Players on the lash in Portugal

[Merv]

Ha! I've just had a chuckle at the thought of Martin walking like a pied piper through a Portuguese town - 20-odd Premier League footballers trailing behind him - until he spies a restaurant doing steak and chips and with Only Fools and Horses re-runs on an old telly and promptly stops...

[Rudy Can't Fail]

...80 kilometres down the coast in Albufeira.

[olaftab]

They have all had their  individual holidays. This is for the team ..so let them have this weekend after all they only have Feynoord and Benfica to play <winky>

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

On the pictures on the OWS. It shows MON without his glasses on. Do you think Carew pounced on the opportunity and grabbed Milner and L Young and said "come on lads just a quick one in this pole dancing club. You two are off anyway you cant really get into trouble" ??????????????

[Cleybrooke]

...80 kilometres down the coast in Albufeira.

Are going on Saturday or Sunday?

[Saunders9]

Was it on MONs watch when the Leicester players trashed La Manga?

                                                               

Thought peter Taylor  was boss then?

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

So its ok for the players to go out on the piss then? Best way to build some team spirit is necking alcohol together then? Fine.

Remind me again, who was one of our best players last season renowned for his talent, energetic play and team work ethic? And who is likely to look back at the end of his career with 60/70 england caps ?

And remind me again, who made a decision as a teenager to never drink alcohol while he was a professional footballer as he didnt want it interfere with his ambition to achieve as much as he could in the game ?

[holteender-robbo]

So its ok for the players to go out on the piss then? Best way to build some team spirit is necking alcohol together then? Fine.

Remind me again, who was one of our best players last season renowned for his talent, energetic play and team work ethic? And who is likely to look back at the end of his career with 60/70 england caps ?

And remind me again, who made a decision as a teenager to never drink alcohol while he was a professional footballer as he didnt want it interfere with his ambition to achieve as much as he could in the game ?

Remind me, who was that great defender who loved a good drink?

[Ads]

So its ok for the players to go out on the piss then? Best way to build some team spirit is necking alcohol together then? Fine.

Remind me again, who was one of our best players last season renowned for his talent, energetic play and team work ethic? And who is likely to look back at the end of his career with 60/70 england caps ?

And remind me again, who made a decision as a teenager to never drink alcohol while he was a professional footballer as he didnt want it interfere with his ambition to achieve as much as he could in the game ?

Remind me, who was that great defender who loved a good drink?

That Geroge Best was shit too.

So Milner doesn't drink, all that means is he's not to be trusted.

[Ger Regan]

So its ok for the players to go out on the piss then? Best way to build some team spirit is necking alcohol together then? Fine.

Remind me again, who was one of our best players last season renowned for his talent, energetic play and team work ethic? And who is likely to look back at the end of his career with 60/70 england caps ?

And remind me again, who made a decision as a teenager to never drink alcohol while he was a professional footballer as he didnt want it interfere with his ambition to achieve as much as he could in the game ?

Remind me, who was that great defender who loved a good drink?

You mean that great defender who's life has been pretty much destroyed by drink?

[pauliewalnuts]

That Geroge Best was shit too.

So Milner doesn't drink, all that means is he's not to be trusted.

Ha ha, quite true.

It does make me chuckle though.

That "remind me of a former defender who drank a lot and was ace" line is pretty meaningless, though. McGrath was a one-off. There are infinitely more exceptional footballers who don't (or didn't) have a serious drink problem.

It's similar to the way that, were we to sign Ade Akinbiyi now, you can absolutely guarantee that someone would say "well, I remember when we signed a certain journeyman striker a few decades ago, Saunders said he was the final piece in the jigsaw, and we all laughed at him, and look how that turned out!" as if it is in any way relevant to the likelihood of Akinbiyi turning out to be brilliant.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Yes Paul Mcgrath was the greatest player by a mile that Ive seen in a villa shirt in 44 years, but that was in no way assisted by his illness.

As for George Best, probably in a lot of peoples all time top 10 greatest players in the world. But thats  the late great George Best, whose career at the top was in effect over at the age of 27.

[Olneythelonely]

Yes Paul Mcgrath was the greatest player by a mile that Ive seen in a villa shirt in 44 years, but that was in no way assisted by his illness.

As for George Best, probably in a lot of peoples all time top 10 greatest players in the world. But thats  the late great George Best, whose career at the top was in effect over at the age of 27.

Regardless, it's still "o.k" for young men to enjoy themselves from time to time, whatever job they have.