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| Gary Speed (1969-2011) |
There
is one song which has continuously echoed my mind this year. It came the day
Amy Winehouse died earlier this year of alcohol poisoning. It came the day Seve
Ballesteros passed away through cancer. Again yesterday, this very song returns
to my mind when I heard the tragic news of Wales’s national football manager
Gary Speed was found hanged in his Cheshire home.
For
those who like I, I’m a keen user of social networking sites Facebook and
Twitter and I have read tonnes of tributes of Speed. He wore the shirts of
sides Leeds United, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield United and Newcastle
United with passion. He represented Wales 85 times and every match he played,
he sang the national anthem with pride. Hands down, he was an overall talent on
the field.
He
wasn’t just a great player, but a promising manager. He took over as boss of
Sheffield United in 2010 and his hard work at the club paid off with interest
from the Wales national side. He took the job with no hesitation and during his
ten match reign, he won five matches guiding the side from 117th to
the top fifty according to Fifa World Rankings in a matter of months. He was
tipped as the next manager who would send the proud nation to World Cup 2014 in
Brazil.
The
day before he died, he was in high spirits. He was a guest at popular Saturday
afternoon football show, “Football Focus” presented by Dan Walker. On Walker’s blog
post he wrote, “Off air we talked about playing golf, how good his boys were at
football and his dreams of taking Wales to the World Cup in 2014”. It was clear
Speed had a clear vision for years to come. Friend of Speed and former footballer
Robbie Savage said in an emotional
interview with the BBC, “I spoke to him yesterday and he was in high
spirits. I just can’t believe it. He was my mate and he’s gone.”
I
have to say myself; yesterday was one of the longest Sundays I’ve ever had in a
long time. As a fellow Welshman, I followed his time as Welsh manager very
closely and after a doubtful start, his side beat Bulgaria, Switzerland and
Norway and like a lot of others, I was hopeful of Wales’s chances of doing
great things in the near future. No doubt his loss would make the Welsh team
stronger and each game, win, draw or defeat, each and every single one of those
players would be thinking of the legacy Speed was about to lead.
The
way he passed away was most unexpected. I’m sure I can speak for everyone by
thinking that Speed committing suicide was the last thing in our minds. I’m
sure more revelations will come out regarding an illness he may have had
because never can a man who wanted to be a protagonist to Wales’s success in
the long term, in a matter of hours would take his own life. It is simply
unimaginable. This news ties in perfectly with Stan Collymore, another former football
player who announced on Saturday he
suffers from depression and said in his blog post he has not felt suicidal
as of yet. Speed’s situation is completely different and will probably remain a
mystery. I hope Collymore doesn’t go through that route as he was a superb
professional when he played for sides such as Liverpool, Aston Villa and
Leicester City. Stay strong.
My
heartfelt condolences go to everyone who knew Speed, considered him as a friend
and especially his wife and two sons – they must feel absolutely devastated and
I offer my dearest sympathy. As the Billy Joel song goes “Only the good die
young” and boy isn’t he right.
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