Week in, week out we hear fluff about ‘reckless’, ‘dangerous’, ‘outrageous’ tackles. Whether it’s a player coming through the back of another player, a ‘studs-up’ challenge, or a follow-through, there’s somebody out there, turning blue in the face, spewing vitriol and bile in the direction of the offending party. In some cases this is an overreaction and in some cases it’s perfectly justified – nobody wants to see a professional footballer and role-model to thousands put another player’s career in jeopardy.
One of the talking points following Arsenal’s exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester United on Saturday was this: How on earth did Paul Scholes manage to evade a red card?
Paul Scholes came on towards the end of the game, whilst United were cruising to a 2-0 victory, in what turned out to be a pretty feisty cameo. It was somewhat emblematic of his career, a brief showcasing of the best and worst of Paul Scholes.
Scholes’ crisp, direct passing was on full display at Old Trafford. One ball, hit first time, with just enough back-spin on it evaded the Arsenal midfield and landed at Wayne Rooney’s feet providing him with a golden opportunity. Even better still was Scholes’ pass from just in front of the back-four in the 96th minute which landed perfectly for Javier Hernandez to knock forward to the Arsenal goal-area – and eventually, like Rooney, waste an opportunity.
What most people will remember, however, from his weekend cameo, is that Scholes was the perpetrator of two awful challenges, one which earned him a yellow card and the other, by any standards should have earned him a second yellow and his marching orders. It’s evident to all, that despite being in the autumn of his career, Scholes still possesses remarkable vision and passing ability, alongside his rather troublesome tendency towards bad tackles.
Tony Cascarino, writing for The Times, has suggested that this darker side of Scholes’ game has had the effect of ‘tarnishing his good reputation’. His combatitive nature – part of what makes him one of the best players in the Premier League (even to this day) is also what makes him one of the League’s worst tacklers.
Scholes has amassed over 100 bookings over the course of a lengthy career and has been sent off seven times. The question remains: Is Scholes a bad tackler because it is the weakest side of his game, or is it because he’s a vindictive (or to put it in gentler words, clever player, not afraid to stir things up, and bring a combative air to the proceedings?) so-and-so?
It simply cannot be the case that a man who has played football at such a high-level for such a long period of time has failed to figure out how to tackle. It’s much more likely that Scholes’ knows exactly what he is doing when he goes in for a tackle. Does this make Scholes’ a dirty player? I’m not sure it does – but it does leave something of a black mark hovering above his good name.
In recent times Chelsea have had Michael Ballack performing a similar role in the centre of their midfield. With his forceful ‘tackling’ and generally authoritative style of play, Chelsea looked much stronger than they do without him. Liverpool had Mascherano. Arsenal have desperately missed a player of this nature – a leader and a fighter, probably since Patrick Viera left the club.
There are plenty of bad tacklers plying their trade in the Premier League. But given his longevity and his refusal to adapt his style of play, are there any genuine contenders for Paul Scholes’ title?
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Ryan bloomin’ Shawcross