With the shocking news that broke on Sunday morning regarding former Wanderers midfielder Gary Speed, it would seem completely wrong to just write about the latest disastrous chapter at the Reebok without acknowledging the contribution that Speedo made to Bolton Wanderers during his time at the club.

Usually when former players pass away, fans are told of memories from a bygone age  via grainy black and white clips showing football long before many fans were born. It is therefore completely incomprehensible to try and sum up the passing of a player who is synonymous with the recent history of Bolton Wanderers.

Gary arrived at the Reebok in 2004 as a classic Big Sam signing being someone who seemed to be coming to the end of their career, but who could still do a valuable job in helping the team on its upward trajectory. Quite simply, however, he surpassed these initial expectations by playing for the team for three years at such a high level that there was never any sign of his age catching up with him.
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