Gary Speed

[NickSTFU]

Gary Speed

A player I always admired and liked watching.

[Bored Of Education]

Gary Speed

Apologies. I said I wasn't going to speculate and that is exactly what I did do.

[anton pulisov]

Gary Speed

longeared wrote:

Hope the Mail doesn't write some horrific "how can footballers be depressed on all that money" article this week.

I was just thinking, he played for as long as humanly possible. Maybe he just never wanted to stop.

It is a harsh reality for pro-footballers. Football is at the centre of their life from childhood and by their early teens they are probably in some academy and aiming for a future in football. Gary Speed was probably training and playing matches for 25+ years, and suddenly he had to stop. And he was almost never injured, so had never really experienced not playing.

In any other career at the age of 40 you'd still consider yourself in mid-career, with more accomplishments to come. In football at 35 you are past it and suddenly you become permanently unemployed with absolutely no prospect of ever playing professional football again. Sure, you have more than enough money to live on, but no livelihood. It must be a strange new world for them.

Maybe there is more sense in the American system, where NBA/NFL players come through the college system before they become pros. At least then there is the opportunity to do some classes and learn some other skills.

Still can't believe this. Looking at his goals on YouTube. Always arrived on the edge of the box unmarked and slotted the ball away calmly. Sign of a clever player.

[Ray de Galles]

Gary Speed

There aren't really the words. I am in complete shock, literally felling sick.

I'm amazed the Welsh internationals in the Swansea v Villa game have been able to turn out, fair play to them.

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

Gary Speed

David Pleat is a fucking idiot. I can't believe what he's just said about Bobby Gould on seeing him looking fairly understandably unhappy in the crowd at Swansea just now.

[Paul S]

Gary Speed

Bryaniesta has a good point there about footballers losing the centre of their life when they retire. Some players just can't cope - John Burridge became suicidal and ended up being sectioned. I really don't know what we can do about it. I suppose for some players they will have made their millions by the time they retire and they don't have to work any more - but many more do.

John Burridge talks of being suicidal

[Hofzinser]

Gary Speed

What did Pleat say?

[wingco]

Gary Speed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15910765.stm

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

Gary Speed

Hofzinser wrote:

What did Pleat say?

Just before half time there was a shot of Gould sat in the stands and Pleat said something about him looking 'sullen, for some reason' and he's always good for a joke or two and how he (Pleat) will have to cheer him up after the game.

I hope the kerb crawler does approach Gould, tries to 'cheer him up' and gets a well-deserved smack for his efforts.

[Come along, Min]

Gary Speed

I like the tribute at Swansea, I like the way minute silences are going truth be told.

You can either be silent, or join in with a more celebratory clap, or even in this case, a chant.

No set rules that can be easily broken by those who may want to do so, or by those who cant help themselves.

[George]

Gary Speed

Pleat can be a verbally awkward man at times. I doubt he realised what he was saying until it came out of his mouth, and he probably feels a right twat now for it.

[museday]

Gary Speed

atlanticjaxx wrote:

I like the tribute at Swansea, I like the way minute silences are going truth be told.

You can either be silent, or join in with a more celebratory clap, or even in this case, a chant.

No set rules that can be easily broken by those who may want to do so, or by those who cant help themselves.

It was a very touching tribute.

Gary was a great player and a promising manager. RIP

[Paul S]

Gary Speed

That minutes silence at Swansea is on the BBC website. It's quite a choker actually.

Gary Speed minutes silence

[Eggchaser]

Gary Speed

Turned on the radio coming back from Sainsbury's at about 12.15 and heard them talking about "Gary" having died and referring to Leeds. I couldn't initially work out if it was McAllister or Speed, I remember thinking that I'd seen the former yesterday on Football Focus and he seemed well enough if a bit doughy. Then they brought on the Welsh players etc. and I realised it was Speed and I wondered what on earth was going on for all the reasons about his fitness etc going on. The fact that he killed himself is terrible and it makes you wonder what was going on under the surface because from what I little I had seen of him of late and from what they were saying on Radio 5 there had been a Leeds League winners' reunion the other day and he'd been in fine form. Howard Wilkinson in particular sounded absolutely devastated.

[ursus arctos]

Gary Speed

A remarkably sensitive and essential piece from our own My Name is Ian.

[Jorge Porbillas]

Gary Speed

I'm finding it difficult to understand what on earth has happened this morning. When a friend rang me to ask if "the news" was true I thought he was taking the piss.

I've had the good fortune to get to know Gary over the last year thanks to my work. I wouldn't go so far as to call him a friend but I honestly feel like I've lost somebody I know really, really well.

He was always happy to stop to chat and share a joke - one to one interviews with him were a joy as he always had time to chat and you were always felt comfortable in his presence - not something that happens a lot these days.

I'm struggling to take it all in really.

[jeanmid]

Gary Speed

I'm deeply saddened at the news I saw him on football focus yesterday and a couple of weeks ago on itv 4 saw robbie savage and he was just devasated

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Gary Speed

This is very weird. A leeds player popular amongst man utd fans, a newcastle player popular amongst sunderland fans, an everton player, that liverpool fans would have had a lot of time for.

After only a couple of months in charge of wales, he was An international coach who divided opinion amongst his fellow countrymen into four factions. Those that thought he was the best looking international manager, those that thought he was the nicest international manager, those that thought he was the best international manager, and the group who thought he was a combination of all three.

I suppose the only real puzzle is that if general widespread popularity, admiration and success, can't shield you from something like this, how come that this isn't so much more common, given the enormous pressures of the footballers life.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Gary Speed

Hope the Mail doesn't write some horrific "how can footballers be depressed on all that money" article this week.

To pre-empt Littlejohn, the mistake we all make, I suppose, on hearing news like this, is assuming that someone's professional life is their be-all and end-all, just because that's all we know about them. Ridiculous, obviously, everyone has a private life, a family life, their own hopes, dreams and aspirations, that we don't know a damned thing about.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Gary Speed

I can still remember him turning up for training with the Connah's Quay Nomads youth team, even though he was spending nearly all of his time with Leeds - he was always keen to play football and share his knowledge with other players. Gary was a very quiet and unassuming person, this news doesn't seem real.

[Sixmartletsandaseagull]

Gary Speed

Just too sad.

[Sean of the Shed]

Gary Speed

Awfully sad. It particularly resonated with me as my father took his own life at a similar age, however that is where the similarities seem to end. Having listened to Dan Walker talk on the radio today, Speed seemed to have been totally content with his life, apparently talking about his children's football, upcoming plans and general smalltalk with former colleagues. Add to this the recent progress he was making in his career and this wouldn't seem to be the behaviour one would expect of a depressive, unless they were supremely adept at masking it, or there had been a trigger to have changed his outlook.
Hell, I'm no expert, I'm just trying to base it on my own experience. Although I didn't realise at the time, my father lost interest in pretty much everything apart from the alcohol that drove his depression, and was not motivated by anything. Speed's outlook seemed to be entirely opposite, but who knows. I just hope his family can pick up the pieces and learn to cope with his painful decision and not blame themselves for his death. They have a lot of soul-searching and difficult days ahead.

[Satchmo Distel]

Gary Speed

My full sympathy goes out to everyone touched by this.

In answer to "how come that this isn't so much more common", I would make an educated guess that there are a lot of near misses that we never hear about. For every person who commits suicide, there are dozens who contemplate it.

I also feel it's a waste of time trying to find a rational reason why someone killed themselves. Depression, panic attacks and self-harm are not rational. We should view them in the same ways as any other sudden fatal illness. This one just happens to attack the brain, not the heart or lungs.

[Fausto]

Gary Speed

I was at the Swansea match today and I'm pretty sure that the clapping started at the Villa end, then most joined in. I found out on the way to the ground and I felt numb. I've watched Speed play many times for Wales since his debut in 1990. He always turned up for Wales and missed very little due to injury.
Kevin Johns who is the onfield announcer and local hero at the Liberty is also a lay preacher and clearly struggled to get through the announcement. It was a very sombre and bleak afternoon, despite the brilliant autumnal sunshine.
A very sad and cheerless day.

[Diable Rouge]

Gary Speed

Only heard the news half an hour ago and totally shocked, my deepest sympathies to all our Welsh posters. He was doing such an excellent job with the national team that this seems barely credible, you just never know what is happening in an individual's personal life.