Footballers are gambling with more than cash

THE stories about Wayne Rooney's alleged gambling debts make the subject of betting in football a topical one but, let's be honest, it's not a new phenomenon. Even in the past few years there have been a long list of players whose penchant for punting has earned them tabloid headlines and, while I do think that the problem is becoming a bigger one for modern-day players, that is mainly due to the extra opportunities open to them.

Their predecessors in the 60s and 70s still had a bet on the horses, still had card schools on team buses and in the team hotel and, whether we like to admit it or not, then as now, they usually had a line on the football coupon as well.

But in those days the bookies had shorter opening hours, and the lack of cashline machines meant that when the money was gone, it was gone until the bank opened again in the morning. Even the access to racing was more restricted. Now the bookies beam in races from all over the world and if they dry up, they have the equivalent of cartoon races. Honestly, some of the stuff people bet on, it's like betting on the Wacky Races.

At least with the Wacky Races, you would know that Dick Dastardly wasn't going to win, although the people with the worst gambling habits would probably have a flutter, believing that the law of averages meant it was about time he crossed the line first!

That's the problem with people for whom gambling is an addiction - logic doesn't come into it and they start making bigger and more outlandish bets to try to recoup loses.

In football, I have known a few people who have lost a heck of a lot - and I don't just mean financially, because it can impact on relationships and family life as well if you have lost your week's wages to a team-mate in a card game before you have even had the opportunity to take the money home.

That's the worry. Because it can affect individuals and it can affect teams. As a manager at Dundee the first time around, I actually banned card schools on the bus and in the hotel. I'm not daft, I know they probably just went round to each other's houses or disappeared up to a room in the hotel rather than play in front of me, but I felt it was becoming a problem.

When someone who is earning £10,000 a week loses a few hundred quid in a hand of cards then that is manageable. It may seem like a lot of money to the average man in the street, because it is, but in relative terms, the players can afford to lose that. At Dundee, though, there were players on maybe £300 a week losing a couple of hundred in one sitting and that affects their morale.

I have had players come to me, at Dundee and Falkirk, asking for an advance on wages because they had lost the lot on a bet or at cards and were too scared to go home to tell the missus, and I have had to take one or two aside and warn them that I felt it was becoming a problem.

For others, though, it is just some harmless fun. Guys who won £50 quid off a team-mate would love coming in the next day wearing a new pair of trainers or a new top and thanking his mate for effectively paying for it. That mickey-taking can help with camaraderie but if the amounts are too big and the consequences too tough to handle then the danger is it leads to resentment and anger, and you don't need that in a dressing room.

The flipside is if someone gets a good tip on the horses and a few players, even management or staff, all stick a few quid on it and it comes in, the place is buzzing. Everyone loves beating the bookie, even if it is only £20 you've taken off them.

To be honest, I have had a few bets in my lifetime but always preferred the greyhounds when they used to run at Dens Park. But even then it was a fiver here and there, nothing ridiculous. Even last week, for the Grand National, I had a fiver each way on a horse. I didn't win anything and that's why I don't bet heavily!

I did enjoy going to the casino at times, especially after a midweek game when I was still buzzing and unable to sleep and everywhere else was closed. But again there were tighter constraints than there are now and I have known footballers to disappear into these places and have to walk home as they have lost everything and can't afford the taxi. I think they appeal especially to foreign players, as they don't know people and it's a better, more sociable way to spend an evening than being sat in a hotel room or stuck at home because they don't know anyone.

But what I hate most whenever the gambling habits of footballers hits the public domain is the excuse they come up with. "I was bored." "I had too much free time." That's nonsense. Why didn't they just do something more constructive with their time? No-one chases them out the club after the morning training session, they are free to stay and work on their own. If they do leave then why not do a college course or some work in the community? Why not go and play pool without having a tenner resting on the outcome?

But it is a problem with footballers and it is going to get worse because they can now bet online and can gamble all day and night if they wish - and because they can now do it in secret, with phone bets etc, no-one tends to know about it till it has gone way too far.

Bookies, betting websites and poker outlets seem to be advertised everywhere, especially in sport, so that has an effect. And remember, footballers' competitive edge probably makes them even more susceptible than most people to racking up debts. If we lose a game of football, we can't wait for the next one to come round so we can redeem ourselves and it's the same with cards or even the horses.

There's no such thing as quitting while ahead, and it's certainly not in our mindset to quit when we are behind. That's why the next bet is always the big one, the next hand of cards the one where the gambler can win it all back.

No, it's not a new phenomenon, but it is a worrying one.