JOHN LYONS takes a look at how football’s tough nuts have been shunted into the sidelines

Ouch! Wimbledon’s Vinnie Jones receives a red card for a tackle on Ruud Gullit

WHEN you went to a football match 20 or 30 years ago, a crunching 50-50 tackle between two players would probably come only secondary to a goal in the entertainment stakes.

But think about it, how often these days do you see a full-blooded, hard but fair challenge between two rivals? Not often is probably the answer.
Football has, in many ways, improved for the better over the last few decades. The ...