Darren Eadie

Very good indeed James! Very touching and sobering story at a time when there are plenty of people out there, players and agents alike pulling a lot of moves in the best interests of their footballing careers, we actually forget what people can go through when that all stops.

Credit to his wife for having such strength to carry her family through the last couple of years. Thankfully it sounds as though he is on the right tracks making a recovery.

Best of luck Darren

A truly sad and tragic story, the illness is something I wouldnt wish on anyone. However, without meaning to sound heartless, I do question whether it's the fact that he couldnt play football again, or actually the money, glamorous lifestyle and fame causing the depression. This may be a subconscious thing. In this case, I'd say it was 50/50 (despite the fact I'm sure Eadie genuinely believes it was all to do with the love of football). However, in some cases I bet its wholly the latter.

The article reflects about him basically going back to a 'normal' lifestyle and him learning things that happen in everyday life, which footballers of this calibre clearly havent been exposed to.

In light of the above, I get the feeling that we (or, the FIFA / FA / PFA) are turning these young athletes into an effectively different race of human beings with the money they are being paid - inevitably leading to a 'shock' effect when they eventually acclimatise to the real world. Take Balotelli for example, a lad the same age as me earning £200,000 per week. Is this necessary? how will this young man be able to cope in a real world environment?

This type of trauma is increasingly common in football - there must be a common denominator(s) somewhere and I hope these charities can find a resolution.

Blackpool - It kind of like that, although the amount of money isn't what's causing it directly. It's the dramatic change of lifestyle, having to accept the loss of physical ability, realisation that they can no longer do something they love and sudden money worries all combined together that have done it in this case, and this can happen to people whether they're millionaire footballers or otherwise. It takes time to readjust and this appears to be the mind's way of doing it in some (even many) cases. If it is happening to a lot of ex-footballers however, perhaps there is a call for greater awareness and a better support network amongst ex-pros themselves.

It remains a sad story and hopefully Darren will continue to improve. It's also good that he found the determination not to go any further ("I couldn't do that to my family". It'll just take time and I'm sure he'll come out of the oter side stronger.


On a related note, this appears to be an issue with retired footballers. What may need further investigation is why depression and similar illnesses seem to be more prevalent in still-playing cricketers these days. Hopefully it's nothing more than a statistical anomaly, but I believe this needs to be watched closely over the coming years.

When I was younger I thought stress, depression and anxiety were conditions that were somewhat of a myth. It's not until I find myself getting very anxious and down about not facing another day at work that I can empathise with Darren Eadie. It's not as though I don't enjoy what I do, I just find it extremely tiring and energy sapping facing the daily rigours, which lead to anxiety and panic attacks. Good luck to Darren.

^
I'm getting genuinely annoyed by my close brackets turning into winky faces now. That one was completely inappropriate.

It is quite sad when you compare these stories to those currently in circulation i.e Michael Owen refusing to drop down to the championship - because he quotes

"Not being disrespectful when I say I wouldn't play in the Championship. Always said I wouldn't drop down the leagues like some have done.
"At 32, I've still got a few years in me," he said. (like the last few years?)

"At this stage of my career it has to be something that I'm going to enjoy doing.
"After playing for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Man Utd and England, I don't think I would enjoy that football."

^ more like he wouldn't enjoy the pay packet. I bet he was enjoying his football (or lack of) at Man utd

Dunge. Do you not review before you send? The emoticons show on the preview.



ps I'm not extracting the urine with this one - I nearly always add a winky face at the end of my posts.

How very sad, and equally so that he represented City in few appearances over the three or four years he was with the club. When the transfer rumblings were going on concerning his anticipated move from Carrow Road, a long-time Norwich fan I know told me at the time that the one player they didn't want to lose was Darren Eadie, a fitting tribute to his professional ability.

Who the hell gave this a one star vote!