carlyluvsunited
23-01-2008, 09:00 AM
Revealed at last: The real reason Cristiano Ronaldo missed that penalty at Upton
Park
If Manchester United lose their Premier League title by a couple of points they
could well blame the flashing advertising boards at Upton Park.
It was there that Cristiano Ronaldo blazed a penalty wide instead of putting
United 2-0 up against West Ham last month.
And late in the game, headers from Matthew Upson and Anton Ferdinand made
the usually lethal Ronaldo pay for his glaring and inexplicable miss.
However, research has now discovered that the miss might not be so inexplicable
after all.
A top neurologist has claimed that animated perimeter boards could affect results
of matches and has called upon the Premier League to undertake "a detailed
study to prove or disprove the subliminal effects of the boards."
Dr Bahador Bahrami of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University
College, London cites Ronaldo's miss at West Ham on December 29 as just one
instance of a player possibly being distracted by the animated LED boards.
He has suggested that the Portuguese star's concentration may have been
disrupted by the LED advertising board behind the goal - which at the time was
bookmaker JAXX – West Ham's online betting partner – which was moving to the
left, the same direction that Ronaldo aimed his shot.
He said: "Studies have shown that if you are reaching for something, the human
brain corrects for background movement, so you could end up missing the object
you are aiming for.
"If the player's brain was attempting to focus on the ball and ignore the moving
image in the background as he took the shot, this could have had a similar
effect."
However, the subliminal effect of West Ham's sponsor has been played down by
JAXX themselves.
"I'd love to say that we set the whole thing up, but this is a simple animated
graphic that has been in use all season at more than one Premiership club," said
Mark Irvine, Managing Director of JAXX UK.
"From my own experience as a football fan, I know that LED boards can be
divisive as some fans find them distracting but, even if this is true, it's the first
time I've heard of a result actually hinging on an animated logo.
"It would be interesting to take the concept one step further, perhaps with home
clubs flashing up 'Shoot to the Left!' or 'You're Gonna Miss!' as away players
prepare to take a penalty. I'm not sure what the FA would make of it though."
The use of noise and visual displays to intimidate opponents is nothing new. It is
not unknown for teams to artificially raise the decibel level.
The NFL's Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots recently accused the
Indianapolis Colts of pumping artificial crowd noise into the RCA Dome during key
points of their AFC clash to prevent the offence hearing their quarterback Tom
Brady's play-calls.
After an investigation, NFL chiefs said the allegations, refuted by the Colts, had
no foundation.
But with so much at stake, Dr Bahrami has called upon Premier League chiefs to
undertake further study into the possible effects of LED boards: "In order to
prove or disprove the subliminal effects of the boards, a detailed academic study
would be necessary, looking at how players react in different situations through
the course of the game," he added.
"The Premier League may then wish to consider its conclusions."
www.dailymail.co.uk
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
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Park
If Manchester United lose their Premier League title by a couple of points they
could well blame the flashing advertising boards at Upton Park.
It was there that Cristiano Ronaldo blazed a penalty wide instead of putting
United 2-0 up against West Ham last month.
And late in the game, headers from Matthew Upson and Anton Ferdinand made
the usually lethal Ronaldo pay for his glaring and inexplicable miss.
However, research has now discovered that the miss might not be so inexplicable
after all.
A top neurologist has claimed that animated perimeter boards could affect results
of matches and has called upon the Premier League to undertake "a detailed
study to prove or disprove the subliminal effects of the boards."
Dr Bahador Bahrami of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University
College, London cites Ronaldo's miss at West Ham on December 29 as just one
instance of a player possibly being distracted by the animated LED boards.
He has suggested that the Portuguese star's concentration may have been
disrupted by the LED advertising board behind the goal - which at the time was
bookmaker JAXX – West Ham's online betting partner – which was moving to the
left, the same direction that Ronaldo aimed his shot.
He said: "Studies have shown that if you are reaching for something, the human
brain corrects for background movement, so you could end up missing the object
you are aiming for.
"If the player's brain was attempting to focus on the ball and ignore the moving
image in the background as he took the shot, this could have had a similar
effect."
However, the subliminal effect of West Ham's sponsor has been played down by
JAXX themselves.
"I'd love to say that we set the whole thing up, but this is a simple animated
graphic that has been in use all season at more than one Premiership club," said
Mark Irvine, Managing Director of JAXX UK.
"From my own experience as a football fan, I know that LED boards can be
divisive as some fans find them distracting but, even if this is true, it's the first
time I've heard of a result actually hinging on an animated logo.
"It would be interesting to take the concept one step further, perhaps with home
clubs flashing up 'Shoot to the Left!' or 'You're Gonna Miss!' as away players
prepare to take a penalty. I'm not sure what the FA would make of it though."
The use of noise and visual displays to intimidate opponents is nothing new. It is
not unknown for teams to artificially raise the decibel level.
The NFL's Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots recently accused the
Indianapolis Colts of pumping artificial crowd noise into the RCA Dome during key
points of their AFC clash to prevent the offence hearing their quarterback Tom
Brady's play-calls.
After an investigation, NFL chiefs said the allegations, refuted by the Colts, had
no foundation.
But with so much at stake, Dr Bahrami has called upon Premier League chiefs to
undertake further study into the possible effects of LED boards: "In order to
prove or disprove the subliminal effects of the boards, a detailed academic study
would be necessary, looking at how players react in different situations through
the course of the game," he added.
"The Premier League may then wish to consider its conclusions."
www.dailymail.co.uk
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
http://manutdtalk.com/forums/register.php