I think it is fair to say that I was, like millions of others, shocked and saddened in equal measure when the news broke of Gary Speed’s death.

This weekend is about remembering a man who was a superb player and probably destined to become a great manager

Rarely in the modern game has one man’s passing caused such a widespread outpouring of grief from across the entire football spectrum.

The tributes started pouring in within minutes of the story breaking and continued to flood in all week. They came from all over the world: from fans, clubs, players, media and colleagues. And each and every one said the same thing – Speed was one of the nicest people you could ever want to meet.

And he was.

I was lucky enough to chat to Speed on a couple of occasions during his Sheffield United days. While he was a little quiet and reserved, he was also friendly and totally prepared to talk to a complete stranger about football. Nothing even vaguely aloof or standoffish about him.

I think the thing that has shocked everyone so much is that, to us outsiders at least, it looked like he had everything going for him: family, money, health, career – the works.

If you just take the last one of those four – career – he was really starting to go places as Wales manager. I admit he didn’t set the world alight when he was Sheffield United boss and he certainly had a rather dodgy start to his time as Wales head coach.

But over the past few months he had got the team playing superbly well and they had even won their last four matches, something I don’t recall Wales doing for many years.

According to friends and colleagues he was looking forward to the next World Cup qualifying campaign with excitement and anticipation, and rightly so. And he even appeared on television the day before he died looking happy, healthy and content.

So why would someone so young and with the football world at his feet commit suicide? It just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. And with the inquest into his death postponed until the end of January, we will probably have to wait several more weeks before the situation becomes any clearer. If it ever does.

Right now, this weekend, it is about remembering a man who was a superb player and who was probably destined to become a great manager. I’m sure all his clubs – Leeds United, Everton, Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United – will be paying special tributes to him this weekend. And rightly so.

But I think his memory, legacy and mark spreads much, much further than those five teams.

Speed was the model professional footballer. That’s the way we should all remember him.

Sunderland’s decision is understandable

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Steve Bruce was being talked about as a possible successor to Fabio Capello.

When he moved from Wigan Athletic to Sunderland his stock was at a premium, and last season at the Stadium of Light he showed distinct promise, with the club finishing a healthy 10th.

But despite spending reasonably heavily during the summer, Sunderland have hardly set the world alight this time round, winning just two of their 13 games, which leaves them hovering just above the relegation zone. A 2-1 home defeat to struggling Wigan on Saturday was the final nail in his coffin.

For Bruce, this sacking pretty much brings to an end any realistic hopes he may have been harbouring of taking over at one of the very big clubs. If you want one of the top gigs you need to prove yourself at one of the less glamourous teams first. There had even been rumours, at one point at least, that he was being watched as a potential successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, his Manchester United roots obviously working in his favour there.

Of course, he is still relatively young in management terms. And there is time for him to rebuild his career should he want to. But to do so he will have to go back to basics, probably drop down a division, and even then it will take him many years to regain his credibility.

Meanwhile, it does look like Sunderland have found themselves a pretty decent replacement in Martin O’ Neill. The former Leicester City and Celtic boss is undoubtedly one of the best men in the business and his track record speaks for itself.

And, just to make matters even more enticing for the club and its supporters, O’ Neill has been a Sunderland fan since his early childhood. That doesn’t mean he will be any better at the job, but at least they know he holds the club close to his heart.

As you know, I am not a big fan of clubs sacking managers and I constantly point out that long-term success only really comes as a result of long-term stability.

But I can actually see why the Sunderland board acted swiftly in this case. When you lose at home to Wigan, despite having a much better team on paper, there is obviously something fundamentally wrong somewhere.

And with the likes of Martin O’ Neill and even Mark Hughes waiting in the wings, it is understandable why they thought a swift decision was imperative.

On a side note, I bet the bookmakers were laughing all the way to the bank last Wednesday.

Who would have thought that anybody other than Steve Kean would become the first Premier League managerial casualty this season…?

Injury-time thriller

Now let’s finish off with a bit of excitement from the world of non-league football, shall we?

As last week’s match between Alfreton Town and Hayes & Yeading entered injury time, the home side were leading 1-0 and looked to be coasting to an easy, and desperately needed win.

However, when the visitors equalised through an own goal two minutes into said injury time, it looked like 10-men Town had thrown away a very valuable two points.

But the drama didn’t end there. Town took the lead again through Nathan Arnold and held on to it this time for a whole minute before the away team equalised yet again.

Quite an incredibly finale to a game, isn’t it, going from 1-0 to 2-2 in the space of a couple of minutes. Well yes, apart from the fact that it still wasn’t over.

As the game entered its 96th minute the home team surged forward and managed to snatch another goal with practically the last kick of the game. Final result 3-2.

That’s one of those matches that will be remembered forever by those lucky enough to be there.

I’m really starting to develop some serious affection for the world of non-league football…

Your say

“My thought for the day: As Manchester United rapidly become reminiscent of a bottle of champagne – lots of fizz and bubbly to start off... then flat and nothing… Arsene Wenger’s boys are rapidly blossoming into a fine bottle of full-bodied red wine – not good to drink straight out of the bottle but once it is aired – it becomes an RVP (Robin Van Persie) symphony!” John Giacchino, e-mail.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade