Alex McLeish defends Martin Taylor in Eduardo incident
Alex McLeish defended his captian Martin Taylor
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Saturday, 23, Feb 2008 09:38
Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish has defended his captain Martin Taylor after the defender was blasted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
A poor tackle from Taylor led to Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva suffering a horrendous broken leg in the game at St Andrews today which ended 2-2. The Croatian international was given oxygen on the pitch and then taken to hospital.
An incensed Wenger claimed "this guy [Taylor] should never play football again" and felt these kind of tackles "cannot accept that on a football pitch."
But McLeish was adamant that Taylor didn't intentionally try and hurt Eduardo. "Martin's not a dirty player. He's distraught over Eduardo's injury," said the Birmingham manager.
"I've seen the challenge and, yes, the studs land on Eduardo's ankle. In slow motion these tackles always look bad but he's not a malicious player - Eduardo was just too quick for him," he explained.
"The referee's done his job, it's a sending off, but Taylor's not a malicious player," added McLeish.
It is still unclear how long Eduardo will be out for but it seems almost certain that he will miss Euro 2008. Wenger added that "He's [Eduardo] a fantastic guy and to see him in such pain and the shape of his leg was very difficult for the players."