MARK Hughes would have QPR players lining up like a rugby team and clapping their opponents at the end of the game â if he were allowed. In the week that heralded the start of the 2012 Six Nations, Sparky prefers the guard honour championed by rugby where the other side walks through a tunnel of opponents and off the pitch. His comments come in light of the decision to veto the required FA handshake before the recent Chelsea FA Cup tie when the football world had eyes and lens trained on Anton Ferdinand. The Rangers defender was expected to bypass the proffered hand of Blues captain John Terry who faces a July court case for allegedly racially abusing Ferdinand. In the end, both clubs abandoned the contentious greeting â and Hughes would bin the practice altogether if he could He said: âI think itâs more appropriate to shake hands at the end of the game. Rugby line up at the end and clap the other side off, and that to me seems to be more in the spirit of things.â
Should be down to individuals to choose to shake or not West London Haka maybe ? Being sensible, rugby also has referees that are respected by the players, and even manages to incorporate 4th official/video replays to make sure important decisions are made correctly - maybe the two go hand in hand ?
They should hold hands and skip down the tunnel in pairs and out onto the pitch, along the centre line, then part and work their way round the centre circle. A bit like country dancing we used to do at school. Maybe some accordian music would help.
Here's the argument against shaking hands: First Chelsea match - both teams shake hands, and Terry racially abuses Anton Ferdinand Second Chelsea match - no one shakes hands, and Terry doesn't abuse anyone ok, my logic is a little flawed, but whatever happened to players running on to the pitch, playing the game and running off again
"Running Off" Goldhawk? I expect them to be so knakkered by the end of games now that they'll need carrying off! We're going to need them all getting back and defending as soon as we loose the ball, every game until the end of the season is like a Cup tie - in a Cup we have to win!
So, kissing hello and goodbye is out then? If a football match is truly going to be a "gentlemen's game", then the handshake line must be enforced, no matter what. If you have two people that don't want to shake each other's hands, that will naturally sort itself out. If one wants to shake but the other doesn't, that could be awkward... I'm sure the good sport Mr. Terry would have been more than happy to have the photo-op shaking Mr. Ferdinand's hand. I just wonder if Anton would have given John the whole hand or just one middle finger?
You a "proper" New Yorker then, or an ex-pat? If you're a proper soccerball Yankee, then we must be going global. Happy days.
That's good, but they should do it the Japanese way. In the J-League, they also line up at the end of the game and clap in the air towards the fans to say thank you to the fans (as if on a theatre stage) without whom there wouldn't be any league in the first place.
I love eamons idea. I can see it. One pair at a time, they skip on, announced by graham, the blind date announcer, "...and next onto the pitch it's adel taraabt and wayyyyyne rooooooney" and on they skip, hand in hand, accompanied by the bullseye theme tune. Alternatively, you've got to go in the complete opposite direction. They still come on in pairs, one from each team, they get to the centre circle and get one free, undefendable punch each. Imagine the atmosphere that would create.
I see them coming out in a flash dance style grabbing handful of air in the hoops leotards ...under a shower of tears from third world children What a feeling by Irene Cara
I'm not having that...!! Surely Queenlander is cooler or can i change my handle to my location..ala "QPR-Surfers-Paradise-Gold-Coast-Aus" .......?!!
One of the best ideas I heard was years ago on Danny Baker's 606. It was that each player should have to walk out to the centre circle after each match to collect his wages. What a chance to vent.