Roy Carroll has become the latest victim of West Hams turbulent
season after it emerged that he has checked into a rehabilitation
centre, admitting drink and gambling problems that left him owing a
teammate £30,000.
Sportsmail can reveal that the Northern Ireland keeper admitted
himself into the Capio Nightingale Hospital in Marylebone on Monday
following crisis talks with Hammers manager Alan Pardew at the
weekend.
It is understood that the former Manchester United star, who has
been restricted to 10 first-team appearances this season, has been
bitten by the betting bug staking up to £5,000 on any given event
and has succumbed to binge drinking after weekend games.
The Capio Nightingale claims to offer addiction services and
treatment for alcohol abuse.
The £30,000-a-week keeper joins a number of high-profile
Premiership players who have sought help for various addictions
Tony Adams, Paul Gascoigne and Paul Merson are among that list in
the past decade.
Carrolls problems surfaced on the day when Icelandic biscuit
tycoon Eggert Magnusson finally completed his £105million takeover
of the club, but the Hammers have pledged to stand by their
stricken star.
Pardew said yesterday: "We are aware that Roy has problems and we
are fully supporting him in any way we can. He has gone about
tackling the issues in the right way and is seeking expert help to
sort him out. I understand he will leave the clinic today and will
be back in training with us on Thursday."
Carroll, who has now settled his debts, has agreed to attend
regular counselling but has insisted to close friends he is not an
alcoholic.
He spent Monday and Tuesday with doctors at the Capio Nightingale
Hospital and will take today off before returning to training
tomorrow.
Worried team-mates became concerned by Carrolls increasingly
erratic behaviour after he spent the second half of last season on
the sidelines with a back injury. He became gripped by gambling on
the long journeys to the clubs away games and would go on 48-hour
drinking binges after a weekend game.
Although the players are allowed to play cards on the team bus
travelling to matches, it is understood that Carrolls problems
spiralled when he failed to recover from a back injury to play in
the FA Cup Final against Liverpool.
Insiders claim that Carrolls injuries, coupled with boredom, are
the root of his problems. Carroll, who signed for the Hammers on a
free transfer from Old Trafford when they were returned to the
Premiership, suffered a back injury against Fulham in January and
did not make another first-team appearance until this season.
He has since suffered a recurrence of the same injury and is now
second choice at the club behind Robert Green.
Pardew signed Crystal Palace keeper Gabor Kiraly on emergency loan
last week and although Carroll does have a legitimate injury, he
was advised to seek expert help for his problems by senior members
at the club last week.
Carroll, 29, spent the weekend considering his options and, after
talks with Pardew, volunteered to seek counselling at the Capio
Nightingale Hospital.
It is understood that only staff and close friends at West Ham knew
the scale of Carrolls problems.
The Hammers keeper continued to report for treatment at the clubs
Chadwell Heath training ground last week, but his team-mates told
him that there would be no shame if he sought help from
experts.
Carroll was not at training on Monday and his team-mates were told
that their keeper was seeking counselling at a private
clinic.
The Hammers have told Carroll to take all the time he needs to
recover, but sources at Upton Park do not expect a speedy return to
first-team action.
Carroll is not the first West Ham player to have problems off the
pitch this season.
Midfielder Shaun Newton was banned by the FA for eight months after
he was found guilty of taking cocaine, but Pardew vowed to stand by
him.
Meanwhile, West Hams new owner Magnusson has firmly denied that he
has a soft spot for Tottenham. The 59-year-old president of the
Iceland FA, who draped himself in a Hammers scarf as he posed with
Pardew, now has undertakings from shareholders which will secure an
83 per cent stake in the club for his consortium WH Holding.
Magnusson said: "Today, who are Spurs? Ive never heard of them.
West Ham is my team now. I have followed their fortunes since the
Bobby Moore era winning the FA Cup in 1964 and then the European
Cup-winners Cup in 1965. We want to make West Ham a successful
club at home and in Europe."
Magnusson, backed by billionaire Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, vowed to
supply transfer cash in the January window which will tempt Hammers
boss Pardew to rekindle his interest in Chelsea winger Shaun
Wright-Phillips.
Midfielder Hayden Mullins, 27, last night gave the new regime a
boost by signing a new four-year contract.
As Magnusson arrived in east London, FIFA boss Sepp Blatter was in
Spain, voicing his fears about the proliferation of foreign
investors in the Premier League.