Ban Bladed Football Boots, for England’s Sake

9 England Internationals have all injured their metatarsal, this article considers blaming the bladed boot.

Well whether it is because of Bladed football boots or just modern football boots in general. It look like we have been robbed of seeing one of the finest players on the planet in this summers World Cup. Absolutely devastating news !!!! (Very) Speedy recovery Wayne !!!!

I would agree that the blade is to blame, as clearly the narrow profile of the blades will exert more force per area than a stud. In the case of the Rooney situation, it’s the lack of give that you mention in your post that seems to have done the damage. Nicely written post, by the way.

It is worth saying that although Rooneys boots were lightweight they were not Blades, Fergie has banned them at United since Roy Keane got injured.
This was taken from the bbc website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4277722.stm

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has called for football boots with bladed studs to be banned.

Ferguson is convinced the blades are responsible for the broken foot bone which will sideline skipper Roy Keane for two months.

He said: “The shot of the injury shows the shape of a blade stud on Roy’s foot. The bladed studs are a danger.

“We have strong views about this, we don’t allow our players to wear them as they can cause serious injuries.”

Ferguson branded bladed boots as a dangerous fad and has approached United’s kit providers Nike, who are one of the manufacturers of such boots.

He said: “It’s one of those gimmicks that come along. They’re trying to sell them to kids, that’s the problem with them.

A pair of bladed stud football boots
Football equipment: Blades
Warnock’s blades concern
Milward calls for ban on blades

“We have not spoken to the Football Association as I am not sure they can do much.

“It’s up to the clubs but I know a lot of them are refusing to allow players to wear them.

“We have photographs in the dressing room of some of the injuries caused by blades. Some of our academy boys had bad injuries, including some terrible facial injuries.

“We have spoken with Nike about it. Hopefully the fad will evaporate and they will think of something else.”

has there been any researc into the tackling players to see if they where wearing the said bladed boots? and how come the constant call for reduction in weight hasn’t been mentioned? the number one reduction of weight is to use less material making the foot more susceptible to impact fractures and breaks? though i do agree placing the same weight on a smaller contact point as in the blade scenario can increase the potency of a collision and is not good for the game

Having just read the comments on bladed boots, I am very interested in the fact that Sir Alex does not allow them to be worn. I am not a big football fan, but am involved in junior rugby league.

My concern comes from observations as a junior team first aider, and have seen the number of what would appear to be stud related injuries steadily grow.

National junior football, I am lead to believe, has banned the use of blade style boots from the beginning of this season on the grounds of safety. Football players have the benefit of shin pads for protection, but in rugby, a game where close proximity to the feet of an opponent is unavoidable, our youngsters have no protection whatsoever. Having played myself I appreciate that ours is a very physical game but surely this is a matter worthy of investigation.

Having watched with interest, the introduction of blade style boots into the rugby game, I wonder if they are legal.

RFL rules state that the studs “shall be of no less than 8mm diameter at the apex” - thus inferring that they should be round. It is also debateable as to whether the apex point of blades is 8mm or not.

Clearly a rugby player is more likely to be in contact with an opposing players boot than a footballer. So this is an interesting angle. Certainly something that offcials should consider.

The law of sport has to judge the factual information and compare it with the sporting individuals reaction to the football boot and weigh up what should be done.

Not all players become injured from the blade, however, there is more of a risk factor and this should be addressed postively maybe targeting younger audiences of the modern game plus the manufactures, like Nike and Adidas. The use of promotional leaflets and visual aids around football clubs in my opinion should be used.

I suffered an horrific knee injury last august playing football whilst wearing blade-type studs. My studs caught in the ground, my foot remained planted and I turned almost 360 degrees tearing my cartilage, my anterior cruciate ligament and most seriously my patella tendon.

In my opinion the blade stud doesn’t seem to give in the soil like round studs when you turn, they almost seem to work against you due to their straight nature. I’m not saying that the boots caused the injury but they could certainly have been a contributing factor.

Well i agree with this but what about the new types of blades with the clip in metal on the bottom…are these just as bad becuase 90% of predators use these types of blades. And as predators r voted the best boots, surely this would impact the selling of them.

I sprained my ankle wearing studs! but i may have broken it wearing blades. Many manufacturers have stopped making studded boots and nearly all of the boots they make are blades! i Think they should make both. all my mates haves blades and don’t believe the speculation about blades! I think someone should do something about it!!!!!

interesting comments about the blade type studs. i would be interested to see some scientific evidence if anyone has access to any papers?? im currently looking to carry out my dissertation in the area. To quote this article “When twisting, the metatarsal can be put under extreme pressure when the football boot is fixed and ultimately can break.” I would like to think the author would offer some kind of research to back up this type of claim against the blade type boots.

Was Sir Alex’s ban on bladed boots only for that season as i am absolutely certain that Anderson wears the bladed adidas predator powerswerve?