ian1964 10,870 Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Today on STV from 21:45 to 22:45 Series 6, Episode 3 Legendary footballer Paul Gascoigne joins Piers Morgan for a frank, emotional and revealing interview. He opens up about his battle with the booze and tells of the time when he was drinking four bottles of whisky a day without food or water. He also talks about his drug addiction, his marriage, what made him turn up at the scene of the Raoul Moat siege and, of course, his amazing career. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,519 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I hope the guy has sorted himself out but to be honest he still comes over as brain-dead to me. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I hope the guy has sorted himself out but to be honest he still comes over as brain-dead to me. Sorry but I actually find that comment offensive. The guy has had personal problems but these problems never, ever, prevented him from being anything less, or more, a legend in Rangers eyes. Pal Gascoigne IS, WAS, WILL FOREVER BE, one of the finest players that ever wore our colours. Sure, he may not ever be the sharpest to ever play for Rangers and he has certainly had his demons..... but he is certainly up there as one of, if not THE, finest players ever to play for the club. There are times when I find we should be fighting for our own.... but when we are fighting against each other over someone like Paul Gascoigne then I truly believe we have lost our own fight.......... Paul Gascoigne IS, WAS, AND WILL FORVER BE...... a TRUE RANGERS LEGEND...... at least in this Bears Heart !! Let the Tims try to work out how offended they should be. Larsson is a Demi-God to them.... Thankfully Gascoigne was TWICE the player that Larsson could ever hope to be... Anyone disagree with me and I am morre than happy to discuss. Henrik Larrsson was a fine player. Absolutely no doubt about it..... but Paul Gascoigne.... I think not. Not ever will Larsson even be close to the talent that Gascoigne possessed, regardless of how often they try to peddle the myth..... Paul Gascoigne, despite his demons, was one of the best players EVER to play this game we call football. And as Rangers fans we should feel nothing but PRIDE about that fact. Demons, we all have them. We deal with them in different ways. But guess what... PAUL GASCOIGNE..... dealt with his demons by winning us 8 IAR... along with being one of, if not the, finest player of his generation.... And the ONLY people that will argue that point..... are the English, or Irish, who choose to think that Gazza cost the their FIFA 90 place...... but all he disd was play his heart out and try to WIN......... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,519 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I don't think I said he wasn't a good football player Craig but the guy was an idiot off the park and in that respect he cannot even get within a street length of Hendrick Larsson. Battering his wife and turning up at the Raul Moat scene being two things that no normal person would have done. He chose to drink and sniff cocaine himself and yes he can hide behind the alcohol is a sickness flag which it most definitely is, but not every alcoholic batters their wife or makes an arse of themselves every where they go. The guy is an idiot who could play football in my eyes and nowhere near the real Rangers Legends of the past. Being a legend is not only about football it is also about having respect for somebody in all walks of life and Gascoigne fails miserably on that front. If you want to put him amongst your legend figures then that is your prerogative but personally I don't see why I should defend someone who acts like an idiot just because he played a few seasons for Rangers. If you are offended by that then sorry but I am afraid it is your problem, as I think that Hendrick Larsson is a far better person than Paul Gascoigne will ever be, and to be honest while Gascoigne probably was potentially a better player than Larsson,Larsson probably done more for Celtic than Gascoigne done for us. Sorry to all who feel offended by that. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dutchy Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 George Best drank himself intot the ground, even after getting a new liver and a second chance. If Paul Gascoigne goes the same way, I would say that is a very stupid person. If a doctor comes up to you and warns you of the dangers of your lifestyle and you do nothing about it, you will die. Gazza is a great footballer. If he overcomes his problems, and lives, he will aslo show himself to be a very strong humann being. Good luck to him, I'm sure he will always be known amongst the Rangers support for his great footballing skills. I sincerely hope that he does not go the same way as Best, and in truth, remembered for all the wrong things. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 He has a very bad disease it's not as easy as you think just stop drinking even when the doctor tells you too, many have tried and failed and he has tried many times. Drink also affects people in different ways, some get aggressive some don't, it can be a demon and totally mess with your head as we all know, more so for others and i'm sure the drinkers on here have all been embarrassed by drink in some way in the past and more than once, but i'm certainly not defending what he did to his wife. I think from what I've seen and heard from him recently he actually has a chance this time and has been sober for some time now. He goes to the gym most days so is keeping fit and busy, hopefully the hangers on are out of his life and only the important friends and family are there for him when he needs them. One of the greatest ever players I have seen play for us and it was a privilege, good luck Gazza i'll only remember you for all the right reasons. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,519 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I certainly hope and pray for him that he makes it but 11 months off the drink is still a long way off where you can say he is winning the fight. Once you get to about 5 years then you have a good chance that you can stay off the drink. You have to start somewhere of course and he certainly has done well to get where he is. He is certainly not near being the best football player I have seen and as I said above being a Rangers legend for me means more than a couple of seasons of good football. John Greig, Willie Waddle come more into that category for me with exceptional dedication on and off the field. Another matter of everyone having different views of which age probably plays a big role. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whosthedado 1,851 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I agree with you Pete about 'Legend' Gazza was a fantastic player and one of the best that I have certainly had the privilage of seeing. In my opinion though you have to be at a club for longer than 3-4 years to be deemed a 'legend' Its all about peoples opnions I suppose and you are right about peoples age playing a part because legends in my book would be people like McCoist Gough Ian Ferguson. Mainly because those players were there for a number of years and contributed hugely during a very successful spell for the club when I was younger 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dutchy Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 And as good a player as Gazza obviously was, I'd say most of his 'press' was about his off-field activities, which were not necessarily to the benefit of him, football in genaral and Rangers FC specifically. A legend for all the wrong reasons possibly! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Some incredibly shite responses about one of our own. I'm not usually one of those partizan fans who says 'support your blue brother' etc but in this case the anti Gazza comments condemning him are honestly beyond the pale. The guy is an alcoholic, and like any mental illness, you have zero control over that addiction. All you can do is fight it every single day, and he's gone off the rails more than once - he blames no one but himself but rightly points out he's at the mercy of a disease which controls him, just like any mental illness. Depression, anxiety, alcoholism, schizophrenia, DID etc...anyone who condemns a sufferer of one of these and regards them as responsible for their own actions is no more saying that someone who has a cold is responsible for sneezing. I'm truly annoyed at some attitudes in this thread. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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