Like the rest of the football world, I was stunned at the sudden death of Gary Speed today.
Speed took his own life at just 42 years old, and it’s a sad end to a brilliant life. A footballing legend in both the Premiership and for Wales where he made 85 caps and was the current manager. During a twenty-year career, he played for Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Sheffield and Bolton.
Suicide is something that I will never fully understand. I have lost several extremely close friends over the years. The thing I will never truly get is that those whom I have lost and those like Gary never let it be known that they are considering ending their lives.
This video below shows Gary Speed the same day he took his own life, he certainly does not look like a man troubled by anything in life. That is the sad thing about suicide. It’s the pain that is left behind that is the hardest to deal with.
Suicide may be an easy way out for those who want to end their lives, but the pain that is left behind is the worst deal of all. Speed, like my close friend Simon, leaves behind two small boys who will now never grow up without a father, parents have lost a son and a wife has lost a loving husband.
I still think of Simon’s two children, where they are and what they are doing. Knowing that I was sat next to him whilst he was planning his suicide was the worst of all. People seem to hide it so well.
My thoughts are with Speed’s family. A brilliant man has gone, and it’s a tragedy that his life had to end in this way. Moments like this show there is much more to life than football.
RIP Gary Speed 1969-2011
