This time last year I found myself hurting at the loss of someone I never had the pleasure of meeting. This may seem extreme, but I’ll try explain it to the best of my ability.
Being a Leeds United fan is like being part of an elite club. “Dirty Leeds” are known as one of the world’s most hated football teams, so the feeling of meeting another Leeds fan can’t really be put into words – it’s like being part of a family. And so when Gary Speed passed, it was almost as though a relative had died.

From an early age I was raised on a Leeds United diet, shown old VHS tapes of the formidable midfield of Strachan, Batty, McAllister and Speed. Seeing him run down the wing, his long hair flowing behind, he was always one of the players I kept an eye on and one regarded as a gentleman and a model professional. I remember my Dad reminding me every time he was on the screen about “what a player” he was.
My affinity with him was so great that I even found myself cheering for Wales when he was manager – and with good merit, too, as he had his team playing good football and winning games.
And then he was gone. You only have to look at Bryn Law or Shay Given to see just how much of an effect he had on people. Leeds United celebrated his life with a 1-0 win against Leicester, with pantomime villain El Hadji Diouf wearing a “Gary Speed Never Forgotten” t-shirt beneath his match shirt.