Soccer fans pay tribute to model professional

Within an hour of hearing the news that Gary Speed had died, Leeds United supporters were gathering at Elland Road to pay their respects to a key member of their league-winning team from 20 years ago.

Some trudged to the stadium on foot, others emerged from hastily arranged taxis. All said they had to be there to remember a model professional who made more than 300 appearances for the club.

They headed to a memorial for Billy Bremner, another Leeds player who died too young, and, although it was bitterly cold, they removed their scarves and tied them around the statue’s neck, arms and legs.

One even took off his shirt and laid it at the foot of the statue, next to dozens of floral tributes bearing messages of thanks.

Some passing motorists sounded their car horns in tribute.

There were similar scenes at Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United, where Speed served both as a player and a manager.

Howard Wilkinson, who was Speed’s manager at Leeds, said the former player’s death was “a genuine loss to the world that we live in”.

One of the first Leeds supporters to lay flowers was Andrew Dalton, 26, who spoke with tears about Speed’s career.

“I came to pay my respects to a true, true Leeds United legend who was one of the greats in the title-winning side back in 1991-92,” Mr Dalton said.

“To see him on television on Saturday doing Football Focus with (former Leeds player and manager) Gary McAllister, when he looked as well as anyone, and then to hear the news today, all I feel is complete and utter numbness and complete devastation.”

Mr Dalton said Speed was popular among fans because he performed consistently after breaking into the first team from the club’s youth squads.

“He was a hard-working modest guy who would do anything for the club.”

Supporters said Speed would be remembered as a key member of one of Leeds’s finest midfield quartets, which also included McAllister, Gordon Strachan and David Batty.

“That midfield was the best we had had since the 1970s,” said Adam Firth, 26, a Leeds season ticket-holder since 1990, who left a scarf bearing the message: “My first Leeds hero”.

“It is a real shame,” Mr Firth said. “The fans loved him. He was my favourite player when I was growing up – I even used to have a doll of his – and I just cannot believe it.”

Mr Firth was joined by a Huddersfield Town fan, Anthony Jackson, 32, who said: “There will be a vibe felt all over Yorkshire about this.”

Speed’s death was announced the day after Leeds were beaten 2-1 by Yorkshire rivals Barnsley in a league match at Elland Road.

A Sunday after a home defeat would normally be a slow trading day for the club shop but, in the space of an hour yesterday, eight fans arrived to have “Speed” and “11”, the number he wore with distinction, printed on the back of their replica shirts.

At Bramall Lane, a Sheffield United spokesman said the club was exploring options for a lasting tribute to Speed.

Shocked fans yesterday placed bunches of flowers at the stadium between statues to two other Blades heroes, former chairman Derek Dooley and centre-half Joe Shaw.

A shirt bearing the words “Speed Legend” and the number 15 had been attached to railings along with several scarves, from Sheffield United and other clubs.

Blades supporter Martin Fox, a 26-year-old IT manager from Norton, Sheffield, said he was “shocked, saddened and a bit disbelieving”.

Steve Knowles, 42, of Halfway, Sheffield, said: “Even in after-match interviews he would be positive, whether he had a good game or a bad game.

“There is universal respect for him from all the clubs he has played for. It’s just not really sunk in,” he said.