Sunday 27th November 2011.\u00a0 One of those days where you simply remember exactly where you were when you heard the news.\u00a0 The day that Welsh football lost one of its own sons and the day when events on the pitch simply didn’t matter.<\/p>\n
For me I was sat in Starbucks opposite the stadium.\u00a0 \u00a0I was with my 8 year old daughter having a drink before watching the latest chapter in our Premier League story.\u00a0 My phone lit up on the table with a Sky Sports breaking news story.\u00a0 \u00a0I glanced down and glanced away.\u00a0 Momentarily.\u00a0 I picked the phone up and read again and could not believe the headline that Wales manager Gary Speed had passed away.\u00a0 There had to be some mistake surely.<\/p>\n
It had been less than a year since he was appointed Wales manager, it was only just over two weeks on from his last match with Wales – a 4-1 friendly win over Norway and Wales were on the up – climbing from an all time ranking low of 117 earlier that year to a place in the top 50.\u00a0 Wales were progressing in the right way and Speed was the man who was taking them there.<\/p>\n
We read the reports, we looked at some of the early social media tributes and we made our way to the Liberty in a state of shock.\u00a0 Of course we were not alone, the tragedy was the discussion point of everyone you spoke to that day.\u00a0 Why had this happened – maybe more so as more details of what happened started to come out via various media forms.<\/p>\n
The match started as a total tribute to a footballing legend.\u00a0 Welsh internationals on both side, Shay Given breaking down in tears and a spontaneous chanting of Speed’s name marked one of the saddest occasions I have ever witnessed at a football match.\u00a0 This was a game that simply did not matter and it is a game that I remember very little of beyond that minute’s tribute.<\/p>\n
Speed played 85 times for his country, 44 of them as captain and was manager of both Sheffield United and Wales during an all too short career in the hot seats.\u00a0 He scored 135 goals in 841 club games that spanned just five clubs and of course there was his part in a league winning season at Elland Road in the last season before the start of the Premier League.<\/p>\n
Cup final appearances and seven goals for his country just do statistical evidence to a career that was excellent and he was one of the best known faces in the early years of the Premier League and one of the most respected players to boot.\u00a0 And, of course, he was the first player to appear 500 times in the Premier League, a feat he achieved in 2006.<\/p>\n
The tributes were loud and strong in respect of the man himself and weren’t contained to just football<\/p>\n
Downing Street spokesman:<\/strong>\u00a0“The Prime Minister was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Gary Speed, who was greatly respected by football fans across the country. The Prime Minister’s thoughts are with Gary Speed’s family and friends on this very sad day for fans everywhere, especially in Wales.”<\/span><\/p>\n Wales Rugby Union statement:<\/strong>\u00a0“The thoughts of everyone involved in rugby are with you all at this sad time. Wales has lost a great sportsman, a true gentleman and a man who was working extremely hard and succeeding to deliver a bright future for Welsh football.”<\/span><\/p>\n