RELATED
Gary Speed: The Cool Kid From My School
Unbelievably it's been three years since Speedo ended his life, I wrote this at the time as a tribute to the kid at my school everyone wanted to be...
I remember Gary Speed from school. He wore a Kappa coat and was often surrounded by popular lads and attractive girls.
To a timid kid such as myself, in his first year and scared by the intimidating surroundings of a big new school, he looked impossibly cool. Someone I could never aspire to be.
By that stage he had already played for Deeside Boys, a local team that also blooded such future stars as Ian Rush, Barry Horne, Kevin Ratcliffe and later still Michael Owen. It is an astounding roll-call of talent for such a small, otherwise-nondescript area of North-East Wales and, perhaps more amazingly still, all of them remained here and continue to call these parts home. There must be something in the area’s water supply that produced such an exceptional pedigree of footballer; I like to think however they stayed because of the people. We admire achievement around here but value down-to-earth character traits even more. I often see these players – football legends – down the local shops and rarely are they bothered: an occasional enquiry as to the well-being of their family and nothing more. They are after all just one of us, a friend of a relative or a relative of a friend. I can offer numerous examples as to the genuine, grounded nature of Gary Speed as a man but perhaps it is easier to summarise that nobody from these string of villages, bolstered on steel and aerospace, has a single bad word to say about him. He was hugely respected for his footballing ability but he was loved because he never, ever changed. Indeed even that accolade is usually passed over to others in our no-nonsense ways. He is a credit to his family that one.
Gary married a girl who lived a few houses down from me and went on to forge a remarkable career, becoming the second most capped Welsh international and making more appearances in the top-flight than any other outfield player. He played with innate style and honesty. There was dignity in his dedication and class in his boots. He was that rare breed of player who was both liked and admired by supporters of other teams.
More…
His twenty-two years of endless commitment and artful guile stamped a hallmark of quality upon the British game and fully showcased his abilities. His all-too-brief spell as Wales manager however went even further – it showed the measure of the man.
When Gary took up the national reins with barely any managerial experience it would have been all-too-easy to play things safe. Instead he ripped up the stale, institutionalised notion of valiant failure and created a fresh exciting vision for an entire nation. With a plethora of exciting youngsters breaking through he implanted a long-term vision of excellence, based upon open, attractive football. The way it should be played. The way he played the game himself. Firstly he handed the captaincy to our most blessed kid in Ramsey, our maestro in the making. It was a calculated appointment laced with significance – the Arsenal creator is not only our leader but a symbol for what Wales is aspiring to become. Speed then essentially wrote off an entire qualifying campaign in order to implement a new style of play. It was an incredibly courageous and far-sighted strategy that required the patience and implicit trust of the Welsh public. With no shred of arrogance Gary was aware that he had that. He knew that we knew that he knew. Unlike many professionals today who look down on the masses who cheer their names weekly Gary believed in the intelligence of the fans; that we wouldn’t be calling for his head following a defeat or two thereby jeopardising all that he was laying out.
Within a short space of time – possibly shorter than even he envisioned – the principled project began to bear fruit. Four wins in five games – and the urbane manner of them – points to a prosperous and exciting future.
Gary Speed’s legacy will be in every smile, laughter and love his two children go on to experience. His bequeathal to his nation will be in every pass Ramsey makes, every fluid move that gets us off our seats applauding, every burst of newly-discovered national self-esteem.
Speedo made his country proud of him but more extraordinary still he then made his country proud of itself.
I do not wish to comment upon the manner of his death yesterday, save to say that the thought of that cool-looking kid in the Kappa coat in such a dark and horrible place filled me with tears when the awful news sunk in and again as I write this now. I just truly hope that amidst such personal torment he knew that he was loved.
Rest in peace son of Hawarden, son of Flintshire, son of Wales.
If you like it, Pass it on
COMMENTS
Thank you Stephen Tudor for such a wonderful, beautifully-written and moving tribute to Gary Speed. What a good man. What an inspirational player and manager. What a sad loss to us all. I speak as someone who was brought up just a few miles away, in Mold, so I heartily agree with your sentiments about Gary being raised on very special soil.Thank you for your words.
Best wishes to his family and friends. LUFC Family
Very moving. Read it with tears in my eyes. Football transcends team and national support at a time like this. RIP Gary.
"Speedo made his country proud of him but more extraordinary still he then made his country proud of itself." Wonderful. Fitting. Tragic. RIP Speedo.
Brilliant tribute by Stephen Tudor, I am sure there will be no football supporter who reads this tribute, no matter what club nor nationality, who is untouched by your words. You reflect Gary's character to the full, both home and away, to think where he may have taken Welsh football, the foundations laid good, rip Gary from the Millwall family
Ste, this is truly heartfelt stuff. without any doubt the most touching and personal tribute amongst the many that have shown gary speed for what he was, a special person who was liked and admired by football fans up and down the country regardless of loyalties. R.I.P. Gary Speed
I like Stephen knew Gary in school, the image of him brought to mind by the "Kappa coat" made me smile.I was always proud to say that I knew Gary at school. He was a very talented footballer, highly academic and an all round nice guy. I remember in lessons when he told us he WOULD play for a top team and the excitement and awe, when he recieved confirmation, that he would be playing for Leeds United as a Y.T.S. Since then I have seen him on T.V. in matches and interviews and was always glad that he had achieved his ambitions by pure hard work and determination. Let us not forget the boy, man he was and be proud that he achieved everything he said he would. RIP Gary and love to all of his family and friends.
Very touching tribute to Gary Speed 1 of football's good guy's. A massive loss to the Welsh national team. Had tears in my eyes as I read this article. God bless his family RIP Gary Speed :'(
A lovely piece of writing & tribute to a lovely young man & great football player & manager, from a lovely family who lived down the road from me in Aston Park. My sincere condolances go to his wife & children, mum & dad & sister . xxx
"The Arsenal creator is not only our leader but a symbol for what Wales is aspiring to become." Stephen, your comment on Aaron Ramsey made this article for me. Excellent. Hopefully he will help finish what Gary Speed started, and then the Welsh team really will go places. Gary Speed was part of the two most memorable footballing journeys I had as a youngster, namely our unsuccessful qualifying campaigns for Euro 92 and USA 94. Thank you Gary for never giving up, even when the games were lost, I'll never forget it.
Superb tribute. Such a tragic end to an amazing life & career. RIP Gary Speed. You were one of the players who first attracted me, and I imagine many many other youngsters, to football and the Premier League. I still remember the old classic sticker books and being so happy to be collecting stickers of you, shearer, strachan, the lot. Every season! Condolences to all family and friends. Gary Speed. Legend.
Thanks Stephen, every September I send my children to school with this message, "look out for any new kids looking lost or sad and offer them kindness and your help and they will remember you for the rest of their life" I do this because when I was 11 years, Gary Speed showed me kindness and respect while on a cricket tour. That has stayed with me forever. I will never forget you Gary Speed, RIP
i too was in school with gary and witnessed lots of girls following him around hawarden high school.i also see him in are local pub now in hawarden, he would still say hello, never thinking he was better than us , just a average guy from school. i find it hard to understand why!!!!! because u had it all the whole package, what a great loss to us all her in hawarden. thinking of your family in my prayers.
what an amazing tribute ! I was a year below gary in school i remember him as one of the good ones always had a cheeky smile on his face , times like this are not easy for anyone and hits even harder when you come from a small village with a massive heart that he shared with many .. i hope you are lying in peace gary and i pray that the family and close friends and family can find some peace knowing that this man touched the lives of so many x
I also grew up in Deeside,I am three years older than Gary.I was in school with his sister Lesley and keep in touch with her online.My memories are of a good looking kid,who,like a lot of us,was chasing his footy dreams.It was a real joy to see one of our own make it.No better ambassador for our area, as outlined in this great article.My love to his family,a huge loss.
i went to hawarden high school. gary was a year younger than me but into his sports like i was.He was a quiet guy in school but always had that cheeky smile which made you just want t be around him allthe time. I will admit i had a major crush on him and would always walk around the school block hoping i would bump into him lol..when i heardthe devastating news about gary i was so heart broken i didn't know what to do with myself. so i contacted a friend jason boswell and confinded in him and he has helped me through the last week.. gary you were loved by so many people nd was well respected in high school. you will be truly missed and u will be in my heart for the rest of the years to come.R.I.P my darling xxxx
I was also in hawarden high with Gary and too remember him in his kappa coat. Always kicking a football in every spare moment he had and with all the girls following him around with gooey eyes and a fixed smile on their faces. I feel privileged to say I knew Gary and just hope he is at peace and his family also find peace on time.
A beautiful summary of a beautiful,proud Welshman and indeed "a credit to his family" A humble man with a great big heart. Bless you Gary Speed, this world is a sadder place without you.
Diolch Stephen. Heartfelt and heartbreaking at times. Even as a 38 year old man I still love my heroes & Speedo was at the top of the list, he never played for my club but boy did he play for my country lead by example on & off the field. Whenever I met him he was nothing but a true gent & ambassador who really connected with fans wherever we were. Didn't know him personally but I miss him so much for everything he did for us bringing the pride & passion back whilst also conducting himself as we would want all footballers too in the modern age. One Gary Speed.
I never supported any club he played for, but loved him for being a true pro and great Welshman. However as a nation it is correct to remember,but we must move forward and get behind Coleman. That is what Speedo would have wanted. Stop the North/South,Cardiff/Swansea issues. Coleman has had to deal with the grief of a nation , now we must move on!!!!!
SABOTAGE
