Gary Speed (born September 8, 1969 in Mancot) is a Welsh
footballer, who plays in midfield. He currently plays for Bolton
Wanderers, after a £750,000 switch from Newcastle United in July
2004. He was also captain for the Welsh national team until
recently, when he retired from international football after the
side's 3-2 defeat to Poland in a World Cup qualifier.
Speed began his career with Leeds United, winning the title with
them in 1992. He moved to Everton in 1996, for a fee of
£5,500,000. He then moved to Newcastle in 1998, and while there
he became the club's most dependable midfielder. Newcastle's
manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was sorry to see Speed leave the
club, and acknowledged that he would do very well for Bolton.
He had been capped for Wales over 80 times, and holds the record
for the most Premiership appearances. Besides being a strong
tackler, Speed is noted for skill in set pieces, often scoring
from them.
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. Bolton's manager Sam Allardyce has urged Speed to see
out the rest of his 2 year contract with Bolton first. For his
part, Speed has stated he will not apply for the position but
would talk to the Welsh FA if approached. |
