John Sullivan (the goalie) - now over in Las Vegas (p2)

Sad for him. Just goes to show you can never tell, as he always seemed like an upbeat character.

Good luck to him indeed.

He appeared to be a really good squad man when with us and never let us down when he did play.

I hope he finds what he seeks.

Henry Irving said:

"I would recommend any footballer going through a tough time to not be afraid of it. It doesn’t make you a bad person, it doesn’t make you a weak person, it just means you are human."

Good Luck John and well done the PFA. They do a great job.

Hear hear, Henry. Best wishes to John. Much of my admiration for Chris Powell - apart from his playing and managing - was for his good work for his fellow men at the PFA.

Wim Wenders made a particularly haunting film, a psychological thriller: 'The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty', 1972.

Good Luck John.

Just goes to show this can happen to anyone.

Reading that brought a lump to my throat.

How brave of Sully to come out & put this in the public domain. Takes a big man to do that IMHO.

As someone who has had their "black dog moments" over the years, I can fully empathise with his words ....although mine were only visible to those close to me.

I SO hope that he will always have the support of close family, friends, colleagues like Danny H - feeling alone & isolated is such a dark place.

Keep smiling, John & stay positive. Follow your heart to the place where you will be successful again, and most of all, happy.

Sad to read, good luck John.

It really annoys me when people try to justify the stick they give players with nonsense like "they're footballers, they should just deal with it", as if it really is that simple.

I know Sullivan hasn't referred to supporters in that article, but being a goalkeeper in the professional game must be such a lonely place at times. You rarely get the glory, but make one clanger and you feel entirely responsible for the feelings of your team-mates, fans etc.

Bravo to him for opening up about this. I just hope he doesn't regret his decision to leave football behind at such an early age.

Uboat said:

Sad for him. Just goes to show you can never tell, as he always seemed like an upbeat character.

Perversely that's all part and parcel of depression - you act upbeat in an attempt to mask the real problems. If you feel people like you and want you around them it makes you feel better about things and offers a little escapism.

best wishes john

What a nice man he seems. I was playing in a charity game at the valley for help for heroes and the "Rifles" a couple of seasons ago, I ask him via twitter firstly if he wanted to play?
He replied almost straight away that he would be on holiday, I then asked if he had a "spare" pair of gloves for me to wear?
Once again he replied and said "no problem" and if I was going to the game I was to call him over during his warm up!!
I waited for him to finish and called him over and introduced myself, he shook my hand and said he would get me another pair out of the dressing room as the ones he had on were soaking wet!
Off he run and a few minutes later he appeared with a nice dry pair!
I thanked him and had a couple of photos with him , he apologized him couldn't make the game and wished me luck!
He is definitely one of the good guys!

All the very best John, I hope everything works out the way you want, whether it's in football or something different!

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Keep smiling, John & stay positive. Follow your heart to the place where you will be successful again, and most of all, happy.

My thoughts too. Good luck, John.

If, by being open about his problems, John helps other players to deal with their own issues, he will have done them all a very great service. Well done, John Sullivan, and very best wishes for the future.

We need more people like John to make sure the stigma is removed, it affects so many, most with depression hide it very well.