Blades dangerous? Article + discussion inside

[metropolis2k]

Just saw this is the Mail on Sunday and thought it was interesting...

Ruud puts the boot in over new footwear

Football boot manufactueres will go to great lengths to explain to you just how safe their new products are, but Ruud van Nistelrooy tells a different story.

Van Nistelrooy, currently recovering from his Achilles injury has revealed that Manchester United forbid their players from wearing the modern boot designs which use bladed grips on the soles rather than the traditional studs.

United's Carrington training ground even has warning photographs of the injuries apparently caused by the bladed grips to illustrate how dangerous they are.

'Nobody is allowed to have those under his boots,' said Van Nistelrooy. 'No matter whether you have a massive boot contract with a sports firm, or not. It is absolutely forbidden. The club tells us which kind of boots to wear and that's it. There is no room for discussion.'

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I find this very interesting. Even more interesting is the fact that John O'Shea wears F50+ (and used to wear the old F50s) and I never noticed him having special soles on them (I don't think Adidas make the split sole for normal studs). I'll try and find some pictures though. There's also a picture of Ruud in the United boot room above the article and you can just make out a pair of Manias and I swear they are the normal SG Traxion versions LOL.

Anyway, anyone know what injuries they mean? Do they mean injuries to people who get trodden on or injuries (for example to your ankles) from wearing them?

I personally prefer blades. SG studs don't feel right to me (although I am adopting my brother's pair of SG Tiempos in case the ground is really poor and I need the grip) and FG moulded studs don't have enough grip for me. I wear Adidas FG Traxion but I will be swapping to SG Traxion next season.

[Pires'sBestMate]

I hate SG studs. As an Arsenal fan, it puzzles me how the Dutch horseman can talk about studs causing injuries. Arsenal game at Old Trafford? Ashley Cole. I thought that blades were safer than studs as you see numerous injuries caused by players studs catching in the turf!

[metropolis2k]

And funnily enough I have found a perfect picture of O'Shea wearing blades haha.

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51895357.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DE5CC12330C0B84608CADF6BEE711DC13C67F8FDA3DF66B0D1

If the link doesn't work just copy and paste it into your browser. If it still doesn't work and you really want to see it, go to www.gettyimages.com then go to sport and search for 'o'shea' and it'll be there.

[appleCORR7]

I know this isnt quite the same as the thread. But i did hear that they were actually going to ban blades/studs in childrens sizes because too many injuries with kids just not knowing how to tackle. I think they were talking about banning boots upto a size 5. But i havent seen anything come of it.

I guess if fifa have said they are safe then until they decide otherwise then what can they do?

appleCORR

[rgrayson]

I hate SG studs. As an Arsenal fan, it puzzles me how the Dutch horseman can talk about studs causing injuries. Arsenal game at Old Trafford? Ashley Cole. I thought that blades were safer than studs as you see numerous injuries caused by players studs catching in the turf!


I was just about to post that picture. http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[play_soccer]

I know this isnt quite the same as the thread. But i did hear that they were actually going to ban blades/studs in childrens sizes because too many injuries with kids just not knowing how to tackle. I think they were talking about banning boots upto a size 5. But i havent seen anything come of it.

I guess if fifa have said they are safe then until they decide otherwise then what can they do?

appleCORR

so appleCORR does that mean they will be banning your size boots too? lol j/k :p

[appleCORR7]

YES!!!!!

Hahaha, see i dont think they have thought it through! I think they have forgotten about the amount of girls out there with small feet that actually know how to tackle!

But i do see where they are coming from. I think it's dangerous for small children to be running around in studs especially when they dont know how to tackle. But im ok i only wear moulds unless the pitches are REALLY bad and we dont really play on bad pitches anyhow.

appleCORR

[Ben16]

I think they might have banned the fg blade versions cuz ive seen a bunch of sg blades like the traxion system on players like heinze and sylvestre and carol.

[HiFi]

I think they might have banned the fg blade versions cuz ive seen a bunch of sg blades like the traxion system on players like heinze and sylvestre and carol.

That is not the reason you don't see them wearing blades.

The metal studs and stud pattern are designed to be worn on soft grassy surfaces. They give you better traction in full manicured grass that is wet, and on muddy soft pitches. And in England, especially at this time of year, the pitches are all very soft.

The blades tend to make the mud and dirt cake up under the sole, making them virtually useless in those conditions.

[hawk_claw]

so is it all kinds of blades that manu has banned???? ex. does the azt 90 ii have the kind of blades that they banned?

[metropolis2k]

I think they might have banned the fg blade versions cuz ive seen a bunch of sg blades like the traxion system on players like heinze and sylvestre and carol.

I've never seen a player wearing FG blades in a Premiership game. They all wear SG ones anyway. I don't see the difference between them anyway. Getting hit by lots of plastic/rubber blades is just as bad as being hit by fewer metal tipped ones. At the speed of impact the material shouldn't matter too much.

[nvan_football]

I've never seen a player wearing FG blades in a Premiership game. They all wear SG ones anyway. I don't see the difference between them anyway. Getting hit by lots of plastic/rubber blades is just as bad as being hit by fewer metal tipped ones. At the speed of impact the material shouldn't matter too much.
I don't think so. Imagine your arm is hit with metal stick 10 cm long and them with one that's made of the same rubber as pulses are. Which one is gonna be more painful?

[ADIKeeper]

That is one of the stupidest things I have heard about soccer shoes in a while. I am a goalkeeper, so I am pretty close to a lot of striker's feet when I go down to claim a ball. The studs have never done any serious damage to me. The worst would probably just be the cleats dragging down the side of my leg and leaving a cut. That's it.

I think these people have the story wrong. The Manchester United youth squads banned using the FG AZT90II's because they were too grippy and when players made sharp turns, it damaged their knees. Hence, barring them from using only that shoe.

I wear the T90II's and that hasn't happened to me at all. I think whoever sent that out got the impression that bladed cleats on all boots cause harm. A soccer-mom scare tactic, if you will.

[Ben16]

ok i think i need to clear up wut i said.

i meant taht i think that only fg blades were banned by man united

because i see a few of their player wearing sg blad studs suck as carol and others. i know fields are damp this time of year in england i used to live there.

[metropolis2k]

I don't think so. Imagine your arm is hit with metal stick 10 cm long and them with one that's made of the same rubber as pulses are. Which one is gonna be more painful?

Notice my last sentence. I said it all depends on the speed of impact. I was making a generalisation about sliding tackles (and similar) where the impact is at such a high speed, that the material doesn't matter.

Yes for lighter things like just catching the bottom of someone's foot the metal blades will hurt more but once it becomes a quicker harder impact the material isn't as important.

[OutKast3000]

Um...if I may weigh in here.

I think that some of you have the wrong idea....it is NOT about knowing how to tackle or the material that you are getting hit with. It is how the sole (moulds, blades, etc.) grip the surface that you are using them on.

It could be due to injury (IE. the AZT90 II theory) or the fact that certain outsoles may damage the playing surface (doubtful) but I have seen it happen where I play.

Why would Man Utd ban shoes if people were getting hurt via a bad tackle??? In training players shouldn't be tackling their teammates that hard.

[metropolis2k]

To quote from the article:

United's Carrington training ground even has warning photographs of the injuries apparently caused by the bladed grips to illustrate how dangerous they are.

It clearly says it is to do with the injuries.

[appleCORR7]

Yeah thats the whole reason David Beckham slipped when he took that penalty against Portugal. If he had studs on he would have scored! :D

appleCORR

[htafc]

Yeah thats the whole reason David Beckham slipped when he took that penalty against Portugal. If he had studs on he would have scored! :D

appleCORR
didnt that happen against turkey aswell

[Jc18star]

Becks couldn't hit the ocean from a boat duing Euro 04. It didn't have anything to do with his boots, just the fact that he is crap is the reason he missed. The most overated player in the modern era of football.