Gary Speed

Gary Andrew Speed (born September 8 1969 in Mancot, Wales) is a Welsh footballer, who plays in midfield. He holds the record for most appearances in the English Premier League. He is currently playing for Sheffield United. He was also captain for the Welsh national team until he retired from international football in 2004.

Club career

Early career

Speed began his career with Leeds United, playing a key role as they won the First Division championship title in 1992. He moved to Everton in 1996, for a fee of £3.5 million.

Newcastle United

Speed was club captain at Everton, but moved to Newcastle United in 1998 for a fee of £5.5m, in controversial circumstances, and while during his six years there he became the club's most dependable midfielder. Speed featured in the club's FA Cup Final defeats by Arsenal in 1998 and by Manchester United in 1999. He also played in the UEFA Champions League with Newcastle in season 2002-3.

Newcastle's manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was sorry to see Speed leave the club, and acknowledged that he would do very well for Bolton Wanderers.

Bolton Wanderers

Speed moved to Bolton Wanderers on a two-year deal in a £750,000 switch from Newcastle United in July 2004. He became the first player to make 500 Premiership appearances when he played in Bolton's 4-0 victory over West Ham United in December 2006.

On May 1 2007, Gary Speed was named as the First Team coach for Bolton after Sam Allardyce stepped down from his job. However in October, he left the coaching job and returned to being just a player with the club. Conflicting reports of the incident claim then manager Sammy Lee relieved him of his duties to concentrate on playing however Speed, in an interview with the Bolton News, claims he chose to step down.

Speed scored a header for Bolton against Reading on August 25 2007, making him and Ryan Giggs the only players to have scored in every Premiership season to date. On October 20 2007, Ryan Giggs matched this achievement with a deflected shot at Aston Villa. It had been reported in December 2007 that Speed was a target for Derby County, but it was confirmed on 24 December 2007 that he would join Sheffield United on loan on 1 January 2008, with a view to a permanent move for a fee of about £250,000.

Sheffield United

Speed made his first team debut on the day of his transfer - being named in the starting eleven for a 0-0 away draw against Wolves on New Years Day 2008. He played regularly for the rest of the season and deputised as captain when Chris Morgan was unavailable. Having seen his penalty parried Speed netted the rebound to score his first goal for the Blades in a victory over Coventry in March of that year. He went on to finish the season on three goals for the Blades , scoring both goals in a 2-1 home victory over Bristol City in the penultimate game of the 2007-08 season. In an interview with BBC Wales on May 10th 2008, Speed hinted that the 2008/2009 season may be his last playing before moving into coaching or management but stated that he had not yet made up his mind.

International career

Speed had been capped for Wales 85 times, second in the all-time list only to Neville Southall. He retired from international football in 2004 after the side's 3-2 defeat to Poland in a World Cup qualifier. After his retirement from international football, he was recommended to take up the mantle of Wales' manager, by both the former manager Mark Hughes and fellow Welsh midfielder Robbie Savage.

Personal life

As a child, he went to Hawarden High School. He supported Everton as a youngster.

Career statistics

Club performance

Club	Division	Season(s)	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leeds United	Premier League	1988–89 to 1995–96	248	39	21	5	26	11	17	2	312	57
Everton	Premier League	1996–97 to 1997–98	58	15	2	1	5	1	0	0	65	17
Newcastle United	Premier League	1997–98 to 2003–04	213	29	22	5	11	1	38	5	284	40
Bolton Wanderers	Premier League	2004–05 to 2007–08	121	14	6	0	4	0	8	0	139	14
Sheffield United	Championship	2007–08 - present	29	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	31	5
Career totals			669	102	53	11	46	13	63	7	831	133

Notes

External links

• Gary Speed player profile at sufc.co.uk