Or, to look at it another way, gambling is an addiction and a disease, much like drug or alcohol addiction. People don't do it because they want to, they do it because they can't help it *puffs on cigarette*. To get to the stage where you've haemorrhaged so much cash on gambling that you have to resort to race fixing to sort out your cashflow suggests that you need serious help. I'd lock him in a room, like Renton in Trainspotting and make him watch horses gallop across the ceiling. Then I'd ask ME to stop letting companies like Bet Victor advertise at Portman Road. The bloke is sick and needs help.
difficult balancing act. i'd say the club is dead right to back a player who basically suffers from a disease. then again, how many chances does one man get? ok, it happened before he was an ipswich player but frankly the lad will either end up in prison or dead on some street corner the way he's going about things in his life. he requires professional help for his issues.
Its a not a true disease. I would have no problem supporting him if he had cancer etc but it is an addiction. It may be true that it is now out of his control (although he did allow himself to get there in the first place but having never experienced that problem I cant comment about self control with any conviction) and he doesnt want to be 'that person' anymore but it doesnt take away from the fact we are paying him good money to bring this clubs reputation down. If he was an alcoholic and turned up p*55ed everyday would that still be acceptable? Give him time off to get his head sorted (again) if you want but please dont let him off without consequence.
I wonder if the club can some how help by paying his wages into certain accounts so he only has a minimal amount of cash for himself and the rest is locked away.
take your point. he should be in a clinic, not on a football field in my opinion. you knew what you were getting though - his personal issues were very well documented before he joined you, hence why cardiff couldn't wait to get him off their books. also noticed that james coppinger was involved too! that would have been interesting had you signed him...
Yep another one of our great sign a name rather than a player acquisitions! If the club knew about this before we signed him then I will really dispair at them. If they didnt then I think its higher likely that he knew himself he was under investigation so he should have disclosed it at the time. I wonder if we can sack him and then sue him, a la Chelsea - Mutu.
one thing is for sure, its about to be a very messy time both on and off the pitch for east anglia's two premier clubs
I don't think the club had any choice but to back him. He appears to have turned a corner and I do like how he and the club have both been open and honest about his addiction. Perhaps we should have thought something was up when we could get a player of his standing in the game for £1.5million but perhaps we thought it was a risk worth taking!! As this was before he came to the club I think the club are right to back him as he seems to have turned a corner but he needs to take his punishment from the authorities and just get on with it!! If this had happened in his time at the club, no doubt he should be shown the door immediately (although how things stand currently I can't help that would be cutting our nose off to spite our face) for the faith we have shown in him!!!
Clarification: I don't mean a disease as defined by the GMC, I mean a disease like racism, oppression or ITV.
And whilst I'm up here (on my high horse) slapping a bet on at Ladbrokes may not in itself be a disease, but the psychological draw to do so would be considered a mental illness, like OCD or using internet forums (fora?).
Truth of the matter is this. He only signed for you for the signing on fee, because he had the heavies after him. Plenty of threads on our board pertaining to young Michael, it pans out like a soap opera and one day they will make a film about him, of that i am sure. Got my case of Strongbow at the ready for the match on Saturday really looking forward to it. Do you think you have a chance against us. On ray of hope for you is Bellers is being rested.
The way most of us feel currently I dont think we would be confident if we were playing your under 5's blind amputee girls team let alone the first team. I will be optimistic and go with a 1-1 draw.
Reading some of the comments on here about Chops' addiction irritates and frustrates me. I can personally speak through experience, as i too am a compulsive gambler (been "clean" for 3 years now). In my opinion, the first step for a compulsive addict, in any form, is to hold your hands up, admit your wrongs, and be open, honest and truthful. If this latest saga had be known to the club, then he needs all the help and support required. If the club had no knowledge (and if all this is true) then he's a silly boy. At the end of the day, at the moment this is still all hearsay, so maybe there was no need to mention anything to his employers because nothing happened. If the club truly have his best interests at heart, then sacking him, fining him, whatever...is the last thing they should be doing (in fact, they shouldnt, full stop!) Now, i do agree that this is a disease, but only insofar as that it is an inpairment of the psychological function. It can, and will never be cured, but it can be arrested (and by the signs of it, he has been off gambling for a while now) People need to realise that by sacking him is only asking for trouble. Counselling, and the help and guidance from fellow gamblers, is what he needs. Also, oddly enough, compulsive gambling is not a financial issue, but without a shadow of doubt, is an emotional illness. So for people to say "why does he want to gamble so much when he earns what he does" is so naive. Compulsive gamblers will gamble to their means. If you're earning aroinf 10k a week, putting a tenner on a 3/1 shot is not going to give you the buzz and adrenalin that you crave..you're going to be dealing with thousands and tens of thousand pounds of bets. (just like the average joe will lay bets of hundreds of pounds). In my experience, a gambler turns compulsive when there is a void in their life. They use it to get a buzz, adrenalin, fix..whatever you want to call it. So, to cut a long story short.. we should not sack, or fine him, but give him the support he needs. Maybe the fact that he hasn't scored that many goals could be down to him not being that great a player. If my memory serves me well, he;s never been the most prolific of strikers. In fact, he's only really had one great season, his first spell for Cardiff when he netted 22 in 42. Other than that, his record is pretty average (1 in 3). So maybe as a striker and goalscorer he's completely overrated (as opposed to the gambling affecting his football).
You may be able to give a better insight Stretchy and your honesty in bringing this to the forum is a credit to you. I can luckily say that I have never had to deal with such problems but I believe that the majority of employers would get rid of someone whose name constantly appears in the press as bringing the companies reputation down. You may be able to help but I cant see that if your addiction is that strong you can concentrate and commit 100% to your job, which again most employers wouldnt forgive easily. Lets not forget we leant him £250k to resolve his problems, which Im pretty sure any other member of Joe Public wouldnt get from their company and considering our wage bill is currently £500k a month then that loan represents a massive amount of our available cash. if this allegation is correct, and I assume there are good grounds for charging him, then it is also highly illegal and for me has gone past an everyday addiciton to something more dangerous. On his addiction, Im not suggesting he should be cast off as a pariah but I also cant see if it is effecting his job that the club should not bring sanctions. I honestly think that it is his profile that means we are supporting him and if he was some 18 year old trainee we would terminate his contract.
