Chris Nicholl

Great player and along with Kev Moore the best CB pairing I have seen for Town . It`s a crying shame with the money in the game these days that players from yesteryear are not looked after better when they fall on hard times health wise. Cruel disease I hope he gets sorted

That is very sad to hear.

I recall the Alan Shearer documentary a couple of years ago about the link between heading the ball and brain damage. He interviewed Chris. He was already starting to show symptoms then. Of course Matt Tees also featured.

The program mentioned the case of Jeff Astle who died in 2002 at the age of 59. The coroner found that his death was due to repeated minor traumas to his brain and a verdict of ‘Death by Industrial Injury’ was recorded.  Thus the Coroner found that football related injury lead to his death.

We are all aware of the tragic death of Kevin Moore who passed away at the age of 55 suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD). At the time some fans speculated if this was linked to his football career. Currently there is no firm evidence of a causal link between FTD and heading a football. The causes of this very rare form of dementia are unknown, but there is some data to suggest it is at least partly hereditary.  However the condition is caused by the death of nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes, and one wonders if repeated contact between ball and forehead may be a contributory factor in cases where the individual is already susceptible to the condition.  More research is required.

It's a very disturbing issue, and one that could have serious ramifications for the sport. But the safety and long term health of players must be paramount..    

Yes a very cruel disease.  Which some people do not realise that it is terminal.  A person also reverts back to having the faculties of a baby.  Family and friends suffer even more than the person with the disease.  They see the deterioration of a person and personality that they love or know.

Very sad. Chris was a very bright chap, he was one of the first to be using computers to monitor training and so on when he was assistant manager here. Such a shame he should suffer like this. If there can ever be a good side to this condition it is that he will probably know very little about it now.

If I remember rightly the Shearer programme pointed to the training ground as the place where most damage was done.

I'll never forget that night at Goodison Park in 1984 Chris and Batchy were unbeatable that night.

Sad news, hope he gets the care and support he needs.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Great player and along with Kev Moore the best CB pairing I have seen for Town . It`s a crying shame with the money in the game these days that players from yesteryear are not looked after better when they fall on hard times health wise. Cruel disease I hope he gets sorted

Is that a bit presumptive ? Or do you have personal knowledge that they are not ‘looked after’ in any way

Quoted from supertown

Is that a bit presumptive ? Or do you have personal knowledge that they are not ‘looked after’ in any way

Yes I agree. For all its faults, the PFA has a fair record of looking after injured and ill players if it is possible. They do have a sort of Dementia Department that contributes to research and helps players and families. It is unlikely the PFA or the FA or whatever could do a lot more because dementia is not classified as an industrial disease.

Until and unless research proves otherwise the chances of sufferers being treated like asbestosis sufferers for instance must be slim. It seems obvious to us as fans that heading a wet leather sphere countless times cannot do anyone much good, but the fact is that there are many more dementia cases who have never suffered brain trauma in their lives.

Great mention of Chris here in what must have been his finest 90 minutes in a Grimsby Town shirt.

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