Dean Windass reveals the dark side of football

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Dean Windass reveals the dark side of football Footballer Dean Windass has revealed that he hit rock bottom when his playing career came to an end and that he had attempted suicide. The 42 year old, whose many former clubs included Bradford, Middlesborough and Hull, has shocked the footballing world by admitting he tried to hang himself, the same way that Gary Speed took his own life, and giving up on his fight against depression.

Windass has told The People newspaper that in the two years since retiring he has cried every single day, and whilst those outside people seemed to think they lived a charmed life, he was in such a deep, black hole that he couldn’t see any way out of it. He says that it was just over a week ago t hat he hit the bottom and decided to end it all, first trying a overdose that didn’t work, and then deciding to hang himself.

Windass spoke frankly about he felt so along and truly believed that he has nothing more to live for. He sees the two failed attempts as a wake up call, that he realises how much he has to sort himself out and that is why he has chosen to speak to the paper. He added that the public perceived him as a big, tough man who could take anything that was thrown at him, and that he wasn’t ashamed to admit he wanted to end it all.

Windass, who in 2008 scored the stunning winner in the Championship play off final which saw his team Hull promoted to the premier league, is calling on the PFA, Professional Footballers Association, to assist their member more in what can be a traumatic and difficult transition from playing to retiring. He says that there are hundreds of footballers who find it hard after retiring, and the PFA needs to do more to help them.

 

Darlington going into administration

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Darlington going into administration The football club Darlington have recently confirmed that they are going into administration. In recent weeks the future of the club was in doubt and these uncertainties about its future were confirmed when Raj Singh, the chairman of the club, announced that administrators had been called in.

It was initially hoped that a local group of business people were going to be able to take over the club but after several meetings a deal was unable to be struck. This is not the first time that Darlington football club have gone into administration, and they’ve struggled with their finances for nearly a decade having gone into administration three times previously.

An announcement on the club’s website from Mr Singh read, “It is very sad news that we have to inform our fans that the club has being taken into administration. When I became part of this club in 2009 I did not expect this and we have been trying to make cutbacks to save the club but unfortunately these have failed.

We have also been seeking out an offer for someone to take over the club and meet its running costs but unfortunately I have been unable to find a suitable candidate. It is my hope that as the club enters administration someone will be found who will have more success in taking Darlington football club forward.”

Mr Singh has mentioned that he has a great regrets about not being able to keep the club going and is worried about the points deduction that they might now face. He said, “I really hope that the fans understand the position that I’ve been put in, I have worked very hard for the club and have taken it to great heights but unfortunately I failed to sustain these heights, I just hope I don’t face too much unnecessary criticism.”

Gary Ablett gone but certainly not forgotten

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Gary Ablett gone but certainly not forgotten Gary Ablett, the former footballer for Everton and Liverpool has recently died after a battle with cancer, he was 46 years old. David Moyes and Kenny Dalglish led a tribute to the coach and player at Stanley Park. Mr Ablett won the FA Cup as well as two championships while he was at Liverpool and he was also the first player to win the cup  with both teams.

In 2010 he was diagnosed with lymphoma while he was working at Ipswich Town. In his career he also played for Birmingham City, Wycombe and Sheffield United. On Monday, the St Andrews club held a one-minute silence in memory of the player before the match.

Mr Dalglish commented, “This is a sad day for anyone who has connections with Liverpool football club and especially for Gary’s family. He faced a long and challenging battle with cancer and the only respite we get from his death is knowing that he is no longer in pain.

I can remember Gary as a great football player all the way back to the start of his career. He was not just dedicated to football itself but he was also dedicated to every club that he played for. He always served his team with outstanding pride.”

Mr Moyes, the current manager of Everton, has said, “My sympathy goes out to everyone who knew him and especially his family. He was a wonderful man who was liked by everyone and was a regular visitor to Finch Farm.”

Steven Gerard said of his death, “Everyone who plays for Liverpool and Everton has a huge amount of respect for Gary and we all learned a great deal from him, it is incredibly sad to hear of his death and everyone who knew him will miss his presence in football.”

If you are trying to find a pub showing the game MatchPint can help

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As there are more than 4.2m people who go to the pub every week to watch sport, it’s no wonder that so many don’t know where to go to see specific games. MatchPint, the newly launched website aims to remedy that. Visitors will be able to view a feed of the games for the next two weeks, as well as finding out which bars and clubs in their areas are showing the games.

Visitors to the website will also be able to search a list of sports pubs and bars by venue and can view the individual profiles of each pub to see how many screens it has and whether the games can be watched in HD or 3D. This will also give them a feel of the pub if it is one they haven’t visited before by looking at photos and reading the descriptions so they can make an informed choice about where to watch the game.

Matchpoint isn’t only an information platform however, and by using the My Profile account, for example, users can select their favourite teams, sports and areas allowing the website to recommend venues for them. The site is also integrated with Facebook so that visitors can publicise where they are to watch the game, making organising group visits to watch the game incredibly easy.

Fans will also be delighted to find that the games covered are not only those on Sky Sports. Of course, punters can find plenty of pubs showing Premiership football on Sky, Champions League on ITV, Six Nations rugby on the BBC and NFL on ESPN America. They can also, however, find pubs showing those elusive 3 o’clock kick-off games on Saturday, NRL Rugby League from Australia and even international table tennis from Germany.

The idea of listing pubs is not new, of course. There are plenty of comparison sites filled with punter comments informing the ‘online punter community’ which pubs serve the best ales, which have the best selection of Sunday Roasts and are staffed by barmen never to be engaged with in conversation Shortly, however, visitors to MatchPint will also be able to add their own comments to pub and bar profiles seeing MatchPint add its name to the list of sites for this ‘online punter community’. The difference is, of course, that this one is for sports fans.

The website has been live for the last month with hundreds of fans finding pubs and bars in which to watch their favourite matches. Though the service is mainly aimed at London, MatchPint already lists over 400 venues across the country with coverage in Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as its venues in the capital.

With the free iPhone app due for release in January covering all of the same services, it seems that the days of desperate fans wandering from pub to pub in search of a game may finally be drawing to a close.

 

 

 

Scottish government to fight football racism

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Scottish government to fight football racism Recent proposals that have been drafted by the Scottish government to reduce the amount of racism that is seen at football matches will be put into law. Initially, the draft received quite a number of complaints where people were saying that it would be impractical to enforce the new law; however, the government has rejected these claims and will go ahead with implementation on Wednesday.

The bill is known as the offensive behaviour bill and will be easily passed because of the majority the Scottish National party hold in parliament. It has become unpopular with opposition parties but this does not matter for the government who intend to pass the law whether they approval or not. There is also criticism coming from other bodies such as the football clubs themselves and the Church of Scotland.

The police have welcomed the new law and it will allow them to arrest people for inciting racial hatred. The law extends from public spaces to the internet and the maximum sentence is five years in prison. The bill covers many areas, including all public places, pubs and football grounds. The bill was drafted because there was an increasing problem with football violence in Scotland and last year there were several bombs sent to Celtic fans.

Recently, Celtic have been fined because their fans sung songs that were pro IRA at a football match. Another Scottish club was recently banned from attending a European match because their supporters were known for racial attacks.

Roseanna Cunningham is the community safety Minister for Scotland and she has commented, “The situation with this kind of football violence in Scotland has got out of control and we had to do something about it. It was either we sit by and let this kind of bigotry thrive or we take action and introduce a law to let people know that it will never be tolerated.”

Many of the critics of the new law have said that it would be more effective to enforce existing laws more strictly. Other critics have said that it is confusing and too vague to have any effect. Scotland’s first Minister is Alex Salmond and he has resisted strong pressure to get rid of the bill, and has said that it is essential in tackling the most serious social problems that are found in Scotland.

While many football fans are protesting against the passing of the bill the popularity of the Scottish National Party has not fallen and a recent poll has suggested that support is at over 50%, compared with a 25% figure for Labour.

Alison McInnes is the justice spokeswoman for the Scottish Liberal Democrat party and she has commented, “The government are introducing two significant new laws without a consensus among parties. Worse than this, they are unable to answer basic questions about the enforcement of the law and why it is needed, I’m very concerned that this is going to have a negative impact on freedom of speech in Scotland.”