Drinkwater needs a little understanding not condemnation

DANNY DRINKWATER. A situation that upsets me and reminds me how elite athletes’ behaviour can so often be misunderstood.

Drinkwater won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016 (celebrating below). He then played for England and a £35million transfer to Chelsea followed. Then... the wilderness.

Minimal game time with Chelsea. A drink-driving charge followed and he was subsequently shipped out on loan to Burnley, where his first game was a midweek EFL Cup tie. Following the match, it was reported Danny (right) was beaten up outside a Manchester nightclub.

Since then the judgements have poured out against Drinkwater from fans and the media – he has been labelled an overindulgent young millionaire, who is clearly off the rails. His surname is easily ridiculed in the situation and he has been squarely lambasted.

A previously admired and well-liked footballer has fallen hard. I absolutely do not condone some of Drinkwater’s recent behaviour off the field. It hasn’t been acceptable. But I believe the situation needs a more careful view.

I have been an

elite athlete and have been around them all my adult life. Whether or not we like to admit it, we define our lives by our performance at the highest level.

The benchmark of how we are getting on in life is rooted to how we are performing on our playing field. This is regardless of a happy marriage, financial security, outside interests, being a nice person or even having children.

To have reached that level in sport, you have to be obsessed with your performance.

If it is taken away from you through injury or not being selected, it is devastating.

It will leave an enormous void in your life. It can be a reason why so many sports people struggle in retirement.

If they no longer have a stage to perform on, then they can feel they have no purpose or barometer as to how they are getting on in life. I know this from personal experience.

I wasn’t selected for the London 2012 Olympic Games and it sucked the life out of me. It took me months to pull myself together.

I don’t know 29-year-old Drinkwater, but I feel sad for him. I don’t see an overindulgent footballer. I see a young man who has got the absolute best out of himself up to now, but has subsequently lost his purpose and direction in life.

He has gone from exceptionally high-level performances week in, week out, to virtually nothing. The dream move to Chelsea has been a nightmare. He’s now been making poor decisions, but I just hope people can consider who he is before they consign him to the rubbish heap.

I look forward to reading about Drinkwater’s comeback.

we seeing the best-ever version of Frankie Dettori at the age of 48? His win in Saturday’s St Leger was his 15th Group One title this season – just one away from his best-ever haul of 16, set in 2001.