[NDR]Thoughts on the tackle from ex-Dynamo Mullan

Re: [NDR]Thoughts on the tackle from ex-Dynamo Mulan

That's so sad. Mully is just a hard nosed player. I wish the best for Zakuani, but I don't believe there was intention to hurt.

 

Re: [NDR]Thoughts on the tackle from ex-Dynamo Mulan

I don't believe Mullan meant anything more than to be the hard tackling player he is. And he has tackled like that for years.

However, it is very very wrong. Frankly, it is a challenge common in MLS that would never be accepted in Europe nor South America.

Mullan goes in hard and slides late. By sliding late I mean that the downward force of his slide is into the ball -- rather than sliding to reach for the ball. (It is what Johnny Evans did to Stuart Holden.)

Mullan has gotten away with this tackle because it is MLS and he gets the ball first. This time -- he didn't. He was late.

I said it in another thread. MLS features a "tough guy" attitude where dangerous tackles are OK as long as you are going for the ball. It is something the league should change and it is up to coaches to do it.

Referees cannot do it because as long as the tackle is common they cannot issue multiple red cards every game. While we envision referee decisions being against objective standards laid out in the laws -- I think human nature and our expectation for a flowing game of 11 players on each side requires referees to sanction only uncommon fouls.

 

Between him ERob, no other players we've ever had played more physical like this in Houston. Mullan's temper isn't gonna win him any points either. On another note its way too early in the game to make an argument that he already lost his cool. He was known for tackling like this and getting us good counterattacks or breaking up counterattacks against us. Me personally I couldn't suspend him for more than 5 games due to the injury. Tackles like this in Europe are the norm as some don't even get whistled. I'm not saying it's right but I think we also can't blow this issue out of proportion like they did Rico when he kicked Ruiz who grabbed his face rather than the shoulder that got kicked. If the league's gonna make an example of him, then they need to get off there high horse and start fixing the main two sources of this problem.

1)The refs who let cheap shots accumulate by not calling players on these dirty tactics, which then result in vengeful fouls like this.

2) Known dirty players,like Ruiz and Olave who constantly bring this out in the most coolheaded players. I'm tired of it being called playing smart. I call it playing like little bitch.

 

Excellent post. The league's emphasis has been on the wrong things for years.

What bothers me is how Mullan's career has now been turned into an evil version of Dema Kovalenko's resume. Where was Taylor Twellman and everyone else before 8:35 last night?

Horrible challenge, 5-7 games. Anger in the tackle, but also a ton of effort . . . . the same effort that got him to the ball in extra time to cross to Ching to tie up MLS Cup 2006 . . . . the same effort that kept the game winning play alive vs. Seattle in the 2009 playoffs. So before you kill the guy, put the tackle in the context of his total 1000% effort.

 

Interesting.

I was on an Everton forum earlier and someone brought up this incident. Before I read the MLS recap version of what happened, I had mentioned that Mullan can be a bit of a hot head on the pitch and can start steaming which could culminate with a foul or hard tackle in many instances.

Then I read a recap that said basically as much.

Hate to say it but he should be banned for a 5-9 game period. I'm sure he didn't intend to break his leg but that really doesn't matter. If I'm a Seattle supporter, I'm extremely angry right now that one of my top players is gone for the season.

 

For the last 15 years I have been a form believer of suspending players for the amount of time it takes the other player to make a comeback.

There is a difference between playing hard and being reckless, and in Mullan's case, many, many, many time, he hits hard moments after he thinks he was fouled, you may even say he tries to get revenge.

I hope he gets the maximum games possible.

 

That would be 9. And I seriously doubt he gets that.

 

I don't believe in the you have to be out for as long as the injured player at all...

There are too many things that can go wrong with that...

That tackle is a red card even if Zakuani gets up and is fine after it.... so Mullan would still deserve the 1-2 game minimum....

I think he gets five to ten..somewhere in there... and that will be fair.

 

I still don't see how Rico got the maximum for his kicking of Ruiz, that was the lamest suspension ever. Nobody was even slightly hurt.

 

Watch the clip again. Ruiz's head was clearly hurt

 

And given the "victim" and history, it was absurd. Which makes the playoff win over Dallas that year so sweet - my favorite game ever at Robertson.

 

There was no intent with Mullan's tackle like there was with Rico's kick of Ruiz. It was a hard tackle that was really poorly timed. 3 games sounds about right.

 

I'm fairly certain most Sounders fans suffer from mental defects, brought on by acid rain that they stand in during Sounders games.

 

I saw it very different, with Rico it was never about someone being hurt, it was about hitting someone with the sole intent of hitting someone, Rico got what he deserved, I said it then, I will say it now.

With Mullan, you can argue he didn´t want to hit anyone, you can also argue (like me) that he has a tendency of going hard when he feels he needs to get some justice, he also has a tendency of being reckless.

With Mullan I probably can´t be objective, somone broke my clavicle in 2 different places by being reckless on a soccer field, I had surgery, I have a plaque, but with Rico it is very clear that you have to send a message to other players when it comes to hitting someone just because you are angry.

 

Things that mitigate this for me:

1. Mullan as a person.
2. Mullan as a hard player, but not really a player that I would ever really call a dirty player or cheap shot artist.
3. The fact that the got the ball with his lead leg.

He was completely and totally reckless on the challenge. He completely deserves a suspension. Based on past suspensions that tackle will likely net 3-5 games. Personally, I think a bigger suspension (say 7 games) would be justified as I do honestly think he got upset at the no call and went in to the tackle very hard and recklessly. Intent to injure? No. But definitely the wrong type of intent for any tackle.

 

The length of the suspension will likely revolve around the question of what message MLS wishes to convey. On one hand they could look for consistency in their decision making and focus on the foul alone, not the result of the foul. In this case 3-5 games would be the max. However, if they see this foul as indicative of a style of play that needs to be weeded out of the league, MLS may take a harsher line and quite simply make an example of BM going as high as 7-9 games. Some of the worst fouls in Soccer/football history have resulted in only 3-5 game bans so anything higher than that would be indicative of MLS sending a message to players that the style of play must change.

 

I understand your sentiment but have to call BS on this. Time it takes to make a comeback varies from injury to injury and player to player, not to mention who does or does not assist in said comeback such as Doctors, Trainers, Therapists etc.

If you are going to go that route then every game that has clear evidence of a Goal that was not given or one that was given and should not have been would need to be adjudicated as well. Throw in Players that get suspended because someone took a dive and the Ref fell for it or teams that do other illegal things that may result in a team or teams being relegated or missing the playoffs unfairly and the entire Soccer World will wind up being run through the courts even more so than we have today.

5 Game Suspension sounds about right to me even though I could see it being as little as 3 or perhaps 7 as well. We will have to see what the decision is, ultimately no matter what it is there will still be an outcry.

 

Mullan only suspended one game:

http://tinyurl.com/mlssoccer-mullan-htm

 

I disagree, strongly.