Memorial to Gary Speed planned for February

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Memorial to Gary Speed planned for February The Football Association of Wales has announced that when Wales play host to Costa Rica on the 29th February, it will not only be an international friendly, but also a memorial to Gary Speed.

Wales boss Speed, who was found hanged at home last November, made the first of his record 85 caps for Wales when they won a friendly against Costa Rica in 1990 with Dean Saunders scoring the only goal at Ninian Park. Speed, who was then 20 and a midfielder for Leeds United, was a 76th minute substitute, replacing Glyn Hodges in the match in May 1990 that set him on his way to his illustrious international career.

The Welsh FA confirmed that their first friendly since the death of Speed would be held at the Cardiff City Stadium. The return of Costa Rica will undoubtedly be a very emotional first international fixture for Speed’s team since he took his life on the 27th November. The FAW have also said that 10% of the profits from the friendly will go to charities chosen by Speed’s family.

The statement from the Welsh FA said that this was the perfect opportunity to celebrate both the life and the career achievements of someone who had been an excellent servant to Welsh football, as both a player and a manager. This is only the second time that Costa Rica have played Wales, and drew 2-2 against the European and World Champions Spain in November, and currently stand at number 65 in the FIFA world rankings.

Wales, who are currently in 48th place in the world rankings, are expected to name Speed’s successor as manager just before kick off at the Cardiff fixture. The Welsh FA have also confirmed the process they are using to select the 13th full time manager of Wales international team, and they have charged a managerial panel of 6 men, head by Phil Pritchard, the teams president, to appoint the replacement for Speed.

Speed’s assistant manager was Dutchman Raymond Verheijen, who has posted on Twitter that he thinks the FAW should give Speed’s hand picked back room team the opportunity to carry on his good work. Welsh star Gareth Bale has also backed both Verheijen and Osian Roberts to stay part of the Welsh management set up that was thrown into disarray due to Speed’s shocking and untimely death.

Bale, a winger at Tottenham Hotspur, has said that it would be absolutely ridiculous to make radical and significant changes to the management team. He told BBC sport that he knew personally that most of the players wanted to keep the same team in place.

 

 

 

 

Striker Superstars BETA from CyberSports

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Striker Superstars BETA from CyberSports Cybersports have today announced the launch of their much anticipated Striker Superstars BETA. This is the next stage of the Unity based browser games and reveals new and eagerly awaited features such as Pro Coaching, Inventory and Shop as well as the friends and grouping function.

During the past year, the Cybersports team have been working very closely with Unity Studios, Denmark to create this browser-based game and bring it to the masses. Striker Superstars delivers a a great gaming experience that is truly browser based and has simplified access. The addition of the new grouping feature gives players both the ability to organise their teams and also play with and against their friends.

Your performance is measured by a number of key statistics which are stored against your player profile. Your player rating is promoted to the masses across theStriker Superstars leader boards which give other users to compare their performance against yours.

Striker Superstars is free to play and delivers fluid game play through its use of fully motion captured character player animation. Unlike many casual games out there, Striker Superstars is a significant step-up from your usual browser based gaming experience.

Malcolm Clark, CEO of CyberSports, said

“Striker Superstars makes multiplayer virtual football accessible to the widest possible player-base. What the team have managed to deliver in a browser is unbelievable – a fast real-time multiplayer sports game.

“Gamers are becoming more sophisticated and demanding and are moving on from turn-based games which involve very little true competition or collaboration with their friends. They want a richer and more compelling real-time experience which they can share.

“Striker Superstars is the next generation of ‘social games’, where games become truly social and are not just called that because they are hosted on a social network.”

 

 

Andy Gray hooks up with new crowd powered social network SharetheMatch

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  • · Dedicated, global social media app & website for football fans
  • · Crowd sourced content & match updates for every club in every major league worldwide
  • · Upload pictures & videos, follow friends, comment live on the game

Andy Gray hooks up with new crowd powered social network SharetheMatch

Andy Gray hooks up with new crowd powered social network SharetheMatch

The new social network app dedicated to football, Sharethematch, are delighted to announce that the latest name they have on board is Andy Gray, the Scottish footballing legend. Gray has said of the app that he loved it from the outset and immediately realised its potential. He added that is was a kind of Facebook for football fans and that he was able to interact with fans across the globe via photos, videos and words.

The aim of Sharethematch is to give football supporters around  the world their very own network on which they can share their news, gossip and passion for the beautiful game. Through their website and FREE to download app Sharethematch is harnessing the power of crowd sourcing by allowing fans to freely share their images, video and opinions as well as letting them comment on managers, officials, referees and players.

Those who use Sharethematch will be able to check into any football ground, meet up with their friends and then interact with other fans from anywhere in the world to comment on the game, all while the match is being played.

Sharethematch lets the most important people in football – the fans – speak. With a constant feed of up to the minute gossip and opinion from fan powered news and professional journalists, Sharethematch is bang up to date throughout the week; giving footy fans instant access to the latest news and views wherever they are – globally.

Sharethematch gives fans an opinionated and irreverent spin on all the week’s news from all the clubs with National sports press agency Sportsbeat/News Associates. With more reporters than any other UK-based media outlet around grounds Europe-wide each weekend, from the parks to the Premier League, its news team brings expertise and debate to Sharethematch’s lively mix.

Rob Sloman, Editorial Director for Sharethematch said: “We are taking football into the next phase of the social media revolution. We can give fans the opportunity to follow football from the 90 minutes of the game to the day to day lifestyle of a fan.”

Visit www.sharethematch.com to register for free or download the app from the iTunes appstore.

 

 

Gary Speed tributes across the country

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Gary Speed tributes across the country The Welsh manager, Gary Speed, died recently and the nation are still trying to come to grips with the death of this footballing legend. Across the UK last weekend hundreds of thousands of people paid tribute to the player and there were many emotional scenes. He was recently found dead aged only 42.

At the Leeds United football ground a tribute was held to the player on Saturday afternoon and tens of thousands of fans came to pay tribute. They were joined by Louise Speed, his widow and their two sons.

At the football ground a huge number of tributes to Speed have been placed around the statue of Leeds legend Billy Bremner. During halftime, Louise speed came out onto the pitch to inspect the tributes made to her husband.

A montage was also shown which highlighted some of the finest moments that Speed had while playing for Leeds, the club where his first professional contract which he signed in 1988.

In Newcastle, at St James’s Park, there were also scenes of remembrance and there was a great deal of celebration and clapping before the match kicked off to remember the player. The memorial was actually delayed because Mrs Speed said that she wanted to come to the ground to thank all the fans before the match began.

David Moyes is the manager of Everton and he has recently commented about Speed’s death, “He was a true gentleman of the game and his death is truly a sad loss for football.” Gareth Dale, a Welsh player for Tottenham Hotspur has paid tribute to Speed by stitching, ‘RIP Gary Speed’ onto the side of his boot. All across the UK flowers, scarves and football shirts have been left at stadiums to remember the player.

Socrates Brazilian football legend dies

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Socrates Brazilian football legend dies Socrates, the Brazilian football player recently died aged 57 and the whole of Brazil are mourning his death. He died on Sunday night due to an intestinal infection which led to septic shock. In his later life he also became a political activist. His agent has announced that he had recently been suffering from complications associated with him having cirrhosis of the liver.

It is well-known that the player was suffering with an addiction to cigarettes and alcohol. His agent has said, “He was in hospital three times before he eventually confronted his addictions and saw his recovery as a chance to fight them however, ultimately, he was unable to.”

During the military dictatorship which gripped Brazil he was known as a fighter for democracy and had a strong intellect. As well as being a football player he was also a qualified doctor and is still regarded by FIFA is one of the hundred greatest players to have ever played the game.

He has played in two World Cup finals in his career, which did not start until he was 24, which is an unusually late age to join professional football. Over his career, he scored over 300 goals which made him an international football legend.

Recently a tribute to the player took the form of  a minute’s silence being held at a football match in Brazil. Members of the audience raised their fists up to the sky, in a way that the player used to when he was victorious on the field.

In an interview earlier  in the year, which he conducted from hospital, he admitted how he was struggling with an addiction to alcohol and said that he was finding it impossible to quit. He also commented how his tolerance to alcohol was massive and this led to him drinking much more.