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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Clarke Carlisle's on How Alcohol Rehab Clinic Changed Him...Flashback One Year "Hamman and Noades for QPR?"

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BBC Newsbeat Nadia Dahabiyeh - Behind the scenes at sports star rehab clinic
Tony Adams' Sporting Chance Clinic in the Hampshire countryside
Nestled in the tranquil Hampshire countryside is the Sporting Chance Clinic where professional sports stars who have fallen off the wagon go to get help.
Set up by former England footballer Tony Adams, it treats those with alcohol, drug, gambling or sex addictions.
Many big Premier League names have gone there but want to remain anonymous.
Chris Moredew is the director of training there. He told Newsbeat: "We're not interested in the client's salary or how many caps they've won. It's a facility where people can come and address their problems."
The kitchen in the clinic, proving sports stars like baked beans
Pampering not on offer
Clients are allowed to use the spa's multi-million pound leisure facilities to help them stay fit during their stay, but there are no facials or body scrubs on offer.
Instead, they follow a strict regime of individual and group therapy sessions, workbooks and yoga. Mobiles are banned and watching television is only allowed in the evening.
One former client is Clarke Carlisle. Just after being capped for the England Under 21s and joining QPR, the defender got an injury and turned to alcohol.
He said: "After training I'd go to my local and have a few pints, then when I was bloated I'd shift onto some cocktails or shooters and then when my friends had finished work we'd crack on into town."
Life-changing treatment
The player's turning point came when he arrived for a match looking worse for wear and was sent home. It was then he went to the Sporting Chance Clinic.
One of the massage tables in the clinic to ease away aches and pains
Carlisle told Newsbeat: "It was mentally and physically draining, going through all these emotions in your past."
He continued: "There are always reasons for behaviour and getting to the roots of those problems was liberating".
Carlisle said going to the clinic had completely changed his life for the better. He explained: "I know I wouldn't have had the lovely marriage that I have now or the career I have now as I was days away from getting the sack from QPR". BBC

In the Papers One Year Ago Today Hamman and Noades for QPR?:

February 28, 2007 - The Guardian - "Thursday's Rumours" - Paolo Bandini
"....And in takeover action you probably have no interest in, former Crystal Palace owner Ron Noades wants to buy QPR, but so does former Cardiff owner Sam Hammam, while a mysterious 'unnamed American consortium' want to buy Millwall. Should we tell them or will you?" Guardian

Charles Sale - Daily Mail - Is Sam the Man To Rescue QPR?
Football tycoon Sam Hammam’s presence at Loftus Road last Saturday has increased speculation that he is preparing a bid to take over crisis-hit Queens Park Rangers.
Hammam, who is understood to have made more than £20million when he sold Wimbledon to a Norwegian partnership in 1997, has recently relinquished control of Cardiff City, allowing him to pursue other football interests.
And Hammam, who is known to be missing day-to-day involvement in professional football, would find it far easier to commute from his St John’s Wood home to Shepherd’s Bush than the Welsh capital.

Former Crystal Palace owner Ron Noades is also understood to be involved in the QPR takeover talks. He and Hammam have been close friends since Wimbledon and Palace shared Selhurst Park.

While Hammam’s wealth is a matter of some speculation, Noades is seriously cash rich after selling Palace to Mark Goldberg for even more than Sam got for Wimbledon. Noades retained ownership of Selhurst Park, which was sold recently to Tottenham director Paul Kemsley.

QPR chairman Gianni Palladini is sure to sell if the offer is right and Hammam and Noades are the type of operators who could restore some stability at Loftus Road. Taking over the debts and the mortgage on the ground would cost around £20m. Mail

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