Gazza – Thoughts from a Newcastle United fan.
Posted on February 14th, 2010 | 34 Comments |
That’s my motivation for writing this. I didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon last week when ‘Gazza was yet again in the papers, this time over an altercation at Leeming Bar, which I why I decided to give it some time.
The influence Paul Gascoigne had on me whilst I was growing up was immense. He was who I was in the playground at break-times whilst I was playing football with a tennis ball. I wanted to be him, have his talent, play for Newcastle United! I, like many others, didn’t have the ability unfortunately but at that age you don’t care. Emulating your favourite players is all that does – and Gascoigne was mine, despite him being very young in footballing terms at the time.
With a playing career that took him to Italy, Scotland and even as far as China briefly, there is no doubting that the bloke can play footy. Did he ever reach his potential? In flashes. All fans have seen what he could be capable of, it was reproducing that on a regular basis that was a problem. Perhaps some of his childhood troubles meant his focus deserted him from time to time? Maybe it was the move away from Newcastle to Tottenham Hotspur, the upheaval, the feeling of being alone? Perhaps his choice of friends didn’t help? Jimmy ‘Five Bellies’ Gardner regularly being pictured with him on boozy nights out lead people to believe this. Unfortunately, maybe ‘Gazza just couldn’t say no?
It’s hard to overlook some of the things that have happened in his personal life. The battles with drugs and alcohol, his family problems, his mental issues. Perhaps his mental issues are deep-rooted started at a very young age? Being brought up in a shared council house and witnessing the death of some of his friends, watching his dad recovering from a brain haemorrage are all things that could have a knock on effect, the latter was cited in his autobiography as the time when he started developing symptons of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
Anyway, let’s get back to why I love the Dunston born superstar – football!
There is no doubt wor ‘Gazza has given us some of the most iconic football images over the past 20 years. I’m sure we all remember him crying at Italia ’90 after a yellow card in the semi-final meant he wouldn’t be able to play in the final, the pictures of his horror injury in the ’91 FA Cup final, his chip and volley over Colin Hendry’s head at Euro ’96 and subsequent ‘dentist’s chair’ celebration. All images that the vast majority of football fans will remember. For me, his goal against Swindon in the FA Cup is the one that sticks in my mind, that’s where I saw him play for the first time, that’s where my fascination with ‘Gazza began!
Football gave Paul Gascoigne a focus, something which if he didn’t have then who knows what would have happened to him. Now he doesn’t have that option, football has left him behind, or perhaps it’s the other way around? ‘Gazza has already said that having to give up playing football ‘ripped his heart out’, and that leads me to a point.
Footballer’s, or any professional sports-people for that matter, are very dedicated. To be the best, you have to put the hours in and have an amount of natural ability to go with it. Generally, hard training starts at a young age and continues throughout the career, day in and day out. Then what happens? What do you do when you reach the end of your career? Chances are that there wouldn’t have been the spare time to build up anything to do outside of the sport. This is where things need to change. There needs to be some support offered for players stepping out of the game. There may well be some nowadays as things have improved in football dramatically in that aspect, but I doubt it was there when ‘Gazza needed it. I’m not talking about re-hab or clinics or anything for any addiction, more for the adjustment in life. If there was somebody to guide him in the right direction then perhaps we wouldn’t be reading about him in the front pages of the newspaper, perhaps we could be talking of a young up and coming English manager instead?
As for me, I still love you ‘Gazza!
wants to get his act together,love you paul but come on