My tears for the tortured soul of Paul Gascoigne

George Best, Jim Baxter, Paul Gascoigne.

Three of the greatest, gifted football wizards ever produced in the British Isles.

But whilst each of them sent the fear of the devil into their opponents, the demons which lurked inside them resulted in downward spirals in their personal lives, fuelled by booze.

Sadly the fight against the bottle proved to be a losing one for the Belfast boy and Slim Jim and now fears are growing that the fight to save the Geordie genius that is Gazza from a similar fate will prove to be too big a task for those closest to him.

For those of us who grew up watching him starring for Rangers and England when he produced countless swashbuckling displays drifting past the opposition with ease, the sight of the now 45 year old stumbling over his words and struggling to hold a microphone with the shakes at a recent charity event, were extremely disturbing and sad.

Thankfully there are people in Gascoigne’s life who are keen to do what they can to support him and get him the help he undoubtedly needs so the news he is to attend a rehabilitation centre in the US is to be welcomed.

But it would be foolish and naïve to believe that this latest stint at a clinic will cure him of his addiction, it won’t.

We have seen this movie before with Gazza visiting various alcohol addiction recovery centres, only to relapse when the temptation gets the better of him. The reality is that as a self confessed alcoholic every day of the rest of his life will be one in which overcoming the demons tempting him to have a drink will be a daunting task.

The warning signs were there when he was a player. Alcoholism has not just crept up since the former mercurial number eight was forced to hang up his boots.

Stories of drunken escapades have followed him around since he first caught the eye as a promising kid at Newcastle.

Remember the story of when dressed in his full Rangers kit Gazza drowned two half whiskies in the Celtic Park lounge at half-time in the 1996 Scottish League Cup Final? This, if anything gave him added zest as he mesmerised Hearts defenders notching two goals in a 4-3 win.

And then of course there is the iconic goal he scored for England against the Auld Enemy at Euro 96 when he left Colin Hendry in his trail and then slotted past Andy Goram before falling to the ground and being engulfed by his jubilant team mates, as they relived the infamous dentist chair party they took part in only weeks before, when getting absolutely zonked on booze was the name of the game.

That image of Paul Gascoigne wearing the three lions lying on the Wembley touchline pretending to enjoying a drink is sadly the one which will represent the failings of this troubled, tortured soul.

Meantime we can only hope and pray that those probably already written obituaries about the life and times of Gazza will not be surfacing soon and that we will soon get to see his cheeky grin again.

Yes he has done his fair share of awful things in his life and deserves the flak for them but this is the story of the boy who never grew up, the boy who never fully recovered from witnessing a schoolfriend lose his life in a car accident, the boy who found solace in the bottom of a bottle of beer only for it to prove to be his downfall.

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