Dementia Has Claimed Yet Another Legend.

[TIL 1010 4,737]

https://news.sky.com/story/denis-law-former-manchester-united-and-scotland-football-legend-reveals-he-has-been-diagnosed-with-dementia-12385127

One of the greatest footballers i have ever seen play.

[dylanisabaddog 4,911]

He was a wonderful player. What a shame. 

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

My older brother  thought he was Denis Law. Great player, Denis that is , not my brother. 

An outfield professional footballer is four times more likely  to  contract dementia  than a member of the general public. That is some stat. 

[CowboyCanary 37]

I saw Dennis play and score at Carrow Road.  I was impressed how dangerous he was.

[OldRobert 38]

Wonderful player.  Yet another victim of this horrible disease.

[AJ 1,218]

It is harrowing to see the links between football and dementia. Could well see heading removed from the game entirely in the future

[CANARYKING 637]

Scored in City’s famous 1 - 2 win at Manure

[Yellow Wal 314]

Dementia is a great problem that must be addressed and football must play a part and take the lead where appropriate.

However, we must realise that the balls used in the 60s and 70s are a world away from the modern ball. The old leather balls had to be of a certain size and weight at the beginning of the match but after five minutes of a heavy downpour the weight would increase considerably making the situation far worse and contributing to the overall problem. 

I'm glad I played in goal.

[lake district canary 4,531]

10 minutes ago, Yellow Wal said:

we must realise that the balls used in the 60s and 70s are a world away from the modern ball.

This isn't mentioned often enough imo. But that isn't the whole story.  So the old wet leather heavy football was surely part of the problem, but another stat that isn't mentioned often enough is that rugby players also have a big problem with the same disease - and they do not head the ball.   This could indicate that the issue could be do more to do with the physical contact side of the sport and the clashing of heads that happens in both sports as an occupational hazard. 

[Nuff Said 5,119]

11 hours ago, wcorkcanary said:

An outfield professional footballer is four times more likely  to  contract dementia  than a member of the general public. That is some stat. 

Agreed, I can’t help wondering what goes through a modern-day player’s head when a long clearance comes towards them. It wouldn’t be surprising if they started backing away from heading it.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Rather than spending millions on players, money could be funneled into research.

But I do believe that era is more responsible than anything else.

Edited August 20, 2021 by keelansgrandad

[Rottingdean canary 117]

Very sad news.  I found the statement he issued yesterday very moving and very helpful to become more aware of the suffering people go through from their first diagnosis.  I read it here https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/19/manchester-united-legend-denis-law-diagnosed-with-mixed-dementia

My main memory of Dennis is from going to the Old Trafford match when goals from Heath and Bolland  (and some amazing Keelan saves) saw us defeat the mighty Reds (Charlton, Best, Law et al).   I'm pretty sure it was Dennis who scored their goal and that it was featured on ITV's Match of the Week intro for years to come .

[BroadstairsR 2,159]

Balls were heavier in those days.

We can all complain about Hanley skying most headers or Rupp's efforts reaching the last row of the stands, but it's all down to balls (in more ways than one.)