I was reading on another forum Kendall has been hitting the bottle in a big way - I wonder what is it with so many ex players and ex managers that become alcoholics ?
It just tastes so damn good. He just looks pissed there, having a go on the karaoke, I'd say let the guy have his fun, he's retired innit. Anybody spotted with a pint and a *** 'needs rehab' nowadays, some people just like a drink. I bet Fergie gets the old Nob-copter out for Cathy after a few too many Johnnie Walkers
I can understand that a bit from personal experience. I worked hard all my life, looked forward to retirement very much, but then found that some days had an awful lot of hours in them, if you take my meaning. And gradually, the bottle was coming out of the cupboard at 4 pm, then 3 pm, then 11 am ... etc. I'm pretty lucky in having various interests, and can ward it off mostly. But it does happen, and I can imagine it's especially easy if you've had little else to think about but football since you were twelve years old. Suddenly, it isn't there, and you need something. It's very, very easy to slip into, especially when you consider that I retired in my 60s and need to keep control of the pennies. These guys retire at 40, have known nothing else but a millionaire lifestyle, most aren't too bright, have very few interests outside of football and leisure, and I can easily understand how their bottles come out of their cupboards a whole lot earlier in the day than it ever does for someone like me. I find it impossible to be without some sympathy for guys like Hughie Gallagher and Paul Gascoigne. I know Gazza was the millionaire I could never dream of being, but still ... he was a truly wonderful player, and it is so very, very easy to do. I hope Paul cracks it, you know.
The sad part of Hughie Gallagher was that he was due up in court for child neglect of his son which made him commit suicide. Probably the most tragic cases of all are Cloughie and Best,brilliant contributors to football but both die of the drink after receiving new livers. Read somewhere though that Best's mother died of alcoholism also before she she was fifty but only took her first drink of alcohol in her forties. Maybe there is something in the genes.
The strange thing is Hughie wrote a letter to Newcastle Crown Court apologizing for non-attendance at that trial on the grounds of "ill-health". He failed to say that the ill-health concerned involved the suicide he was planning for next day. Hughie jumped in front of the Edinburgh-London express and was decapitated. A sad end for one ot the greatest strikers in world history (an average of 1.25 goals per game at international level - virtually unthinkable).
