Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang - 7M sport

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang

JIMMY Greaves would down six or seven pints just to relax as he became part of a West Ham drinking gang headed by legendary Bobby Moore, it has been revealed.


Posted Sunday, April 07, 2019 by Dailystar.co.uk

Famed as arguably England’s most gifted striker ever, Greaves became dependent on alcohol at West Ham as his career hit the rocks in the early 1970s.

Greaves’ playing days came to a premature end in 1971, aged 31, having lost his love for the game and instead became a full time alcoholic, explains biographer David Tossell.

A deadly finisher for Spurs where he hit 266 goals in 381 games, his time at the club was coming to an end by 1969.

Greaves was an elegant dribbler but boss Bill Nicholson preferred to have more of a team player in his side.

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
DRINKING: Greaves went down hill at West Ham (Pic: GETTY)

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
SKILFULL: Greaves was a tricky forward with pace (Pic: GETTY)

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
DOWNHILL: Greaves drank more at West Ham (Pic: GETTY)

He was shunted off to West Ham which turned into a disaster for him.

After training he would head to the Slater’s Arms, in Romford, along with several other pubs on the way home, revealed Tossell author of Natural – The Jimmy Greaves Story.

Tossell added: “He would say that it took six or seven lagers before he began to feel relaxed.”

At West Ham, Greaves found himself at a club which had lost its edge with star players like Moore and Geoff Hurst passed their best.

"I wasn’t on my way to becoming an alcoholic when I was at Spurs,” Greaves told Tossell.

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
FRIENDS: He was close Bobby Moore, another big drinker (Pic: GETTY)

His teammate at West Ham, Harry Redknapp, told how there were worrying signs with a trip to the pub after Greaves first training session.

Redknapp said: “His first day at the club we all went over to the Slater’s Arms with Jimmy because we all wanted to be with him.

"We were still in there at seven or eight at night after getting in there are half-past one. It was too much to keep that pace up but Jimmy kept going.”

Greaves was a good friend of Moore and Hammers defender John Charles told how drinking was part of life at the club.

He revealed to Tossell: “We were always on the piss. We went from club to pub.

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
DRINKERS: Greaves and Moore would often go out to pubs at West Ham (Pic: GETTY)

"Mooro was as good as gold on the field and off the field but was a pisshead. He liked gin and tonic he liked lager too.

"You couldn’t get him drunk, he was one of the best drinkers I knew.”

At West Ham, Greaves became dependent on alcohol and lost his appetite for the game.

The writing was on the wall after a famous away game in Blackpool.

He and a group of other players including Moore headed out into the town convinced that their game the following day would be called off due to ice and snow.

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
HEYDAY: Greaves in a Spurs shirt (Pic: GETTY)

Jimmy Greaves had 'six or seven lagers to relax' as part of 70s West Ham drinking gang
STROKE: Greaves is wheelchair-bound now (Pic: GETTY)

In the end the game was played and the team was heavily beaten 4-0.

The players were seen out drinking until around 1.30am and it hit the headlines the following day.

Greaves did score some key goals in the final stages of the 1970/71 season but he decided to hang up his boots in the summer.

His alcoholism was to get worse and he would drink “half a bottle of vodka before he got out of bed in the morning” during his worst period in the mid 1970s before finally giving up drinking for good in 1978.



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