Forum List | Football Forum
| Topic: Heading nowhere? |
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| 1. Author: wee eck Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 18:12 Following the recent coroner`s verdict on the cause of death of former Leeds, Man Utd and Scotland defender Gordon McQueen, the subject of the potential danger of heading a football over a sustained period of time is back in the news. There are now serious suggestions that the inevitable conclusion of all this is that heading the ball will be banished from football at all levels. I find it hard to imagine a game of football, played out of doors on a full pitch, where heading the ball is not allowed. What will this mean for the spectacle? Heading is a great skill and some of the most memorable goals scored have been with the head. Will this mean a reduction in the recruitment of players whose main attributes are of the aerial variety? Will the average size of a team`s players diminish with the emphasis more on quick, skilful, mobile players? Perhaps more interesting would be the effect on tactics and style of play. The immediate threat from corners, throw-ins and free kicks would be reduced so how would coaches compensate for the lack of high balls which can eliminate a number of defenders in one play? Any thoughts? Reply |
| 2. Author: parsmad68 Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 19:10 Heading the ball certainly has lowered since the days of the Girvan Lighthouse kick outs, but it is still an integral part of the game. I think also it depends on the ball you receive. I used to play full back and when keepers used to take the long kick outs, it was a dread to take the header as it came out of the sky. Just blue sky idea, but if a keeper was to kick it out of hand or from a bye kick that the ball must bounce once before and head can touch it? I haven’t thought of the detail of the ramifications of such a call but these longs balls are not pleasant to take as a defender. Reply |
| 3. Author: jake89 Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 20:47 I`m clearly no expert, but surely a sport like boxing is a far greater risk? Aren`t footballs softer/lighter nowadays? Reply |
| 4. Author: veteraneastender Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 20:51 If heading the ball is banned, as seems to be a suggestion, we wouldn`t have beaten Hibs in the cup - and Hearts wouldn`t have had an equaliser against Celtic on Sunday..........these are just examples. Reply |
| 5. Author: AdamAntsParsStripe Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 20:54 I doubt there is evidence for this definatifly. You can’t stop players even in the modern game from heading balls otherwise the game is f@ked. Maybe banning it from training might help or wearing headgear but can you imagine a corner kick and nobody jumps up to clear with a header? Zwei Pints Bier und ein Päckchen Chips bitte  Reply |
| 6. Author: DA-go Par Adonis Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 20:55 jake89, Wed 28 Jan 20:47 Yes, but consequently the ball travels faster - and force is equal to mass x acceleration. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equal rights and justice in this time Reply |
| 7. Author: wee eck Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 20:56 Re vee's post at 20:51, the games would have been totally different though. I was trying to anticipate the effect on future games rather than replaying past ones. Post Edited (Wed 28 Jan 20:58) Reply |
| 8. Author: Leamington_sPAR Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 21:43 The decision to outlaw heading for any kids football up to U14 is a great step forward. However heading has to remain part of our game. Perhaps limiting heading in training is a sensible option. Reply |
| 9. Author: wee eck Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 21:57 I think guidance has already been issued to clubs about limiting the extent of heading in training. I don`t know how it squares with practising defending and attacking set-plays though. Reply |
| 10. Author: veteraneastender Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 22:31 "Re vee`s post at 20:51, the games would have been totally different though. I was trying to anticipate the effect on future games rather than replaying past ones." That`s my point, the game would be unrecognisable as compared to what we`ve been used to since organised football came about. For example, the typical target man centre forward type would become a dinosaur. Reply |
| 11. Author: thebear Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 23:07 I`m not sure what the judgement actually said, but at worst it has to be could have contributed to, not definitely cased Reply |
| 12. Author: wee eck Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 23:44 There`s growing evidence that sustained heading of a football is a contributory factor in causing brain diseases like Alzheimer`s. Some football fans may be in denial about it but pressure will mount on the football authorities to do something to mitigate the effects. Obviously a total ban on heading the ball would be the ultimate measure but it can`t be disregarded just because it would change the game as we have always known it. At some point parents might be reluctant to let their kids play football if they think it could affect their quality of life in their later years. Reply |
| 13. Author: parsfan Date: Wed 28th Jan 2026. 23:52 DA-go Par Adonis, Wed 28 Jan 20:55 Yes and no. F=ma is to do with forces acting on the thing in motion, not the force of impact. If it was then anything travelling at a constant speed would impact with no force. Calculating the force of impact is harder. Mass and velocity are major factors but they`re not the only ones and I don`t think it`s a simple case of a lighter ball will travel faster so will still hit with the same force. Duration of impact is important in terms of how much force is transferred but I`m not sure how that fits in here. Are those older balls softer or maybe just not as well designed and made? Either could mean that it will deform more on contact and that would make contact last longer and therefore transfer more force. Anyway, I`m sure I`ve heard that with no other variables the old balls were more damaging than the modern ones. Happy to be proven otherwise. For the Gordon McQueen story I only saw clips of him scoring goals. Heading a cross, though harder to do, is a lot easier on the head than being on the end of a hoof up the park from directly in front of you. That`s where much of the damage will have been done. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The universe is ruled by chance and indifference  Reply |
| 14. Author: Socks Date: Thu 29th Jan 2026. 00:43 That`s not quite right either. F=ma does apply to heading a ball straight back the way it came from, but the `a` is actually decelleration initially (until the ball momentarily stops) then accelleration in the opposite directon. Just like when someone punches you in the puss, the force you feel is due to your puss causing your opponent`s fist to decellerate. It definitely does describe the force of impact. The harder the ball, the shorter the contact time and the higher the peak force will be. So, the slightly spongy texture of a modern ball probably helps a bit (will reduce peak force) but will only distribute it over a longer time. The energy absorbed by the head won`t be much different for any two balls that weigh the same. The talk of old balls being heavier is partially a myth. The mass of the ball at kick-off has been unchanged for years but the key difference is that old balls got much heavier in wet conditions as water was absorbed, while modern balls are waterproof and see little change. I haven`t seen any data on whether it`s peak force or toally energy that matters most in causing brain injuries, but if it is peak force then using a much softer ball could be safer and might be something that can be looked at. It`s difficult because you can`t run an experiment to find the exact risk factors under controlled conditions because the study itself would have a high risk of causing dementia and that would not be acceptable. Reply |
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