Gascoigne's realities embedded in pain

One poignancy is added to another in the dog days of Paul Gascoigne's career. Currently, he seems locked into the idea that he can still win back his old England place. That was a forlorn bet almost four years ago when he was sent tottering away from the squad on the eve of the World Cup in France.

"I'm a few games off my own standards but when I have got those games under my belt, I'll be looking forward to staying in the Everton team and then who knows? If selected I know I could do a job for England."

Gascoigne has been a "few games" off his "own standards" for most of his career now, and that has always been the problem. No one ever paid a bigger price for falling for the deceits of the celebrity game, and one can only hope that he at least gets to the World Cup, as his advisers are planning, in the role of a TV pundit.

What is so sad about his place in the margins of the game is that apart from his sublime talent his ability to read a game was second to none. But reading a game for him was a natural extension of his being. Reading the priorities of life was always a tougher task. Now he also talks of becoming a manager – after a couple of a years abroad. Gazza should perhaps be indulged in his fantasies. His realities can surely only carry pain.