Footballers who smoke

[worthingseagull123]

I'm entitled to a private life. But if I do something that affects my company at the weekend I don't expect to keep my job.

Footballers are athletes, it's their job. If they get fat, smoke and generally don't look after themselves they should be in breach of contract.

Football is an odd job, but it's a job all the same. I often defend footballers at work when non football fans don't understand the excuse of tiredness. I'm often tired at work but my performance isn't judged on 90 mins work once a week.

It's different from 99 9% of jobs for the reason above. Once major difference is the responsibility towards the company (the club) and the customer (us) to maintain a level of physical fitness.

For that reason I would think that not smoking would be a basic condition of employment.

But in employment you do the job your expected to do. You shouldn't go beyond these work objectives. You can be a professional athlete and smoke.

Regarding employment, what I do at weekends is my business. As long as I don't break the law my employer has no interest or authority on what I do outside of working hours.

 

[Superphil]

Deco was quite the smoker, as was David James, both did it when they were players.

 

[clapham_gull]

But in employment you do the job your expected to do. You shouldn't go beyond these work objectives. You can be a professional athlete and smoke.

Regarding employment, what I do at weekends is my business. As long as I don't break the law my employer has no interest or authority on what I do outside of working hours.

It's your business as long as it doesn't affect your employer. Most of us don't work for a company that getting lashed and smoking (as long as we recover on Monday) doesn't affect our employment. Footballers work for a completely different industry.

Footballers have freedoms we would die for. At the top level being able to retire mid to late 30s financially secure.

On the flip side smoking, getting fat and drinking heavily are directly related to their ability to perform. That isn't just their private life although it might be yours and mine.

Suggesting that what professional athletes do in their private lives that affects their health is just their business is with all due respect absolute nonsense. Take the professional prefix away for a start and stop drawing parallels with our working lives. It's quite obviously different.

I'm obviously not a shareholder, don't like the term customer in terms of football but as a season ticket holder am quote comfortable to be considered a stakeholder.

On that basis and the money I spend I'm entitled to be pissed off with any player at the club who can't be arsed to keep themselves fit.

 

[atfc village]

Why is a 21 year old father of 2 doing in a club anyway ? Another injury prone chav on a downward spiral.

 

[pastafarian]

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't already in their contracts. I'm pretty sure footballers are quite regulated on what they are allowed to eat and drink as it is, so it would seem strange if smoking wasn't included either.

i havnt got a clue if its in their contracts or not but they are regulated what they eat and drink at say a team pre match meal or a meal when staying the night away before a game,that however means sod all once they get back to the hotel room,some(not all) footballers guzzle down all sorts of crap from chocolate to room service burgers,managers know it goes on,its been going on for donkeys years and i suspect will continue to happen, i guess the trick is not to let it get out of hand.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Can I also suggest that they are banned from driving since a fair proportion of them seem to get into trouble over that too. And sex.

 

[dadams2k11]

I'm sure there's a rumour that Wilshere often indulges in Cocaine though.

Do you remember him being injured for 6 months? He had an injury, then recovered, played a game then never played again for 6 months with a mysterious injury. I'm convinced it was a ban for a failed drugs test.

 

[nwgull]

Players have to undertake regular fitness assessments don't they? I guess if they reach the standard required by their clubs, then that's what should be acceptable and their clubs aren't overly fussed if they enjoy the occasional legal fag.

The main issue is that of it being not a very good example to kids.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Socrates.

Brazillian from the 80s, I think he may have been their captain.

Smoked, and was a doctor.

Very true. Important to remember though that many players mentioned on here who were known to smoke date back to the 1980's or before. In those days players were also allowed to go out on the piss after games!. Things have moved on leaps and bounds since then when it comes to the way that clubs look upon a players fitness.

 

[drew]

Zidane smoked at half time... whatever makes them happy in my opinion.

Socrates.

Brazillian from the 80s, I think he may have been their captain.

Smoked, and was a doctor.

Great example......................................


















.................Except of course he died from another addiction, drink.

 

[Richard Tiltmans Shin Pad]

Robert Prosinečki. Allegedly a near 40 a day man. Not a bad little player - 49 caps for Croatia, played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid. Oh and a year wandering around in Portsmouths midfield.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

But in employment you do the job your expected to do. You shouldn't go beyond these work objectives. You can be a professional athlete and smoke.

Regarding employment, what I do at weekends is my business. As long as I don't break the law my employer has no interest or authority on what I do outside of working hours.

Normally you would be right, but what you do in your own free time could be the business of your employer, depending on who you work for and what you do. If you worked for an anti-racist organisation and spent your weekends volunteering for the EDL, someone might get upset about it. If you were an MP for one party and spent your spare time furtively campaigning for UKIP, they would probably expel you, if you worked as a teacher in an inner-city school with a 95% presence of children where English was not their first language and you had a court case where you were found guilty of setting fire to a Mosque or a Gurdwara, it is possible your employer might consider your employment should be reviewed.

 

[browneggsandham]

Brez and Casper both smoke

 

[Buzzer]

Normally you would be right, but what you do in your own free time could be the business of your employer, depending on who you work for and what you do. If you worked for an anti-racist organisation and spent your weekends volunteering for the EDL, someone might get upset about it. If you were an MP for one party and spent your spare time furtively campaigning for UKIP, they would probably expel you, if you worked as a teacher in an inner-city school with a 95% presence of children where English was not their first language and you had a court case where you were found guilty of setting fire to a Mosque or a Gurdwara, it is possible your employer might consider your employment should be reviewed.

What crap analogies and how revealing that they are all in a similar vein. Firstly why would someone campaign for anti-racism and EDL simultaneously? It's never going to happen, is it? And ANYONE found guilty of setting fire to a mosque would probably be in jail for a long time and therefore lose their job. You seem a little bit obsessed with people doing racist things.

 

[Soulman]

That is the trouble these days, too many gullible fools are blinded by the control that is being put on our lives in general.
You can't do this, you can't do that etc.
Wiltshire may turn out to be the best midfielder around for the next ten years, he may not. If he does turn out to be very good, does it mean that all players should be encouraged to have a fag when they are not working and in their own leisure time.
I wonder if the supporters of clubs who had players like Robson, McDermott and Beattie who all drank like fish would feel that their games were worse than the other players in the team. Zidane and Socrates and many others had a fag, i think most of these right on type of supporters would agree they were a cut above most other mediocre players.
We pay to watch our team, if a player is good then he is good whatever he does when he is not training or playing. If he is not fit for whatever reason he will be dropped. With all the machines and tests that the players have to endure, the club can monitor their fitness.

 

[Buzzer]

Harold Shipman had a far more responsible job than footie and he used to kill people. Lots of them. I think we all need a bit of perspective here.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I don't like smoking myself.

But nor do I consider it any of my business if Wilshere sparks up. Even if I was an Arsenal season ticket holder, I wouldn't be too fussed. Let's not kid ourselves that we pay these players' wages- even at Arsenal prices, ticket sales are a drop in the ocean.

If it's in his contract that he isn't allowed to smoke, then fine, the club should be entitled to take action against him. If it's not, then they don't have a leg to stand on, surely? I guess if he was a 20 a day man they might have a big concern, but if he sparks up at a party once every couple of months, I can't see how that will possibly affect his ability or fitness TBH.

Am slightly surprised that a professional who has his every fitness whim and need catered for would consider it a good idea to smoke, for what it's worth, but really, it's his decision as to whether what he does will impact on his career.

Certainly not worth being outraged over. I doubt kids are going to take up smoking on the back of it.

 

[Soulman]

Harold Shipman had a far more responsible job than footie and he used to kill people. Lots of them. I think we all need a bit of perspective here.

Probably due to having a fag after work. Fortunately for him he could smoke inside in his day, that and the fact that he did not have cameras following him around all day.

 

[hybrid_x]

The EPL is sponsord by Lucozade sport.......full of aspartame.....which they all guzzle down.....much worse than one or two fags here and there.

but it IS in their contract to drink poiso (lucozade sport).........

it's all about money.

 

[Buzzer]

Probably due to having a fag after work. Fortunately for him he could smoke inside in his day, that and the fact that he did not have cameras following him around all day.

Good point. That's a "Louis Theroux meets..." episode that should have been made.