Wales boss Speed found dead

by Tony Cuddihy , 27 November 2011

The Wales manager Gary Speed has died suddenly at the age of 42.


The Football Association of Wales released the news on Sunday afternoon.

"The Football Association of Wales are sad to announce the death of the national team manager Gary Speed," read an FAW statement.

"We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family.

"We ask that everyone respects the family's privacy at this very sad time."

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said: "At 7.08am today, Cheshire Police was informed of a sudden death at an address in Huntington, Chester.

"Officers went to the scene where a 42-year-old man was found dead. The next of kin have been informed and have confirmed the identity of the man as Gary Speed.

"There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. The family have requested that they are left in peace to grieve at this difficult time. A family tribute will be released at a later date but not today."

Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs said that was "devastated" to learn of the death of his former Wales team-mate.

"Words cannot begin to describe how sad I feel at hearing this awful news. It goes without saying my thoughts are with his family at this tremendously sad time," he said.

Aston Villa defender James Collins said that Speed's former Newcastle team-mate Shay Given was so upset by the news, he almost did not play in Sunday's game at Swansea.

"Shay was very close with him and you could see that in the minute's silence," he said.

"He was so emotional that you didn't know if he was going to play the game. That just says it all, how seriously affected everyone's lives are. We're all just devastated and our thoughts are with his family."

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
38
28
5
5
64
89
2.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
56
89
3.
Arsenal
38
21
7
10
25
70
4.
Tottenham
38
20
9
9
25
69
5.
Newcastle
38
19
8
11
5
65
6.
Chelsea
38
18
10
10
19
64
7.
Everton
38
15
11
12
10
56
8.
Liverpool
38
14
10
14
7
52
9.
Fulham
38
14
10
14
-3
52
10.
West Brom
38
13
8
17
-7
47
11.
Swansea
38
12
11
15
-7
47
12.
Norwich
38
12
11
15
-14
47
13.
Sunderland
38
11
12
15
-1
45
14.
Stoke
38
11
12
15
-17
45
15.
Wigan
38
11
10
17
-20
43
16.
Aston Villa
38
7
17
14
-16
38
17.
QPR
38
10
7
21
-23
37
18.
Bolton
38
10
6
22
-31
36
19.
Blackburn
38
8
7
23
-30
31
20.
Wolverhampton
38
5
10
23
-43
25
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