Ramsey (not a word of sorry/condolence for Ramsey), sums up who you really are Macari. Look deep down on your heart, are you a worthy to judge other individual ? pity.

You feel sorry more about Showcross then over Ramsey (not a word of sorry/condolence for Ramsey), sums up who you really are Macari. Look deep down on your heart, are you a worthy to judge other individual ?

It was a red card and he got badly injured. That should be it, no one has said Shawcross is some sort of demon, there is only one victim here. I doubt Shawcross wanted to hurt him at all BUT he did. Just wondering though, how is it that most players can go through their careers without breaking another players leg, yet he can break 2 players legs and injure others (i.e Adebayour) by the age of 22 and "not be that type of player"?

It's amazing how many Arsenal fans have suddenly become avid readers of the WhyDelilah site. Or have they nothing better to do than search for opportunities to applaud the vindictive bile spewed forth by the Arsenal manager?

We are all deeply sympathetic Aaron Ramsey and we wish him as speedy a recovery as possible. But this was an accident plain and simple.

This article is a disgrace. Shawcross broke Francis Jeffers' leg before as well. It was a wild reckless tackle. 3 leg breaks in 5 years being described as not an epidemic is a joke -its 4 years. Sympathy does not exist in your world Macari you c***. Name another club that has suffered like this.

Your hatred of Arsenal & Wenger has clouded your judgement so much that you show more sympathy for Shawcross & his wild,out of control lunge than for Ramsay and his smashed up leg. You're sick.

Whilst the focus has been on what was an unlucky incident, it doesn't take away from the fact that the art of tackling is being forgotten.

What Shawcross did was never in a million years going to win the ball back for his team. He swung his leg round 180 degrees and had he got the ball first would only of succeeded in hoofing the ball 30 yards across the pitch.

And that is the problem with the English game - a total lack of control. Macari reckons these tackles have been going on since football began and he's right, the only thing he fails to mention is that all the major national sides have moved on 30 years ago.

Our game is going no where and then we complain when England get beaten by the first team that can keep the ball off of us. Our game is a joke around the world and to keep flying the flag for tackles like this is a big reason why.

"He’s bang out of order in casting aspersions on Shawcross, a player who hasn’t got a bad bone in his body."

Hasn't got a bad bone in his body eh? Did he not have a bad bone in his body when he broke Francis Jeffer's leg only a few seasons ago? Or perhaps when he put Adebayor out of action last season for months with his foul when the ball was OUT of play that he was lucky not get his ankle broken.

Shawcross has a long history of reckless tackles who needs to be made an example of. This shouldn't be in our beautiful game.

Having read all the many comments from the Arsenal manager, players and supporters about the way their poor team is being victimised by the violent bullies which make up the rest of the Premier League its quite clear that they should now resign from the Prem and apply for a league more suited to their delicate nature. Maybe La Ligua in Spain although that might still be a bit too rough. Perhaps ideally they could play in the Womens league where they would be perfectly safe and happily dominate for years to come. It would be ideal for their "lovely" tippy-tappy football.

You can vote here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poll/2010/mar/01/arsenal-stoke-ramsay...

yet more bitter arsenal/vale fans rear their ugly heads.anyone in football who understands the game(even those that dont) can clearly see ryan never set out to hurt Ramsey.IT WAS ACCIDENTAL AND UNFORTUNATE!!!.there are some very warped and twisted people out there(see above 3 posters)

Lou is maintaing the high standards of tabloid journalism, making up remarks that Wenger never said and then criticising him. As Robbie Coltrane said , "When the British tabloids press say you are a hell raiser they mean that the last time they saw you you were nearly as drunk as they were".

What is it with these whining Goons? Perhaps they should be more bothered about their player instead of getting at Ryan (just like their team on Saturday when they were more bothered about getting the lad sent off while OUR Glenn Whelan attended to THEIR injured Ramsey.)

It was a 50/50 challenge and everyone in football knows it (except Wenger and his Goons) so perhaps it will slowly creep into these idiot's heads when they keep reading that it was nothing more than an unfortunate incident. If the Goon's want to look at a malicious tackle, then perhaps have a look at Gallas on Davies against Bolton this season.

For a manager such as Wenger to castigate a young player like Ryan Shawcross is both unprofessional and bang out of order. It's about time Wenger grew up and got a new pair of glasses.

Just let me get this straight. Lou Macari is a bloke who has played the game at the highest level, has managed at the highest level, but you Arsenal fans know more about the game of football than he does?
As for not showing sympathy with Ramsey, everyone connected with Stoke City has made their sympathy to him clear and I'll add mine to that. I hope he gets back playing ASAP. But when we do say that, what we get in return is a dismissive 'you don't mean it' and statements that imply it's somehow our fault.
For what its worth I agree with those - including Tony Pulis - who say it was a bad tackle by Shawcross. By 'bad tackle' I mean that he went in hard and mistimed his challenge, getting the bloke's leg rather than the ball. That's why he got a red card and I would not argue with that decision.
One other point - Fabio Capello has looked at the videos of this incident. If he thought that Shawcross was a thug, he would not have picked him for the current England squad. Or do these Arsenal fans know more about the game than him as well?

As a former player and football fan I find it incredulous that you can show such a lack of empathy towards a 19 year old whose career may be over. Yes, you should feel bad for Shawcross; yes it was unintentional but to suggest that this is part and parcel of the modern game is absurd.
Shawcross did not go in to break Ramsey's leg, but he did; the tone of your article appropriates the bulk of your sympathy to Shawcross which, quite frankly, almost everyone who reads this will find disgusting!

Please listen to what Wenger says and not what you think he is saying.

Shawcross has a problem and a history of breaking bones and bad tackling. He doesn't need people like yourself making excuses for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JImCLHKXTOs

http://content.thisis.co.uk/sentinel07/homepage/ad_panel/sentinel_backpa...

http://www.twitvid.com/3BCE0

http://www.twitvid.com/CA36B

This is quite a history for a 22 year old....

Firstly, I'd like to extend my sympathy to Aaron Ramsey and his family for his terrible injury. It is an awful, awful thing to happen, but we must take hope from the fact that he is still very young and WILL recover and go on to become a great player.

And now on to the Nasty Bit. The crucifixion of Ryan Shawcross by Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, and all Arsenal 'supporters' who seem to have infiltrated our message boards since Saturday night is over the top, out of order, and seem to completely miss the point.

Wenger's constant whinging and whining is just not funny anymore. The man is a hypocrite, and I will simply point to Arsenal's disciplinary record during his reign, and the fact that he has selected big, strong English centre halves such as Martin Keown and Tony Adams in the past, players who weren't averse to the meaty tackle themselves.

And the Odious Fabregas. A great footballer he may be, is no angel himself, and actually brings things to the game that have no place anywhere. Spitting, refereeing the game himself, etc, etc. Indeed, Fabregas himself could easily have seen red for two bookable offences, one on Shawcross. I wonder if Wenger saw those?

The reaction of the Stoke players gives you an idea of the type of people they are: Glenn Whelan was the first player to Ramsey's aid on Saturday, whilst the likes of Sol Campbell were busy trying to get at Shawcross or urging the referee to send him off.

And on to Ryan Shawcross. The way the boy has handled this shows great maturity beyond his years, and I don't just mean his on pitch reaction either. Indeed, the way he conducts himself suggests he is a future England captain: if a man like John Terry can do it, I'm sure Ryan will one day.

Stoke City play hard, but they play fair. I have witnessed first hand on a football field a player 'doing' another player. It led to a leg break as horrific as young Ramsey's. That's why I feel confident in saying that this was an awful accident.

If you Arsenal 'supporters' don't like that, stick it in your Prawn Sandwich and chew it.

Get well soon Aaron, I'm thinking of you.

I think it wasn't shawcrass fault, he is just a kid that his manager told him to kick arsenal players bcs its only way to win against them. then it comes to the match and every fan cheer him when he has a rough challenge on other players. there is a retarded refree that can't control the players temper (or maybe told to not to becouse "football is a man game" and there use to be at least one broken leg each game). so after all he loose his mind and go for a crazy tackle that brake a brillient young player leg and put his professional future on risk. then A**holes like u show up to make some stupid comments to say we are cool and clever ppl, so the player will not hesitate to do the same thing again next time he got a chance.Only thing I can say to you is to go to a psychologist to solve your mental problem, you put the blame on Mr wenger and probebly Ramsy Becouse he broke his leg to make some problems for Showcrass!!!

shawcross doesnt have a bad bone in his body? well ramsey has TWO thanks to him! and mr nice guy shawcross has form unfortunately which makes every single person who says he "is not that type of player" a liar.

aged 22 he has already broken 2 players legs in this country. your own darlings manchester united kicked him out for behaviour problems. he also crocked adebayor last seaosn OFF THE PITCH.

and got in trouble while on loan in belgium for violent conduct.

PS. no mention at all of poor aaron ramsey in your piece? just for a bit of balance, eh? no?

jog on moron.

What are you on about?... Violence?... your son?.. are you even living on the same planet?

Anyone who thinks that this tackle was deliberate needs their eyes, ears and head testing. You can't possibly compare the Shawcross challenge to that of a real violent challenge (Roy keane on Haland for example). Yet it seems that alot of Arsenal fans can't tell the difference between what is or isn't deliberate or intentional.

What's surprising is the amount of Arsenal fans who actually believe that Shawcross went out to injure Ramsey. Or those that go along with Arsenes conspiracy theories.

The biggest problem with English football are disillusional managers like Wenger who stir things up because they're unable to give objective opinions on things. Had Wenger been honest and said that it was an unfortunate accident then i doubt any Arsenal fans would be complaining about it.

Lou Macari

Wenger has overseen 3 major leg breaks in 4 years-of course he has a right to make his feelings clear. If you honestly think he is out of order you are a bigotted, insensitive tiny tot....oh but you are anyway. God how I loathe you.

Teams go out with a clear and pre-determined plan to get stuck into Arsenal. The young boy Shawcross has already broken 2 peoples leg's now and put Adebayor out for a month last year. He has previuos you little clown.

Players have to be responsible for their actions. Shawcross went in at 100mph and late! There will be repurcussions.

Anyway, accidents do happen and whilst I am sure Shawcross did not mean to break Aaron's leg he sure meant to get stuck in-when you play in a reckless manner, as Shawcross has in the past, accidents will happen such as this. Wenger must come out and try and defend his players-what the feck do you know about being a successful manager at a big club.

Grow up you clown or at least a few inches anyway,

I can understand Arsene's comments at the time, especially as there have been two previous incidents. However having seen the reply in super slow mo i feel it was a case of two very committed players going for a 50-50 ball, and unfortunately one of them got injured. It was a very bizaar clash and one that i think is unavoidable, and has probably happened to a lot of players, including the sunday leaguers. the only way to rid the game of this type of tackle is to outlaw kicking. Mr Wenger should come out and put the record straight, as should Fabregas. I'm not asking them to say shawcross is blameless but to retract the disgusting and horrendous tackle comment, as it's simply not true. I've also heard many ex arsenal players comments on this and not one of them (or anyone other than arsene, fab or bentner) critise shawcross for the challenge. Also in the three games against arsenal this season, other than the red card, there was only one yellow, and that was to an arsenal player.

Macari, why don't you follow your own tongue and crawl back up Ferguson’s backside...

It's dinosaurs like you that are holding the game back... the sooner we see the back of the old clan the better.. The days of long balls baggy shorts and big boots have gone.. the problem is clowns like Ferguson Pullis, Brown and Macari won't let go.

The premier league belongs to the foreign players and managers because English coaches can’t play or teach the modern game

I am starting to question many english people. They seem to have no sense of reasoning.

This guy has done it many times before so something is wrong with his style of play!

Something is wrong when one team has 3 broken legs in 4 years. Its a lot of bull to say it just happened.

Arsene has never said anything about physical play he is talking about reckless play.

I have heard people comment about Arsenal teams from before and the red card count. Yes Arsenal were a rough bunch but I have no doubt that racism was a big part as you can still see it now. Aaron Ramsey's leg is broken and because old french whining Wenger says something (the truth) everyone is out to get him.

England is a joke, my brother moved back and said the racism is still there. Barely any black people on TV shows. Its covert but its still there.

Lou Macari is obviously a cavemen.

All of you people coming againts wenger should be ashamed of yourselves.

I hope Arsene Wenger's comments are the result of understandable emotional tensions and not part of a more cynical long-term strategy to apply pressure to referees in future fixtures, something he, and other managers, have been guilty of in recent years. As for the idea that 3 broken legs in 5 years is some kind of evidence of a pan-league conspiracy it doesn't really stack up. The first two are nothing to do with either Ryan Shawcross or Stoke City. Of course Ryan Shawcross makes bad tackles on occasion - he's a centre-back! And how significant statistically is this oft-quoted "3 in 5 seasons"? Well, it hardly seems to constitute a trend. Older Stoke supporters may remember that the club's decline into obscurity really began during a period of 3 seasons - from 1974 to 1977 - when no fewer than seven players suffered broken legs on first-team duty. The players involved were John Ritchie (whose career was ended), Denis Smith, Mike Pejic, Jimmy Robertson, the great Alan Hudson (later to represent Arsenal), Eric Skeels and Kevin "Bomber" Sheldon. Four of these occurred during the 1974-75 season alone; both Ritchie and Smith suffered at the hands of England centre-back Kevin Beattie of Ipswich Town (managed by that well-known thug, Bobby Robson). Managers then were not as pressurised to make comments to the media feeding-frenzy which exists nowadays, but nevertheless Tony Waddington met the situation with a controlled dignity which seems lacking in someone like Wenger - surprisingly, as he appears normally to be an intelligent and articulate individual.
Was Shawcross being malicious? Almost certainly not. Reckless? Perhaps - but we should remember both players were committed to challenging for a 50:50 ball and the recklessness must be apportioned equally between them. I suspect that, in such a situation, nine times out of ten Ramsey would come off the worse. Were Stoke under orders to deliberately injure the Arsenal players? If so, why wait 78 minutes? Surely, the intimidation would have begun in first twenty minutes, according to all the cliches. Yet even Wenger has gone on record as saying there had been little to complain about in the match up to that point. (Wenger seems somewhat mute on the two worst tackles in the game - lunges from behind committed by Cesc Fabregas - but it was ever thus with St Arsene).
I'm afraid incidents like this have always happened - though without the glare of TV replays - and unfortunately will continue while football remains a contact sport (and it is difficult to see how they could be eliminated without effectively imposing five-a-side rules). Sport, for the moment, lies outside the guidelines of Health & Safety legislation. Should they be implemented, I imagine we would see staples like the ruck in rugby union, or the bouncer in cricket, also outlawed.
On one further point - is Wenger sailing close to wind legally with these outbursts? Whatever he suspects privately, he cannot KNOW that opposition players are being primed to injure his own, and the statistics and opinions of fellow professionals, in the main, do not appear to back him up. This, presumably, gives the comments a libellous nature. One wonders if he is leaving himself open to civil action by players and managers who may feel they have suffered defamation. Would Ryan Shawcross or Tony Pulis have a case to put to the club's legal advisors?
Amidst all this, we should not lose sight of the fact that a young player is currently lying in hospital with a severe injury. The latest medical bulletins appear optimistic. All right-minded football supporters (and human beings) will hope that Aaron Ramsey makes a full recovery and enjoys a long and prosperous career with Arsenal and Wales. Anyone who doesn't, frankly, does not matter.

A 19-year old young man has just had his leg shattered in a horrific manner, and all Macari can do is find fault with Wenger's reaction AND sympathizes with the man who caused the injury. Not a word of sympathy for Ramsey whose career has been seriously jeopardized. Macari feels sorry for Shawcross, not Ramsey! Charming man.

His arguments are too shocking to believe. In essence, Macari is saying that getting your leg shattered, like Ramsey or Eduardo, is a perfectly acceptable risk in English football! That's outrageous!!! Getting maimed like Eduardo and Ramsey should NEVER be allowed to happen in football. If a player is not skilled enough to tackle hard without breaking someone's leg, sorry, but he has no business playing the game at this level, because he's an accident waiting to happen.

No one believes that Shawcross INTENDED to break Ramsey's leg, so stop spreading fallacies and putting words in other people's mouths. And no one believes that Shawcross is a bad person either. But let's not all make believe that Shawcross is an innocent victim. He has priors: he broke Francis Jeffers leg in '07, injured Adebayor's ankle in a nasty tackle AFTER the ball was out of play, and now Ramsey. So, please spare me the nonsense about 'he's not that type of player'. His history indicates otherwise, whether he is a nice kid or not.

I never thought I would say this, but I'm beginning to understand why Ronaldo dived so much. He had too much skill and was too quick. The only way to stop him was to take him out according to the English footballing culture, and he didn't get enough protection from referees, especially against the likes of Stoke, Bolton, etc... No wonder he's playing in Spain now.

I wonder if Lou Macari would you be as sympathetic to William Gallas if he had shattered Wayne Rooney's leg in the exact same manner? Somehow, I seriously doubt it.

Football is a game of opinions. The problem with this article is that not once does he wish Ramsey well. As someone from Ireland who's been forced through many of Lou Macari's commentaries on Arsenal games, there's no doubt he's completely biased to Man United and totally anti Arsenal.
If it was Wayne Rooneys leg that was broken Macari would be screaming blue murder.

Leaving aside for the moment that Macari makes no sympathetic reference to Ramsey, even obligatory is appropriate, Macari is just plain wrong as was Shawcross's tackle. True that it was a 50/50. True that both players were committed. Untrue is that Shawcross could not pull and should not have pulled out of the tackle. Ramsey beat him to the ball. There was a moment to alter his action. If he didn't see the chance to act other than he did, he was dangerously reckless. If he did, he was violent. Either way, it should not have happened.

Mr Macari that is one of the worst pieces of journalism I have ever had the misfortune to read.

Is this person outta his mind? Ryan is definitely 'that type of player'. He is still 22 years old and has already broken 2 legs, Jeffers and now Ramsey. So, how the hell can you support someone like that, and blame Wenger for over-reacting? You gotta be insane.

Macari: ridiculous article.

RE: Pulis to Wenger.

Come off it mate. Don’t play stupid. It is undeniable that inferior football teams employ a physical style against Arsenal.

“If we play to our strengths, I don't think Arsenal can deal with the aggressive play…It has been proved in the past. Chelsea and Bolton have roughed them up and tried to bully them. We can also be rough and aggressive when we need to. But we have quality as well, so we can mix it up.” - RICARDO FULLER before the recent FA Cup tie.

LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY STOKE FANS: NO ONE IS SUGGESTING THAT THE TACKLE WAS DELIBERATELY INTENDED TO INJURE RAMSEY BADLY. But it only takes a man with very little tackling technique like…Shawcross to transform “aggressive play” into broken bones.

Shawcross: 2 legs broken + Adebayor off the ball + countless other dirty tackles (@ Antwerp etc.). He is a reckless player who should watch closely how Nesta, Lucio and Bobby Moore defend calmly and effectively before he commits another horrible foul.

Shawcross as the victim?! Stone me ... what an astonishing thing. As for the Shawcross isn't that kind of player, that's wrong too. He did the same thing to Francis Jeffers a few years back and put Adebayor out for a month with a poor challenge last season. And those are only the ones that I know of.

The reality is that he didn't intentionally set out to break Ramsey's leg but he also to play the ball and his lack of control was such that it was inevitable that he would connect with his opponent. The frequently used analogy (in Arsenal blog circles) about the drunk driver not deliberately injurying his victim is entirely accurate.

no sympathy with ramsey?? a spanner in the works for his england call up?? this man is a joke, if it was a good tackle he would have won the ball. a bad over the top tackle, probably not meant to hurt the player but a bad tackle nonetheless that is all wenger said if u actually heard him speak. why all the sympathy for shawcross hes not in hospital hes got a 3 game break.

This is for all of you Arsenal fans who condemn Ryan Shawcross.
.http://awooga.org/images/5p4ok6t87n2hc77jupd.jpg

Are you too arrogant to admit that you and Wenger could possibly have misjudged Shawcross, I have seen other photographs which suggest that Aarons leg was broken before Shawcross made contact. This picture clearly shows that Ryan was kicking the ball and NOT making a tackle and Ramsey was lunging towards the ball.

How can you be so small minded, your xenophobia towards Wenger has no place in modern society. I seriously question the competence of the your editor for allowing such drivel to be printed. To write this so soon after the horrible event shows a complete lack of respect towards Aaron Ramsey, highlighting the limited ability you have in this arena.

Get well soon Aaron.

Dear Lou,

you, sir, must be one of the biggest cretin, heartless dim-witted so-called 'football pundit' the world of football has seen in a long time.

Not a single mention of Ramsey (the real victim of a truly, truly horrendous tackle), one of Britain's most talented player who may or may not be able to play football again (let alone fulfill his undoubted huge potential).

Poor Shawcross and how selfish of Ramsey to let his leg break on Ryan's big day!! How very inconsiderate of him.

Moron!!

I thought this website was for Stoke supporters. Strange how may Arsenal fans have such a lot of time on their hands, in order to tell us what we should think and what we should do.

I understand their sentiment, but why don't they just clear off to their own site - we don't want them here! Bye!

To all Arse'n'Winger fans... get down spec savers -1. It was obviously just an unlucky accident. 2. You're on the wrong Website. 3. Get your team on Come Dancing and they might be safe. 4. You would have lost as usual against 11 men at the potteries.

Wait, so it's Ramsey's fault for having his leg broken? I must have been walking with my eyes closed. It's Ramsey's fault he got whacked isn't it.

I only read the first 2 lines but that was enough. You're a complete fool.

"I’m really disappointed in him because if he honestly, deep down, believes Ryan Shawcross’s tackle on Aaron Ramsey was intentional, then there’s something wrong with him."

So the tackle was unintentional was it?? Did he slip and fall and end up smashing into Ramsey's leg at 100mph?? Dear God, think before you write. Or at least proof read your drivel.

Wenger and no-one else connected to Arsenal said that Shawcross meant to harm Ramsey. He said it was horrendous and unacceptable to challenge recklessly like that. Is he wrong? No. Are you a complete and utter moron? Yes.

How do idiots like you get a platform to spout nonsense just because you're an ex-pro?? Sympathy for Shawcross?? Oh come on!!!

tc

Good stuff. All I'll add to the broken leg list is that Kevin Sheldon was never the same player and the injury effectively ended his career at an age not much more than Ramsey's. If memory serves, his injury was caused by England captain Mick Mills, another managed by the well known thug, Bobby Robson. (If my memory is defective here, I apologise to Mr Mills, who went on to manage Stoke, albeit not very sucessfully.)

What accelerated Stoke's demise (at the time they had a reputation for "playing football"; what game other teams were playing at the time was never explained) was that the roof of the Butler Street stand blew off in a gale. Insurance did not cover the full cost of replacement, so the chairman at the time, Albert Henshall??, had to sanction the sale of players, such as the great Jimmy Greenhoff to Manyoo and Alan Hudson. No continuing to spend money you didn't have then, Peter Storrie take note!
I'm still relying on a possible defective memory here, but I recollect that at the time, Arsenal included such ball playing luminaries as Frank McLintock, Terry Neill and Peter Storrie (yes, the same one!)

I admit that the injury was unfortunate, and in fact the tackle would have been fine if Ramsey's foot wasn't already planted. However, as the videos below show, this is not the first time "Chopper Shawcross" has left someone on the floor with a broken leg.

http://www.twitvid.com/3BCE0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JImCLHKXTOs

One of the things I detest about the web is how "self proclaimed football experts" can spew their nonsense opinions to a large community.

Arsene Wenger was furious at the fact that 3 players in 5 years have broken their legs badly in competitive games AND that it has happened to a very young kid with huge amounts of potential. What you should be writing about is how we avoid young players having potentially career ending injuries rather than your rash, unsubstantiated and incorrect opinions.

Any football enthusiast with half a brain would be more concerned about the the injured Ramsey than Shawcross having his feelings hurt by Wenger's comments.

Lou - do some research and find yourself a new job - I think your days are numbered on this blog.

Good luck job hunting - Break a leg

Ryan shawcross is one of the best central defenders in the country... fact
ryan did not intend to hurt ramsey... fact
lou macari is a footballing ledgend... fact

i think you should look at the tackle carefully. it was quite clearly a 50/50 ball and it could have happened to either of them. the problem was that as he kicked the ball his foot got stuck in the ground and his leg already looked like it was going. i know this because it happened ten meters in front of me on saturday. his momentum only made it worse and shawcross has now been portrayed as a thug. he is a gentle giant... the BFG so to speak.

i can understand you all been upset, i was upset for ramsey myself he is a cracking player and it was horrific to watch right in front of you. but what i can simply not stand is your manager insinuating he purposely broke his leg, and further more you coming onto a stoke fans website and insulting a stoke city/ footballing legend. that is what is disgusting, you were more concerned that shawcross got a red and if you could hurt him than about your own player. sort yourselves out before you start insulting the integrity of other people

plus good luck tonight shawcross, do us proud

"I’ve got to say I felt sorry for Shawcross."

Thats the bone head comment of the century!

You are not for Ramsey though? nah, what an idiot for getting his leg in the way, innit?

Shawcross was crying becuase it went too damn far not because Ramsey was hurt! if you dont believe me check out the Ade vid.

I remember watching a show called "the first 48", where this kid got upset and shot into a house because of some drug deal and the person wouldnt open the door. He left and unkowingly he killed someone inside. When the police told him someone died, he started to cry. Now he didnt mean to kill the man but he meant to shoot in the house, whose fault is it? If he didnt let his anger control him, this could not have happened.

Likewise with Shawcross if he didnt play like a caveman he wouldnt break peoples legs. He may be a sad but he has done it before, so change how you do things and you will not have to walk off the field in shame and have people feel sorry for him, I mean Macari, coyle and the likes.

You're the one out of order. You criticise Wenger only because of your obvious personal dislike for him. The 'challenge' was reckless and extremeley careless. From a professional footballer, it's unacceptable. Wenger makes the reasonable statement that the tackle was unacceptable and you blame him? Aaron Ramsey is in a hospital bed wondering if he still has a career and you're concern is whether Wenger damaged Shawcross' joy at being named in the England squad! Pathetic.

Only a complete moron could think that this is a reasonable opinion. Aaron Ramsey is the victim here not Shawcross. This would be like saying to a bereaved family who have lost a loved one to a drunk driver that the driver doesn't have a bad bone in his body and didn't mean to hurt anyone. Of course he didn't go out with the intention of hurting anyone but he's still responsible and must be held accountable.

It's the same for Shawcross he didn't mean it but was wreckless. Anyone who supports him over Ramsey or to some extent Wenger is simply wrong or worse a complete idiot.

I wonder if you'd have the same opinion if Shawcross was done by an Arsenal player.

You're wrong Macari plain and simple. And anyone who agrees with you is also wrong.

The suspension for Shawcross should be the same duration as the lenght of time Ramsey is out of the game.

My message to Macari and the morons who support this point of view?
You have no right to have anything to do with sport.

What a nice change to get completely unbiased view points from Arsenal Fans.

Watch it again, Shawcross went for the ball - yes he went in hard. Ramsey was slightly too quick for him and Shawcross caught him - TV replays have shown and pretty much the entire footballing community have agreed (apart from Wenger and some of the morons posting above) that it was not a deliberately nasty challenge. End of!!

The people above also keep banging on about the Adebayor challenge too. I was at that game and they all seem to be forgetting about the challenge on Shawcross by Adebayor just before half time which earned him a Yellow card - it was a very nasty challenge which could have easily broken Shawcrosses leg. Shawcross got him back, and deservedly so - I defy anyone who has ever played football not to have done the same.

It would be interesting to hear an Arsenal fans opinions on the Gallas challenge earlier this season during the Bolton game - I say Arsenal fans because im sure Wenger "didn't see it!!".

While I agree that Macari should have offered sympathy to Ramsey, I would also comment that the piece was about the reaction to the challenge, and I have to agree with Lou that Wenger is out of order - although Wenger's outburst is probably what everyone would expect, he is after all a prat of the highest order!

Arsenal Fans - We all wish Ramsey a speedy recovery. Will making up rubbish like Shawcross tried to break his leg bring him back quicker - Nope, so why bother? you are just endearing yourselves even more to the already Arsenal-loving footballing community.

When are these pathetic Arsenal supporters and their manager going to button it and move on, you are as boring as the football that you play.
Wanker has lost all credibility with his comments and so have those Arsenal fans who spout this self righteous pap.

You're the kind of man that would blame someone for walking in the cross walk while you hit them with your car, aren't you?

Macari, you are an illiterate.