At last, they have come up with the right answers… now let’s see real change
EXCELLENT news at last. When Sportsmail launched this campaign in november, we published seven points that needed to be addressed, several of which were aimed at the PFA. they represented open goals in my eyes. We wanted the players’ union to set up a dedicated dementia department, for example, so that the families of former footballers would know where to turn when they need help. this newspaper has heard too many stories of negligence over the last two months. Such as from Adrienne — the daughter of former Republic of Ireland international tommy carroll — who contacted the PFA twice and got nothing in return. Or Jane — the daughter of Port Vale, tranmere and Halifax goalscorer Graham Barnett — who was so disheartened after a single phone call with the PFA that she never called them back, and they never called her. Or Penny — the wife of Dave Watson — who feels as if her husband is the forgotten England captain. now, though, it looks like the players’ union are finally putting plans into place to tackle dementia in football. So this news is welcomed with open arms. My only complaint can be how long it’s taken to come to fruition. Really, these are boxes that ought to have been ticked more than a decade ago, given Jeff Astle died in 2002. But I’m sure his daughter, Dawn, will fulfil her duty now. the e PFA have picked the right person, along with Rachel Walden, to advise them. Dawn wouldn’t put her name to something such as this if she didn’t believe it could help. Over the coming months, I hope to see real change. From protecting current players to looking after the old ones and their families, these are positive steps being taken. the PFA have promised to push for dementia to be formally recognised as an industrial disease, and want to find out how many former footballers are living with this vicious disease. I have always found it staggering how, when asked by Alan Shearer in his BBC documentary, Gordon taylor said he did not know how many of the PFA’s 50,000 members have dementia. Finally, though, the players’ union seem to be coming up with answers.