Tackling: What's the fuss all about?

I remember watching the World Cup in 2006, shouting at the television, slating all these players for diving at every opportunity possible whenever they were touched. Watching it, I was always under the impression that football was a very manly sport, but this just looked ridiculous.

Then, while watching this years World Cup, I suddenly had a horrifying realisation. I had adapted to watching diving and it had taken me about three or four games to realise. The game has turned for the worst and this was highlighted in 2006, but not even spoken of in 2010. So it isn't just me that has adapted to this way of football, the whole of England appears to be under this spell.

So, when I heard that a moral panic has now started in regards to leg-breaking tackles, I was shocked. Yes, there have been a couple of broken legs recently, but hasn't there always been? Defenders will make mistakes, it is the same as a striker missing a simple opportunity in front of goal, except the consequences for these mis-timed challenge is much bigger. The worst thing for me is, some of these challenges which are breaking legs aren't even that bad, it just happens to have created a bad injury.

Before Nigel De Jong made that challenge recently I thought he was a superb defensive midfielder. I still think he is one of the best, because his job is to protect the back four and his tackling does it really well.

As far as managers go, the managers job is to motivate a team. They don't tell their players to injure other players. If I had a pound for everytime before a game I heard the words: "Get stuck in!!" A professional footballer can't play at his best without competitiveness, and with competitiveness comes this will to win and players will be pumped up before games, the managers job is to make sure they are ready for these matches.

So, before we make this beautiful game any worse, let us keep these tackles. Because we can highlight the awful challenges, but we never highlight sensational tackles and players like Nigel De Jong give us those challenges week in, week out.

I don't know about you, but I don't want a next generation of English footballers to be diving, non-competitive players. Let us not turn football into a non-contact sport.