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Gary Speed
Posted by Tom on 27 November 2011 - 1:41pm.
Passed away this morning. Remember him this way:
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Shocked
What a sad waste.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8918628/Wales-boss-Gary-Speed-found-dead...
Sorry to read that
Completely unexpected, he was a young man. Hell of a player.
Absolutely tragic
He was doing so well. There was real belief that the Welsh team had turned a corner.
Very, very sad.
Terrible news
A proper football man.
Heart goes out to his family. Only 42 - Jesus.
What a terrible shame
And completely out of the blue.
the speaker asked for a minutes silence
before the Swansea game and they started clapping and chanting "there's only one Gary Speed". Is it just me who thinks that's wrong?
No, because: -
a) It's a spontaneous show of affection for the man, and
b) It drowns out any idiot hecklers.
fair enough
but I think everyone is genuinely shocked and saddened, I doubt there would have been hecklers. I think there would have been a minute of absolute silence from 30000 odd people which is more powerful than a round of applause, to me at least.
You're right, but unfortunately...
...most minute's silences I've seen at football grounds have begun with isolated pockets of laughter (or worse) from f*ckwits who don't know when to shut up, shortly followed by massed shushing.
Not in my experience
As someone who goes to a lot of live football I have to say my experience has been the complete opposite. Over the years I've experienced a lot of minute's silences at games and am struggling to think of one that hasn't been respectfully observed. On the whole I think they are treated with respect.
Very, very sad news today.
I think a minute's applause
is okay if you're celebrating the full life of someone who passed away in their dotage. It seems wrong to me on very sad days like this.
The trouble is that the minute's silence has been devalued by its frequency in recent years. It used to be quite a rarity.
I thought it was
genuinely spontaneous and quite touching.
Very sad
A German referee attempted suicide last week just before a game. The Fiver (I think) ran a piece on the hidden problem of depression in sport.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/bundesliga-referee-...
Yes
Plus Robert Enke's sad death a year ago.
A rather pertinent piece from Stan Collymore on the subject.
Yes, a well-written
piece from Collymore. I would imagine depression is actually quite common in professional football. There must be a crushing low period after the intense high of matchdays. Of course, into that void often comes booze, gambling and the rest.
Genuinely shocked about Gary Speed's death. Just goes to show that outward appearance can be so deceptive.
A sad day for the mans family and friends
and for all fans of Welsh football.
Sad News
R.I.P.
A fantastic and
dynamic midfield player at his best and he always seemed like a real nice guy. This is hard to understand and quite shocking. He was much loved at Leeds United and think he was respected and admired by fans of all the clubs he played for, not a bad epitaph.
It seems
respected and admired by fans of clubs he played against, as well.
In fact, anyone he came into contact with.
Absolutely shocking.
Gary played in the same boy's football team as our kid when he was 10/11. Even then, he was the kid that was going places. We followed his career with interest and were delighted when he signed for Everton, his boyhood club. Reading the various tributes on the fan websites this afternoon, I was staggered to find he only played 60-odd times for us - I would have sworn it was much, much more given the impact he seemed to have at the time.
He left Everton under mysterious circumstances that have never been fully explained, and he took a lot of (undeserved) stick from a section of the crowd ever after. Despite this, he never had a bad word to say about the club and he never broke any confidences about the circumstances of his departure, probably to his own detriment.
Who knows what was happening in this young man's life, or inside his head, that could cause him to take such terrible action? He seemed one of our finest young sportsmen - bright, articulate, and with a growing reputation as a skillful and intelligent manager.
I would have loved to have seen him back at Goodison, when we eventually lose the services of David Moyes. Now, sadly, that can never be.
God bless, Gary. I hope you found peace.
Speed & EFC
"He left Everton under mysterious circumstances that have never been fully explained"
Maybe this from today's Guardian sheds a little light on his departure:
Anyone with access to Wikipedia can work out who that manager must have been...
That's one version
There are others - but the common thread is the manager at the time and his fondness for a drink.
Which is another extremely sad story in its own right.
Indeed
it is.
tragic
This news came as a real shock. I am not Welsh, nor do I support any of the clubs Gary Speed played for, but he always seemed a gifted and decent individual. He was getting so much out of the Welsh team that there was a real hope that they would qualify for the next World Cup.
It does illustrate the unseen damage that depression causes. I saw him on television very recently and I could never have imagined the suffering that caused to take this drastic action. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
Never saw that coming, was
Never saw that coming, was it definitely depression? I feel so sorry for his family.
unbelievable
and deeply sad.
A weird and unhappy synchronicity in that I received the news earlier this week that a friend of mine frrom university days had also taken his own life. On the face of it, he was a successful, easy going character. So, of the darkness that lives in some, what can you know or say or, most affecting of all, do?
As for Gary Speed, he was admired by all he played for, with and against. I remember, a pub debate some years ago when I cited Speed as exactly the sort of player that my team Spurs should have pursued. A consummate professional, talented and combative, a natural team leader. His progression into management seemed natural, even ordained and at the helm of a Wales team showing real promise.
Now he's gone. At 42. 42 - So, not the answer to life, the universe and everything on this occasion.
Gary Speed
was a quarter of my favourite midfield of all time. I still can't quite believe what has happened. I cannot think of a footballer who combined skill, passion, will to win, work rate, intelligence and a dedication to his profession better than Gary Speed. He played for several clubs who all think of him as their own. Because he was that kind of player. His death is a dreadful shame.
I loved his heading ability above all else of his game. I don't think I've seen better and I doubt I ever will.
My thoughts go out to his family, especially his wife and children. It's a very sad end and I hope some good can come of his death in the way depression is considered and treated.
Something I don't understand.
Can depressive illness profound enough to compel a man to take his own life be covered up by a smile and a cheery wave?
There seems to be nothing from any of his friends saying "We know Gary had struggled a bit but we all thought he was on the mend.." Everyone is stunned and uncomprehending.
A very sad loss.
I believe it's common,
counter-intuitively, for people to brighten in the period preceding suicide. When they're really low, they can't do anything, far less come up with the resolve and, presumably, the level of planning required to carry out such an act. It's only when they're in an 'up' state that, tragically, they have the requisite energy.
This is all assuming that Speed was a manic depressive, which seems to be pure speculation.
Robert Enke
Like most of us, I have no idea of the situation, and this is speculation.
However, the abiding thing with the Robert Enke story – which prompted a lot of soul-searching in Germany – was that he had developed a public (and private) persona that completely masked the extent of his inner turmoil; so much so that even his wife didn't realise how bad things were.
This could open a can of worms
And (for the purposes of this post, let's assume that 'depression' is the correct diagnosis):
In my experience, yes. I found that I could function very well in some public scenario that was no reflection of my actual emotional state. Call it a bad manifestation of the 'stiff upper lip' syndrome. Get home, be by myself, and there was a marked change.
At some stage, I think that the contemplation of suicide becomes a rational process - or at least, it feels like one. The only problem is that your rational process is superseded by your psychological state in a way that you may not be aware of. I have a friend who went through that exact equation - still with us, but went through that exact process. Smart enough to speak to people about the thought process and get help.
As always with psychological issues, it isn't one size fits all, and OOAA
Very sad news
As a Leeds fan, he'll always be held in high esteem, not least for his part in the title winning midfield.
Terrible loss. Just hope the press don't start the usual speculative onslaught as to what drove him to this point.
Too late, I fear
"Just hope the press don't start the usual speculative onslaught as to what drove him to this point"
Unfortunately, I think you are 24 hours too late on that one. No-one knows what happened yet although there is now at least 1,000,000 words written on "his depression".
Having said that, I was genuinely upset at the news. One of those time when one's stomach lurches and you think it must be a mistake at first.
RIP.
Speculation...
unfortunately it's inevitable in such a case that there will be speculation and gossip. So many questions left unanswered and it's horrible to think what the family are going through, more so if they have no genuine knowledge of the circumstances that drove him to suicide. Was he depressed? Where there any other situations that drove him to take his own life? Speculation is bound to arise, it will be natural for the majority of people, who have not suffered from or dealt with depression, to possibly understand how he could take his own life. Talented, admired, good looking, wealthy, successful, family man, admired by fans and colleagues, one of football's too few good guys - on the surface it is a situation that a lot of people would aspire to. It's almost a case of "well if he's not happy with all that what can you do? There must be something else, he can't have been depressed with all that?" Unfortunately, you can be depressed with all that, and the sooner people accept that then the speculation will not go away.
Really sad news indeed...
Adam Ant's autobiography (seriously now...) is worth a read as he is brutally honest about his depression and mental troubles - despite his huge level of fame and success in his hey-day. It's nice to see him back on the road again.
Sad but true.
Seems there’s something underlying in all us humans that means we’ll want to know what has gone on. I suppose it comes back to very contemporary things that are going on at the moment with the press inquiry.
There will be a massive appetite to find out what drove him to this and the papers/websites know that better than most.
I remember reading the press coverage around a former Radio 1 DJ who died a few years ago in unusual circumstances and as it was reported in the press you really had to feel for his parents/family/friends etc.
Great player
Liverpool fan so gary speed never played for my team, in fact was extremely good for everton, but what a player.
Would have loved him in a red shirt and seemed a genuine decent man. RIP
My thoughts exactly
He was brilliant for anyone he played for- Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton, Sheffield Utd. I'm still genuinely gutted to know he's gone, because I feel like I grew up with him, having spent so many years watching him on MOTD and Sky.
Very sad
and shocking news, I just feel so desperately sad for his family. If (big if) depression is the cause I hope this dreadful disease is given some much needed support. For those interested you should read Marcus Trescothicks frighteningly honest book for a real insight into the suffering this can cause.