Ipswich player quits football as he doesn't like it...

[Refused as fuck]

Stephen Ireland apparently hates football... he just happens to be quite good at it so what else can he do.

Same with my job really.

To be fair, fuck you.

 

[marty21]

Then clearly you've not suffered from severe depression or known someone who has. It's not as simple as "i'll stick it out for a few more years cos i'm getting paid loads"

Young players are particularly vunerable as they have huge expectations placed on them every time they play - now it's from the age of 17 onwards. I can't imagine that's easy for a young adult to handle - i'm surprised more don't have mental problems, or at least come forward about it.

true, but very few teenagers are on big money, and they are under pressure I agree, but I think they'd be more depressed unemployed, than they would be being a pro footballer

 

[Ted Striker]

There's also the interesting case of Sebastian Deisler - hugely talented player who quit the game due to depression. He's just written a book about his mental struggles while trying to overcome injury..hopefully it will be translated

More here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=664864&sec=europe&cc=5739

AM F R/C? Played for a German team in white and black? Champo legend iirc.

George Graham quit football to concentrate on running Spurs

 

[Cerberus]

Didnt Rory Allen (ex Spurs and Pompey) quit football to go and watch the Ashes in Oz then go off travelling?

 

[1927]

I give you probably the greatest talent ever to walk away from the game.Robin Friday

The man dont give a fuck!

 

[gabi]

To be fair, fuck you.

? wtf? Are you stephen ireland?

 

[gabi]

To be fair, fuck you.

dp

 

[1927]

Some of you might remember the late Cyril Knowles who played for Spurs. Well he had a brother called Peter who played for Wolves in the 60's who gave the game up to become a Jehovas Witness. He was a fine player, was in the Wolves team at 18, but his career lasted just 6 years when he called it a day at 24, just a few games into the 1969-70 season. Apparently, Wolves kept hoping he'd change his mind and kept him on contract for about another 10 years!

And I belive was the subject of Billy Bragg's God's Footballer.

 

[Wilf]

Stretching the definition in the OP, but George Best....

Eric Cantona - how old was he when he went? Desire to play beach fupball and 'act'.

 

[Silva]

Dani, who played for West Ham about 14 years ago, IIRC. Quit at 27 because he rather model and work on TV. And go clubbing everyday until morning

 

[TheHoodedClaw]

I guess Celtic's George Connelly is another example. He had his personal difficulties and he walked away from professional football in his mid-twenties.

According to his wiki page, Tommy Doc wanted to sign him for Man Utd but he knocked him back because he had fallen out of love with football.

I sometimes used to get a taxi with George driving. He's a nice man, but he's had his troubles.

 

[marksims68]

As an Ipswich fan who has seen Shane Supple in goal for us all I can say is "good luck" to him in whatever he does, I just hope he has made the right decision.

As for Ipswich, if Richard Wright gets injured we are screwed!!!

 

[gabi]

As an Ipswich fan who has seen Shane Supple in goal for us all I can say is "good luck" to him in whatever he does, I just hope he has made the right decision.

As for Ipswich, if Richard Wright gets injured we are screwed!!!

The biggest regret surely about this is that a goalkeeper called Supple has called it quits. Shane Supple. That's gotta be made up.

 

[jcsd]

There was an U-17 Argentina player who 'retired' age 17, but that was more to do with engineering a transfer to La Liga.

Simon Shepherd was England U-21 goalkeeper and a lot ofpeople though he'd go on to play for England, but by the age of 23 he'd lost his nerve and was working as a postman whilst playing non-league football.

Can't think of very many football players at all who have walked away completely voluntarily though.

 

[mhwfc]

Espen Baardsen retired from football at 25 and is now a hedge fund manager, he retired to go travelling as he was unsatisfied by football intellectually and wanted to earn more money

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/04/4
http://www.watfordlegends.com/Espen Baardsen.html

 

[rosa]

difficult to imagine a footballer (if he is with a top 2 division club) being able to earn as much if they leave the game, even if I hated the game, I'm not sure I'd be tempted to leave a job paying over £10,000 a week, they earn more in a month than i do in a year ffs

plus they can have another career in their 30s, punditry, coaching, running a pub

personally i think that makes it all the more impressive that he's had the bottle to admit that his heart's not in it and walk away rather than sit in Ipswich's reserves picking up his pay packet,which probably would have been the easier option.

as an Oldham fan (Supple was on loan with us for a few months at the back end of last season),i'm trying not to take it personally - one of our own players, Chris Hall, quit professional football a couple of years ago to pursue an acting career/stack shelves in Asda.

But getting back to Shane Supple...real shame he's quit, i thought he was a decent keeper and Joe Royle really rated him. Although the two main things i remember from his spell with us were 1. he refused to wear the orange kit and 2. when asked in the programme how he rehydrates after games, his reply was "lucozade and Guinness". His family back in Ireland must have been so proud.

 

[isitme]

michael owen quit at 24

 

[where to]

didn't understand this until i clicked on the link... the guy was a goalie nothing should be surprising about this !

 

[Sunray]

George Best quit at 27.

If you don't want to do something, you don't have to. People get all tied up with money but if your unhappy your unhappy. I think the people who quit realise that money does and never will = happyness.

If they really hated it and carried on, might make their mental state suspect.

 

[tangerinedream]

George Best quit at 27.

If you don't want to do something, you don't have to. People get all tied up with money but if your unhappy your unhappy. I think the people who quit realise that money does and never will = happyness.

If they really hated it and carried on, might make their mental state suspect.

He quit Utd at 27. Stayed in football till the early 80s, playing in SA and US then for hibs and fulham if memory serves. I think he gave up on football then, but he didn't quit.

 

[Maggot]

Eric Cantona - how old was he when he went? Desire to play beach fupball and 'act'.

He announced his retirement just after Palace got promoted to the Premiership. I reckon he just didn't fancy another trip to Selhurst Park after the kung fu kick.

 

[rikwakefield]

Yeah! They rocked! I've got a pair right next to my Puma Disc trainers at home

Reebok Pumps ftw.