Gary Neville hits out at England gambling ‘cancer’
Posted Monday, August 22, 2011 by The Sun
GARY NEVILLE has lifted the lid on the gambling 'cancer' that hit England's chances of winning two World Cups and three European Championships.
The former Manchester United defender claims stars were hooked on playing cards and betting hundreds of pounds.
He also reveals in his soon-to-be-published autobiography 'Red' that:
Former England boss Kevin Keegan fell asleep during a team talk.
Glenn Hoddle had a bizarre pre-match ritual of touching players' chests.
He regards his own England career as a 'massive waste of time'.
Neville admits: "I was never thrilled about the gambling culture off the pitch. The amount of time spent on horse racing or cards was ridiculous.
"We'd have a 10-minute coach journey down to training and players would get the cards out. We'd lose a match and the gambling school would start up.
"Gambling is a cancer in a changing room."
He rates his time spent playing under Keegan as unhappy but remembers when the manager fell asleep during a team talk by coach Les Reed.
Things were equally odd under Glenn Hoddle, who would touch his players on their chest just above their heart as a routine.
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