Gary Speed’s death puts the game into perspective
Monday 28th November 2011, 7:39AM GMT.
I was going to have a rant about another completely inept refereeing performance, I was going to say how Lee Probert had ruined a wonderful game of football, and although all of that is still true, the sad news of Gary Speed’s premature departure from this world has put this weekend’s game into perspective, writes West Brom blogger Jarrod Hill.
Mr Probert made a complete hash of officiating our game, and I couldn’t wait to see Match of the Day so I could have a second look at some of the decisions he made. However someone at the BBC chose not to show the second bookable offence by Raniere Sandro and completely ignored the situation when Brad Friedel appeared to carry the ball over the goal line. They also failed to show a few of the other key decisions he made, so it was down to some internet searches to be able to take a second look. He must have a friend at the BBC because MOTD excluded some very important mistakes.
My conclusion after seeing some of those dodgy decisions again? Lee Probert must be completely inept and it’s a shame that we are having to talk about the man in the middle when we should be waxing lyrical over a fantastic game.
I am not declaring we would have won the game had he not been wearing his Spurs goggles, but the problem is we will never know. What also frustrates me is that fans, players and managers have now way of doing anything about it. Untouchables and they know it, unless it happens to be against a Manchester United or a Chelsea nothing ever gets done about it, even the national media ignore it.
The shame is that the game was an absolute cracker. End-to-end, quality goals, skill, guts, and both teams went for the win. Roy Hodgson sent out an unchanged team and they started off where they had left off against Bolton the week before. Zoltan Gera was again pulling the strings in attack until he fell awkwardly and had to be replaced by Simon Cox. He helped set up the opening goal and was sorely missed after he went off. Shane Long also caused Tottenham all kinds of problems and we had enough chances even without Probert`s intervention to have gotten something from this game.
James Morrison played well and was my pick for man of the match and the rest of the lads certainly gave their all. If I had to be critical it would be that we just were not as clinical as our opposition and ultimately it cost us the game. But hey Tottenham have had many years in the Premier League and a considerable amount of money to get to where they are, and they do have a wonderful team.
If we can keep our level of performance as high as the last couple of games on a consistent basis we will have a fine season.
I know I said I wouldn’t have a rant, but believe me if I had written this blog on Saturday night it would have been much worse. The sad news of Gary Speed’s death yesterday certainly took the edge off my mood. I had never met him but everyone in football has always held him in such high regard, and not just as a player but as a person.
Unfortunately the manner of his death is something me and my partner have had experience of and our thoughts and love are with those that are left behind. I get so worked up over football and maybe I let it effect me far too much than I should, but I am yet to meet a football fan who doesn’t. As I get older I am not too sure if I am getting better or worse, but life does have its own way of bringing us all back to the reality that football is a game that is their for us all to enjoy. Football is often referred to as being more important than life and death, as in the often misquoted Bill Shankly quote, but in truth it’s not. Football is just something else we all live for, like our families, our friends, and in some cases our work.
RIP Gary Speed
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Nice tribute Bomber, and as you say it puts everything into perspective……………That is everything except Mr Probert. Like you i was astounded that MOTD decided to leave a lot of key decisions out, but as we were pick of the day on Sky, i did watch it all the way through with the help of replays. To say that it was an inept performance by Lee Probert would be a massive understatement, but nothing will be done, nothing ever is, so we have to take the positives from the game which were aplenty. For me the next three games will give us the opportunity to put some air between us and the struggle and as such should leave us able to play without fear.
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R.I.P. Gary Speed
Proper Player & Management star in the making.
This news made my blood run cold yesterday.
Good luck & best wishes to his family & friends.
You’re right Jarrod, the weekend’s football is irrelevant this morning, well said.
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Absolutely stunned, this hit me for six when I heard! Just cannot believe it.
It really does put things into perspective, there we were on Saturday evening upset over a game if football, but it really is just that – a game.
This is just dreadful news, deepest condolences to his family.
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Mornin’ Bomber.
Can’t say anything about the tragic death of Gary Speed that isn’t being felt by every football fan or has been said by people from all walks of life already other than agree with you that he was just one of those players that everybody liked,RIP.
Getting back to secondary matters,as I’ve said I watched the match on the TV and I’m not totally defending Probert’s general handling of the game but I did think he got the penalty decisions right,they only replayed the incidents once and I haven’t seen any replays since.
At the time I had the benefit of TV coverage and as everybody knows being at the match only about 30% of the crowd can be absolutely certain about certain decisions,so it would be interesting how many people have changed their minds after the heat of the moment.
Adéu
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not me kev, i watched and watched it over and over again. Thomas and Morrisson had good appeals turned down, Mcauley was borderline, but benefit of the doubt. If Shoreys was apen and i must admit it could have gone either way, then thats fine, but please be consistant. Thomas was almost identical. Still as i said plaenty of positives.
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My thoughts and prayers go out to Gary Speed’s family/friends. What terrible terrible news and as with you Bomber, my family has had exactly the same tragedy to deal with.
Not wishing to comment about anything else to do with football, as it doesn’t come into it for me today.
RIP Gary Speed
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Morning Jarrod.
Like you I’ve had first hand experience of this type of tragedy involving work colleagues. The thing that’s so hard to come to terms with is the waste of a good man’s life. The kind words from all corners will help his family but they must be devastated. I slightly disagree with Shropshire @3 in that things like football become even more important when something like this happens.
I know a few people commented last week on the passing of Vic Stirrup but seeing his picture before the match brought it home that we’re losing a generation that had their values right. They knew much harder times than we could dream of these days but didn’t go out rioting they worked to make things better. Things like football got them through the hard times.
RIP Gary and Vic.
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I take your point Bully. Actually you remind me of something Adrian Chiles said after Jeff Astle died. ‘Don’t ever let anyone tell you that football doesn’t matter because it does, it provides the backdrop for our very lives’.
Gary Speed was the ultimate professional, a giant amongst men. No pretensions of grandeur. You never heard anything about him other than what he did on the football pitch, he let his football do the talking. Had time for anybody too.
One can only try and imagine the pain Gary Speed’s family are suffering. I just hope that his family are left alone to grieve.
RIP Speedo.
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Shropshire.
That’s pretty much what I was trying to say but he said it much better than me. I’ve heard so many people that knew Gary Speed say ‘I should have seen it coming and done something.’ Over the last thirty years I’ve known eleven work colleagues that have ended their own lives and the one common factor is that no one saw it coming. Anybody that finds themselves in the terrible position that Gary’s family and friends are now should not in any way blame themselves.
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Morning all,
Shocking news about Gary Speed. He was never a megastar, but he had an air of humility that led, evidently from the response, to so many feeling a sense of warmth towards him. Seems to make so little sense when his life seemed to have taken on a new purpose, but I guess there’s so much none of us know.
Also whilst the news of Gary Speed was devastating, another British serviceman died in Afghanistan over the weekend and we shouldn’t let our love for football cloud the heroic work those boys in the Middle-East undertake on a daily basis.
To the reffing. I honestly don’t think any official penalises a so-called smaller club intentionally, but certainly in the case of Taggart at Man United, in the back of their mind, they understand the repercussions of ‘getting it wrong’ are far worse than they would be for penalising say, Wigan. They’re only human after all.
If any of us want to tap into their mindset, look at today’s papers- Mike Jones is getting it in the neck for awarding against a top-6 club, no mention of Lee Probert for the other way around.
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RIP Gary
I hope that wherever you are- Your mind & soul is clean and you have found inner peace!
Dont think its appropriate to debate the decisions of the weekend on this particular page!
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Kev I’m with Hilltop on this one. What you don’t get from watching it on a screen is that you can only see what the camera points at. Mr Probert couldn’t wait to get his whistle to his lips when Lennon went down yet he never even gave it a thought when Thomas went down in an almost identical incident.
But it wasn’t just the major decisions it was all of the smaller ones. I’ve seen it in the flesh and re viewed on Sky and it was a travesty of even handed refereeing (unfortunately the norm in the PL.)
There are one or two decent PL refs that seem to get most things right. Most of the rest are jokes. The consistent quality for them all though is their bias when a ‘bigger’ club is involved.
There are a number of reasons put forward for this but my belief is that they know that a dodgy decision against a big club will be analysed repeatedly, he will then become the centre of attraction and the PL may lose confidence in him which could cost him missing games and losing money. On the other hand a dodgy decision against Albion, Wolves, Wigan or Blackburn is swept under the carpet and soon forgotten.
If you doubt this look at how much coverage the Man Ure penalty decision got on MOTD. Sky, Radio5 and Talksport. It was the major news item on every sports bulletin on Saturday night.
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Hi Jarrod,
I’ve already had my rant,and given my opinion of the weekend’s game on the match report,so I won’t repeat myself here.
Re: Gary Speed
my impression of Gary was always that he had lots of skill as a player,and off the pitch seemed to be a really nice guy,none of the arrogance or overblown ego that you find with many of the players today.
A terrible shock,and very sad news.
When you talk about ‘getting things into perspective’,this is the reason I often put light-hearted and jokey posts on here-
life can be short,uncertain,and unpredictable,so I decided a long time ago to spend as much time as possible with a smile on my face,and squeezing the living out of whatever years we have.
It’s a precious gift so I want to enjoy it and have as much fun as I can-
even though some of my stuff on here probably causes mostly painful groans when people read it.
Well,at least it does make people appreciate more the REALLY funny material the pro. comedians use…….
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The biggest decision for me was when Probert bottled sending Sandros off. The penalty decisions obviously have an effect on a game, but if Spurs were reduced to ten men, no way would they have got at us in the second half. Instead he booked Mulumbu for having the bottle to tell him how to do his job.
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On behalf of the Former Players Association our deepest sympathy goes to Gary’s wife and family. Gary was a friend to many of our members in particular Graham Williams, Bobby Gould & John Hartson. The news was a terrible shock and Welsh football will miss a great Manager. RIP.
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Echo everyones comments re Gary Speed MBE. Just to say I feel Lennon was 100% penalty, Albion ones were more difficult but on another day could have been given. Regardless of the referee we still had chances to win so I wouldn’t blame a ref on the loss. Bad news on Gera though! Out for the foreseeable future with a serious knee injury
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Morning all on what is very sad day. Gary Speed was totally the opposite to what is wrong in football of today. He wasn’t in it for the money or for all of the riches that went with it. Since his arrival into management he has come across as an honest, genuine and likeable guy and he will be a loss to anyome connected with football. All our wishes to go to his wife and two sons. I cannot think of the agony and pain thay they will be going through.
Regarding the game, clearly spoilt by a referee who could give a penalty to a ‘big’ club yet failed to penalise the ‘big’ club when a similar offence was committed, failed to brandish a second yellow to the player of the ‘big’ club and then gave a foul on the keeper of the ‘big’ club when he staggered back over his goal line. I do not feel that this is sour grapes, fair and reasonable eyesight and knowledge of the game would show this. Finally I am not James Morrison’s biggest fan but I thought he was excellent on Saturday.
All in all though, Saturday was disappointing, yesterday’s news of Gary Speed was totally sad and depressing.
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Bomber,
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Great blog again, Saddened by the tragic news of Gary Speed. Hope he can find peace now.
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The referees are like the untouchables being a law unto themselves.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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When the dust settles, reasons will be put forward as to what caused Gary Speed’s death. I have no knowledge of an actual suicide, but an attempted one caused by LSD within my family lingers on to this day. Skeletons in cupboards for all if you dare to ask. The older one becomes, the more precious life is by the day. I have no idea whether ‘there is a better life’ after this one but I am certainly not an atheist. The beauty of this world is too incredible to be an accident. To leave it behind by one’s own hand shows a misery that needed help. Maybe we could all do more.
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Cant really add anything more to dreadful news of
Garry’s death we’ll just have to wait for reason
He seemingly had everything. Less important the
Spurs match although we lost there were many positives but another penalty against us was hard
to take sadly the sick culture prevails now were
players go down at the slightest touch its called
cheating and sadly it prevails in our culture.
Have to say Morrison was brilliant and JT was back
to his best made new Englands Walker look poor
(Steadman like) Apart from our finishing the only
other fault was we are being punished on the break
Dont think Shane is fully fit could do with a break
Desparate news about Zoltan he will be missed!!
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