Back in my day…
Colin Calderwood was a tough nut when he used to patrol the football pitch.
The former Tottenham and Scotland defender’s style of play was very much of the no-nonsense variety and he gave just as good as he got. He got involved in coaching when he hung up his playing boots and is now charged with putting steel into Aston Villa as Steve Bruce’s assistant.
Perhaps that is why he had such a pragmatic, nay old-school, response to his own player being left in a writhing heap during Villa’s 4-0 victory over Ipswich on Saturday.
13 months after his lusty challenge broke Seamus Coleman’s leg, Neil Taylor was on the receiving end of a nasty-looking foul.
Near the end of the first half, Grant Ward was following the flight of the ball when Taylor came into his peripheral vision. Only Ward can tell you his thought process over the next two seconds but he proceeded in planting his studs onto the Welsh defender’s shin and left him crumpled.
Neil Taylor hit with a potential leg-breaker by Ipswich's Grant Ward pic.twitter.com/951FgfBt4v
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) April 22, 2018
Sure enough, Ward was sent off for the offence and he had no complaints with the call.
Following the win, which keeps up Villa’s slim chances of automatic promotion, Calderwood was asked about Ward’s challenge. He responded:
“It looked horrible and does so on the replays, also.
“But there was no intent and it’s just one of those incidents. Back in the day it’s a yellow, but these days it’s a red.”
Back in the day, Graeme Souness was also going around doing this…
We’re all for nostalgia but those sorts of challenges can stay in the past.
