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Post by PotterLog on Oct 8, 2011 2:45:00 GMT
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Post by nottinghamstokie on Oct 8, 2011 6:33:30 GMT
Interesting if you're interested in an utter embarrassment of a bloke, yes
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2011 9:18:27 GMT
I can't help but feel sorry for Gazza.
When i was a kid everybody wanted to be him on the school yard, he had a real skill and passion for the game.
Pity he f**ked his life up with the fruits of his labour.
I know we should'nt laugh but the Raoul Moat thing with the fishing rod is hilarious.
Ill buy his book.
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Post by nystoke on Oct 8, 2011 22:56:15 GMT
As a footballer genius, best attacking midfield player of the my life time. Been fighting a real illness these last 10 years, and he is lucky to still be alive. I hope he stays on the right path, George Best couldn't help himself either.
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Post by elystokie on Oct 9, 2011 8:03:38 GMT
Should be a good read, his book, let's face it he's got a lot more to write about than most.
I really hopes he keeps off the piss and gets himself sorted, an absolute legend.
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stacks
Youth Player
Posts: 439
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Post by stacks on Oct 9, 2011 10:43:56 GMT
Should be a good read, his book, let's face it he's got a lot more to write about than most. I really hopes he keeps off the piss and gets himself sorted, an absolute legend. People are quick to jump on the guys back but your right the guys a legend with a heart of gold who would give you the shirt off his back. Sure he has made a few mistakes in his time but who hasn't. I hope he continues on the right path and learns how to spot people who are out to exploit his trusting nature. |
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Post by manchesterpotter on Oct 9, 2011 10:54:05 GMT
A very misunderstood and troubled man. It can happen to the best of us.
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 9, 2011 11:47:39 GMT
I writ this in July last year.
Early in the 88/89 season I went to Anfield to watch Liverpool v Tottingham Hotspurts. Back then every close season saw a flurry of spending by clubs trying to compete with Liverpool. Spurs always seemed to be at the forefront of the spending and in the summer of 1988 saw Spurs buy the young prospect Paul Gascoigne.
1988 was the days before every single moment of every single football match was filmed and each tackle pass and fart analysed by cameras placed at six different angles. As a result, we knew there was a young talented portly player named Paul Gascoigne from Newcastle and some of his goals were shown on Saint and Greavsie, and he was a bit of a character who loved Mars Bars, but we weren’t as clued up on him as we would be now. Nowhere near in fact.
At Anfield, The first time Gascoigne got the ball a collective gasp seemed to encircle Anfield. Was this fat Geordie lad any good? Well, yes he was, in fact he was better than anyone could have imagined. He joyously sprayed accurate passes around and whenever Liverpool attacked seemed to be the one who received the ball to initiate a fresh wave of possession. He’d gleefully skip past opponents, ball at his feet, and his grateful teammates would know an incisive pass was on the way. The Spurs supporters cheered him warmly and if they didn’t he told them to, then emerged with a big grin. When The Kop chanted to tell him that he was a fat bar steward, he smiled waved and did a silly walk. The endearing thing about Gazza at this time is that he clearly loved being a footballer. At the end of the game (it finished 1-1) he ran up to the Kop with a big smile and they responded in kind and chanted his name. This was in the wake of Englands 1988 European Championship calamity and new talent and faces were needed for 1990 so Gazza was a breath of fresh air. Paul Gascoigne could become a superstar, and he’d enjoy every minute of it.
After several appearances in England’s friendlies he gradually established himself. Bobby Robson described him as being “As daft as a brush”. This wasn’t a personal criticism it was more meant with affection to show what a livewire character he was around the camp. He eventually cemented his place in the World Cup squad. He was a special player at Italia 90. The real pivotal point was during the game against Holland when he turned his man with skill on the byline and crossed for Lineker. A top quality player who could make the difference for England. And he often did. So much went through Gazza, his hyperactive presence charging around Italian football pitches. We left it late against Belgium, dodged a bullet against Cameroon and finally found ourselves in a semi final against West Germany, and we all know what happened next.
This week saw the 20th anniversary of that huge landmark game. We’ve never been that close since (will we ever be that close again?) to landing the ultimate prize. At the end of the extra time, and with Gazza sobbing his broken heart out, Bobby Robson tried to console him by assuring him that “You’ve got your whole life in front of you, this is just your first”. Of course, Robson wasn’t to know, but it was also his last. He’d never have believed it as he left that tear drenched Turin pitch, but that proved to be his last ever game in a World Cup Finals. Sadly, That was the highlight of Gascoigne’s England career. He never seemed to fully recover from The self inflicted injury he recklessly acquired in the 1991 FA Cup Final. In Euro 96 we saw some flashes of brilliance and in assorted qualifiers we got some difference making moments but we hardly ever saw the happy excited Gazza that used to illuminate football grounds with a flick of a Geordie boot.
In the build up to the 1998 tournament Gascoigne was clearly unfit. Glenn Hoddle made huge headlines by omitting him from the squad. But what initially seemed a controversial decision turned out not to be controversial at all. More just an obvious management decision that simply had to be confirmed. Gascoigne’s lack of fitness and drinking had become a serious problem, and being photographed buying a kebab didn’t help. In his autobiography Paul Gascoigne described his own violent reaction to the news and that his mindset at the time in itself was enough to justify the decision. He was clearly unhinged and being at close quarters with the squad for a month could have led to all sorts of problems. And him being too unfit to play effectively meant it just wasn’t worth the risk. Paul Gascoigne’s life had been unravelling for several years and in Hoddles room at La Manga his England career finally reached a sad undignified end.
Since he finished playing Paul Gascoigne’s numerous problems have been well documented. He’s rarely far from the headlines and I,like many others, fear the worst when I see his name in a newspaper headline. As Terry Venables has said “Only Gazza can save Gazza.”
So much has surrounded him but as we acknowledge the 20th anniversary of that epic night in Turin, and a turning point for English football, I prefer to think of the great Matt Busby’s words when talking about George Best…… “We had our problems with the wee feller, but I prefer to remember his genius” And when I think of Paul Gascoigne I like to think of the Geordie who charmed Anfield and ran Cameroon ragged and scored that free kick in the FA cup semi final.
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Post by captainsmith on Oct 9, 2011 14:38:23 GMT
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stacks
Youth Player
Posts: 439
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Post by stacks on Oct 9, 2011 18:50:38 GMT
Pretty poignant stuff there Joe, a good read.
Can't disagree with anything written
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Post by jonah77 on Oct 9, 2011 19:18:49 GMT
the archetypal waste of a career.he could've gone on to be one of the all-time greats but didn't have the mentality for it.i was always one of his biggest fans but i was gutted when his career didn't take off like it should have.
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Post by oldgit57 on Oct 9, 2011 20:54:44 GMT
Gazza has had lots of problems no denying that, but he was a gifted lad. With that in mind I hope that this time he makes his sobriety stick, and that the media give him the space to do it! I often think that its in a lot of peoples interests to keep Gazza drinking. A drunken Gazza is good press after all, and there are a lot of people, from erstwhile " friends " to that bloody awful step-daughter of his, who without the Gascoine surname, would be working at Poundland, who are always ready to tell all if the fee is right!
Good luck Gazza!!
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 10, 2011 6:39:29 GMT
Some say if he'd joined the shit instead of Spurs it would have all been different. I disagree with that. His career might have been a bit different but Gazza's self destruction was so internal you do get the feeling he was always destined to implode.
Although it certainly didn't help his situation when Venables actively encouraged all his extra curricular activities.
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Post by tuum on Oct 10, 2011 6:53:39 GMT
I think it hurts him that his step-daughter and son are only interested in his surname and not him as a person. If you don't like him and what he may or may not have done then fair enough but don't be so hypocritical as to use his name for your own gain.
I was speaking to a couple of guys yesterday - one from Gateshead and the other from Wallsend..not the most sensitive of blokes at the best of times but both of them had a soft spot for Gazza and all his troubles. I think Gazza has that effect on people.
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 10, 2011 11:47:49 GMT
Perhaps thats part of the problem Tuum. Maybe because Gazza is a little boy lost type and has a certain charm he was been allowed to get away with too much at times.
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Post by potterglen on Oct 10, 2011 18:37:48 GMT
Interesting if you're interested in an utter embarrassment of a bloke, yes +1 |
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Post by guernseydave on Oct 10, 2011 19:50:57 GMT
I'd give him 10 years tops if he's lucky
GD
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dame
Academy Starlet
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Post by dame on Oct 10, 2011 19:55:09 GMT
Gazza is the best player I've ever had the privilege to see. When he even got close to the ball u felt excited ! Just a shame he was miss managed and his shower of shit family (dad) didn't help such a fragile mind . Think he made a mistake not joining man u think fergie would have sorted him out .
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Post by PotterLog on Oct 11, 2011 0:08:43 GMT
Interesting if you're interested in an utter embarrassment of a bloke, yes +1 He's the most talented English footballer of my generation and a fascinating flawed genius. Could have been the best in the world if it weren't for the drink and his "demons." Why would I not be interested in him? You must lead bloody dismal lives if you lose interest in someone so gifted the moment they do something wrong. |
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Post by JoeinOz on Oct 11, 2011 6:18:37 GMT
A lot of people have little understanding of mental health and it's consequences.
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Post by gonk on Oct 11, 2011 15:34:53 GMT
Who can ever forget that goal against the Jocks in the Euros and just as good the dentist chair celebration.Shut the Jocks and Jurno's up in one go.
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Post by manchesterpotter on Oct 11, 2011 15:50:01 GMT
People are too quick to judge, especially when you consider the number of players at our own club who have lead rather troubled lives.
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