Credit to 101 Great Goals for this one. Please give them a click as you go through this post, because this survey is inspired by them.
Reaching A Consensus: Should Nigel De Jong Be Considered A Dirty Player?
It’s been quite a 2010 for Nigel de Jong. The young Dutchman, who’s garnered a reputation as one of the best defensive midfielders in England, is starting to become known for his dirty play. Or his aggressive play. Maybe just his unfortunate play, depending on how you want to word it, but even the most ardent Nigel de Jong supporter has to acknowledge this building resumé does not look good.
As we did yesterday with Karl Henry, let's look at a few pieces of evidence. Then, you can vote in the poll (if you haven't decided already).
First, Nigel de Jong broke Stuart Holden’s leg.
When that play happened, I thought it was just an unfortunate accident. Consider how far away from his body Holden’s leg was. Then again, consider where the ball is. No matter, this is people’s exhibit A, part of which is a note: This happened in a friendly. A friendly.
People's exhibit B: I don't know if you heard about this, but apparently Nigel de Jong karate kicked somebody in the World Cup final?
How big a deal was that kick? Well, how many times have you seen Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt since de Jong assaulted Alonso?
And finally, as you saw here, there's de Jong's challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa.
Perhaps there are more Nigel de Jong challenges we’re forgetting about? Share them, as well as your comments, below, though I think we’ve heard enough to send this on to the jury.
Use the poll, below, to decide if Nigel de Jong should be considered a dirty player. Note: we’re not talking about whether he’s consciously dirty. All of this behavior may be happenstance. However, if de Jong is consciously being his aggressive, the logical extension of that choice - injuring other players - has to be his responsibility.
I guess you can tell how I’m going to vote.
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