John Giles joined Off The Ball's Nathan Murphy on Thursday to discuss Joe Kinnear and the support retired players receive.
Joe Kinnear's family announced this week that he has entered the late stages of dementia. The former Newcastle United manager is 74 years old.
Kinnear has battled an aggressive form of vascular dementia since 2015.
Former outfield players are four times more likely to suffer neurodegenerative diseases than the general population. Researchers are finding no decline in that number since the Premier League started.
John Giles believes that the Professional Footballers Association should be doing more to help retired players.
“The Professional Footballers Association, that's the union, haven't fulfilled their duties in my opinion," he said.
"There's a lot of talk about the dementia but there's a lot of old players of Joe's era, none of us finished financially secure from the game, the money wasn't in it.
Lads before us got into trouble, there was very little help. The clubs don't really help and they cared very little. But the PFA, I think should do a lot more than they're doing.
They've got about 50 million in the bank. They've got paintings worth 10 to 15 million, they're not proactive. Let's put it that way. Players have to go to them and sometimes it's a means test if they're going to get anything. There's no obligation from the union."
Former Ireland international Joe Kinnear has been diagnosed with dementia, his family have revealed. The 74-year-old will be admitted into full-time care. Really sad news. pic.twitter.com/eAERH92m5g
— Irish Football Pics (@irish_pics) September 22, 2021
When Giles and Kinnear were players, there were max salaries and contracts that players couldn't get out of. Those players striked to change the conditions that allowed for the Premier League era to become as prosperous as it is.
While Giles doesn't believe the players of today owe them anything, he instead encourages them to get everything they can, he does believe his generation, including Joe Kinnear, deserves better treatment.
He points to America where recent changes have led to better support for retired athletes.
"In America for example, the unions are proactive with the lads who have head injuries, they look after them. That's not the case here...I know of plenty of cases of that. Players from my generation and before who really need the help aren't being helped.
It shouldn't matter how they got the disease, that's not their job. Their job is to help whoever got it, not why they got it...The old players that really need this help are passing away.
The Football Association is saying there's so many it's difficult to know who to give it to, so they're not giving them anything, instead of saying who is the most needed.”
Former Ireland International Joe Kinnear battling dementia.
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