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I would personally say Benny, his ability as a young man when he ended up getting England recognition was absolutely down to the young Stephen Caulker.
His ability since then to be given big money contract has been nothing to do with Caulker himself, as every time he has failed and yet he is offered another big money contract, well that's down to his agent and more than likely Caulker can act, presenting the reformed character with talent, hence the job offers that he never performs in once employed.
Only in football though, could this happen !!
If he can successfully convince a club that he's a reformed character, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and convince them to offer him a lucrative contract, then that speaks volumes of his acting abilities, charisma, mental fortitude and self-belief.
If he can successfully convince a club that he's a reformed character, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and convince them to offer him a lucrative contract, then that speaks volumes of his acting abilities, charisma, mental fortitude and self-belief.
[Post edited 4 May 2023 16:53]
And also of football.
Always be signing. Always be moving. Keep those agent fees coming. Keep those signing on fees coming. Keep that churn.
Clubs sign injury prone players, players with known problems, players who are known dickheads.
Sometimes it's hubris and manager ego - I'll be the one who can get him going.
Sometimes it's desperation, trying to cut corners and get something on the cheap.
Conor Wickham has made an amazing career out of this, based entirely on somebody pointing at him in Ipswich's youth team and saying "fck me he's big innit".
If he can successfully convince a club that he's a reformed character, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and convince them to offer him a lucrative contract, then that speaks volumes of his acting abilities, charisma, mental fortitude and self-belief.
[Post edited 4 May 2023 16:53]
Acting abilities alright, bloke's a complete fraud.
If anyone wants to swallow some happy clapper straw clutching propaganda, Akinfenwa was on this week and says Ainsworth is the best manager he’s ever had in regard to getting the best out of him and individual teammates.
If anyone wants to swallow some happy clapper straw clutching propaganda, Akinfenwa was on this week and says Ainsworth is the best manager he’s ever had in regard to getting the best out of him and individual teammates.
Well that I can understand.
Akinfenwa was certainly fortunate to have Ainsworth in his corner and I can understand he could be a good motivator of people.
However if he is akin to signing Caulker, I will be first to say Gazza Out !!!
But regards Caulker "ACTOR" is most definitely his profession as professional footballer he is not.
If anyone wants to swallow some happy clapper straw clutching propaganda, Akinfenwa was on this week and says Ainsworth is the best manager he’s ever had in regard to getting the best out of him and individual teammates.
A really interesting thread with a lot of different opinions. I'd like to throw my two pence in, especially as I was the one that worked on a lot of Steven's PR over the last few years (although not nowadays and not when he was at QPR).
On a personal level he really is a lovely guy with a big heart. I've worked with a lot of footballers, some are top, some are not. But Steven definitely is. He's not without his demons, or mistakes, completely understand that but as a man he's a good guy.
It's hard to comprehend how bad his addictions were, I've attended AA meetings with him, we did a Channel 4 show into the way betting companies behave and whilst filming, he got three texts (all different numbers) from different casions offering him and 4 friends a private jet to Monaco for that weekend. He had blockers in place on the app store, had blockers on numbers, yet they would still find a way. It's abhorrent.
I also find it strange the venom that people speak with because he was offered a healthy contract, signed that contract and then battled his demons meaning QPR got very little ROI. It's not your money, it's not coming out of your account and I'd imagine if you were offered similar you'd do the same.
I don't believe as well that if anyone on here was being paid very well by their employees and then went through either a mental/physical issue they'd tell their boss "Go easy on the pay this month please, it's not fair I take a full salary".
Also bear in mind that the person who probably offered the contract and loved to play real-life FM is still at the club. Fernandes p*ssed away a lot more money than Caulker did and his affect on the club has been catastrophic yet I never see the same venom directed at him on such a mass scale.
It was well known about him having issues whilst at Bristol City, Swansea and then again at Spurs before we bought him. He was semi-forced the QPR deal whilst knowing we were throwing money everywhere by his reps...I'd imagine. Due dilligence should have been done, it seems like every other club did because let's be real, on his day he was top drawer and represented England.
The small-minded approach of "He earns X, so f*ck him, what can he be unhappy about" is such a boring narrative too. Everyone has a cross to bear. The amount of players I work with that are unhappy or struggling to get out of bed. Once you earn over a certain amount, it all becomes irrelevant anyway.
Clubs do put things in place to help either with addition or other mental issues, but players often don't really have the relationship people think they do. They are a commodity at the end of the day and conceding that they might have a weakness often leads to them speaking to no one or going through an external third party. Also, clubs aren't often that bothered unless you're worth something to them. You've only got to look at Dele Alli and even Ross Barkley to a degree, does that look like a normal decline to you?
The majority of top players and clubs will have some type of dirt on them, often far worse than Caulker, but you never hear of them until you randomly see an England international launching a campaign with The Sun. Either QPR didn't have the pull to stop these stories going out and/or Caulker couldn't offer them up something else. Then once the first story is out the momentum just builds, which is now how you get to the situation he's been through.
I know he had an offer from Burnley at the start of the year because of the link with Craig Bellamy but it didn't go through due to a medical but you could then be looking at everything very differently.
I've been fortunate so far to not suffer with my mental health but I think whether it's addiction, family issues, money issues or poor health, everyone has something to deal with. A little more kindness would go a long way, often fans know very little of the overall situation.
A really interesting thread with a lot of different opinions. I'd like to throw my two pence in, especially as I was the one that worked on a lot of Steven's PR over the last few years (although not nowadays and not when he was at QPR).
On a personal level he really is a lovely guy with a big heart. I've worked with a lot of footballers, some are top, some are not. But Steven definitely is. He's not without his demons, or mistakes, completely understand that but as a man he's a good guy.
It's hard to comprehend how bad his addictions were, I've attended AA meetings with him, we did a Channel 4 show into the way betting companies behave and whilst filming, he got three texts (all different numbers) from different casions offering him and 4 friends a private jet to Monaco for that weekend. He had blockers in place on the app store, had blockers on numbers, yet they would still find a way. It's abhorrent.
I also find it strange the venom that people speak with because he was offered a healthy contract, signed that contract and then battled his demons meaning QPR got very little ROI. It's not your money, it's not coming out of your account and I'd imagine if you were offered similar you'd do the same.
I don't believe as well that if anyone on here was being paid very well by their employees and then went through either a mental/physical issue they'd tell their boss "Go easy on the pay this month please, it's not fair I take a full salary".
Also bear in mind that the person who probably offered the contract and loved to play real-life FM is still at the club. Fernandes p*ssed away a lot more money than Caulker did and his affect on the club has been catastrophic yet I never see the same venom directed at him on such a mass scale.
It was well known about him having issues whilst at Bristol City, Swansea and then again at Spurs before we bought him. He was semi-forced the QPR deal whilst knowing we were throwing money everywhere by his reps...I'd imagine. Due dilligence should have been done, it seems like every other club did because let's be real, on his day he was top drawer and represented England.
The small-minded approach of "He earns X, so f*ck him, what can he be unhappy about" is such a boring narrative too. Everyone has a cross to bear. The amount of players I work with that are unhappy or struggling to get out of bed. Once you earn over a certain amount, it all becomes irrelevant anyway.
Clubs do put things in place to help either with addition or other mental issues, but players often don't really have the relationship people think they do. They are a commodity at the end of the day and conceding that they might have a weakness often leads to them speaking to no one or going through an external third party. Also, clubs aren't often that bothered unless you're worth something to them. You've only got to look at Dele Alli and even Ross Barkley to a degree, does that look like a normal decline to you?
The majority of top players and clubs will have some type of dirt on them, often far worse than Caulker, but you never hear of them until you randomly see an England international launching a campaign with The Sun. Either QPR didn't have the pull to stop these stories going out and/or Caulker couldn't offer them up something else. Then once the first story is out the momentum just builds, which is now how you get to the situation he's been through.
I know he had an offer from Burnley at the start of the year because of the link with Craig Bellamy but it didn't go through due to a medical but you could then be looking at everything very differently.
I've been fortunate so far to not suffer with my mental health but I think whether it's addiction, family issues, money issues or poor health, everyone has something to deal with. A little more kindness would go a long way, often fans know very little of the overall situation.
A really interesting thread with a lot of different opinions. I'd like to throw my two pence in, especially as I was the one that worked on a lot of Steven's PR over the last few years (although not nowadays and not when he was at QPR).
On a personal level he really is a lovely guy with a big heart. I've worked with a lot of footballers, some are top, some are not. But Steven definitely is. He's not without his demons, or mistakes, completely understand that but as a man he's a good guy.
It's hard to comprehend how bad his addictions were, I've attended AA meetings with him, we did a Channel 4 show into the way betting companies behave and whilst filming, he got three texts (all different numbers) from different casions offering him and 4 friends a private jet to Monaco for that weekend. He had blockers in place on the app store, had blockers on numbers, yet they would still find a way. It's abhorrent.
I also find it strange the venom that people speak with because he was offered a healthy contract, signed that contract and then battled his demons meaning QPR got very little ROI. It's not your money, it's not coming out of your account and I'd imagine if you were offered similar you'd do the same.
I don't believe as well that if anyone on here was being paid very well by their employees and then went through either a mental/physical issue they'd tell their boss "Go easy on the pay this month please, it's not fair I take a full salary".
Also bear in mind that the person who probably offered the contract and loved to play real-life FM is still at the club. Fernandes p*ssed away a lot more money than Caulker did and his affect on the club has been catastrophic yet I never see the same venom directed at him on such a mass scale.
It was well known about him having issues whilst at Bristol City, Swansea and then again at Spurs before we bought him. He was semi-forced the QPR deal whilst knowing we were throwing money everywhere by his reps...I'd imagine. Due dilligence should have been done, it seems like every other club did because let's be real, on his day he was top drawer and represented England.
The small-minded approach of "He earns X, so f*ck him, what can he be unhappy about" is such a boring narrative too. Everyone has a cross to bear. The amount of players I work with that are unhappy or struggling to get out of bed. Once you earn over a certain amount, it all becomes irrelevant anyway.
Clubs do put things in place to help either with addition or other mental issues, but players often don't really have the relationship people think they do. They are a commodity at the end of the day and conceding that they might have a weakness often leads to them speaking to no one or going through an external third party. Also, clubs aren't often that bothered unless you're worth something to them. You've only got to look at Dele Alli and even Ross Barkley to a degree, does that look like a normal decline to you?
The majority of top players and clubs will have some type of dirt on them, often far worse than Caulker, but you never hear of them until you randomly see an England international launching a campaign with The Sun. Either QPR didn't have the pull to stop these stories going out and/or Caulker couldn't offer them up something else. Then once the first story is out the momentum just builds, which is now how you get to the situation he's been through.
I know he had an offer from Burnley at the start of the year because of the link with Craig Bellamy but it didn't go through due to a medical but you could then be looking at everything very differently.
I've been fortunate so far to not suffer with my mental health but I think whether it's addiction, family issues, money issues or poor health, everyone has something to deal with. A little more kindness would go a long way, often fans know very little of the overall situation.
[Post edited 5 May 2023 12:58]
A really lovely man with a big heart.....is this the same bloke who had to be restrained by Ryan Manning intent on assaulting a fan who had the temerity to heckle him after the Fulham game warm-down with...'So you're ok to run around after the game's finished are you'?
It's not your money, it's not coming out of your account and I'd imagine if you were offered similar you'd do the same.....er yes it is, yes it is and no I would'nt (as many employees who took voluntary pay-cuts during Covid proves as well as the likes of Lee Cook did previously at our club)
I dont wish the bloke ill-will, but I do think he's a fraud and a good example of why 'PR / Reputation Management' type consultants earn large fees trying to re-package present unsavoury types as something different.
A really interesting thread with a lot of different opinions. I'd like to throw my two pence in, especially as I was the one that worked on a lot of Steven's PR over the last few years (although not nowadays and not when he was at QPR).
On a personal level he really is a lovely guy with a big heart. I've worked with a lot of footballers, some are top, some are not. But Steven definitely is. He's not without his demons, or mistakes, completely understand that but as a man he's a good guy.
It's hard to comprehend how bad his addictions were, I've attended AA meetings with him, we did a Channel 4 show into the way betting companies behave and whilst filming, he got three texts (all different numbers) from different casions offering him and 4 friends a private jet to Monaco for that weekend. He had blockers in place on the app store, had blockers on numbers, yet they would still find a way. It's abhorrent.
I also find it strange the venom that people speak with because he was offered a healthy contract, signed that contract and then battled his demons meaning QPR got very little ROI. It's not your money, it's not coming out of your account and I'd imagine if you were offered similar you'd do the same.
I don't believe as well that if anyone on here was being paid very well by their employees and then went through either a mental/physical issue they'd tell their boss "Go easy on the pay this month please, it's not fair I take a full salary".
Also bear in mind that the person who probably offered the contract and loved to play real-life FM is still at the club. Fernandes p*ssed away a lot more money than Caulker did and his affect on the club has been catastrophic yet I never see the same venom directed at him on such a mass scale.
It was well known about him having issues whilst at Bristol City, Swansea and then again at Spurs before we bought him. He was semi-forced the QPR deal whilst knowing we were throwing money everywhere by his reps...I'd imagine. Due dilligence should have been done, it seems like every other club did because let's be real, on his day he was top drawer and represented England.
The small-minded approach of "He earns X, so f*ck him, what can he be unhappy about" is such a boring narrative too. Everyone has a cross to bear. The amount of players I work with that are unhappy or struggling to get out of bed. Once you earn over a certain amount, it all becomes irrelevant anyway.
Clubs do put things in place to help either with addition or other mental issues, but players often don't really have the relationship people think they do. They are a commodity at the end of the day and conceding that they might have a weakness often leads to them speaking to no one or going through an external third party. Also, clubs aren't often that bothered unless you're worth something to them. You've only got to look at Dele Alli and even Ross Barkley to a degree, does that look like a normal decline to you?
The majority of top players and clubs will have some type of dirt on them, often far worse than Caulker, but you never hear of them until you randomly see an England international launching a campaign with The Sun. Either QPR didn't have the pull to stop these stories going out and/or Caulker couldn't offer them up something else. Then once the first story is out the momentum just builds, which is now how you get to the situation he's been through.
I know he had an offer from Burnley at the start of the year because of the link with Craig Bellamy but it didn't go through due to a medical but you could then be looking at everything very differently.
I've been fortunate so far to not suffer with my mental health but I think whether it's addiction, family issues, money issues or poor health, everyone has something to deal with. A little more kindness would go a long way, often fans know very little of the overall situation.
[Post edited 5 May 2023 12:58]
I personally know about addictions in that a family member has had severe alcohol issues and a close friend has had his own demons around gambling.
And i do now work for a mental health support organisation now myself in my latter years.
so if the comments throwing back the unkindness and you not walked in another mans shoes etc I dispute that with regards myself.
But I was critical of Caulker and you say you have been at times involved in his PR and I can totally see that in how you have spun your reply in favour of your ex client.
I totally get the difficulties with addiction and the hardest thing is knowing that you will always need constant help to avoid relapse but that is entirely on the individual and from how i saw Caulkers responses it appeared he was reticent every time he was nearing needing a new contract, perhaps under people like yourselves guidance so that you both get financial rewards which absolutely I am not against and like you say who wouldn't seek out such fantastic pay packets
But with those kind of rewards its essential to totally engage with help and am not totally buying that no help from the club means they don't care
As said specialist organisations are always around and you say you attended with Stephen, but it needs be all the time and guessing he not done that so the criticisms around not taking his consistent privileged positions he has been in seriously are correct I feel as I have seen others do this.
A friend mine on minimum wage but his family drip fed him money so his access to money was limited and his cards were all blocked by family members as yes gambling sites find away around this.
I doubt this has been tried in Stephens case and am guessing you may be aware if such restrictions were put in place because its a massive help in going cold turkey if there is zero ways of gambling,
But I doubt from how you say about others complaining about size of his wage packet. I personally not think he deserves it from his performances but fair play to anyone that can gain such riches, but if all the people around Stephen had limited his actual disposal and available income each day to him was limited to the bare minimum when really going cold turkey on his gambling but clearly this seems to have never been done.
I do personally also completely understand its often almost a massive urge and its tough and the self loathing is normal with gambling.
My own beef is it seems recovery and access to money whilst trying this has not been arranged. Obviously I am not akin to the total story but from this particular interview it was not apparent sadly Caulker and all those around him have never been serious in attacking his addictions full on and until such measures and time away the more likely is recovery but its never been achieved by Stephen Caulker
Sorry if you find that harsh. Its the facts of the situation and there is always a way even in the most challenging of mental health struggles and in particular when it comes to addictions also.
A really interesting thread with a lot of different opinions. I'd like to throw my two pence in, especially as I was the one that worked on a lot of Steven's PR over the last few years (although not nowadays and not when he was at QPR).
On a personal level he really is a lovely guy with a big heart. I've worked with a lot of footballers, some are top, some are not. But Steven definitely is. He's not without his demons, or mistakes, completely understand that but as a man he's a good guy.
It's hard to comprehend how bad his addictions were, I've attended AA meetings with him, we did a Channel 4 show into the way betting companies behave and whilst filming, he got three texts (all different numbers) from different casions offering him and 4 friends a private jet to Monaco for that weekend. He had blockers in place on the app store, had blockers on numbers, yet they would still find a way. It's abhorrent.
I also find it strange the venom that people speak with because he was offered a healthy contract, signed that contract and then battled his demons meaning QPR got very little ROI. It's not your money, it's not coming out of your account and I'd imagine if you were offered similar you'd do the same.
I don't believe as well that if anyone on here was being paid very well by their employees and then went through either a mental/physical issue they'd tell their boss "Go easy on the pay this month please, it's not fair I take a full salary".
Also bear in mind that the person who probably offered the contract and loved to play real-life FM is still at the club. Fernandes p*ssed away a lot more money than Caulker did and his affect on the club has been catastrophic yet I never see the same venom directed at him on such a mass scale.
It was well known about him having issues whilst at Bristol City, Swansea and then again at Spurs before we bought him. He was semi-forced the QPR deal whilst knowing we were throwing money everywhere by his reps...I'd imagine. Due dilligence should have been done, it seems like every other club did because let's be real, on his day he was top drawer and represented England.
The small-minded approach of "He earns X, so f*ck him, what can he be unhappy about" is such a boring narrative too. Everyone has a cross to bear. The amount of players I work with that are unhappy or struggling to get out of bed. Once you earn over a certain amount, it all becomes irrelevant anyway.
Clubs do put things in place to help either with addition or other mental issues, but players often don't really have the relationship people think they do. They are a commodity at the end of the day and conceding that they might have a weakness often leads to them speaking to no one or going through an external third party. Also, clubs aren't often that bothered unless you're worth something to them. You've only got to look at Dele Alli and even Ross Barkley to a degree, does that look like a normal decline to you?
The majority of top players and clubs will have some type of dirt on them, often far worse than Caulker, but you never hear of them until you randomly see an England international launching a campaign with The Sun. Either QPR didn't have the pull to stop these stories going out and/or Caulker couldn't offer them up something else. Then once the first story is out the momentum just builds, which is now how you get to the situation he's been through.
I know he had an offer from Burnley at the start of the year because of the link with Craig Bellamy but it didn't go through due to a medical but you could then be looking at everything very differently.
I've been fortunate so far to not suffer with my mental health but I think whether it's addiction, family issues, money issues or poor health, everyone has something to deal with. A little more kindness would go a long way, often fans know very little of the overall situation.
[Post edited 5 May 2023 12:58]
I’m not sure there’s a huge amount of venom directed at him. Personally, I’m just bored of hearing about him. He chooses to work in a high profile industry. That goes hand in hand with scrutiny. If he wants anonymity, go and work in a shop, an office, or a factory, don’t go on a podcast or have people arrange interviews with the national press every year.
On the money issue, I agree, very few would turn it down. I appreciate it doesn’t make his addictions any easier to deal with and possibly makes it more difficult. But, as I say, no one forces him to be a professional footballer. I can only assume he thinks the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Where I struggle to have a great deal of sympathy is because the money affords him privileges ‘normal’ people don’t have. He can afford the best help. I’m inclined to be sympathetic to ‘normal’ people who suffer his afflictions, but have no choice but to get up every day and deal with them, knowing if they lose their job they’re unlikely to get another one, with all the consequences that brings. Where you suggest most people wouldn’t ask for their income to be reduced, the harsh reality, I would suggest, is that very few people would have the opportunity if they conducted themselves the way he has, for as long as he has.
I fully accept he may well be a lovely bloke, but that doesn’t change my view that he comes across as spoilt, pampered and self-absorbed. Rather than just constantly talking about this in very public forums, why doesn’t he just go away and deal with all this quietly?
I’m not sure there’s a huge amount of venom directed at him. Personally, I’m just bored of hearing about him. He chooses to work in a high profile industry. That goes hand in hand with scrutiny. If he wants anonymity, go and work in a shop, an office, or a factory, don’t go on a podcast or have people arrange interviews with the national press every year.
On the money issue, I agree, very few would turn it down. I appreciate it doesn’t make his addictions any easier to deal with and possibly makes it more difficult. But, as I say, no one forces him to be a professional footballer. I can only assume he thinks the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Where I struggle to have a great deal of sympathy is because the money affords him privileges ‘normal’ people don’t have. He can afford the best help. I’m inclined to be sympathetic to ‘normal’ people who suffer his afflictions, but have no choice but to get up every day and deal with them, knowing if they lose their job they’re unlikely to get another one, with all the consequences that brings. Where you suggest most people wouldn’t ask for their income to be reduced, the harsh reality, I would suggest, is that very few people would have the opportunity if they conducted themselves the way he has, for as long as he has.
I fully accept he may well be a lovely bloke, but that doesn’t change my view that he comes across as spoilt, pampered and self-absorbed. Rather than just constantly talking about this in very public forums, why doesn’t he just go away and deal with all this quietly?
To be fair he’s not coming round your house and shouting through your window, he’s writing in the Guardian and speaking on a podcast, both of which you’d have to go out your way to engage with.
To be fair he’s not coming round your house and shouting through your window, he’s writing in the Guardian and speaking on a podcast, both of which you’d have to go out your way to engage with.
Not exactly keeping a low profile is he? I’m not sure how much more high profile he could go than the National Press. The BBC aren’t going to put him on prime time TV.
Not exactly keeping a low profile is he? I’m not sure how much more high profile he could go than the National Press. The BBC aren’t going to put him on prime time TV.
Personally I think it’s important that Caulker talks about his issues as it might help other people in similar situations. And he’s doing a lot of positive stuff with his charity work and foundation for academy footballers who don’t make it.
He’s clearly got his demons and made plenty of mistakes (I’m sure there’s a connection) but fair play to him for trying to improve and help other people.
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