Just when we all thought that the hard men of football were a dying breed never to return along comes Hossam Ghaly to re-affirm our belief that football really is a man’s game. The Spurs midfield dynamo lost four teeth and required stitches to his top lip after being caught on the wrong end of a horrific high footed tackle from Noe Pamarot in Tottenham’s clash with Portsmouth yesterday. The clash occurred in the first minute of open play and with a mouthful of blood and minus some teeth Ghaly trudged off the field of play to be looked over by the medical staff.

After a quick medical check up and with some stitches Ghaly incredibly rejoined the game proving that some modern day footballers can take a hit and remain standing. The tackle from Pamarot was a dangerous one and Martin Jol remarked after the game “He’s from Egypt and he’s a tough lad but I’ve seen the challenge again and it was cynical. His foot was head high”.

However Pompey manager Harry Rednapp disagreed whole heartily with Jol’s assessment of the tackle claiming, “Pamarot hasn’t got a cynical bone in his body. He’s the most laid back player I’ve ever met. I wish he was more aggressive at times. It was just a collision, a pure accident. It’s sad that the poor lad has lost a few teeth but what can you do?”

Harry in my book a collision is where two players bump heads or clash in a fifty fifty challenge not where one player leads with his foot at head level with sometimes disastrous results. However arguing over intent aside I think that Ghaly deserves to be commended for the manner in which he handled the situation. There were no calls for a red card and the youngster came back on the pitch in an attempt to finish the game despite the agony he must have been in. Yesterday was a good day for football when a young player’s attitude was to play on instead of lie down and make a meal of it. The English Premiership needs more of this attitude. Take heed Chelsea!

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