Comment: Darren Moore's phrasing unintentionally felt all too familiar for Astle family

Rather than being allowed to be alone with their feelings, and remember their father in a similar way to millions of others who lose loved ones, they have been forced to relive the pain.

Every interview, every meeting, every time they see families of other footballers affected by dementia – it all serves as a reminder of Jeff.

“I have had to talk about my dad dying over and over again on television and radio,” Dawn Astle told the Express & Sta today. “It takes its toll.

“It was bad enough witnessing it – to keep talking about it is worse. But you have to.”

It has been a selfless task aimed at one thing and one thing only, preventing pain for other families.

That is why Darren Moore’s comments this week on the Professional Footballers’ Association struck such a nerve.

They were not laced with malice, and they attempted to come from a place of, at best, compassion and understanding or, at worst, neutrality.

For context, the independent review into the PFA had just been announced 10 minutes before his press conference and he was probed about the issue with several questions.

This was not a carefully crafted statement, it was an immediate response to questions about a developing story.

Moore is relatively new to public speaking, and while oratory comes naturally to some managers, it’s not necessarily one of his strong suits.

No offence was intended. He merely attempted to sit on the fence, and missed.

The most regrettable comment came at the end when he was asked specifically about Dawn Astle.

“I think Dawn and the family members will wait and let that (investigation) happen before passing further comment on the situation,” he said.

A clumsy phrase, that understandably struck a nerve because the Astle family have been told for 15 years to wait for others, to wait for the PFA to sort things out.

And for too long these three brave ladies have seen men in charge do little.

The only reason the PFA are funding research into dementia is because of their tireless campaigning.

Dawn, in particular, works on the issue 24/7, providing a go-to base for families of former footballers. She has, in effect, been doing the PFA’s job for them.

Moore has history with the PFA, and was the union representative at both Albion and other clubs. “They’ve played a part in where I’m sitting today as a head coach at West Brom,” he said.

So whether intentional or not, this comment from a union man felt all to familiar to the Astle family.

Claire Astle, Jeff’s other daughter and a season ticket holder at The Hawthorns, summed up the situation perfectly.

“Darren Moore worked for the PFA and obviously will of seen first hand some of the good work they have done,” she said.

“However, they have massively failed in their duty of care, not only to my family but to football, by failing to do the research they promised 16 years ago.

“So it is wrong to state my family should be silent on the issue now, just because of a review, if indeed this was how it was meant.

“If my family had kept silent, there would be no concussion protocol and no research being undertaken by the PFA and FA in brain injury in sport.”

Albion have, it shouldn’t be forgotten, supported the Jeff Astle Foundation fantastically.

The family were blown away by the club’s efforts putting on Astle Day in 2015, and remain grateful for all the help they receive with the foundation.

Next week, Moore will meet the Astle family over a cup of tea in an attempt to repair the broken bridges.

He remains a unifying character, and no doubt, if anyone can act as peacemaker, it will be him.

But the main thing is the Astle family soon find closure from their long battle with an issue that has been forced upon them unfairly.

It’s time for the powers that be in football to step up and take this fight off their plate.