There's only one Gary Speed...

I still find it easier to play in real life than actually control a team on a television screen, helped by video game machines which can generate images sharper than your eyes. Therefore, my Harley Davidson poster in the room became the goal, my notebook became the automatically generated statistics table you have on the FIFA franchise and I became all the players in every team. With Christmas vacations looming and Newcastle United doing really well in my pretend league, it was unlucky to hurt my right toe, putting an upcoming fixture at risk. That is when I became Gary Speed in my make believe world, playing in my mind the commentator screaming, “Speeeeeeeeeeeed!” every time I managed hitting the ball with my left foot, not knowing I would eventually end up playing with it permanently. [caption id=“attachment_142544” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Gary Speed played under Sir Bobby Robson during his time at Newcastle United. Reuters”]  [/caption] Today, Gary Speed has left the world, leaving behind a Welsh legacy which can only be matched by Ryan Giggs. He was an integral part of every Premier League week for anyone who followed it between 1998 and 2005, racking up more than 700 appearances in club football. When I realized I was going to cover Sheffield United games as a student reporter, it struck me that the most important part of being there would be meeting face to face with Speed. He was their manager and I would have the chance of speaking with a true great and a man whose career I had followed since childhood. Never has he made me feel small in a way when I finally mustered up the courage to ask him a question at the post-match press conference. That was the type of manager he was – bubbling with energy on the touchline, making his presence felt in any room he walked into and answering tough questions with a natural confidence. It was never a surprise later that the Welsh Football Association offered him the job as national manager and of course Sheffield United fans would question whether they would have been relegated to the third division if he was still in charge. As a player, Speed was a permanent fixture at whichever club he plied his trade for. A versatile left-sided player, he had a reputation of always being fit and rarely missed a game even at the age of 40. To be an outfield player and play for so long is a magnificent achievement in its own. I remember how Alan Shearer would depend on the man for most of his goals and they had a lethal combination when the Magpies were at their best. He tasted Champions League football with Newcastle and was twice on the losing side of the FA Cup final. But probably his best footballing days were when Leeds United pipped Manchester United to win the 1992 league title on the final day of the season, with Speed an important cog on Leeds’ team-sheet. Gary Speed had nothing to lose - he made a terrific start to his Wales managerial career honing a nucleus of young players like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey to take the nation from a low 117th to 45th on the FIFA ranking table. All this makes his suicide even more mysterious. He had the privilege of playing and managing sides he loved. An Everton fan, he enjoyed a couple of good seasons with them and even as a Welsh international, made 85 appearances which is a record for any Welsh outfield player. It is clear how popular he was in football circles from the pouring tributes. Robbie Savage, a hard hitting midfielder himself broke down in tears while the BBC was interviewing him. He said, “I was speaking to him on the phone yesterday and we were laughing and joking. I’m just shocked.” Shay Given, who was goalkeeper at Newcastle United during the time Speed played for them could not control his emotions while playing yesterday’s game for Aston Villa and Craig Bellamy was pulled out at the last moment from playing against Manchester City for Liverpool. Probably he was not the star attraction of a side, but he knew what he did best and that was football. Gary Speed will live long in the hearts of fans, evident at the number of wet cheeks during yesterday’s Premier League action. For me, I just tell myself I was lucky enough to meet him so many times. Rest in peace.