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The Rolling Football Thread: Season 2025/26 - thread 4

950 replies

DuncinToffee · 03/04/2026 14:07

Previous thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/sports/5481141-the-rolling-football-thread-season-202526-thread-3?page=40&reply=151472506

OP posts:
Thread gallery
33
JasonTindallsTan · 03/06/2026 23:22

Dan Burn has talked quite candidly about his mental health issues as well, it’s a huge problem in elite sport, especially male dominated sports I think.

DuncinToffee · 03/06/2026 23:27

I remember Aaron Lennon's struggle and ofcourse Gary Speed.

OP posts:
burblish · 03/06/2026 23:46

DuncinToffee · 03/06/2026 23:27

I remember Aaron Lennon's struggle and ofcourse Gary Speed.

Matt Beard, Dele Alli, Paul Stewart all come to mind, too. Steve Nicol says in his autobiography that he started drinking heavily after Hillsborough - the players who witnessed it and attended fans' funerals weren't offered any counselling or mental health support, as it just didn't occur to anyone back then. Men, especially, were expected to deal with trauma "like men" - i.e., lock it all away inside, stiff upper lip, must carry on and all that. So, so damaging.

HarryKanesRightFoot · 04/06/2026 01:06

burblish · 03/06/2026 23:46

Matt Beard, Dele Alli, Paul Stewart all come to mind, too. Steve Nicol says in his autobiography that he started drinking heavily after Hillsborough - the players who witnessed it and attended fans' funerals weren't offered any counselling or mental health support, as it just didn't occur to anyone back then. Men, especially, were expected to deal with trauma "like men" - i.e., lock it all away inside, stiff upper lip, must carry on and all that. So, so damaging.

Ahh Dele Alli ❤️ I read an article a couple of years ago where he said his ultimate goal was to get a place in this year’s Workld Cup squad, and I find it such a shame that his career at the moment isn’t what he’d hoped he would be.

I often think of him and really hope he’s doing better now than he was when he was interviewed for Gary Neville’s podcast a while back. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to have a fulfilling career in sport again.

HarryKanesRightFoot · 04/06/2026 01:10

On another note, it’s also awful to think that just the demands of modern football alone can have such a damaging impact on a footballer’s mental health.

I still find it really sad that, up until recently, England players who took penalties for the team were not supported at all if they missed. I saw the clip of Gareth Southgate’s missed penalty a few years ago for the first time and he often talks about how he wasn’t supported at all in the aftermath and his mental health suffered because of it.

AndNobbyDancing · 04/06/2026 06:42

JasonTindallsTan · 03/06/2026 23:22

Dan Burn has talked quite candidly about his mental health issues as well, it’s a huge problem in elite sport, especially male dominated sports I think.

It is a huge problem is society.

I can feel for them as individuals, whilst realising that due to their wealth they are in a much better position than the vast majority of people that struggle with MH as they have the funds for treatment.

JasonTindallsTan · 04/06/2026 07:59

AndNobbyDancing · 04/06/2026 06:42

It is a huge problem is society.

I can feel for them as individuals, whilst realising that due to their wealth they are in a much better position than the vast majority of people that struggle with MH as they have the funds for treatment.

Yeah they do and of course that helps, but I think a lot of the pressures and struggles they have are very unique. Take Raheem Sterling for instance. He’s clearly in a bad place. And I’m not excusing his recent actions as he could have killed someone, but I don’t suppose I can ever really imagine the stuff he has struggled with and the shame and loss of identity he probably felt being very publicly cast out at Chelsea and failing at Arsenal etc. His career has failed in a very public and humiliating way, being sent to train with the reserves etc and his manager telling the press he has no place for him. He was flying high at one point, huge transfer fee, massive salary, playing for England. It’s all such a huge pressure cooker for these young (and some of the time not particularly well educated) men.

MrsMitford3 · 04/06/2026 08:13

My DH was a partner at PWC and they had a mentorship programme to with athletes-maybe coming to the end of their career or looking for support.
He supported one from a much less monied but very intense commitment required sport.
Not really room for anything else in their life-from school age it was their life.
And then it is gone.
Some athletes are not on big money but still need to provide and others finish with not much and are in late 20's early 30's and have never worked a "real" job.

They have a long life left with no CV other than their sport.
It can be devastating to be on the top of the world one day and on the dust heap the next.
All of the support you had-training, diet etc all gone.

I can see why these athletes struggle...

Brefugee · 04/06/2026 09:34

I remember an athlete once saying that prior to retirement, the smallest symptom had a barrage of expert doctors and tests working on it - and the day after retirement: zip. Such a shock. And managers, coaches, sponsors, everyone involved with sport should be constantly preparing the athletes/sports stars for a life after the sport.

Not sure how it works elsewhere, but the Bundesliga teams all work with their youth teams very closely. Gladbach have a boarding school on the grounds, with housemothers etc, and the boys have to go to school and keep their grades up, and do courses and things during their playing career to prepare them for afterwards. They also have (independent) financial advice etc etc after they are 18 (and lessons about that kind of thing during the years their parents have to (co)sign everything. The club is also on the look out for parents etc who may be putting undue influence on the boys - eg "yeah, sign for Real Madrid" with no real eye on the future, just the present big pay-off)

Mental health is so important, and sports (and music stars, actors etc) are a kind of role model, they should try to be a bit more supportive of mental health initiatives (without revealing their own struggles unless they want to). It might help boys and men out there a bit.

Sorry, forgot who the Villa fans are here:
a) hands off our goalie!!
b) any of you coming to the match against Gladbach at our ground? 15th August.

MrsMitford3 · 05/06/2026 11:01

I hope I am not being insufferable by posting this 😂 but thought a great interview from Pep.

Pep Guardiola Shocked on Arsenal fans Reaction towards Gabriel Magalhaes after missing the Penalty: “I have to say something because I saw this and, honestly, it blew my mind. It blew my mind. We know how this business works. Usually, in a Champions League final, a player misses a crucial penalty against a top, top team like PSG, and the next day... it is a disaster for him. The social media, the media, it can be very, very cruel. Very ugly. You expect the anger, the threats, the terrible words. We see it all the time. But what the Arsenal fans did for Gabriel? Wow. It is something else. Truly. To see a player fail in the most painful moment, and the response from the stadium, from the people, is just... pure love? I am told his shirt sales went up by three hundred and fifty percent in a few days. Three hundred and fifty percent! This is incredible. I have been in football a long, long time, as a player and a manager, and I have never seen anything like it. Never. You know, you open Facebook, you open Instagram or Twitter, and the narrative is always the same. 'Arsenal fans are insufferable. They are the worst fanbase, they are annoying.' You hear this tag all the time. But I look at this gesture and I think, 'How?' How do they have this tag? If a fanbase can wrap their arms around a player like that, in the darkest moment of the club's history a trophy they have been dying to win for decades then everything we are told online is a lie. It is a massive misconception. They have been judged so harshly. This shows me who they really are. It shows their class, their humanity, and their loyalty. To behave like this? It is not annoying, it is not insufferable. It is beautiful. They deserve incredible praise for this, because this is what football should be about”

Troll Touchline (@TrollTouchline) on X

🚨🗣️ | Pep Guardiola Shocked on Arsenal fans Reaction towards Gabriel Magalhaes after missing the Penalty: 🤯 “I have to say something because I saw this and, honestly, it blew my mind. It blew my mind. We know how this business works. Usually, in a C...

https://x.com/TrollTouchline/status/2062813456596607087

Comefromaway · 05/06/2026 14:39

I've got a lot of time for Pep. He seems such a nice bloke. Did anyone see that video of him with the (now older) child in the taxi?

DialSquare · 05/06/2026 14:47

That’s so nice from Pep. Although I’m not sure some of our fans would have been so gracious had we not won the league!

burblish · 05/06/2026 15:04

Spurs fans on here: enjoy Andy Robertson - he is bloody fantastic both on and off the pitch.

SixAndJuliet · 05/06/2026 17:45

Brefugee · 04/06/2026 09:34

I remember an athlete once saying that prior to retirement, the smallest symptom had a barrage of expert doctors and tests working on it - and the day after retirement: zip. Such a shock. And managers, coaches, sponsors, everyone involved with sport should be constantly preparing the athletes/sports stars for a life after the sport.

Not sure how it works elsewhere, but the Bundesliga teams all work with their youth teams very closely. Gladbach have a boarding school on the grounds, with housemothers etc, and the boys have to go to school and keep their grades up, and do courses and things during their playing career to prepare them for afterwards. They also have (independent) financial advice etc etc after they are 18 (and lessons about that kind of thing during the years their parents have to (co)sign everything. The club is also on the look out for parents etc who may be putting undue influence on the boys - eg "yeah, sign for Real Madrid" with no real eye on the future, just the present big pay-off)

Mental health is so important, and sports (and music stars, actors etc) are a kind of role model, they should try to be a bit more supportive of mental health initiatives (without revealing their own struggles unless they want to). It might help boys and men out there a bit.

Sorry, forgot who the Villa fans are here:
a) hands off our goalie!!
b) any of you coming to the match against Gladbach at our ground? 15th August.

I’m a Villa fan and would have loved to have taken my son for a foreign friendly but we’re already away that weekend.
I don’t know who your goalie is but definitely going to check him out now, although I think Martinez will end up staying so we won’t be shopping around for a new one.
Villa have a busy pre season. Bayern Munich in Japan then PSG for the Super Cup in Salzburg then Gladbach all in the space of 8 days, they’re going to be knackered by the time the season starts.

Brefugee · 05/06/2026 21:03

the goalie is Moritz Nicolas and he's excellent. He and Nico Elvedi (defence) saved us from ignomy this season

ETA: it will be a good warm-up match for us, as the cup matches start the weekd after.

DuncinToffee · 06/06/2026 13:29

West Ham's co-owner David Sullivan has stepped down from his position as joint chairman and director with immediate effect.

The club said it had "been made aware of the impending publication of serious historic allegations".

OP posts:
MustTryHarderAndHarder · 06/06/2026 15:02

Comefromaway · 05/06/2026 14:39

I've got a lot of time for Pep. He seems such a nice bloke. Did anyone see that video of him with the (now older) child in the taxi?

Thanks, I just watched it.

Kirbert2 · 07/06/2026 21:34

Christian Eriksen collapsed again today 5 years after his cardiac arrest during a friendly with Denmark and the game was ultimately abandoned . Looks like his pacemaker worked as it should and he was able to walk off the pitch after some treatment and will now undergo some tests.

Poor guy. I wish him the best.

Comefromaway · 07/06/2026 22:26

Awful thing to happen but wonderful that his pacemaker worked

JasonTindallsTan · 08/06/2026 13:42

He really needs to knock the professional playing career on the head, not only for the sake of his own health but for his family and friends and his team mates, it must be so traumatising for them.

MrsMitford3 · 08/06/2026 13:45

My first thought as well @JasonTindallsTan -

It's about more than just him now.

But I can see the challenge for him as you look at the thread above talking about how athletes struggle to move on you can see you might think you were invincible and want to prove it/need to play etc.

Kirbert2 · 08/06/2026 16:28

He also seemed to be doing well since the first collapse was 5 years ago now, he must be gutted.

I do agree that with it happening twice now that playing again would be very risky. Though I suppose it depends on what caused it, if it is related to what happened before or maybe something that can be fixed? I imagine that's unlikely though considering his history.

DokuInManchester · 08/06/2026 23:52

Kirbert2 · 08/06/2026 16:28

He also seemed to be doing well since the first collapse was 5 years ago now, he must be gutted.

I do agree that with it happening twice now that playing again would be very risky. Though I suppose it depends on what caused it, if it is related to what happened before or maybe something that can be fixed? I imagine that's unlikely though considering his history.

He needs to stop playing. Can't risk something like that happening a third time. The one positive is that it seemed less serious than the previous one.

DokuInManchester · 08/06/2026 23:53

Who is everyone's favourite to win the world cup? I say France or Spain.

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