Ten years ago, I was knocked out while playing against QPR.
've no recollection of the Kaspars Gorkss challenge on my head or how I managed to finish the game; it's a blur.
My team-mate Jon Walters told me I was out cold on the ground and actually started shaking.
I don't even remember how I got home.
But I was really ill the next day, in pain and couldn't get off the sofa.
Thankfully it did improve and in the early hours of the next morning my son Bobby was born.
Thankfully I remember everything about the birth but prior to that, it's all a bit sketchy due to the head injury I suffered against QPR.
That incident is the first thing I thought about when I read about FIFA and the Premier League introducing a concussion substitute.
And it's clear and obvious to me that if it is going to work then you need an independent doctor to decide if a player has concussion.
I have the greatest respect for medical professionals at football clubs, but let's not be fooled, they are employed by the club to make sure players, especially key players, are pushed out onto the pitch, even if they are carrying an injury.
That's why strong painkillers and suppositories are given and injections are administered, while if you are suffering from a cold then vitamins are pumped into you.
It's all in an effort to make sure you are out on that pitch.
As a player I could have torn my thigh and got a message to the bench that I needed to come off, only to be told, 'We need you, just try and play through it'. The manager is ultimately the boss of the medical staff and usually whatever the manager says goes.
So I would have no confidence in club doctors deciding whether a player should be substituted for concussion.
I was told I had to stay on against QPR, wasn't even able to run, but the message was clear from the bench, I needed to stay on.
Therefore, the concussion substitute needs regulated by an independent medic. The Premier League, and even right down the leagues in England, can afford it.
That person must have the discretion to inform the referee his verdict on a player.
I'm not a big fan of all the changes in today's game for health and safety reasons. It will not be long before a person is on the halfway line with a high vis jacket making sure there is no contact in the game.
However, I believe strongly if they are going to go through with a concussion substitute, then let an independent doctor take the decision out of the hands of the club doc.
I should never have been allowed to play on that day at QPR, not aware of my senses. But for me shortly after, I felt it was part of the game.
Looking back, even if a concussion substitute was allowed, I probably would have been told to carry on.
Independence is crucial in this new ruling.
Jim has Dun a great job
I never envisaged Jim Magilton as a Director of Football at a club.
Having played for him at Ipswich and known him for a long time, I've always regarded Jim as a 'tracksuit manager'. He's first and foremost a coach who wants to be on the training pitch with the boys.
So his new position at Dundalk Football Club has taken me a little by surprise.
But then, as the Elite Performance Director at the Irish FA over the last number of years, he'll have been dealing with admin and strategy, so maybe it's the next logical step for him.
I know how passionate he is about the Irish FA project with Club NI, but I think he just couldn't resist the lure of putting a team together that could go on and win trophies.
While his IFA work was vitally important, there was no end product on the pitch in terms of serious matches during and at the end of the week. As a former player and manager, you miss that; you miss the buzz.
So to put together a team that will be competing on the domestic and European front and be the main man for all football operations was obviously too good an opportunity for Jim to turn down.
He did a fantastic job bringing through our talented young players and I believe the foundations he laid down will allow others to build on his success.
I think in the last 12 months we've had the highest number of young players make the move over to teams in England and Scotland - that is testament to Jim's work.
He'll be a big loss to the Irish FA; his enthusiasm, passion and knowledge for the job will be hard to replace.
But he's left a great framework and I'm confident the next generation of young players will benefit from the strategy he has left in place.
