Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne, nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of all time, Gascoigne is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talented English footballer of his generation". Gascoigne was immensely popular during his playing career, with television broadcaster Terry Wogan calling him "probably the most popular man in Britain today" in September 1990, and public interest in and adoration for him came to be known as "Gazzamania".
Born and raised in Gateshead, Gascoigne signed schoolboy terms with Newcastle United before turning professional with the club in 1984. Three years later, he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £2.2 million. He won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991 before being sold to Italian club Lazio for £5.5 million. In 1995, he was transferred to Rangers for £4.3 million and helped the club to two league titles, a Scottish Cup and a Scottish League Cup. He returned to England in a £3.4 million move to Middlesbrough in 1998. He debuted in the Premier League in the 1998–99 season, having already featured in the 1998 Football League Cup final. He switched to Everton in 2000 and later had spells with Burnley, Gansu Tianma and Boston United.
Gascoigne represented the England national team from 1988 to 1998, in which he was capped 57 times and scored ten goals. He was part of the England team that reached fourth place in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, where he famously cried after receiving a yellow card in the semi-final with West Germany, which meant he would have been suspended for the final had England won the game. He also helped the team to the semi-finals of Euro 96, which included scoring a goal against Scotland, described in 2013 as "one of the most iconic goals in the game's recent history". He has been involved in a number of high-profile goal celebrations at both club and international level, including the "dentist's chair" celebration from Euro 96, and mimicking playing the flute with Rangers in 1998, a reference to the Protestant Orange Order.
In the later part of his career, and especially following retirement, Gascoigne's life became dominated by severe mental and emotional problems, particularly alcoholism. He has been jailed or sectioned on numerous occasions, and his struggles receive regular coverage in the British press. He has frequently attempted to live without alcohol, though rehabilitation programmes have provided only temporary relief. His issues ended his coaching career, and he has not worked in football since being dismissed as the manager of Kettering Town in 2005.
Early life
Gascoigne was born in Gateshead, on 27 May 1967. His father, John, was a hod carrier, and his mother, Carol, worked in a factory. He was named Paul John Gascoigne in tribute to Paul McCartney and John Lennon of the Beatles. He is of Irish descent through his grandparents.He attended Breckenbeds Junior High School, then the Heathfield Senior High School, both in the Low Fell area of Gateshead. He was noticed by football scouts while playing for Gateshead Boys, though failed to impress in a trial at Ipswich Town. Further trials at Middlesbrough and Southampton also proved unsuccessful before the team he supported, Newcastle United, signed him as a schoolboy in 1980. Former Ipswich and Newcastle scout Charlie Woods has claimed Ipswich were keen on signing Gascoigne, but once Newcastle got wind they quickly signed up the youngster. Gascoigne frequently got into trouble with his friend, Jimmy "Five Bellies" Gardner. The pair were taken to court and fined over a hit and run incident. Newcastle chairman Stan Seymour Jr. described Gascoigne as "George Best without brains".
While Gascoigne was successful on the football field, his childhood was marked by instability and tragedy. Initially, his family lived in a single upstairs room in a council house with a shared bathroom and moved several times during his early life. When he was ten, Gascoigne witnessed the death of Steven Spraggon, the younger brother of a friend, who was killed in a traffic collision. Around this time, his father began to experience seizures. Gascoigne began developing obsessions and twitches, and was taken into therapy, but soon quit the therapy sessions after his father expressed doubts over the treatment methods.
Gascoigne developed an addiction to gaming machines, frequently spending all his money on them, and also began shoplifting to fund his addiction. He experienced further tragedy when a friend, whom he had encouraged to join Newcastle United from Middlesbrough, died whilst he was working for Gascoigne's uncle on a building site.
Brian Tinnion met Gascoigne for the first time at 14 when Tinnion signed for Dunston Juniors, another side Gascoigne played for. Tinnion explained that though Gascoigne eventually became the stand out, by the age of 15, most felt that Ian Bogie would be the top player out of this particular Newcastle youth set up. Gascoigne decided to provide financially for his family as he saw professional football as a way of earning more money than the rest of the family were capable of. He enjoyed football and later wrote that "I didn't have twitches or worry about death when I was playing football". He was signed on as an apprentice at Newcastle on his 16th birthday.
He was usually overweight whilst signed to the Newcastle youth side. Jack Charlton, the Newcastle manager, claimed Gascoigne was "a bit chubby" and looked anything but a footballer. Gascoigne ate Mars bars and other junk food. Charlton was not overly concerned as he believed this weight would give Gascoigne extra strength on the football pitch and did not seem to slow him down. He also noted that Gascoigne showed early signs of being gaffe-prone and a prankster. Charlton warned Gascoigne about his junk food diet and gave him two weeks to lose the extra weight. Gascoigne then trained for ten days wrapped in a black bag.
Club career
Newcastle United
1984–1985: Youth career
Gascoigne captained Newcastle United's youth team to the FA Youth Cup in the 1984–85 season and scored twice in the 4–1 victory over Watford in the final at Vicarage Road. In the first leg of the final, they drew 0–0. Teammate Joe Allon stated that Newcastle were unusually poor in the first leg, but in the second leg, Gascoigne was instrumental in Newcastle's victory. After the match, Jack Charlton told Gascoigne he would be in the first team the next day against Norwich City. Gascoigne did travel to Norwich, though Charlton chose not to pick him.1985–1987: Constant success
Gascoigne made his first-team debut as a substitute for George Reilly in a 1–0 win over Queens Park Rangers on 13 April 1985 at St James' Park. Charlton later noted that Gascoigne's first-team appearances under him were too brief to suggest he was more than a useful talent. At the age of 18, Gascoigne signed a two-year £120 a week contract at Newcastle, with the club also having a further two-year option clause. Through noting Gascoigne's generous personality, Charlton arranged that around half of Gascoigne's wage be paid into a bank account for him to collect in a lump sum at the end of his first contract.Willie McFaul took over as manager for the 1985–86 season and named Gascoigne in his starting lineup from the opening game of the campaign; he took the place of Chris Waddle, who had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. He scored his first goal at home to Oxford United in a 3–0 victory on 21 September 1985 and claimed a further eight goals in the 1985–86 campaign. Newcastle finished 11th in the First Division that season and, at the end of it, Gascoigne was featured on the front cover of the Rothmans Football Yearbook. He scored 5 goals in 24 league games in the 1986–87 season, as the "Magpies" slipped to 17th place, just three points above the relegation play-offs.