PETER CROUCH JOINS SPORTSMAIL
Read his unique insight into life as a Premier League goalscoring legend
IHAD to watch. How could I avoid it? As football gets to grips with the worrying link between heading the ball and dementia, I needed to see Alan Shearer’s BBC documentary.
Shearer taught me a lesson 15 years ago. After I had joined Aston Villa from Portsmouth for £5million, my first home game was against Newcastle. I scored in a 1-1 draw but Alan was something else that night. Strong, aggressive, brilliant in the air — he was everything I wasn’t.
Standing at the other end of the pitch, I was in awe. But sitting in my living room last Sunday evening, Shearer made me think about what is becoming an increasingly serious issue.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the effect that heading a ball might have later in life. I’m a forgetful person anyway and my wife Abbey has always said to me, ‘That’s the one that will get you!’
In the Premier League, there will be games when I make 20 headers. There is more to my game but I understand my height is a weapon — 52 of my 106 topflight goals have been scored with my head, including my last one against Leicester before the international break.
In my early years, I wanted to be like Paul Gascoigne. You don’t want to be heading balls every day. I was more interested in trying scissor-kicks like the great Italian striker Gianluca Vialli.
It was only when I got to Tottenham as a youth player that they said: ‘You need to be good in the air.’ It was made clear I was going to be a target man, so I had to work on my technique.
The thing you don’t realise is that every time you head the ball, your brain shakes. Every single time. Have you ever headed a ball badly and seen stars for a couple of seconds? That’s your brain shaking. Let’s be honest, that can’t be healthy, can it?
I always believed the problem was for a different generation. I’ve seen the tragic stories about Jeff Astle and Nobby Stiles and I put it down to the old balls they played with.
On a wet day they used to be like medicine balls, but in normal conditions the balls we use now are heavier, according to Shearer’s programme.
On Monday morning, at our training ground in Stoke, I sat with a few of the lads who had watched it and spoke about some of the issues. Kind lot that they are, they said to me: ‘Well, you’re f****d!’ and it was greeted with roaring laughter!
In all seriousness, watching the documentary made me certain that I will have a scan for CTE — Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy — at some point to see if all those aerial battles have made a mark. The damage is also known as boxer’s brain.
Football is far more careful these days. I’ve been knocked out before and just got up and played on. Now we have rules for concussion. Four players in our dressing room have suffered from it this season, but they have to wait for the medical all- clear before returning.
It hasn’t made me change my approach. I’ll still be looking for headers against Brighton on Monday night. You don’t think about the consequences — the rewards of scoring a goal far outweigh the pain of getting a whack in the head. But I did draw one conclusion after I had switched off the TV the other night. As a sport, we must explore this more.
Whether it is the PFA or the FA, they need to do more and lead the way. They can’t say they haven’t had people coming to them or warning them. We have to find out whether there is a link.
I’m not saying anything radical should be done, in the way America banned kids from heading balls in November 2015.
Heading is a skill and it would be a shame to lose that from the game. There is nothing more dramatic than when you see someone score a diving header, for instance. Think of the players I grew up watching — Andy Gray, Mick Harford, Duncan Ferguson.
Niall Quinn was so skilful in the way he would cushion the ball down for Kevin Phillips. To ban heading would be such a shame, though at least my headed goals record would stay intact!
But it only takes a documentary like this to make everyone think. This is too big a topic for footballers, past and present, to ignore. There have been huge improvements in the way players are looked after medically since I started playing. It is clear, however, we can still do more.