That’s right, big Sam Allardyce the hammers’ boss has hit out at the “hysteria” surrounding two-footed tackles.

West Ham is without their captain Kevin Nolan for the next three matches after he was sent off for a two footed “lunge” at Millwall’s Jack Smith last weekend. Having said that, Man City’s Vincent Kompany was also given his marching orders last month after cleanly winning the ball from Manchester United’s Nani. Allardyce therefore, is understandably unhappy with the referees’ current interpretation of such tackles.

Allardyce said:

“There’s a hysteria in the game in this country that every two-footed challenge is a red card and the referees are being put under pressure to give a red card, whether it’s a dangerous challenge or not”.

“I can’t remember a player being stretchered off from a two-footed challenge – at West Ham, Blackburn, Newcastle and Bolton, in 10 years of management, I can’t remember a two-footed challenge, going to ground, injuring a player.

“There’s a hysteria about it unfortunately, but I can’t say that it’s dangerous.

“It looks bad, but we are not on about looking bad.

“There are tackles that don’t look bad that are far worse than that, believe me.”

So there you have it. Sometimes it makes you wonder if football is still a man’s game. I believe in “going in hard” but not leg breaking hard if you know what I mean. But with all these fairies jumping up and down at the fist sight of a “lunge” and the ref being taken in by their charade, it does make you wonder, doesn’t it?