By Tim Parsons-
Paul Gascoigne appeared at Teesside for an event talking about his career, but as usual appeared to be making references to episodes in his past in which he had acted as a clown.
The former England midfielder took to the stage at Hardwick Hall to tell some of his life stories including his footballing career and stint at Middlesbrough FC. He was interviewed on stage by ex-Boro player Craig Hignett, who played alongside Paul at the club.
One of the stories Gazza told at the Elite Events evening, which also featured entertainment from local comic James Kilvington, was the time he allegedly stole Boro’s new team coach and crashed it into the woods.
Gazza, as he is fondly known, is always an interesting character to listen to, but these days appears to reflect on incidents that make people laugh at his expense.
His days of footballing glory are long over with several decades gone by, and he is one of the few footballing legends of old who rather than provide footballing expertise on television, makes seasonal appearances across the Uk in which he tells one story or the other about his past mainly to make people laugh.
The story he gives of crashing a stole coach into the trees presents him as a reckless man, one who would eventually become hooked on booze, and declare he is trapped in the sorry cycle of excessive drinking. The ex footballer himself has admitted an alcoholic for life. Perhaps these sessions give him a bit of attention which provides him with a glimpse of the star he once was.
Once a major joy to watch, Gazza has descended into a man who entertains an audience by ridiculing his own self and relishing the fact members of the public still want to identify with him by taking pictures with the former football ace. When he turns up in the media these days, he appears to be there as a spectacle with his glory days of the past now a distant memory.
Arranging events for Gazza keeps him busy, and perhaps gives some meaning to his life, but he is almost always exposing character flaws that do him no real favours in the minds of those fit enough to sum up his words for what they really are, if the stories he tells are indeed true accounts.
Only 24 hours ago, Gazza’s former teammate Stuart Pearce told a story in the British press about how Gazza throwing soap at chickens, and “pooing” in a teammate’s sock.
He joined the club back in March 1998 for £3.45m, spending just over two years there before joining Everton on a free transfer in July 2000.
The former star, who was once the most naturally gifted English midfielder of his generation, spoke of some of the other darker incidents which have often landed him in the headlines on numerous occasions, especially his well-documented battle with alcoholism.
Gazza, who earned 57 caps during his England career, shot to international stardom at the 1990 World Cup when he famously cried after receiving a yellow card in the semi-final which meant that he would have been suspended for the final had England won.“[He] launches himself into the water, does a length underwater, all the bog roll floats to the surface, jumps out naked, walks off giggling with all the guests in the hotel going, ‘what is going on here?
Upbringing
’Born and raised in Gateshead, the midfielder signed schoolboy terms with Newcastle United, before turning professional with the club in 1985.
Three years later he was sold on to Tottenham Hotspur for a £2.2 million fee, winning the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991, before he was sold to Italian club Lazio for £5.5 million the following year.
He also played for Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and a number of other clubs as well as a short spell as manager of Kettering Town.
However, in recent years, his off-the-field life has dominated the news, with the star battling severe mental and emotional problems and fighting