I read with interest the following story, and I am not at all suprised. He was signed at the same time as another player Phil McIntyre I think.....what was that all about? I was at the Wales v Northern Island World Cup match, remembered for two things in particular. Cardiff defender James Collins making his debut I think, and making an absolute howler which allowed Whitley to score an open goal, and Robbie Savage getting sent off. He was booed off the field, because far from being a hero, he let Wales down badly, with a stupid late tackle. Wales recovered from a 0-2 score to draw 2-2. Anyway, for those who haven`t read it, and forgive me if somebody has already covered it on here: Jeff Whitley talks of drug shame FORMER Cardiff City footballer Jeff Whitley has revealed how he became hooked on cocaine while playing for the club. The 32-year-old ex-Manchester City and Northern Ireland midfielder, now clean, admits in a BBC interview to be broadcast today that he used alcohol and drugs as a player. "I'd been on humongous benders. It wasn't just alcohol, it was cocaine and a mixture of other drugs," he said. "The cocaine just enabled me to drink more. From being so drunk, to then having some cocaine, and then being able to go another two or three days." Zambian-born Whitley moved with his family to Wrexham as a youngster, and he and his brother Jim played in the Wrexham Youth League before being taken on as trainees at Manchester City. But it was when he signed for the Bluebirds from Sunderland in 2005 he began to experiment with Class A drug cocaine. He told BBC Radio Manchester: "I remember Dave Jones [Cardiff manager at the time] at one point said to me 'Jeff don't come in but we'll still pay you' [because of his drinking]. "I never took any other drug apart from alcohol and cigarettes when I was playing at the time. "When Dave Jones said that to me I thought 'I've never tried cocaine, I'd give it a blast' and when I did I thought 'wow, this is what I'm missing'. "I was hooked that quick. If you're an addict you can get hooked on computer games, texting, eating... it don't matter what it is. "When it comes to class A drugs then you're in trouble." Whitley was eligible to play for Northern Ireland courtesy of his Belfast-born father, and won 20 caps for his adopted nation. In 2005 he and international team-mate Philip Mulryne broke a team curfew to go drinking. He later made an apology for the incident but later checked in to the Sporting Chance rehabilitation clinic after having suicidal thoughts and becoming worried for his health. "The only time I would go to sleep was when my body shut down," said Whitley, who made 38 appearances during his three-year spell with Cardiff. "At times I would just be praying just to die. "I was throwing up blood at times and waking up with urine and the rest of it in the bed and all my back was in agony."
