Of course we released a player in the same summer we signed Merson, who’s gone on to have a top-level managerial career. I occasionally wonder what would have happened if Bonser had seen the potential in Roberto Martinez he thought he saw in Merson. I doubt if he’d have stayed around too long, but it could have been a fun couple of years.
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You understand addiction … but at the same time put it down to a “personality disorder” and “being a nut case”?
Alright.
No I basically said Paul Merson with or without an addiction would be an idiot if he wasn’t addicted to gambling he’d be addicted to alcohol ! oh yeah he was if he wasn’t addicted to alcohol and gambling he’d be cheating on his wife ! oh yeah he did .
It doesn’t help when people like Merson who obviously has an addictive personality use addiction as an excuse for everyday things they do wrong.
Like when people like Russell Brand cheat on wives and say oh it wasn’t me it was my sex addiction 
what a load of bollocks.
Well, you did 
It doesn’t help when a person uses their illness as an excuse of their illness?
I mean, I have never once heard Paul Merson excuse his behaviour. He’s written two books that outline how selfish and chaotic a person he became. Doesn’t sound like somebody making excuses to me.
Like I said, you TOTALLY understand addiction, clearly 
Merson does come across as a very irresponsible person in the book.
For example when at Walsall he blames the PFA for giving him access to his players pension of £750k. Saying they should have known he’d gamble it away.
The sky is also blue.
I think it’s valid to debate the extent to which Merson’s troubles were ‘illness’ and what extent they were an abdication of personal responsibility.
There’s a measure of being used by people who had a duty of care towards him also.
What are the quote marks for in that sentence?
I don’t, because you can’t separate the two. You can’t not be selfish, or irresponsible, when you are a true addict. If the person was saying “well it’s ok I did those things, because it was all because of this addiction and none of it was me” then fair enough. That clearly isn’t the case.
And when you are calling people “nut cases” for it then that really is not up for debate because it’s idiotic.
Well I guess that’s the debate isn’t it? You seem to be of the view that Merson should be seen as a victim (sorry if I’m misunderstanding) I would say there’s an element of truth there, but he is far from blameless.
Where have I said that? I’m not making anyone the victim and I’d appreciate it if you’d answer the point I made.
It’s not about victims, it’s about misunderstanding what addiction actually is. That’s the reason it isn’t a debate, it’s not up for debate that addicts are selfish or irresponsible. Of course they are. Addictions are an obsession to fulfil that desire NO MATTER THE CONSEQUENCES. It’s not helpful to apportion blame and it’s certainly not helpful to call people nut cases. Especially when that person has spoken, at length, about the person they were at their darkest point in not very glowing terms.
It’s also about acknowledging that mental illness, which addiction is, is as much an illness as any other part of the body.
All you can do is judge them based on the person they want to be, and taking effective steps to reach it. We all make poor decisions, some worse than others.
What’s wrong with saying that , Merson does use his obvious addiction as an excuse for things that have nothing to do with his addiction , I Know for a fact Paul Merson is a complete prick from walking to the front of the Queue at ws1 nightclub then kicking off with bouncer’s for not letting him in with jogging bottoms on using the " do you know who I am " line to telling a lad I know to F off in the Elms pub in Aldridge just for asking for a photo. He’s a complete idiot addict or not like I say take his addictions away he’d still be a prick .
Wonder why all these anecdotes of a bloke behaving like a prick happened in a pub 
You’re probably right though, nothing to do with alcohol addiction
What’s wrong with saying that is it makes zero f***ing sense.
Sorry that’s an opinion, not fact, although I agree calling people nut cases isn’t helpful.
Yes, it is
No it’s not 
Reminds me of this debate
Yes it is! Read what I actually f***ing said. I’m not denying that there is an element of selfishness or irresponsibility AT ALL. That is why it isn’t a debate! Jesus Christ.
F***ing Peter Hitchens, explains a lot. I’m done with this, there’s another bloke who doesn’t understand addiction along with you pair
The bit where he asks for any objective evidence was met with a similar response…
But, yeah… fact
Thanks for proving you didn’t actually read the post 
try doing that and you’ll understand why it is … fact.
Says the guy who didnt watch the video, where he will understand it is opinion 
What is opinion?! What exactly am I supposed to be denying here?
I’ll watch the video when you actually read my f***ing post properly (well actually I won’t, because I don’t entertain paedophile enablers like Hitchens but it’s a nice thing to say )