04/28/24
May 05, 2003
You thought Pete Rose was bad.: Well, I think Paul Merson can extract more sympathy than Rose. This former England, Arsenal and Villa midfielder (who now plays for new Div. 1 champs and EPL promotee Portsmouth) has battled and defeated his addictions to drink and drugs, but it looks like gambling may kill him. Literally. This is just sad.
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 02:30 PM - 17 comments
Not if you know when to...but admittedly that's the hard part. Smoking, 'now that's idiotic,' says the asthmatic smoker!
posted by garfield at 04:23 PM on May 05, 2003
StarFucker: I'll bet you $5Cdn that you've made a bet at least once in your life.
posted by grum@work at 04:31 PM on May 05, 2003
Betting here and there with friends on your own athletic ability...for a beer...on a dart game... Sure... I've made bets like that...they are fun.
posted by StarFucker at 04:42 PM on May 05, 2003
This guy bets on professional football and doesn't even get a suspension? Doesn't the FA have policies comparable to American sports regarding gambling and drugs?
posted by billsaysthis at 05:44 PM on May 05, 2003
I think the only rules that exist are against betting on any game in which your own team is playing.
posted by squealy at 06:12 PM on May 05, 2003
No. What business is it of the FA if a player wants to gamble on matches other than ones he's involved with? Britain has a betting culture compared to America. In Britain, every high street will have at least a couple of bookmakers.
posted by salmacis at 06:14 PM on May 05, 2003
And of course, if I'd taken a second, I could have substantiated that. Drugs is the same story as with most professional sports, theoretically the usual performance-enhancing and recreational drugs are outlawed. And it's also a mess.
posted by squealy at 06:21 PM on May 05, 2003
btw, this guy is the captain of the First Div champs. I remember getting some fantasy league points off him last season when he was with Villa. (Or was it West Ham?) Anyway, one wonders how successful he could've really been if he didn't have an addictive personality to contend with. Talk about having a monkey on your back. This guy has three. And still manages to lead his team to a championship. Man.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:03 AM on May 06, 2003
Anyway, one wonders how successful he could've really been if he didn't have an addictive personality to contend with... He may not have been successful at all...its his personality that drives him to be the way he is. I bet if the stopped gambling, drinking and whatever else he does he wouldn't be as good of a player. People like that are best at what they do when they do it on their own terms.
posted by StarFucker at 09:10 AM on May 06, 2003
But this guy admits in tears at a news conference that his gambling, more than drugs or drink, makes him want to blow his brains out, SF. On his own terms? How does that make him a better player?
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:05 AM on May 06, 2003
AT a news conference? What does he say to his friends? What does he say to his wife, family? What i'm saying is that he has somehow developed this way because of the chemical makeup of his brain. He is a good soccer player (i guess, i haven't actually seen him play) now, and we have no idea what he would be like if he didn't feel the need to gamble. Maybe he would be better, or he could be worse. The same thing that drives him to drink and gamble could be the same thing that drives him to be the best footballer he can be. Take away gambling and drink and you may risk taking away what drives him to be as good as he is...he may become another Danny "Pants" Murphy...losing the ball, making bad passes...not tracking back...and CAUSING YOUR TEAM TO LOSE TO MANCHESTER CITY!!! Shit...i lost it there... Its similar to what i was saying about the Leeds players...some managers, like O'Leary probably recognized that if you took the fight out of the players off the field, you would be taking it out of them ON the field...
posted by StarFucker at 10:37 AM on May 06, 2003
It's not the gambling that is a problem, it's the fact that he is crap at it, if he was winning there wouldn't be a problem. The guy is a chump and a bad loser, fuck him. Not that I have anything against ex Villa players of course.
posted by Fat Buddha at 03:11 PM on May 06, 2003
What does he say to his wife, family? Well, Merson's wife had a key role in his move from Middlesbrough to Villa in the first place. She wouldn't move from St Albans, and this left Merson himself living basically as a commuter, and far too vulnerable to the culture that was, admittedly, encouraged by Robson and Anderson. (His was one of the more acrimonious departures in recent history, second only to Christian Ziege's.) It's an interesting contrast between Merson and Adams, to say the least. But everything beyond that is pretty much speculation.
posted by etagloh at 07:12 AM on May 08, 2003
Well, at least, unlike William Bennett, Merson wasn't pretending he was a goody-two-shoes or telling others how to be one.
posted by worldcup2002 at 09:54 AM on May 08, 2003
William Bennet is a scumbag... The kind that pretends he is disgusted by young women like Britney Spears who dress scantily, but secretly lusts after them and probably has hidden cameras in his home so he can watch the babysitter... Fucking hypocrite...
posted by StarFucker at 10:05 AM on May 08, 2003
YEEEEEEAH, Fooker!
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:19 PM on May 08, 2003
People who gamble are complete fucking idiots...