To Paul Gascoigne. If only he had stayed and if only he had half a brain he would have been a World great. He could have been as good, if not better, than George Best. If only he had Peter Beardsley’s application. Probably the story of his life...”if”.
For simple pure footballing talent I can’t think of any other 17 yo that I’ve seen as talented as Gazza was. As soon as he made his debut he just oozed confidence. It was a pity he didn’t have a brain as opposed to a footballing brain and a crying shame he left when he did and his choice of Spuds was so wrong for hm at the time.
That goal versus Scotland at Wembley when he lobbed Colin Hendrie was outrageous. The celebration that followed wasnt too bad either.
Nah Gazza was never really proper fat.And attitude wise he never ever changed, super competitive. Chubby bastard but it made absolutely no difference to his play. He had boundless energy. Supposedly took a lot of speed too in his early days like a lot of footballers around that time Its not like he was like Ben Arfa, Adel Taarabt or Gabby Agbonlahor where his game level went down like fat person down a very steep hill. Even in his worst state, Gazza could still move and drop the shoulder. And he'd still break his neck for the team trying. Plus we are talking about a bona fide genius, once in a generation type player. Hence he could rise above any physical barriers.
His game was only affected when he had the self imposed injury in the Cup Final as he lost the speed to go past opposition players and started using his elbows more. He was still an excellent player after the injury but never quite the same level as before it.
Yeah he lost a yard or two. To be fair those elbows just got more pronounced, he always used them to great effect. What might have been if but for that crazy charged up tackle. Still a world class talent even afterwards, but literally could have been anything if the pace had remained. Coulda woulda shoulda with Gazza sadly.
A day late but Happy Birthday to a footballing God. Some cracking tales of him, that you don't see in the media.
Best I remember was the legendary night at The Cannon after Italia 90, there he was sitting in the bar, with a line of young lasses out the door and down the road, 50 strong, waiting for a kiss. Made you laugh then, the wifey will always tell you what he was like at school, one simple goal, to play for the Toon.
