{"id":317741,"date":"2025-12-01T04:32:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T04:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/317741\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T04:32:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T04:32:17","slug":"everton-unveil-bench-in-memory-of-former-footballer-gary-speed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/317741\/","title":{"rendered":"Everton unveil bench in memory of former footballer Gary Speed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764563535_935_grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/092bffd0-ce1c-11f0-88a9-a3681fa87dac.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images Gary Speed looks upwards during a 2011 match between Wales and England in the stadium. He is wearing a dark suit and tie.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/>Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Gary Speed&#8217;s death in 2011 shook the country and football world<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The mother of former footballer Gary Speed has unveiled a &#8220;talking bench&#8221; in his memory at Everton&#8217;s new stadium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The club hopes the bench will give people a space to speak &#8220;openly&#8221; as part of efforts to tackle mental health challenges and loneliness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Carol Speed laid flowers by the bench before Saturday&#8217;s game between her son&#8217;s former clubs Everton and Newcastle United.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The death of the former Wales boss, who took his life at the age of 42 in 2011, shocked the country and footballing world following his success as a player and manager.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">David Wycherley, from Everton Fans&#8217; Forum, said &#8220;his story teaches us a lesson that we can&#8217;t ignore&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Hopefully [the bench] will remind people to slow down, to check in with each other and to talk and just ask that extra question about how people are getting on in life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;But also to listen as well. Sometimes it&#8217;s just as important to be that listening ear for the people around you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764563535_935_grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/9e7ba420-ce1a-11f0-88a9-a3681fa87dac.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Everton FC Graham Stuart shows the bench to Carol Speed as she holds a bouquet of flowers. Fans and workers in hi-vis vests mill around in the background.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/>Everton FC<\/p>\n<p>Carol Speed was accompanied by former Everton player Graham Stuart as she laid a floral tribute<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764563535_935_grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/d53ff4f0-ce1c-11f0-88a9-a3681fa87dac.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Getty Images View of plaque on the side of the bench. It says &quot;In memory of Gary Speed - Evertonian, captain, leader - 1969-2011. A place for what is often unspoken. A place to sit, share and listen&quot;. \" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/>Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The bench was opened to the public after the 14th anniversary of Gary Speed&#8217;s death on 27 November<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Speed&#8217;s ex-teammate and Everton ambassador Graham Stuart added: &#8220;There will be trained mental health staff available at the bench and &#8211; every matchday moving forward &#8211; they will be around as a support system so that if anybody does feel the need to speak or learn about the support available, they can.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Speed also played for Leeds United, Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United, alongside 85 appearances for Wales.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">He became manager of the national squad in 2010 and is credited with kick-starting their rise, having taken them from an all-time low of 117th to 45th place in the world rankings.<\/p>\n<p>If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC&#8217;s Action Line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Images Gary Speed&#8217;s death in 2011 shook the country and football world The mother of former footballer&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-317741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}