There is news in The Sun today, that Paul Gascoigne could be offered a job by his home town club, Newcastle United.
Paul Gascoigne – with Redheugh Boys Club when very young
41 year-old Geordie legend Paul Gascoigne, who was at the Tyneside club for 3 years from 1985, is said to have been offered a job by the Newcastle United club.
Gascoigne was captain of the Newcastle United Youth team that last won the FA Youth Cup, back in 1985, when they took Watford apart 4-1 in the final, and Paul scored two goals in the second leg of the two-leg final.
He was born in the Dunston area of Gateshead, on the south side of the River Tyne.
The Sun doesn’t usually have a good track record with the accuracy of their news, but we sincerely hope this story is true.
Friends of the former England star, who has vowed to stay off the booze, has said he has hopefully turned a corner.
The news is that his home town club, Newcastle United, have offered him a coaching job, and he is said to be currently considering the offer.
We think it will probably be with the youngsters at the Newcastle Academy, where Alan Thompson was recently given a job, and it would seem to be a win-win situation.
A win for Paul who will be able to see the positive influence he can actually have on the young players at Newcastle.
It is also a win for the kids, to be trained by one of the most gifted local players ever to wear the world-famous black and white striped shirt.
We all know that Paul has had terrible troubles of late, and it is up to him to come through, but he also needs a chance.
So we hope this story is true, and it wouldn’t surprise us too much that Newcastle are coming through for those who have served the club in the past.
Good for them.
Anything is possible when Kevin Keegan is back managing this club.
Paul played 57 times for England scoring 10 goals, and played 107 times in total for Newcastle with 25 goals, before the club cashed in on him in 1988.
He was transferred to Spurs for £2.3M, which was at that time a British transfer record.
Finally – anybody in that photo with Paul above from way back? Â It’s Redheugh Boys Club where he apparently played while still under age.
Let us know, and what age was Paul then?
Comments welcome.
40 comments so far
shearer4pm
Jul 30, 2008 at 7:58 PM
Comment #1jus what he needs, my teach shola some new tricks, haha
Toon1978
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Comment #2hahaha stuff the coaching job get him on the pitch he will do a better job then what we have.
rlw
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:04 PM
Comment #38 years old i think
AndyNUFC
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:14 PM
Comment #4Putting former world class players as coaches with passion for the club and the area seems like the most sensible thing we could do. Already got back Elliott, hows about Shearer, Beardsley and Gascoigne now?
ToonEskimo
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:16 PM
Comment #5I hope this isn’t another one of KK’S jobs for the boy’s, am I the only one who would rather have top quality coaches in rather than past players who at the time we couldn’t get rid of quick enough coming in on a nice little earner…..
KK is obviously miffed at not having any input on the signings player wise, so he’s filling his boots on the coaching staff instead.
Why not give Billy Whitehurst a shout Kev, last I heard he was labouring on a building site….
GraemeR
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:21 PM
Comment #6The way the transfers are going we should take him as a player
Jezza
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:21 PM
Comment #7Why on earth would you want this story to be true? Paul Gascoigne is without doubt by far and away the best player I have ever seen play for Newcastle Utd, but sadly he is also a hopeless alcoholic. If Newcastle were to employ him it would be a colossal mistake. The thought of him working with the youngsters from the club academy sends shivers up my spine. What kind of example would he be setting to those impressionable kids when he turned up mortal drunk on the training pitch, if he even turned up at all? Alcoholics are notoriously unreliable and it would be typical of this club if we ended up paying Gascoigne something like 10 grand a week to be off propping up bars when he should be working at the academy. We’ve already wasted hundreds of thousands of Pounds paying a violent thug while he was in prison, the last thing we need now is to throw even more money away by adding somebody like Gascoigne to our already overtaxed wage bill.
Fortunately the very fact that this article was in The Sun, says everything regarding it’s validity. It’s nothing more than the Southern gutter press trying to take the mick out of Newcastle United again.
Miller
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:25 PM
Comment #8WHAT could he possibly offer newcastle???
paul p
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:29 PM
Comment #9gazza just loves the game of football, but at this minute in time, i dont think this is the right move at all for us. no doubt about his ability and what he could get out of the players on the training ground. what newcastle have got to concentrate on now is geting some top quality players brought in. sunderland have now signed malbranque, and they have got chimbonda, diouf, taino to go with that. which is more than we have got, so we need to start and get our finger out me thinks and get some quality in, or we could find ourselves looking up at them, which i do not ever want to have to see again!!! come on ashley, please listen to us loyal fans and also to our worries!!
Paul R
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:30 PM
Comment #10I wonder what will happen when gazz meets barton !! lol !! there is a meeting of minds !! i think this could be great (although why do we need so many coaches !!) but we should be signing players instead ??? hmmm just a thought but i am sure gazza could do some great work with the young players like lua lua we have @ toon !! just seen an interview on ssn and it was asharvins agent saying spurs deal 2 b done within 5 days !! i am so sick of them cockney reserves !! still they r loosing tonight agsinst leyton orient and modric has been descrbed as “lightweight” and he has given the ball away wquite a few times !! haha !! glad we didnt sign him spuds to be bottom half of the table and be in huge debt !! hahaha !!
Michael
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:31 PM
Comment #11Not true.
In a dreamworld Gazza would turn his life around with the help of a coaching job. Get himself back on track and become a world class coach.
But that wont happen, he’ll fall off the wagon and it wont be long before we are mourning the death of one of England’s most gifted players.
Marty
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:32 PM
Comment #12JEZZA,i have a brother that is an alcoholic n he is dry for 3yrs now.
Not a hopeless case!Within 2 yrs he paid off all the debts he had got his family back together n is a wonderful character n never wants to taste a drink again in his life.
I know Gazza has dried out several times but not all are hopeless cases.
Hope he gets the job n takes his life seriously n stop wasting it in the pisser,SHAME on those that serve him n other alcoholics beer.
Stamford Toon
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:36 PM
Comment #13If Paul is being employed to work with young people under the age of 18 (I think) then he should have to have a CRB check done with the police to check that he will be OK with children. CRB = Criminal Records Bureaux. Not sure how he will get on with his past history.
The Second Coming
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:40 PM
Comment #14Gazza as a ‘coach’ and Barton as a reformed player. Happy days or recipe for Dyer/Bowyer?
Keegans Football Circus could expand south of the border!
beye the great
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:42 PM
Comment #15I hope this is true this could be the turning point in his life as this time he realy does seem to be on the mend and i wouldnt worry about him working with kids as he will be working with the age group of 16-19 which arent realy that impressionable and also if there is any sign of trouble he wont be allowed to work with them i think he will be a good coach as this realy realy is his last chance of happiness
craig chisholm
Jul 30, 2008 at 8:59 PM
Comment #16i think we owe it to gazza saying as he is our most gifted and famous player ever. his gift has been his downfall too. i think that the least we can do is give the man a coaching job at the acadamy. i know its not normal and could end in tears(get it)etc but this is newcastle and we should look after our most famous son.
Jezza
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Comment #17Marty, yes some alcoholics do manage to sort themselves out, however all the evidence suggests that Gascoinge will never be one of them. My best mate from childhood turned into an alcoholic, but unlike your brother he never kicked the booze (or ever wanted to) and went the opposite way, and I fear Gascoigne is destined to meet a similar fate.
ehssi
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:01 PM
Comment #18haha, he could learn the players how to drink without to get caught piss full…haha 😛
dave v
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Comment #19l agree with KK if it is true Paul Gascoigne has been offered a coaching job with the academy lads.
He can point out the pitfalls to our young aspiring players, and act as a kind of reverse role model, especially when he tells them how good a player he could have become if he had taken the advise offered to him as a youth.
Super move if it is true.
domtoon
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Comment #20Wow. There are some pessimists on this blog.
Oh wait, I forgot, these are NUFC supporters!!!
:oP
P.S. To be fair, we have good cause to be pessimistic, but KK’s back – the good times will return. Have faith people! If Gazza wants to turn his life around he will, and if he does succeed, imagine the joy in Toon!
I think we should give him a chance but don’t make such a big deal out of it. The fact it’s in the Sun isn’t good as they’ll obviously follow his every move and should he fall off again, it will be a media circus extravaganza frenzy, with poor Gazza at the epicentre.
Perhaps a gamble, but not if we can get him coaching on the sly, without the media focus and bright lights.
GAZZA YOU LEGEND!
Morla
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:20 PM
Comment #21I think this would be a crazy decision if there was an ounce of truth in it, luckily it’s one of the Suns fairytails. I sincerely hope Paul continues to get better and can get back into the game somehow in the future. It would, however, be madness to put someone who has been sectioned numerous times in the past couple of months in charge of our youngsters. I also don’t know what it would do to Gazza himself if it didn’t work out. No doubt he would be back where he was 2 months ago, constantly drunk and in and out of mental hospitals. I can’t help thinking this is his last chance to sort himself out, and papers printing stuff like this will only give him false hope and ruin the progress he has been making.
Get well soon Gazza!
ToonEskimo
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:36 PM
Comment #22I worked at the Metrocentre Marriott which was a favourite haunt of Gazza when he still had money, I’m amazed he’s still alive let alone looking for a job…..
Martin
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Comment #23Ed – It’s on the official site…We’ve agreed a fee for Bassong – he’s agreed terms and passed a medical, just waiting for ‘the formalities’ to be ironed out!
I’m happy, seemed decent, good attitude and apparently happy to sit on the bench if need be!
bob marley
Jul 30, 2008 at 9:48 PM
Comment #24eeee keep up to date edd the squads been announced thats flying to mallorca!
bowburnmag
Jul 30, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Comment #25Michael and Jezza are bang on the money. This isn’t Roy of The Rovers. I don’t believe there is much truth in the rumour but even the idea is ridiculous. It’s got disaster written all over it for both the club and Gazza. domtoon, you’re probably right. The problem is, you couldn’t avoid it being a circus. It would be car-crash.
Danny
Jul 30, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Comment #26What?!?!
Are we a rehability center or a football club??
Gascoigne is purely bad news, and has done any good for anyone. All he does is damage himself, and suck lifeforce out of those who wish to help him…come on…
“We sincerely hope this is true”?!?!!? Get real…
Frankieboy
Jul 30, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Comment #27Heard he is supposedly reunited with his ex mrs and they are considering remarrying.
If it’s true about coaching role then the distance could cause problem with his rekindled romance then make it part time so he can spend part of the week up here which would give the relationship the time and space it may need.
Lets hope this is the turning point for gazza, yes he has made mistakes but you can’t compare his to those of Barton.
ToonBoy
Jul 30, 2008 at 10:43 PM
Comment #28Gazza maybe a alcoholic and will be for the rest of his life but don’t you think letting him work for the youth team will be good for him and the kids as he can educate them in the evils of alcohol. Why shouldn’t we give him a job? Lets not look at it as a job for the boys but a job for one of our sons. I hope everyone putting negative comments on this article never need another chance in life.
Matthew Tom
Jul 30, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Comment #29All of you doubters are wrong.
Whatever happens, this is a fantastic decision by the club. If he doesn’t make it and starts turning up drunk for the kids, he will get fired. He will be watched and tested.
So all we get if this happens is the good bit we had before he fell of the rails, with a drink-free Gazza working with the kids and passing on some of this talent, his humour and his lust for competition and for life. So far, so good. And at least Newcastle can hold its head up and say it did its best for him.
If it works, it works, and not only has Newcastle adopted one of its own and helped him out, but we have a brilliant and inspiring figure training our youth team for years to come.
What is the downside?
bowburnmag
Jul 30, 2008 at 11:02 PM
Comment #30Matthew Tom – in my humble opinion, if he starts turning up for work drunk, the damage is immediately done. Bad press for both him and us. He needs to get his problem solved before we offer him charity. He’s not as deserving as you might think. Contrary to popular belief he can be a bit of an ar*ehole. The drink doesn’t help. He was unquestionably a genius on the pitch but converting that into a coaching role is not a given. What does he offer? Practical joker as a means for improving morale, possibly? Qualified? No. Natural coaching attributes? Who knows? Good communicator? No. Responsible? No. Alcholic? Yes. Drug abuser? Yes. As it currently stands he’s not what I’d be looking for in a coach.
m.
Jul 31, 2008 at 12:38 AM
Comment #31a passionate man with loads of charisma. a legend. fog on the tyne is mine all mine!
hope he does well.
toonoot
Jul 31, 2008 at 1:16 AM
Comment #32Ed. You should be ashamed of yourself. This is being cruel to Gazza. I just hope the lad doesn’t read this nonsense.
evildick
Jul 31, 2008 at 1:37 AM
Comment #33there too many whinging muppets on this blog lately.
clinta
Jul 31, 2008 at 2:14 AM
Comment #34why? first barton now gazza? role models every where at st jame’s park.
DC Magpie
Jul 31, 2008 at 2:28 AM
Comment #35who needs Gazza? we’ve got Azza!
xfer
Jul 31, 2008 at 2:52 AM
Comment #36Like that photo there, nice pick!
Sav
Jul 31, 2008 at 3:14 AM
Comment #37Have to agree with bowburnmag. Probably untrue but would be mawkish Geordie sentimentality to want it. For several very good reasons Gazza shouldn’t be in charge of any youngsters, especially at this point in time. when he’s just beginning another recovery (I hope it goes well for him) and our Academy is finally being taken seriously by our board.
In any case, great players don’t necessarily make good coaches. Lets see if Ramos takes him on as he was more of a Spurs player than a Newcastle one and couldn’t get off quick enough when his chance came.
Sav
Jul 31, 2008 at 4:10 AM
Comment #38McDermott told the Chronicle before setting off for Majorca: “You need big characters like Nicky Butt and Geremi. “Geremi was fantastic at Doncaster and he didn’t want to come off – we had to drag him off in the end!
Does anyone else find TerryMac’s ‘talking us up’ fails to fill you with confidence?
Add Liverpool reserve Danny Guthrie , a converted winger and an ex-con and that’s our Toon engine-room he’s just described. Depressing isn’t it?
What happened to Inler, Veloso, Arshavin etc.?
Davies
Jul 31, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Comment #39I think this is a very bad idea to start with.
Paul Gascoigne is not only an alcoholic, but clearly has mental problems that need to be addressed before anyone can even consider letting him work with young footballers.
If he could stay clean for say, a year, then maybe this should be something to consider. Maybe somebody should suggest this to him. I’m sure he has a lot to teach kids, but it would only be any use if he did it sober.
sirjasontoon
Jul 31, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Comment #40I met gazza in walkers night club many moons ago he was mashed playing the big grand piano they had downstairs..It was at the time he was on the move and he told me that he was going to liverpool but ended up at tottenham : )
Love him to bits his book is excellent but i can’t see him being punctual in his current state and football wise i just don’t think he will be in the right mindset to offer much.
Shame he has ended up like this a true wasted great..if he brings his dentist chair to the training ground I will have a go though !