Gary Speed

[Mattyblue]

RIP, No age at all.

Can't believe it would be suicide, what on earth would drive a guy who had everything going for him to that?

That's mental illness, doesn't take account of wealth, family, material possessions.

gutted.

[Audax]

I would send my condolences too to his family and friends and I hope they will find comfort in this time.

[Devon Rover]

Just back from a Sunday roast lunch with the family, shocked and very saddened to hear this news. Speed was a very, very good player and was clearly on the road to becoming a top manager. Such a shame.

Condolences to his family, of course.

[roverandout]

rip speedo, just shows how highly thought of and respected he was when people that didnt even know him are very upset about this news!!

[2k.]

Terrible news

RIP Gary

[Rover down South]

Deeply shocked by this news. One of my closest friends took his life three weeks ago in the same way. No one saw that coming either & we will never know why.

My condolances to his family & friends at this truly terrible time.

R.I.P Gary Speed

[Scott18]

RIP Gary Speed, one of the best and most consistent players I've seen in the Premier League.

[Tom]

I'm glad nobody here is trying to speculate as to the reasons.

I can only imgine what his family are going through now

[Kelbo]

The biggest accolade I can give Gary Speed is this, scored loads of goals from midfield and never did I see the guy antagonise opposing supporters, thats why so many people from clubs throughout the UK have posted and sent their condolences and sadness at his passing, a true gentleman and great player, you will be sadly missed throughout football!

PS: Just heard that Sam is absolutely gutted with the news!

[RibbleValleyRover]

Very shocked and stunned by the news.

Tragic loss to his family and the world of football.

[Mike Graham]

Dreadful, dreadful news. RIP Gary, great player, sorry for his family.

[broadsword]

Very difficult to watch the clip on Robbie Savage appearing on the news, looking very distressed.

It's awful and inexplicable how someone with seemingly the perfect life would choose to end it at the age of 42. Dan Walker was saying he seemed perfectly happy yesterday on Football Focus.

It's incredible, you can never be sure what's going on in someone's mind.

[AllRoverAsia]

Very sad news and a great loss to football.

God bless him and all his family.

[FourLaneBlue]

Mental illness is one of the scourges of our society, and one of its biggest killers. It takes no account of wealth, job, fame etc. What a damn shame.

RIP Gary Speed.

[MarkBRFC71]

Stunned when I heard; very very sad news. The consummate model professional and the antithesis of some of the modern day primadonnas in the game. RIP.

[Waggy76]

A very sad day for football ....R I P

[Ozz]

I don't know his situation, but the most common reason for suicide is depression. I have suffered with depression in the past, it is a truly bizarre thing. No bandages, no crutches, no outward signs of illness to a passer-by. But by God it is as difficult to deal with as any major illness I can think of. Those people who suffer from it will tell you that it is almost impossible to live your life normally, and what can make it worst is that so many people take the atitude-"Get a grip" or "Pull yourself to together" etc.

If Speeds death does anything to lift the stigma that is often attached to mental illness of this type, then at least something good may come out of this truly horrendous occurrence.

Please remember also, for every high profile example of this awful news, there are thousands of other plebs that take their own life for similar reasons that go unnoticed every year, and leave behind stunned and bewildered family and friends that wished they could have done something more to help.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Haven't stopped thinking about this all afternoon.

I watched Football Focus yesterday and remember thinking how well he looked.

He seemed a really genuine guy, liked by many.

RIP Gary.

[JonnyH]

Terrible news. Such a shame for football and more importantly his family and friends. RIP Gary. Transcended club loyalties.

[FourLaneBlue]

I don't know his situation, but the most common reason for suicide is depression. I have suffered with depression in the past, it is a truly bizarre thing. No bandages, no crutches, no outward signs of illness to a passer-by. But by God it is as difficult to deal with as any major illness I can think of. Those people who suffer from it will tell you that it is almost impossible to live your life normally, and what can make it worst is that so many people take the atitude-"Get a grip" or "Pull yourself to together" etc.

If Speeds death does anything to lift the stigma that is often attached to mental illness of this type, then at least something good may come out of this truly horrendous occurrence.

Please remember also, for every high profile example of this awful news, there are thousands of other plebs that take their own life for similar reasons that go unnoticed every year, and leave behind stunned and bewildered family and friends that wished they could have done something more to help.

Hopefully, some good could come from such a tragic incident and those suffering in silence might be able to talk about these kind of issues. There is a huge amount of stigma relating to mental illness, yet the majority of people are likely to be affected by minor versions of it at some time in their lives. Despite the image of depressed teenagers, older people are more likely to suffer than younger. Even successful, handsome and married adults such as Gary Speed. Something like 1 in 5 of the population will suffer from major outbreaks, although this is probably well underreported as people would rather suffer than admit to it.

Let's hope this can lead to the breaking down of some stigmas relating to this, and encourage greater attention.

Let's not the death of such a personable, talented, famous man be in vain.

Edited November 27, 2011 by FourLaneBlue

[King Kenny's Magic]

RIP GARY SPEED! CLASS ACT!!!

[roverwhelmed]

So very saddened to hear this news. I've just listened to the tribute 606 with Robbie Savage, and thought he did really well to hold it together. Thoughts go out to Gary's family and friends. A huge loss to football.

[DE.]

It's just so strange that there were literally NO outward signs of ANY depression whatsoever... or at least, the impression I get from those close to him certainly suggests that. If he did have depression, it must have taken some seriously incredible mental strength not to let any outward signs surface. It's frightening that somebody could seem so normal, and hide the type of turmoil that leads to suicide.

[Drover]

Completely shocked. There was a really interesting article I was reading on the guardian just on Friday about how mental health problems lurked behind footballs glitzy front. Just really can't believe it.

[Will]

Cant really put any words about how shocked i am. What a true gentleman, footballer, husband and father. I first saw Gary play for Leeds many years ago, he was always a proper nice guy. I am gutted. RIP Gary you will never be forgotten.