Here's hoping the substances in question are largely jelly doughnuts. Seriously: Best wishes to Josh. Looking forward to seeing him back on the pitch asap.
Think about Josh guys. Soccer is not more important than anyone's well-being. Hope he gets the proper help.
So if he didn't fail a drug test, did he get arrested? Because it's hard to see a scenario where a player goes into a substance abuse program in the middle of the season voluntarily. Like, I can't see Josh just walking into Bruce's office after a bender and going "skip, I have problem, I need help." I suppose there could have been an intervention by the team or teammates or family and friends but other than that, you gotta figure there was either an arrest or a failed test.
I used to always joke that Saunders was high all the time (his eyes always look glassy and he blinks all the time).
He did have a DUI back in 2004 (where the unfortunate nickname "Slosh" Saunders was started by unsympathetic Vancouver fans): http://vancouversouthsiders.ca/foru...he-opposition-goalkeeper-josh-dui-saunders/p1 That's a long time ago, though.
Maybe he did? Maybe he felt like it was taking too much control of his life and felt it might (if it hadn't already) spill into his career? It could've been, "Coach, I have a problem. I'm struggling here and I don't want it to affect my play for the team". Can't make assumptions about what sort of decisions a person is capable of, especially someone dealing with substance abuse. An intervention is likely, or maybe even someone close to him just prodding him to seek help and he finally was able to recognize he needed it. A close family friend checked themselves in after a hellish night. Hungover and convinced they didn't want to feel that way ever again. No one knew of the full extent of it prior to them checking in. They had a good job and held potential for moving up in their career. My point being, there are many many different ways this could've happened outside of an arrest or failed test and its not fair to Saunder's to assume that it had to go to that length. Solve the problem now and come back a healthier and more able person for your team. Or let it spiral further out of control over the course of a season. Thats a good enough reason for a player to voluntarily seek treatment, imo. Just my 2 cents as a non-LA fan. I hope for absolutely nothing but the best for Josh in his recovery. Substance abuse is no joke. This is a good thing for both his life and his career. Godspeed, Josh.
Thoughts and prayers are with you, Josh, and your family. I'm glad you see the need and you're getting help.
Yeh. I do hope Josh gets it together for himself, but this thread is sorely lacking in some tough love. Is this the same group of posters who are ready to run Franklin out of town because he mishits some crosses? If it turns out Saunders was involved in some sort of DUI, I'm not really going to be counting the days until he gets back onto the field.
Hopefully it's not something terrible like that. The fact that he's already in treatment is terrible, so I chose to focus on wishing him well.
DUI, whatever it is, I still wish him well. As long as he is trying to get over a substance abuse problem I'll root for him.
Wish him well, but the question has to be asked do we still carry his salary and do we have the right to after another keeper. We don't know how long he will be gone but could he be gone all season? If so we need to start looking for a starter ASAP