LONDON -- One in four professional footballers said they suffer symptoms of anxiety and depression in a new study into the spor

LONDON -- One in four professional footballers said they suffer symptoms of anxiety and depression in a new study into the sports largely unexplored "dark side" of mental illness. Adidas NMD Clearance . The mental health of recently retired professional footballers was even more worrisome, with one in three reporting signs of anxiety and depression. Some 300 current and former professionals -- from the Netherlands, Major League Soccer, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand -- took part in the study for the players union, FIFPro. While football can draw on reams of scientific study about players physical injuries, little research has previously been done into their mental health, and mental health problems have remained very much taboo in the sport, FIFPro chief medical officer Vincent Gouttebarge said. "There is definitely some dark side of professional football," he said in an interview. "We dont talk about mental health issues in football, or we didnt talk about this issue," he added. "Its quite a macho culture so people do not talk about it." Gouttebarge said the studys findings suggest that professional footballers are no less prone to mental illness than other younger people in the general population. He said that might surprise fans who believe footballers live comfortable, worry-free lives, with media attention often focusing on the wealth of the most successful players. "Contrary to what people think, professional footballers experience psychological problems just like other groups in the population," Gouttebarge said. Among the 180 active footballers who responded to the lengthy questionnaire, 10 per cent reported symptoms of distress, five per cent reported signs of burnout and three per cent said they suffered from low self-esteem. Nearly 20 per cent reported problems with alcohol, which Gouttebarge said could include binge drinking and regularly drinking too much, and seven per cent said they smoked. The 121 former professionals who responded on average had 12-year playing careers and have been retired for five years. Fifteen per cent showed signs of burnout and 18 per cent signs of distress. One in three reported drinking problems, 12 per cent smoked, and 39 per cent reported suffering from depression and anxiety. Gouttebarge said that could include worrying, mood swings, difficulties sleeping, feeling stressed, not being sociable or a combination of symptoms. "Mental illness seems to occur among former professional footballers more often than in current players, and more often than in other populations. Consequently, mental illness among former professional footballers cannot be underestimated and should be a subject of interest for all stakeholders in football," the study said. Retirement was "really a critical period," with players abruptly losing the structure of regular training and the support of being in a club, Gouttebarge said. "You have to find a new life," he said. "It can put you under a lot of stress." Long-term injuries and surgeries that take players out of the game and away from close, regular contact with teammates can also be factors in mental health problems. Being forced to stop playing professionally because of injury or because clubs wont offer another contract can be particularly hard to cope with, Gouttebarge noted. "This has been recognized in other sports as a huge cause of mental health issues," he said. "The guy who is willing to retire or to stop his career is really (in) a different kind of situation to the one who is forced to retire." He called the study "a good first step" toward identifying the scope of mental health issues in football. The survey is expanding to players in France and from French-speaking nations in Africa, with plans to also study players in Spanish-speaking countries and Japan, Gouttebarge said. Adidas NMD Human Race Sale . Ashley Wagner will skate in the womens short program for a U.S. team thats in seventh place. Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions. Adidas NMD Wholesale China . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/wholesale-pharrell-adidas-nmd-hu-china.html . It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak.With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up are the New York Rangers, looking to go one step further after losing in the Stanley Cup Final last season. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Buttons analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Metropolitan GM: Glen Sather Head Coach: Alain Vigneault 2013-14: 45-31-6 (2nd in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Lost in Final to Los Angeles. Goals For: 218 (18th) Goals Against: 193 (4th) Powerplay: 18.2% (15th) Penalty Kill: 85.3% (4th) That Was Then: It might be simplistic to suggest that a teama€?s entire season hinged on a single trade, especially one at the deadline, but the acquisition of Martin St. Louis was the catalyst for the Rangersa€? first Stanley Cup appearance in two decades. When it became obvious that Ryan Callahan and the team couldna€?t come to terms on a new deal and that the Blueshirtsa€? captain would test the free agent market, GM Glen Sather acted swiftly and dramatically in trading for the aging sniper, who himself had sought a change of scenery after initially being left out of Boltsa€? GM Steve Yzermana€?s Canadian Olympic squad. If the fact that the Rangers were trading for a player a decade older than their captain didna€?t make it obvious that the team was moving into a€?win nowa€? mode, the addition of two first-round draft picks into the deal hammered that home. And that they did, improbably emerging from the Eastern Conference and leaving the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens in their wake. Alain Vigneault - the fall guy in Vancouver after coming ever so close, but failing to win the Stanley Cup - came to Broadway. Effectively having switched places with John Tortorella, Vigneault got his charges to buy into his program after a rocky start. Henrik Lundqvist was his all-world self between the pipes. Benoit Pouliot and Derrick Brassard proved a lethal combination on the power play. Speedy winger Mats Zuccarello had a career year and led the team in points (59). Anton Stralman was seventh in Corsi among defencemen, played crucial minutes and emerged as a guy who could handle the pressure of being in the top pairing. A year away from the game following personal tragedy, Dominic Moore returned to the NHL and was a key playoff contributor. Ryan McDonagh might have been the teama€?s best player, rounding into one of the finest all-around defencemen in the entire NHL. There was also a total team effort to rally around a tragedy: the untimely death of St. Louisa€? mother during the playoffs. Rather than leave the team, St. Louis soldiered on with the support of his teammates in tribute to his mother and helped get the team into the Stanley Cup Final. Though they couldna€?t overcome the Los Angeles Kings to claim hockeya€?s ultimate prize, last seasona€?s Rangers were a rousing success. Scott Cullens Analytics Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 2.30 2.65 5.4% .921 51.2% .500 21-41 2.52 2.95 6.2% .916 51.1% .524 42-62 3.24 2.43 8.0% .935 53.9% .643 63-82 2.85 1.85 7.0% .945 53.7% .675 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Slow out of the gate with nine straight road games to start the year. Games 21-41: Both shooting and goaltending were below average, offsetting decent possession stats. Games 42-62: Everything better in the new year, with percentages and possession climbing dramatically. Games 63-82: Dominant finish to the regular season, with excellent possession and goaltending. Key 2014 Additions: D Dan Boyle, LW Tanner Glass, C Matthew Lombardi, D Mike Kostka, RW Chris Mueller, D Matt Hunwick, F Lee Stempniak Key 2014 Subtractions: C Brad Richards, C Brian Boyle, LW Benoit Pouliot, RW Derek Dorsett, D Anton Stralman This Is Now: Though most off last seasona€?s team is intact, the Rangers have to weather through some key departures and hope that the players brought in can effectively replace the lost contributions. Cheap Adidas NMD 2019. Veteran centre Brad Richards was a cap casualty, bought out after only three seasons into a nine-year, $58.5 million deal. Richards simply didna€?t live up to his contract. Then again, few could live up to such a price tag. Stralman left to join Callahan in Tampa Bay and, even if the Rangers might have not used him to his full potential, his minutes were still significant and will be missed. Pouliot headed to Edmonton and gone are his joint-team-leading seven power-play goals. Brian Boyle is also headed to the Lightning and, with him, his shutdown checking presence. Dan Boyle is the biggest off-season acquisition and - despite being 38 years-old and his offensive output finally showing signs of slowing down - hea€?s going to assume much of Stralmana€?s role. The drop-off here is in terms of possession, but Vigneault knows what hea€?s getting in the veteran and will likely give him power play time to build on last seasona€?s 12 goals. As for the rest of the new additions, none is exactly a sexy pick-up and the Rangers added depth more than anything else. The likes of Matt Lombardi, Tanner Glass and Lee Stempniak are serviceable players and should fill in where needed. In terms of pure talent, the Rangers likely lost more than they added, but the players in question are mostly on the periphery. With King Henrik in goal, the Rangers have a chance to win every night (and when he isna€?t, Cam Talbot is a more-than-adequate back-up) and even with the loss of Stralman, the defensive corps are still young and one of the leaguea€?s best with room to improve. It might be a big ask to expect the Rangers to replicate the highs of a season ago, but the team is equipped to make sure that they can give it a shot. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Mats Zuccarello Derick Brassard Rick Nash Chris Kreider J.T. Miller Martin St. Louis Carl Hagelin Dominic Moore Lee Stempniak Tanner Glass Kevin Hayes Jesper Fast Ryan Malone Chris Mueller Anthony Duclair Matthew Lombardi Derek Stepan Ryan Haggerty Defence Left Right Ryan McDonagh Daniel Girardi Marc Staal Dan Boyle John Moore Kevin Klein Matt Hunwick Mike Kostka Conor Allen Dylan McIlrath Goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist Cam Talbot Cedrick Desjardins Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Anthony Duclair is an elite talent. As a Quebec teen track star, Anthony was fast, but on the ice he has blurring speed. That alone wona€?t carry a player but when you combine excellent puck handling skills, the ability to play successfully at a high pace and with a dangerous scoring ability, defenseman will not be eager to a match up versus him. Aside from the speed, he is very quick in traffic with the puck & can make plays in tight areas. Offensive talents like Anthony are special but when you think about him being the eightieth overall pick in the 2013 draft, the Rangers have to be thinking they won a lottery. One that should be paying out for years to come. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Chris Kreider Following a rookie season in which he scored 37 points in 66 regular-season games, before suffering a broken hand, Kreider returned to the lineup and contributed 13 points in 15 playoff games during the Rangers run to the Stanley Cup Final. A 6-foot-3, 230-pound winger, Kreider creates chances with his rare combination of size and speed and should be expected to play a bigger role in his second full season with the Blueshirts. Kreider played 15:44 per game last season, so if he adds a couple of minutes of ice time per game, and stays relatively healthy, a 50-point season could be within his grasp. ' ' '