In my day you got hammered if you DIDN'T go drinking

By Mark Lawrenson

Published 06:02 24/10/09

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There used to be a problem with players and nightclubs during my time at Liverpool.

You would get hammered in the dressing room if you DIDN’T go to the nightclub during my time at Liverpool.

There goes a story at Oxford United that Jim Smith would fine players if they weren’t in the nightclub by a certain time.

Yes, it has changed now. But I still have some sympathy for Peter Crouch. He’d won at his former club Portsmouth, it was a good day and what is really wrong with him going for a meal with his missus and then ending up at a club?

At Liverpool, for example, if a player’s wife had a baby we’d go out on the Monday night to wet the baby’s head. There would be a rule of not going out after a Wednesday before a Saturday game. A small function would need permission.

It’s all about fitness now and it takes a couple of days to get alcohol out of the system. But if Crouchy went out, he has a lot of time to recover.

They say that maybe being teetotal can extend your career by a year. In the great scheme of things and over the course of 16 or so years, that’s not that long.

Yes, you have to be an athlete now. But there’s also room for camaraderie, team spirit and nights out among team mates even including the teetotalers.

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