Doug’s Mouthpiece - Droug.co.uk

Gazza

Firstly a great quote:

In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock. Orson Welles, The Third Man

Paul Gasgoine went home today and just want to wish him all the best. Never met the guy, but a genius of a football player and when everyone who knows him says he is a lovely guy and superbly generous it probably means he is.

Personally I think he should be taken on by Newcastle in some sort of ambassador role, he messes up things sometimes, but the guy has a heart of gold and is a pure lover of football and wears his heart on his sleeve.

A great piece here:

It’s become commonplace to date the resurgence of English football from the foundation of the Premier League in 1992 but the road to the Wealthiest League in the World began in 1990.

Following football before 1990 was a grim pastime. Decrepit stadiums, hooliganism, and the aftermath of the Heysel, Bradford, and Hillsborough tragedies all combined to make the game a minority interest.

The sport didn’t have any water cooler moments because attempting to bring the game up with a non-fan just produced knowing looks and the sort of sympathy given to someone suffering from a strange disease. By 1990 football didn’t really matter to whole swathes of the population.

That all changed in 1990 - more precisely at the 1990 World Cup, when England went on an unlikely journey to the last four, fired by the midfield skills of a 23-year-old from the North East.

There has been lot of talk in the world of football about helping Paul Gascoigne since he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. It’s fitting because the multi-million pound salaries, huge profits earned by shareholders, and satellite dishes sold on the back of the Premiership wouldn’t have been possible without Gascoigne.

Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma as the theme tune might have had a bit to do with it but the England midfielder grabbed the tournament by the scruff of the neck - and as well as being able to play, Paul Gascoigne was fascinating because his personality made him different to the average footballer.

When England went out on penalties in the semi-final, millions watched Gascoigne’s unashamed tears when he realised a harsh booking would put him out of the final if England got there.

When the team came back to the UK the newly christened ‘Gazza’ was a phenomenon (comedy breasts and all). For an all too brief time he was just about the best player on the planet until a rush of blood in the 1991 FA Cup final ended with a stupid sport injury almost as soon as it began.

Suddenly serious writers wanted to get into print about football and publishing companies were prepared to publish something more than a ghosted autobiography. Soccer was back in zeitgeist again and it hasn’t been out of it since.

After 1991 his talent still flourished at regular intervals but with it also came a number of incidents and worrying behaviour. His last great highlight was Euro 96 when he performed consistently and England went out on penalties to Germany again in a semi-final.

There have been some unsavoury incidents over the years, some daft ones, and a whole lot more that gained less publicity, which showed Gascoigne as a generous individual at heart.

Since he left top level football there have been a lot of ventures in places as far and wide as Boston United and China but none of them have been successful beyond the short term - even a brief stint as television pundit at the 2002 World Cup.

Gascoigne might not be suited to management but when it comes to talent and midfield play he had few equals; it’s a shame no role could be found harnessing his natural enthusiasm for the game and his keen football brain - his performance away against Italy in a World Cup qualifier showed his ability adapt his game to circumstance.

Though he’s often been his own worst enemy, it would be nice to believe that the football world can help him out of his current situation. Without Paul Gascoigne the game would still be played in crumbling grounds to a dwindling audience - an awful lot of people owe him a lot.

Thanks to Athlone Advertiser

Doug - a hopefully Newcastle fan

Ps.Paul any chance of some free tickets:) Not from that rubbish site though…..

Sport written by Doug Scott