Gary Speed: The Gentleman of Football

Today (Sunday 27 November 2011) is a sad day for the footballing world. The day we lost a footballing great. A genuine, lovely man who should be remembered for his achievements in life, and in football.



Gary Speed, manager of the Wales national team, has died at the age of 42. He was found at his home in Huntingdon, Chester by Cheshire Police at 0708 GMT. Above, is his last televised appearance on Football Focus alongside the BBC's Dan Walker and former footballer Gary McAllister, just hours before his death.

But, in this blog, I do not want to write about how Gary Speed was last remembered for. This blog is a look into what the man was, who he was, and how gracious a human being he was. I strongly believe that it is important to remember the value of Gary Speed, and what a remarkable human being he was.

In 1988, Speed made his debut for Leeds United, aged 19, and in a career lasting 8 years at Elland Road,he made 312 appearances as well as winning the First Division in 1992. His career then see him move to Everton in 1996, and in 1998 he joined Newcastle United where he became a fan's favourite, and reaching two different FA Cup finals with the Magpies. Six years later he joined Bolton for £750k and became the first ever player to reach 500 Premier League appearances in 2006. A year later, he was given a player-coaching role at Bolton where he also became the first player to score in every Premier League season since its inception. He became manager of Sheffield United after retiring as a player at Brammall Lane, but was still named as a substitute for a League Cup game against Hartlepool a year after retiring as a player (when he was 41).

Speed was appointed manager of Wales in December 2010, succeeding John Toshack. Despite a difficult start as Wales boss, he achieved five victories in his first ten matches as manager of Wales, with his last win coming in November 2011 against Norway, in a 4-1 win. Speed was in charge of Wales for less than a year, but his revolution as boss was shown within his players. Huge support from former international Ryan Giggs, Robbie Savage and Mark Hughes gave Speed the motivation to achieve something great at Wales, and in his short space of time, he did. He installed a confidence, and a passion, something which has been absent in the Welsh national team for a long time. He handed the captain's armband to young Aaron Ramsey, a player exactly in the mould of Speed when he was a player. He gave back confidence to Welsh servant Craig Bellamy and realised the importance of players like James Collins and Gareth Bale, as well as introducing younger players to his squad. Gary Speed, muchlike his managerial skills, was a wonderful, bright and focused human being.

Tributes for Gary Speed have been flooding social networking websites since the news became public. Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain Ramsey tweeted: "I was given the tragic news this morning. To say I am devastated is an understatement"

Dan Walker, presenter of Football Focus when Speed made his appearance on November 26 2011, put on Twitter: "Staggered by the news of Gary Speed's death. Was with him for much of yesterday (Saturday). I genuinely cannot believe it. Thoughts with his family."

Many more tributes have been pouring in to remember Gary Speed.

My greatest memory of Gary Speed were his bullet headers from corners, or his sweet left foot. So many goals and perfect passes were made from his left boot, and I admired how important he was for clubs like Newcastle and Bolton. He was a fighter in the midfield, he battled for the ball all the time and was an inspirational leader both on and off the field of play.
I said it is vital we remember Gary Speed as an instrumental footballer and an apolcalyptic man. He will always be one of the footballing greats.



It's been a first for me today. The first time I've ever written a blog post with a tear in my eye. But, despite my young age, I grew up hearing about Gary Speed, and seeing this midfielder win games for his teams. He was my era, and any loss to the sport I love is a tragic one. The game has lost too many young names in such a short space of time. Phil O'Donnell, Antonio Puerta, Daniel Jarque to name a few.

As I watched the news come in today, my first reaction was one of shock. A reaction that I would have never expected to encounter today. We had lost a terrific person. It took me longer and longer to come to terms with this horrific news. It's rare that I show any physical emotion through tears, but whilst watching this footage of the one-minute silence before the Swansea vs Aston Villa game today, I could not help but feel that Gary Speed has been an incredible character in many people's lives. All you hear at first is one supporter clapping, which slowly turns into a stadium filled with supporters clapping. The mutual respect for Speed was outstanding, and proven by this applause. He was a man who deserved applause. He was a man who deserved our respect. He was a man who deserves our appreciation for his outstanding 22-year playing career in football, and for just who he was.
Thank you Gary Speed. Thank you, and may you rest peacefully.

Gareth's only gone and Bale'd himself out of trouble

Talk about your ultimate turnarounds. Just a year and a half ago Gareth Bale couldn't get a win for Tottenham when he started, probably starting more times than Wayne Rooney scoring for Manchester United. Now the 21-year-old has become one of the Premier League's most dangerous left-sided players, and more importantly, Tottenham Hotspur's most prized asset.

Bale's displays in the past year have made in somewhate of a hit in England and across Europe. He's become so popular that a long list of clubs have been eyeing the Welshman as a transfer target in January. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United, Napoli, Bayern Munich are all just a number of clubs who have been vying for his signature.

Just at the start of last season, Tottenham couldn't buy a win whenever Bale was in the starting line-up. He went a record 24 matches without a competitive win for Spurs when he started. You'd expect that from a side who play a different team, but everytime Bale played, they just could not win. That record was finally ended in late September 2009 when Spurs beat Burnley, this being two years after Bale signed for the North London side from Southampton. Bale missed the first few weeks of this season because of injury and endured a torrid time of "bench warming" when Benoit Assou Ekotto was enjoying a fantastic spell as Tottenham's first choice left-back.

In April this year, Bale starred in Tottenham's biggest clashes of the year, beating Arsenal, a game in which he scored, then just three days later scoring again to earn his side victory over my beloved Chelsea in a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane. His performance against the Blues earned him Man of the Match and impressive displays against Fulham in both the league and cup earned him Barclay's Premier League Player of the Month award.

This domestic season has seen Bale start where he left off. Two goals away to Stoke, including a cracking volley gave his side 3 points in a 2-1 win, and then 4 days later he created all four of Tottenham's goals in their 4-0 Champions League Qualifying Round match against Youngs Boys to put them through to the competition group stages.

Bale scored his first Champions' League goal in their 4-1 home win to FC Twente and in the same week he was named Welsh Footballer of the Year. However, what was to happen next would never be seen at all. Regardless of how well he's been playing, Bale, in my opinion thrives as an attacking left-sided player rather than a defender. He's good at left-back but is on numerous times caught out of position, and I feel having someone like assou-Ekotto behind him gives Bale the freedom to run forward then track back to help his defence when under pressure. Having the knowledge of two different positions gives the 21-year-old a maturity, a reponsibility and a knowledge of how to play the game.

This month is probably Bale's most recognisable. Julio Cesar is a superb keeper. He was officially named European goalkeeper of the Year thanks to his heroics in Inter's Champions' League winning season last year under the charismatic José Mourinho. It is very rare Cesar concedes 3 goals in one match, and when it does happen it is usually something special. So imagine this. Inter Milan are 4-0 up at half-time, at home, to a 10-man Tottenham Hotspur after keeper Heurelho Gomes was sent off after just 8 minutes of play.

I was at the university when this match was taking place. I was now expecting a drubbing and constantly texting my best mate Liam (a Spurs fan) about the potential thrashing his side were about to endure. Just 45 minutes later, Inter had failed to score and Gareth Bale had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and scored his first ever competitive hat-trick, two of these goals coming in the final minutes of the match.

The result was still a disappointment for Spurs, but even as a Chelsea supporter, I was full of admiration for the Welsh youngster. His recent performances in a Spurs shirt have given him well-deserved praise and respect. Even as a neutral though, and as much as I'd like to have a player of his potential at a club like Chelsea, the best thing for Gareth Bale is to resist temptation of a huge club and stay put with Spurs.

The fans love him, and he loves the club. He is only 21, and has years ahead of him to improve his game, score more goals and become known as the world's best left winger. In my opinion, a move now may well damage his career, and destroy all the work he has put in into becoming the player we all know him to be.