Gary Speed (1969–2011)

[huss9]

would be nice to see a huge print of Speed dropped down over the back of the gallowgate like that shearer one

 

I like that idea.

 

any way of suggesting it to the club?

[durhamunigeordie]

All the players wearing the number 11 on their shorts would also be a fitting tribute. Think it has been done before.

[Guest bengenufc]

Retire the number 11 shirt would be a fitting tribute to the man.

[Guest palnese]

Retire the number 11 shirt would be a fitting tribute to the man.

 

As much as I loved the bloke I think that's a bit too far.

 

I'd love to see a massive "11", just like the "9" for Shearer at SJP, mind.

[Dave]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

Good read that.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I'm sure the crowd will be showing their love for the man vocally enough anyway.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

Good read that.

 

Yeah, I agree it's not nice to see charities and others using his unexplained death to promote themselves (even though they are promoting a good cause) but at the same time I don't see that it's disrespectful for ordinary people to discuss depression as one of the possibilities.

 

[magorific]

Rumours galore at the moment, only to be expected of course, but troubling.

I still find it odd, even allowing for all the "depression is easily hidden" - which I don't personally believe, actually - he went from displaying no problems, and planning next TV appearance before Xmas - to suicide in the middle of the night.

As we all know, the middle of the night, all things seem 10 times worse and insurmountable.

 

Even so.

I just have the feeling something happened Saturday night.

 

Just so distressing all round.

There are some footballers I absolutely despise, but would be extremely sympathetic if they topped themselves.

But Gary....much loved, someone it's impossible to have a bad word to say about ? Devastating.....

 

 

Why do you "not believe" that depression can be hidden? I can tell you from personal experience that it can.

[durhamunigeordie]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

You're right it is a good piece well written, however, I don't think anyone on here has 'assumed' he was suffering depression. I certainly haven't and if it sounds like I have then I apologise, but on a forum where there is a discussion of the possibilities going on I don't see anything wrong with what I or anyone else put.  This isn't really the place to continue this debate so I will leave it that and apologise if anyone took any offence to what I wrote.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I have no problem at all believing that depression can be completely hidden, that's what makes it such an insidious condition.

 

Do you really have a genuine take on how the people around you are feeling on the deepest level? I mean beyond whether they're generally happy or sad? I know I don't, not if I'm honest.

[Raconteur]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

You might find that some people who have had close contact with mental health issues, or had to deal with the so-called "mental-health industry" would find that astonishingly biased article quite offensive.

 

I'm not interested in starting a blue with fellow Toon fans at this time, and I confess that I am removed from might well be hyperbolic coverage of this tragedy, but the way that person has attacked and ridiculed some perfectly valid issues is very distasteful.

 

You're right to say that Gary was never suspected of suffering, much less diagnosed with depression. And it's perfectly valid to bring up that his family and agent, his friends and colleagues all say that he wasn't. But if it was suicide, and if it was not the... salacious alternative that has been trotted about, then depression is the most likely alternative - infinitely more plausible than a homocide made to look like suicide.

 

Wullie, I don't have a beef with you. What I do have is a family history of mental illness and an insight into the so-called "industry" that is supposedly cashing in on this tragedy.

 

Gary Speed: great player, great manager, great man... great loss

 

[NEEJ]

The Leeds fans are gonna sing 'One Gary Speed' for 11 minutes starting at the 11th minute.

[S.S.R.]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

Spot on.

[durhamunigeordie]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

You might find that some people who have had close contact with mental health issues, or had to deal with the so-called "mental-health industry" would find that astonishingly biased article quite offensive.

 

I'm not interested in starting a blue with fellow Toon fans at this time, and I confess that I am removed from might well be hyperbolic coverage of this tragedy, but the way that person has attacked and ridiculed some perfectly valid issues is very distasteful.

 

You're right to say that Gary was never suspected of suffering, much less diagnosed with depression. And it's perfectly valid to bring up that his family and agent, his friends and colleagues all say that he wasn't. But if it was suicide, and if it was not the... salacious alternative that has been trotted about, then depression is the most likely alternative - infinitely more plausible than a homocide made to look like suicide.

 

Wullie, I don't have a beef with you. What I do have is a family history of mental illness and an insight into the so-called "industry" that is supposedly cashing in on this tragedy.

 

Gary Speed: great player, great manager, great man... great loss

 

Did a much better job of articulating what I wanted to say 

[Wullie]

But the point is, why is it fair to label a man with an illness based on nothing other than guesswork? Is it any less fair to say he did it because he was an alcoholic, or a drug addict, or a schizophrenic, or because he had cancer? They're all illnesses or circumstances that can drive people to suicide and would all be based on as much evidence as the diagnosis of depression by those who didn't know the man i.e. none whatsoever.

 

I wouldn't want to offend anyone, particularly people who have suffered due to mental illness, but the people I would want to be offended by any coverage least are the Speed family. If his wife is saying he wasn't depressed and yet every paper has an article in it saying that he must have been and you don't understand the illness to think otherwise, that is not fair at all.

 

[Tiresias]

The speculation is a bit off, and I've been a bit guilty of it, probably best just to leave it.

[magorific]

But the point is, why is it fair to label a man with an illness based on nothing other than guesswork? Is it any less fair to say he did it because he was an alcoholic, or a drug addict, or a schizophrenic, or because he had cancer? They're all illnesses or circumstances that can drive people to suicide and would all be based on as much evidence as the diagnosis of depression by those who didn't know the man i.e. none whatsoever.

 

I wouldn't want to offend anyone, particularly people who have suffered due to mental illness, but the people I would want to be offended by any coverage least are the Speed family. If his wife is saying he wasn't depressed and yet every paper has an article in it saying that he must have been and you don't understand the illness to think otherwise, that is not fair at all.

 

 

Good point, well made. I was earlier merely responding to the suggestions that depression can't be hidden and - contrary to the opinion of the experts unfortunate enough to have attended the scene - that murder was a plausible scenario in this case.

Incidentally, it's worth mentioning that don't have to have been "suffering from depression" to be depressed. By that, I mean a one-off, often unforeseen event can plunge someone into a sudden and - at times - devastating state of depression.

But, yes, we just don't know.

[durhamunigeordie]

But the point is, why is it fair to label a man with an illness based on nothing other than guesswork? Is it any less fair to say he did it because he was an alcoholic, or a drug addict, or a schizophrenic, or because he had cancer? They're all illnesses or circumstances that can drive people to suicide and would all be based on as much evidence as the diagnosis of depression by those who didn't know the man i.e. none whatsoever.

 

I wouldn't want to offend anyone, particularly people who have suffered due to mental illness, but the people I would want to be offended by any coverage least are the Speed family. If his wife is saying he wasn't depressed and yet every paper has an article in it saying that he must have been and you don't understand the illness to think otherwise, that is not fair at all.

 

That is a very valid point, however, we were having an discussion on an internet forum - a place in which the majority of discussions are based on speculation and conjecture. Many of posts were more of a general discussion on depression and some of its effects. Although there were of course references to the possibility that this COULD have affected Gary, I don't think anyone was 'labelling' him with having suffered depression. Even if they someone had categorically that he had depression, I would hope that it wouldn't be 'labelling' him as this word itself has negative connotations.

 

I know I have broken my own promise not to enter into a debate, however, it is a topic that I feel passionately about. I'm not trying to have a go at anyone with a differing opinion, merely articulating my own. I hope that it is not deemed disrespectful.

 

 

[Wilson]

the chronicel suggests it's on the cards to have a minutes applause rather than silence in here

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/11/29/pardew-says-chelsea-fearing-st-james-park-visit-72703-29859926/

 

i like the idea of the huge print down the gallowgate, also think what the Leeds fans are doing is a tremendous gesture

 

 

[Guest johnson293]

the chronicel suggests it's on the cards to have a minutes applause rather than silence in here

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/11/29/pardew-says-chelsea-fearing-st-james-park-visit-72703-29859926/

 

i like the idea of the huge print down the gallowgate, also think what the Leeds fans are doing is a tremendous gesture

 

I said yesterday I felt the minutes silence, to reflect on the loss followed by a minutes applause to show appreciation of the man (as they did it Swansea) would be fitting.

 

However, the Chelsea game is almost a full week on, so everyone has had that time to reflect on the loss.

 

Maybe the minutes applause alone is more fitting, giving the time passed since it happened.

[OzzieMandias]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/11852/

 

This article does a good job of saying what I was getting at earlier.

 

Good read that.

 

[Anderson]

Hugo Viana: "I hope that Newcastle get a great result, one Gary would have been proud of. He was a role model for me as both a person and a player. I am proud to have shared some great moments with him. Gary was one of the warmest people you could meet.”

 

Andy Griffin: “I moved to Newcastle, I think three days later Speedo signed. He looked after me, and took me to training. We stayed in the same hotel, and he took me under his wing a little bit. I was only young when I signed for such a big club, and he was someone I looked up to for the way he conducted himself and the way he carried himself. He was a modest man, and a clever man. I can’t speak highly enough about him. He was a role model and an inspiration to me. It was an honour to play so many games with him. It’s terrible news. I’ve got a Wales shirt signed by him from when I was at Newcastle, and it’s a treasured possession. I’ve been lucky enough to play with some very good players, and Speedo was up there with the best of them for his all-round ability. He had everything. The amount of goals he scored from midfield was fantastic. He was a leader – one of Sir Bobby Robson’s “blue-chip gang”, as he called them, and rightly so.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/11/29/hugo-viana-expecting-a-fitting-tribute-to-gary-speed-72703-29859927/

[54]

Hugo Viana: "I hope that Newcastle get a great result, one Gary would have been proud of. He was a role model for me as both a person and a player. I am proud to have shared some great moments with him. Gary was one of the warmest people you could meet.”

 

Andy Griffin: “I moved to Newcastle, I think three days later Speedo signed. He looked after me, and took me to training. We stayed in the same hotel, and he took me under his wing a little bit. I was only young when I signed for such a big club, and he was someone I looked up to for the way he conducted himself and the way he carried himself. He was a modest man, and a clever man. I can’t speak highly enough about him. He was a role model and an inspiration to me. It was an honour to play so many games with him. It’s terrible news. I’ve got a Wales shirt signed by him from when I was at Newcastle, and it’s a treasured possession. I’ve been lucky enough to play with some very good players, and Speedo was up there with the best of them for his all-round ability. He had everything. The amount of goals he scored from midfield was fantastic. He was a leader – one of Sir Bobby Robson’s “blue-chip gang”, as he called them, and rightly so.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/11/29/hugo-viana-expecting-a-fitting-tribute-to-gary-speed-72703-29859927/

Good to see people like Viana are deeply saddened by this, just shows what effect he had on people.

[madras]

But the point is, why is it fair to label a man with an illness based on nothing other than guesswork? Is it any less fair to say he did it because he was an alcoholic, or a drug addict, or a schizophrenic, or because he had cancer? They're all illnesses or circumstances that can drive people to suicide and would all be based on as much evidence as the diagnosis of depression by those who didn't know the man i.e. none whatsoever.

 

I wouldn't want to offend anyone, particularly people who have suffered due to mental illness, but the people I would want to be offended by any coverage least are the Speed family. If his wife is saying he wasn't depressed and yet every paper has an article in it saying that he must have been and you don't understand the illness to think otherwise, that is not fair at all.

 

That is a very valid point, however, we were having an discussion on an internet forum - a place in which the majority of discussions are based on speculation and conjecture. Many of posts were more of a general discussion on depression and some of its effects. Although there were of course references to the possibility that this COULD have affected Gary, I don't think anyone was 'labelling' him with having suffered depression. Even if they someone had categorically that he had depression, I would hope that it wouldn't be 'labelling' him as this word itself has negative connotations.

 

I know I have broken my own promise not to enter into a debate, however, it is a topic that I feel passionately about. I'm not trying to have a go at anyone with a differing opinion, merely articulating my own. I hope that it is not deemed disrespectful.

 

 

what we have to go on is that the police have said there were no suspicious circumstances so many will look to a mental health issue maybe as much to give themselves a reason for it as anything else.

[Wullie]

Inquest adjourned until end of January.