Does anyone know the figures for this in the general population? Are we more aware of footballers having it because of their place in the public eye?
Genuine questions-not trying to be 'controversial'.
His family have said he has been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2015:
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/spor...entia-21644949
So many ex-players are being diagnosed with this now....surely they'll have to ban heading in training in the adult game and for youngsters?
Does anyone know the figures for this in the general population? Are we more aware of footballers having it because of their place in the public eye?
Genuine questions-not trying to be 'controversial'.
Awful disease, wouldn't wish it on anyone. My neighbour's wife has it profoundly and his life is terrible, we sometimes try to give him some time off and take care of her but it's only for a few hours. Poor sod.
It’s one of the worst things to watch happening, sad for his family.
Agreed - horrible to see.
I wish him all the best with it.
I think most players so far have been reported as having Alzheimers, which is different to vascular dementia.
I watched the shearer thing and it was very interesting, while some immediate "changes" to the brain were recorded, it was inconclusive as to long term effect as they couldn't identify any long term effects from those changes - that is they soon righted themselves naturally and didn't appear to have sustained any lasting changes.
im not sure footballers do suffer more than the general population, but perhaps they do - i think the greater number of people suffering one form of dementia or another is more (partly) due to the fact people are living longer. Just a few years ago, a huge number of those people diagnosed with dementia would have died before getting to that stage.
Last edited by toonlegend; 23-09-2021 at 05:38 PM.
There could well be a parallel with the ban on standing at games after Hillsbrough if this isn't handled properly.
That was a hugely over-the-top reaction that ignored other key reasons for the tragedy and the banning of heading in training would, I fear, creep into actual games at certain levels.
Needs independent scientific study - FA as spineless as ever, PFA (Gordon Taylor for fück sake), equally as inept. Just needs a diagnosis that can’t be disputed.