New research in America has supported the theory that footballers gradually suffer brain damage over the course of their playing careers, probably from heading the ball.

In the study it emerged that, generally speaking, footballers performed less well than swimmers in tests of mental agility and that the better the player the worse he tended to do.

Reaction to the results have been varied with some calls for helmets to be used by young players and others, this being America, for the rules of the game to be changed so as to ban headers.

Danielle Symons, a doctoral student at the University of Florida who carried out the research said, however, that incorrect heading of the ball was probably the real problem. "Kids go out and kind of bonk the ball with their heads for a while, but they're never properly taught until High School."

Symons, it turns out, is a football coach herself and used to play at a very high level in the States. So, er, either she's made a complete bags of the study because her brain is mush at this stage or her theory has got to be wrong because otherwise there's no way she'd be smart enough to produce this sort of evidence.

Now that, we think you'll agree, is scientific thinking.