Kevin Davies plays to his ability, but because he lacks the finesse and artistry of a quality player his skills primarily revolve around his ability to out-muscle players. As soon as any player goes down the route of focusing on out-muscling their opponent they verge on the necessity to intimidate. They have to show their opponent that they are a physical threat because they don’t threaten effectively many other ways and when they come up against someone with equal strength they resort to the knee in the back or the well placed elbow.

It happens in every game and we’ve done it ourselves at Arsenal in the past, although not in the past few seasons. Sometimes you have to fight for the right to play football. But does it make it right? When a studs up deliberately intimidating tackle flies in how does the referee determine which is the red card job and which is a reasonable attempt at getting the ball but still worthy of a yellow?

Does it just depend upon whom is kicking whom? Is it still the fact that if you kick a perceived poncey French Arsenal player up in the air with deliberate intent it’s fine so long as you are an Englishman playing in the Premiership? The reason I ask is because I just wonder what the outcome might be when at some point this season young Theo is put on a stretcher after suffering from a studs up tackle intended to intimidate him by an overseas thug who has all the belligerent qualities of a Kevin Davies.

Will his opponent be given a red or a yellow card and will the choice of card be because it was an unfair tackle or because our Theo also happens to be the latest potential bright young English superhero? To me it seems it is allowable if you are the underdog, as in the lesser team, or in the Cups from a lower division.

More to the point how and why is it that dinosaurs like Hansen, Lawrenson and Burley get to say what is a perfectly reasonable studs up tackle and how can it ever be a fair challenge when you deliberately attempt to hurt someone?