Sympathy for Shawcross

HAVING seen the challenge which broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg, and I understand I may be in the minority here, I do feel great sympathy for Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross.

I don’t believe it was a tackle worthy of a red card because it was not two-footed.The problem was the velocity of the impact, making Ramsey a victim of circumstance not maliciousness.

Unfortunately, the shape of his leg dictated to the referee what card he should brandish when he should have evaluated the tackle on its own merits.

Hearing Arsene Wenger question Shawcross’s character after the game was no real surprise, considering he often takes a holier-than-thou attitude when these incidents occur.

It’s not right he should be able to question another player’s character when he is not his manager and making snap judgements on the back of one tackle is not befitting of an intelligent man like him.

He seems to have selective amnesia when his own players are embroiled in controversy, specifically some of the challenges he has had to defend during his time as Gunners boss.

The two-footed lunge on Manchester United’s Peter Schmeichel by Ian Wright was one that immediately springs to mind.

And what about William Gallas’ tackle that was tantamount to a cowardly assault on Bolton’s Mark Davies a few weeks back?

Patrick Vieira was never shy at committing a reckless challenge and neither were Martin Keown or Tony Adams.

Fact is, Wenger sees what he wants to see, and his blinkered, one-eyed view of the world when it comes to Arsenal will soon start to lose him respect.