Martin Taylor should be in jail

...update - i'm putting this link up top because this picture illustrates better than words ever could why I think Martin Taylor should go to jail.

Martin Taylor should be in jail right now, and he should stay there, no bail, for the next twenty years. He should forfeit his salary to da Silva, and Birmingham should be made to pay $25 million USD to da Silva for employing a criminal.

This video shows stills from the crime:



Martin Taylor needs to go to jail immediately for this attack on Eduardo da Silva. I'm not interested in 'how bad he feels' or how he is about to find god - go to jail, criminal!

The pictures show Martin Taylor aiming intently at da Silva's leg - aiming for the midspot of his shin - and catching da Silva cleanly - nearly ripping da Silva's leg completely off da Silva's body. da Silva's leg is left hanging by a shred of skin. The pool of blood had to be washed off the field before play eventually continued ten minutes later.

It's also conceivable that other people could go to jail in a scenario such as this. I wouldn't mind the Birmingham coach and owner go to jail for a few years, too.

I agree with Arsene, of course - but not only should the criminal never play football again, but he should go to jail immediately.

And I also agree with Arsene that Arsenal are attacked because of their stylish play - and this is a natural consequence of the 'fair game' policy that teams have towards them. It's OK to maul an Arsenal player because they play stylish football.

Criminals. Martin Taylor, his coach, Birmingham management - all of them.

...my contribution to Wikipedia.

...my entry was erased and replaced with that of a supporter of The Criminal. Article is now locked.

...adding, this is it - this is the one - this is the exact type of case we are all worried about when a criminal like Martin Taylor takes the pitch and is intent on ruining another player's career. We see this type of attack all too often - several times every Saturday, but we are mostly 'lucky' in that the victim is able to sense the seriousness of the attack as it happens and managed to pull back as hard as he can into a recoil that saves his body from snapping. The result is the victimized player often flipping awkwardly in the air from the force of the attack. Sometimes the player is extremely lucky and manages to walk away. Other times their knee is injured and they're pulled-off the pitch, iced up, and then make their way back on for a while until the swelling just overcomes them, and they are removed from the game.

But in these cases it is just luck and the intuition and skill of the players being attack that saves their careers every week. It is very possible to know how to survive an attack well. Ask any star scoring player in just about any sports league around the world - Wayne Gretzky being a famous example. These players are used to being attacked with brutality and have it down to an art form how to be defensive when being attacked, such that they can spare their careers, if not temporary pain. Most soccer players know how to deal with an attack like this if and when they see it coming - they 'get as small' as they can - to take a term from NFL running backs. Getting small - as if curling into a ball - will help deflect the force of the attack such that is becomes a glancing blow instead of a full-on, direct, leg-breaking attack, such as the one Martin Taylor unleashed on Eduardo da Silva. Unfortunately, da Silva didn't see the attack coming until too late, and didn't have enough time to protect himself.

When a player is so determined to end another player's career, there is not much one can do, but if we started handing out red cards for any studs-up tackle, then these types of injuries will certainly decrease. Going studs-up into a tackle has an intent - the intent is to terrorize and break legs and ideally, ruin careers. And the terror intent is not just for the player being mauled, it is directed at any and all players who dare to actually attempt to play the game without living in constant fear of the Martin Taylors of the world.

Right now, by not offering a straight red to all players who go studs-up into tackles, we provide political cover to criminals like Martin Taylor. After the horror injuries we can all gather around and talk about whether it was intentional, how intentional it was, etc. Let me tell you - if you go studs up into a tackle, it is intentional. There are no two ways about it. It's a very deliberate act that requires extreme concentration to force your heel out, lift your toes up, straighten and lock your thrusting leg, and attack your victim - usually your victim's lower leg, but often the side of the knee area - producing medial-collateral knee injuries. You attack where the player is most vulnerable. If you are really lucky you get a double-compound fracture on your victim, but even if you're not really lucky you might still tear his knee up, ending him for at least a season, and making him never the same player again.

A studs-up tackle, from here on out, should be a straight red card - nothing less. When this change of policy happens, we will see leaping kung-fu-like, leg-breaking, horror-injury-producing, player-terrorizing tactics drop to near zero almost overnight. The English Premiere League has to make a decision - just like the NHL made a decision years ago - do you want to be a league of criminals and bar room brawls, or do you want to be a league of sport and the Beautiful Game?

It's largely up to us.

...sign the petition to ban Taylor for life. I'm at 24,410.