the_crusader
I'm a big blob of LARD
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Apparently he was found dead in his home and word is that he committed suicide
RIP
RIP
RIP Gary Speed
- Thread starter the_crusader
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Bulldog Boy
Waterboy
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What a shock. RIP... Thanx for posting this mate, i probs wouldn't have found out otherwise.
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My friend died on a battlefield.
He was killed in action fighting a civil war.
He fought against adversaries that were as real to him
..... as his casket is real to us.
They were powerful adversaries.
They took toll of his energies and endurance.
They exhausted the last vestiges of his courage and strength.
Only God knows what this child of His suffered
... in the silent skirmishes that took place in his soul.
He was killed in action fighting a civil war.
He fought against adversaries that were as real to him
..... as his casket is real to us.
They were powerful adversaries.
They took toll of his energies and endurance.
They exhausted the last vestiges of his courage and strength.
Only God knows what this child of His suffered
... in the silent skirmishes that took place in his soul.
Pom_81
Kennel Enthusiast
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From the never-less-than-brilliant Football365.com:
A Tribute To Gary Speed (1969-2011)
Numb and then tearful, and then just crushingly sad. What an unbearably sad day for anyone who has followed football over the last 20 years. Johnny pays tribute...
Football is often erroneously referred to as a community, but when we all heard the awful news of Gary Speed's death on Sunday lunchtime, I'm sure it profoundly shocked everyone in the extended football family. I'm sure we all felt the same horror.
One feels numb, then tearful, then just crushingly sad. He wasn't just an excellent footballer, articulate manager and pundit, much more important than that he seemed such a lovely fella. A familiar presence in our football lives for over 20 years, he was part of the modern football jigsaw; now a piece is missing. It is simply awful.
Speed had cut his teeth in a Leeds midfield that was a lovely blend of old school industrial physicality, courtesy of David Batty, plus creativity from Gordon Strachan and Gary McAllister. Though at his best in midfield, he was a jack of all trades, manager Howard Wilkinson playing him all over the pitch, which he'd do without complaint. A manager's dream - he was just glad to be out there.
The Leeds team won the last First Division title before the start of the Premiership. He was still only 23 at the time. Always a superb athlete who barely seemed to physically change across his 22-year-long career, even in his late thirties he looked pretty much as he had done when winning the title with Leeds. He was a great example of an athlete who looked after himself and got every last drop out of his playing career.
After leaving Leeds, having played over 250 games, he seemed to have two more careers. There were a couple of good seasons at Everton and then another 200-plus games for Newcastle United. But still he wasn't done, later playing a crucial role in the Bolton revival under Sam Allardyce. Self-evidently, he was a consistently top-drawer player.
A regular in the TV studios because he was bright, articulate and knowledgeable, he was seemingly unaffected by the extraordinary football world he found himself in. It was no surprise that he became Wales' manager nor that they had begun to flourish under his guidance. And it was no surprise because I think we all assumed he was just very good.
What happened on Sunday to change all this, we will probably never know, nor is it any of our business to know.
The fact that all his contemporaries, friends and work colleagues speak of him in such glowing terms and that those who had spoken to him a few hours before his death said he was laughing and joking with them, makes it very hard to understand.
But the human mind is a complex thing. As anyone who has had or who has lived with people who have suffered from depression or other issues of the mind knows, it is not always visible to the outside world. It can be the most private and closeted of disorders; a privacy that makes it an even more unbearable secret to confess.
But let's remember him for his art as a proper footballer, as hard-working, dedicated and an example to every subsequent generation. The fact that fans for every club he played for speak of him in glowing terms is a great tribute in itself. Not many footballers are universally liked.
Of course, we never thought we'd be without him in our football lives. He was always a welcome part of the fixtures and fittings. Always on the pitch, on TV, in the studio or pitchside. It is hard to imagine our football world without such a decent lad. It is simply an unbearably sad day. May he rest in peace.
A Tribute To Gary Speed (1969-2011)
Numb and then tearful, and then just crushingly sad. What an unbearably sad day for anyone who has followed football over the last 20 years. Johnny pays tribute...
Football is often erroneously referred to as a community, but when we all heard the awful news of Gary Speed's death on Sunday lunchtime, I'm sure it profoundly shocked everyone in the extended football family. I'm sure we all felt the same horror.
One feels numb, then tearful, then just crushingly sad. He wasn't just an excellent footballer, articulate manager and pundit, much more important than that he seemed such a lovely fella. A familiar presence in our football lives for over 20 years, he was part of the modern football jigsaw; now a piece is missing. It is simply awful.
Speed had cut his teeth in a Leeds midfield that was a lovely blend of old school industrial physicality, courtesy of David Batty, plus creativity from Gordon Strachan and Gary McAllister. Though at his best in midfield, he was a jack of all trades, manager Howard Wilkinson playing him all over the pitch, which he'd do without complaint. A manager's dream - he was just glad to be out there.
The Leeds team won the last First Division title before the start of the Premiership. He was still only 23 at the time. Always a superb athlete who barely seemed to physically change across his 22-year-long career, even in his late thirties he looked pretty much as he had done when winning the title with Leeds. He was a great example of an athlete who looked after himself and got every last drop out of his playing career.
After leaving Leeds, having played over 250 games, he seemed to have two more careers. There were a couple of good seasons at Everton and then another 200-plus games for Newcastle United. But still he wasn't done, later playing a crucial role in the Bolton revival under Sam Allardyce. Self-evidently, he was a consistently top-drawer player.
A regular in the TV studios because he was bright, articulate and knowledgeable, he was seemingly unaffected by the extraordinary football world he found himself in. It was no surprise that he became Wales' manager nor that they had begun to flourish under his guidance. And it was no surprise because I think we all assumed he was just very good.
What happened on Sunday to change all this, we will probably never know, nor is it any of our business to know.
The fact that all his contemporaries, friends and work colleagues speak of him in such glowing terms and that those who had spoken to him a few hours before his death said he was laughing and joking with them, makes it very hard to understand.
But the human mind is a complex thing. As anyone who has had or who has lived with people who have suffered from depression or other issues of the mind knows, it is not always visible to the outside world. It can be the most private and closeted of disorders; a privacy that makes it an even more unbearable secret to confess.
But let's remember him for his art as a proper footballer, as hard-working, dedicated and an example to every subsequent generation. The fact that fans for every club he played for speak of him in glowing terms is a great tribute in itself. Not many footballers are universally liked.
Of course, we never thought we'd be without him in our football lives. He was always a welcome part of the fixtures and fittings. Always on the pitch, on TV, in the studio or pitchside. It is hard to imagine our football world without such a decent lad. It is simply an unbearably sad day. May he rest in peace.
Wales manager Gary Speed was found dead at his family home in Chester on Sunday morning.
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the 42-year-old former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United midfielder.
Speed, who was awarded the MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to football, leaves a wife and two children.
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said: "At 7.08am today, Cheshire Police was informed of a sudden death at an address in Huntington, Chester.
"Officers went to the scene where a 42-year-old man was found dead. The next of kin have been informed and have confirmed the identity of the man as Gary Speed.
"There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. The family have requested that they are left in peace to grieve at this difficult time. A family tribute will be released at a later date but not today."
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) earlier broke the news in a statement.
"The Football Association of Wales are sad to announce the death of the national team manager Gary Speed," read an FAW statement.
"We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family."
The Football Associations of England and Wales also paid their own tributes to Speed, whose death was announced shortly before Swansea's Barclays Premier League clash with Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium this afternoon.
With a number of players from both sides closely connected to Speed, there was speculation the match might be called off - but in the event it went ahead as planned.
A minute's silence was announced as two sides lined up on the field, which quickly gave way to a spontaneous round of applause and chants of "there's only one Gary Speed" inside the Liberty Stadium.
Four members of the national squad were set to feature in the starting line-ups, with Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor and Joe Allen named in Brendan Rodgers' Swansea side, while James Collins started for the visitors.
Villa manager Alex McLeish said that he would have had no complaints if the match had been called off, with members of his squad among the hardest hit by the news.
"There's three of them - James Collins is a Wales international, Shay Given is very close to Gary, and Jermaine Jenas played with Gary for a while at Newcastle, so these boys are very upset about this," McLeish told Sky Sports.
"We would have fully understood if Swansea had wanted to call the game off, absolutely. We'd have backed that if they wanted it off, but I think the proximity of it - TV cameras, policing, all that stuff - makes it difficult. That's what I'm hearing anyway."
Speed had been in charge of Wales since December 2010, and had recently presided over a run of four wins in five internationals to climb to 50th in the world rankings.
He made his international debut in 1990 and went on to win 85 caps for his country - a record for an outfield player. He was captain of the national side prior to his international retirement in 2004.
Robbie Savage, who played alongside Speed for Wales, said on his Twitter account: "The world has lost a great man in Gary Speed. I'm devastated spoke to him yesterday morning why! Why. Why.
"He come to watch strictly 3/4 weeks ago. I high fived him in the front row he loved the show, he loved life he loved his family. Devastated.
"He was upbeat on phone yesterday we were laughing together, talking football and dancing. He was a great teammate and a great friend RIP."
Speed's greatest moment at club level came in 1992 when he won the championship with Leeds, while he was twice an FA Cup runner-up with Newcastle.
Speed enjoyed a 22-year professional career which saw him make nearly 700 league appearances. He also held the record of most Premier League appearances with 535 until 2009 when goalkeeper David James overtook him.
He retired from playing in 2010 before embarking on his first managerial role with Sheffield United.
Former Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson, who managed the 1992 title-winning side, hailed Speed as a "star in the true sense".
Wilkinson told Five Live: "The players I worked with represented all colours of the rainbow in terms of character but in Gary's case he was a star in the true sense. For him - at 42 - to leave us is such a tragic loss.
"He had a life of success to look forward to I'm sure.
"It's unbelievable, I'm still struggling to get my head around it. I've known Gary since 1988 when I joined Leeds and I've rarely come across a better balanced, lovely, genuine person."
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the 42-year-old former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United midfielder.
Speed, who was awarded the MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to football, leaves a wife and two children.
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said: "At 7.08am today, Cheshire Police was informed of a sudden death at an address in Huntington, Chester.
"Officers went to the scene where a 42-year-old man was found dead. The next of kin have been informed and have confirmed the identity of the man as Gary Speed.
"There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. The family have requested that they are left in peace to grieve at this difficult time. A family tribute will be released at a later date but not today."
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) earlier broke the news in a statement.
"The Football Association of Wales are sad to announce the death of the national team manager Gary Speed," read an FAW statement.
"We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family."
The Football Associations of England and Wales also paid their own tributes to Speed, whose death was announced shortly before Swansea's Barclays Premier League clash with Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium this afternoon.
With a number of players from both sides closely connected to Speed, there was speculation the match might be called off - but in the event it went ahead as planned.
A minute's silence was announced as two sides lined up on the field, which quickly gave way to a spontaneous round of applause and chants of "there's only one Gary Speed" inside the Liberty Stadium.
Four members of the national squad were set to feature in the starting line-ups, with Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor and Joe Allen named in Brendan Rodgers' Swansea side, while James Collins started for the visitors.
Villa manager Alex McLeish said that he would have had no complaints if the match had been called off, with members of his squad among the hardest hit by the news.
"There's three of them - James Collins is a Wales international, Shay Given is very close to Gary, and Jermaine Jenas played with Gary for a while at Newcastle, so these boys are very upset about this," McLeish told Sky Sports.
"We would have fully understood if Swansea had wanted to call the game off, absolutely. We'd have backed that if they wanted it off, but I think the proximity of it - TV cameras, policing, all that stuff - makes it difficult. That's what I'm hearing anyway."
Speed had been in charge of Wales since December 2010, and had recently presided over a run of four wins in five internationals to climb to 50th in the world rankings.
He made his international debut in 1990 and went on to win 85 caps for his country - a record for an outfield player. He was captain of the national side prior to his international retirement in 2004.
Robbie Savage, who played alongside Speed for Wales, said on his Twitter account: "The world has lost a great man in Gary Speed. I'm devastated spoke to him yesterday morning why! Why. Why.
"He come to watch strictly 3/4 weeks ago. I high fived him in the front row he loved the show, he loved life he loved his family. Devastated.
"He was upbeat on phone yesterday we were laughing together, talking football and dancing. He was a great teammate and a great friend RIP."
Speed's greatest moment at club level came in 1992 when he won the championship with Leeds, while he was twice an FA Cup runner-up with Newcastle.
Speed enjoyed a 22-year professional career which saw him make nearly 700 league appearances. He also held the record of most Premier League appearances with 535 until 2009 when goalkeeper David James overtook him.
He retired from playing in 2010 before embarking on his first managerial role with Sheffield United.
Former Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson, who managed the 1992 title-winning side, hailed Speed as a "star in the true sense".
Wilkinson told Five Live: "The players I worked with represented all colours of the rainbow in terms of character but in Gary's case he was a star in the true sense. For him - at 42 - to leave us is such a tragic loss.
"He had a life of success to look forward to I'm sure.
"It's unbelievable, I'm still struggling to get my head around it. I've known Gary since 1988 when I joined Leeds and I've rarely come across a better balanced, lovely, genuine person."
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