With the cheerful demeanour of a man granted an unlikely reprieve, Paul Gascoigne yesterday played out the opening scene of what may be the final act of his pantomime career.
The perennial bad boy of English football discovered that, in his case, and at the age of 33, the last-chance saloon is housed at Everton. Gascoigne, having been granted a free transfer by Middlesbrough, signed a two-year, £20,000 sterling-a-week deal at lunchtime before heading for a club training camp in Tuscany.
"This is a gamble for this football club and what I must now do is repay the faith and trust they have shown in me," said Gascoigne.
"I know they are taking a chance, what with the off-field stuff which happened in the past. I have to keep my nose clean and deliver. I accept that this represents my last big chance in top-flight football. This really is a massive club and I'll do my best for them; the passion does still burn inside of me."
Last week, having declined invitations to join Kilmarnock and Motherwell, the former England midfielder was exploring the possibilities of ending his career in the US or Australia until highly improbable salvation arrived in the form of the ultimate in old pals' acts.
Everton's manager Walter Smith, formerly his manager at Rangers, has something akin to a paternal interest in Gascoigne and yesterday the player's agent also described that relationship as more "father-son" than merely manager-player.
But, with Gascoigne now playing his football in a city renowned for its nightlife and collective dislike of those with elevated profiles and bulging egos, Smith has placed a deserved reputation for common sense squarely on the line. "It's the biggest gamble of my career," he admitted yesterday.
Smith, moreover, will not hesitate to consign Gascoigne to the scrap heap should he show any signs of again becoming the disruptive and unsettling force which had so lessened his effectiveness at Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio, Rangers and Middlesbrough.
"I really don't know what's happened to Paul over the past couple of years," said Smith. "I really thought that when he left Rangers for Middlesbrough he would make an impact. It didn't happen and that makes me sad. He is a tremendous kid who unfortunately has a penchant for attracting bad publicity." Everton's vice-chairman Bill Kenwright was in ebullient mood after making Gascoigne the club's fourth major signing of a busy close season. "I'm thrilled, delighted and excited," he said.
Gascoigne, despite his fondness for Middlesbrough's manager Bryan Robson, amounted to an expensive mistake at the Riverside. After costing the club £3.45 million in March 1998 he managed only 44 senior appearances, and Robson recently informed him that he could leave on a free transfer despite having 12 months left on his contract.
The club's assistant manager Viv Anderson said yesterday the club have no regrets about letting Gascoigne leave. "We bought him initially to get us promoted. He helped us to promotion and helped stabilise us in the Premiership," said Robson's right-hand man. "But with his problems and everything else we thought - and Paul thought - it was time for a change."
"Things just didn't go well for me up at Middlesbrough, what with all the injuries and such," said Gascoigne. Typically he saved the best until last, adding: "My brains are in my feet."
