This is all very sad. →[More:]
Paul Gascoigne was probably one of the most talented footballers I've ever seen - an intuitive player with the kind of skills that can't be learned. Like Wayne Rooney, Gazza was a natural footballer - probably not the brightest crayon in the pack in terms of intellect, but with an instinct for the game that put him head and shoulders above his contemporaries.

But there was always something not ... well, right about him. He was like the attention-seeking little kid who didn't know when to stop showing off. He was forgiven so much, though, because of his talent on the football pitch.

But then it all started to go horribly wrong. He became an embarrassment - I remember particularly when he was playing for England and was doing a pre-match interview. Asked if he had a message for England's opponents, Norway, he replied "Fuck off, Norway". Live. On TV. He just didn't get that it was inappropriate. He thought it was funny. The Football Association had to apologise.

And so it continued ... nightclubs, mayhem, wife-beating, rehab, relapse, weird jobs (in China and Kettering), leaving jobs, losing jobs ...

And now today, this.

Every time I've seen him on TV in the last couple of years he's looked to be in so much pain - mental pain. I hope he gets the help he needs.