Gary Speed

[Cajun]

I as were the majority of people at the time were suprised we actually got a fee for him. He has gone on to be a very good player at Bolton but he wasn't towards the end for US and probably wouldn't have been. As someone has mentioned, Bolton play a formation and style that is very much suited to Speed so he has been able to shine.

 

Love the bloke, model pro and wish we had more here with his passion and intelligence.

[Cronky]

I agree with Gejon, Bolton's style suits him down to the ground. He's playing better for them than he did for us in his final two years.

 

I don't think the loss of Speed was the problem.

[Guest Geordie_Paul]

No I don't think the loss of speed was THE problem but I would like to have kept him, i think he was a good all round player and was a good team leader and motivator!

[CaliMag]

Let us not also forget that Speed was Bellamy's minder. Shearer couldn't control him and SBR's influence was limited. Whenever there was an onfield spat with a ref - Shearer would rush toward the ref to be the voice of reason and Speed would rush to Bellamy to pull him away and calm him down.

 

I am not going as fas as to say that Bellamy would have stayed if Speed stayed but it is more likely that Speed could have diffused the Souness v Bellamy problem.

[Dave]

Let us not also forget that Speed was Bellamy's minder. Shearer couldn't control him and SBR's influence was limited. Whenever there was an onfield spat with a ref - Shearer would rush toward the ref to be the voice of reason and Speed would rush to Bellamy to pull him away and calm him down.

 

I am not going as fas as to say that Bellamy would have stayed if Speed stayed but it is more likely that Speed could have diffused the Souness v Bellamy problem.

 

Touché.

[Cajun]

Bellamy SHOULD be old enough to contol himself tbh! What were we gonna do? Keep Speed on until he was into his 40's so Bellamy could spend the rest of his career here?  tongue.gif

[Dave]

Bellamy SHOULD be old enough to contol himself tbh! What were we gonna do? Keep Speed on until he was into his 40's so Bellamy could spend the rest of his career here?  tongue.gif

 

No, it just might have helped us avoid that whole sorry saga, that's all. Obviously Bellamy should be a big enough boy but everyone knows he ain't.

[Cajun]

Bellamy SHOULD be old enough to contol himself tbh! What were we gonna do? Keep Speed on until he was into his 40's so Bellamy could spend the rest of his career here?  tongue.gif

 

No, it just might have helped us avoid that whole sorry saga, that's all. Obviously Bellamy should be a big enough boy but everyone knows he ain't.

 

Could have done but Souness is a c*nt, Bellamy is a c*nt. I still reckon it would have happened and with Speed not performing for one reason or another we got an offer which looked too good to turn down.

 

IF Bobby approached Mourinho a year or two before he went into management we could have had a better manager. IF we went for Eto'o around the time we played him we could have had a world class striker. IF Darren Bent had decided to take the risk and join us we could have not had to rely so much on Shola. IF Shepherd had "heard of the lad" we could have had a very good midfielder in Benayoun.

 

bluebiggrin.gif tongue.gif

[Dave]

Now you're just being silly. bluebigrazz.gif

[matta]

cant imagine where newcastle wouldve been without speed, shearer and shay..

 

 

he is absolute class and its a disgrace Fatfreddy sold him behind bobbys back.

 

would take him back to the club any second, and hopefully we can see him involved with the club later, as he has an attitude worth teaching to others.

[Cajun]

I think he could be an excellent coach, problem is I reckon Bolton will be the ones to gain from it!

[Wullie]

He looked past his best cos he was carrying that little fucker Jenas.

 

Fact.

[johnnypd]

i was never Speed's biggest fan but i thought he was playing his best football for us in the 6 months or so before he left. i think main problem is not with selling him, but with failing to buy a genuine replacement. if we'd got sir bob's 1st choice in Carrick then no-one would be complaining.

[Guest]

Still think he's over-rated and still think we sold at the right time.

[Guest Ridzuan]

Nice to see him speaking good things of us.He will always be one of my favourite player.He was a great player during his time with us,and I think he is still a great player now with Bolton.It was unfortunate to see him leave the club,but life has to move on.

[Guest kinaldo]

Bolton did manage to poach Gary Speed from us, however, and therein lies another tale of how disjointed the manager-chairman relationship had become. On our tour to the Far East, John Carver suddenly informed me, 'We've had an offer for Gary Speed from Bolton.' I knew nothing about it, so I went in search of the chairman for clarification. On no account did I want Gary Speed to leave. First I caught up with the player himself.

'Gary, what's all this about you wanting to go to Bolton Wanderers? I know nothing about it. The chairman hasn't mentioned it to me. When John Carver told me an hour ago I was aghast. What do you want to go to Bolton for?'

'The club are going to let me go,' Gary said. 'If you don't know anything about it, you'd better see the chairman.'

'As far as I'm concerned, you're not going to Bolton Wanderers,' I told him 'You're staying here'

That saturday night, the day of our game, I tried the chairman's room, reception, the restaurant and the bar. Eventually, I was told he was out. I was so angry I sat in the foyer, waiting, for half an hour. Finally, the chairman's figure appeared in the doorway and I confronted him there and then. Under cross examination he denied all knowledge of Gary's impending move. It was heading into the realms of farce. The next step, naturally, was to go back to Gary. I spoke to him on our flight from Hong Kong.

'The chairman says he knows nothing about this Bolton thing,' I said and left it there. We arrived back in Newcastle on the Monday morning and, early that afternoon, the chairman called me. 'Gary Spped's in here with me, he wants to see you. He wants to say goodbye,' he said.

'What?' I exclaimed.

The deal had been completed that morning. Fifty years in the game have taught me that you cannot construct a transfer in four hours. The idea that a player of Gary Speed's calibre can be sold in four hours is absurd and yet I was being told throughout the weekend that the club knew notning of Bolton's interest in one of our most valued players.

'Gary, this is not my doing,' I told him. 'I want to keep you.' Having let Hugo Viana go back to Portugal, to play more football, we had lost two left footed midfielders. I needed to plug that hole and so, when my indignation had subsided, I gave the chairman four names - Nicky Butt, Michael Carrick, Mark Van Bommel and Sean Davis.

'Why don't you bring Carrick in, he's talented, and he's a Geordie,' I suggested but the chairman was reluctant to pay West Ham £3 million for Carrick's services. His view was that he could aquire him for £500,000 in the January transfer window. Freddy Shepherd honestly believed that Carrick would not move to any Premier league club but Newcastle. He was in the last year of his contract at Upton Park - hence Freddy's belief that West Ham would have to unload him for a reduced fee in January.

I told him 'Look, chairman, if another club comes in and pays West Ham the moneythey're looking for, they will not turn that money down.' Michael Carrick signed for Tottenham Hotspur that summer.

 

:|

Did u write that in or is there a link?

 

I take it this is from Sir Bobby's autobiography?

 

Freddie Shepherd should be strung up on the SJP goal posts for a good lynching.