As Ledley King becomes the latest in a line longer than Joey Barton's wrapsheet to fall foul of the demon drink and act irresponsibly, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has decided to impose an alcohol ban at Spurs.
Redknapp told The Sun: "I'll implement a strong rule next season that drinking is a no-no here. Footballers should not drink."
Ah but will this ban extent to the staff and to Harry himself? If Tottenham Hotspur is going to be an alcohol free zone that should mean coaches, manager and scouts, but given the 'footballers' bit of the sentence I'm guessing not.
Redknapp added:
"You shouldn't put diesel in a Ferrari. I know it's hard but they are earning big money, they are role models to kids.
"They should dedicate their lives to playing."
Another good point from Mr Redknapp, after all maybe ten years of not drinking is not really that much to ask if you consider the possible rewards of playing for your country and gaining massive success and notoriety for a talent you possess and the work you put it to get better.
Once again it is a question of attitude. Footballers are supposed to be professional athletes, peak physical specimens who can do amazing things with their physical prowess. Pace is highly rated in football, as is energy, neither of which is aided by a skinful the night before. Diet is also an issue here, for example I have seen a current Boro player eat fried bread and chips for his lunch, others are often spotted in Nandos and we all saw what happened when Mido was introduced to the parmo...
I have no idea what the players eat at Spurs or other clubs but I would imagine as here, they are given healthy food at the training ground but eat whatever they like off duty. This would be fine except that you have to consider how many hours they are 'off duty' for.
Take an Olympic rower for example. Before he retired James Cracknell put his body through a dedicated regime of healthy food, early nights and even earlier mornings and rigorous exercise.
Footballers do not need to be as strong, nor consume as many calories as a rower but they should be at their optimum weight and fitness.
Football is a different discipline but it should still be a discipline.
The other side of the argument is that footballers have high pressure jobs in the public eye and if they want to spend their money on a night out with their friends who are we to begrudge them?
Another comparison often used against footballer's is soldiers. Our armed forces have probably the most high pressure jobs in existance, in my experience they also like a drink, and that is putting it mildly.
However if a member of the RAF, for example, is arrested for a drunken fight, they will find themselves out the door fairly quickly.
In football all too often the equation goes:
Footballer + alcohol + more alcohol + hanger-on friends + a bouncer or a mouthy member of the public = assault charges and arrest.
For me there are several issues here. Firstly many footballers are essentially young lads with too much money and too much free time and a basic lack of common sense brought on by being told alternatively that they are the centre of the universe and that they are 'useless'.
There is also peer pressure. At clubs new players are routinely 'hazed' car keys are stolen and cars worth more than most people's houses are driven to remote locations, clothes and kit end up in the shower, on the roof or less sanitary places and and then they get 'shown the sights' of their new town.
A player, particularly a youngster who rejects a drink may well be ridiculed for it by his team mates.
But they are all old enough to take responsibility for their actions.
Some people should not drink at all. Different substances affect different people in different ways and if you are prone to getting violent or dangerously stupid when under the influence of alcohol then is it really worth it?
As with the general public, the problem often comes down to moderation. If a player wants to go out an celebrate a win or drown his sorrows over a loss on a Saturday night then I think it his decision to do so, but while the average joe may eventually run out of beer/vodka and red bull money, footballers can keep the rounds coming.
In a former incarnation as a barmaid I have served certain players and the difference between a couple of drinks and a serious drinking problem is often capacity. If you are only used to drinking one night a week after a match there is no way you can put away as much alcohol as I have seen some footballers drink.
Midweek drinking is also an issue. Many players will sometimes go out on a Thursday night because the game is not till Saturday and Friday training is usually light. Fair enough, so long as they keep their drinking to a minimum. Also if you have full training on Monday or Wednesday morning, in my view, you should not be hampered by a hang-over and there is absolutely no excuse for turning up to training still drunk. Ever.
Smoking is another issue. David James has said he would have probably had to give up his career by now had he not given up smoking. But he is far from alone in enjoying a sneaky cigarette, or fifty.
Some players can be better than anyone else even a little the worse for wear, George Best probably played far more games tipsy or hungover than sober and Zinedine Zidane was known amongst footballers to be a heavy smoker, despite his 2002 anti-smoking campaign! but most players are not Best or Zidane and if you are not quite that talented you should be doing everything you can to be at the top of your game.
Back to Ledley King.
King has since apologised to Redknapp, describing the incident as "a night out with friends" which "went too far".
But Harry has decided enough is enough:
"We wouldn't get these problems if the players weren't drinking.
"There's still too much of a drinking culture in English football but it's not as bad as it used to be.
"At Tottenham we do a lot with kids, a lot of them underprivileged.
"We have to set an example. Too much drinking goes on in this country. Too many people are not happy unless they have had a drink."
Harry is making sensible points here and but you can't help thinking he has not thought this through.
If he imposes a total ban on drinking, what happens when Woodgate, Berbatov, Defoe et al decide to ignore it?
Will they be fined every time? Benched for a game or two? That will not stop them.
Prohibition failed in 1920s America and it is not likely to survive at Tottenham Hotspur today.
First published on www.ComeOnBoro.com on 13/5/2009
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