Like most Newcastle fans, I have a lot of fond memories of Gary Speed's time in a Newcastle shirt. He ran things in the centre of the park, and some would argue that we sold him too early as he went on to have a few more seasons in Bolton's colours where he was again very popular amongst the home faithful. It says a lot about a player when he is not just mourned by the clubs he played for, but also by their fiercest rivals. Not only were Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheff United fans uniting to bemoan the loss of a big player - but Man Utd., Liverpool and Sunderland fans also combined to pay tribute to a big Premier League player. Of course, the entire nation of Wales is also in mourning as he has turned their fortunes around dramatically in the last year or so. Most importantly of all - we should all spare some time to think of his family during a time where no one can really grasp what they must be going through at this moment in time.

The whole situation is just so bizarre. It'd be prudish for me to speculate as to why Gary did what he did, but it just doesn't make sense from the outset. I watched him on Football Focus with Gary McAllister laughing and joking about their time together in the famous Leeds title winning side of 1992. Presenter Dan Walker blogged about his day with him on Saturday and how he didn't seem to have a trouble in the world. Mark Lawrenson spoke similarly where he talked about Gary popping into the Match of the Day production studios to have a chat with the boys in there - again, no one suspected anything was wrong. Little did they all know that later that night (or early the next morning) Gary would do what he did. It's truly shocking, upsetting and baffling.

Of course, already this morning a lot of the national tabloids are already speculating into the manner of his death in the only way they know how. Sensationalising it all. Regardless of whether he was a Newcastle player or not - I find this really distasteful and showing a complete lack of compassion and respect for his family. The same thing happened recently with the deaths of Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. It isn't for people like us to speculate about these things, this is for the relevant authorities to sort out. If Speed's family are happy for the details to come out, then fine. Otherwise we should be leaving them to mourn alone.

Gary was part of one of the greatest NUFC teams in recent memory, notably the team that went so far in the Champions League just under 10 years ago. He had it all. He could shoot, pass, tackle and lead a team. I was reminded of his goal against Bradford City of MOTD2 last night, an absolute howitzer from 25 yards. Defenders struggled to get anywhere near him at corners as he made his darting runs that often resulted in a bullet header into the back of the net. I think he scored 30 or 40 goals in our colours in just over 200 appearances. Not a bad record for a midfielder. He was also part of both Newcastle teams that got so close to winning the FA Cup in the late 90s. None other than Sir Bobby Robson spoke very highly of Gary and was a huge fan of his. You know you are doing something right if Bobby gives you the thumbs up.

I'm told there will be some fitting tribute planned for Saturday's game about Chelsea. I would hope that we could do more than the bog standard minute silence/applause - what that is I don't know. Perhaps we should be encouraged to bring black and white scarves to the game in a similar manner to the Alan Shearer testimonial. That was a sight to behold and one of my fondest memories as a Newcastle supporter. Some might think it'd be in bad taste - but do we not want to celebrate his life? I don't know what the best way to do this is; there are people with far more authority and knowledge than me. Whatever it is though, I know we will come together and celebrate his life.

Cheers for the memories Gary. Rest in Peace.