The SFA get plenty of stick, let’s face it.
But this week they deserve huge credit for making an announcement that should lead the way for world football.
In Scotland, professional footballers will be banned from heading a ball in training the day before and the day after matches.
And there’s also advice that heading drills should be curtailed to just one session a week.
I’ve not heard anybody in our game moan or complain about it, which says everything.
We’re seeing too many ex-pros like Gordon McQueen suffer in later life from what they’ve done on a football pitch.
And the changes the SFA are introducing are a big step in the right direction towards addressing that.
This player safety first mentality needs to be ingrained across the world.
Who knows, there might be rules that go even further.
One of those that feels obvious is the introduction of temporary concussion substitutes.
There have been a couple of hard-to-watch incidents at the World Cup so far – the Iran goalie carrying on for a while in their game against England and Neco Williams the other night.
Wales take off Neco Williams 10 or so minutes after the initial head injury… totally unacceptable but the norm for football…
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) November 29, 2022
Medical assessments need to be made off the pitch, without any pressure on the physio (conscious or sub-conscious) to get a player to carry-on.
Temporary substitutes would help that happen.
I don’t know what the main reason is but I’ve not fully got into this World Cup yet.
Germany v Spain was the game I was really looking forward to and it has given us a teaser of what’s still to come.
For the teams who have ambitions to go the whole way, the real tournament begins at the last-16 stage.
The goalie of the competition for me so far has been Brazil’s Alisson Becker.
Long gone are the days when it was their weakest position.
He’s keeping Manchester City’s number one out of the side, which says everything.
There are plenty of keepers who make the ordinary saves ones for the cameras but that’s not Alisson’s style.
As long as Brazil go deep into the competition, I reckon he’ll get the Golden Glove award.
Seeing Wales struggle in the competition has made every Scot think ‘what might have been’.
There’s no getting away from it – that play-off against Ukraine was a glorious opportunity blown.
But as disappointing as the Welsh have been, they capitalised on a strong period by doing brilliantly at the 2016 Euros and ending a long World Cup drought.
Scotland now have to take full advantage of the strength in depth and quality Steve Clarke has at his disposal.
Craig Gordon is the only player in his late 30s (the lack of obvious replacements is a worry) so it’s not as if the squad is growing old. Far from it.
Qualification for the next two tournaments has to be the goal.
Central midfield is a real area of strength for Dundee – and it could be their key advantage over their promotion rivals.
So Fin Robertson has got a tough job on his hands forcing his way into Gary Bowyer’s starting line-up.
But it was great to see him getting his first goal in dark blue.
It feels like he’s been on the scene for ages but he’s still only 20.
Everybody knows the quality he’s got with a pass but adding goals to his game is a key next step.
Do that and we’ll be seeing a lot more of him at Dens.
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