"All we've done is cried. None of this makes sense. I don't know if we'll ever know." Jonathan Ford, Chief Executive, Football Association of Wales. For once Sepp Blatter said the right thing in calling Gary Speed , who died unexpectedly on Sunday, "a model professional and a fantastic ambassador for the game". The Welsh national team manager seemed a flawless sportsman in so many ways, always trim and industrious, never hot-headed or lazy. Speed always made friends, had no enemies and appeared to have a settled life and loving family as he embarked on a new and successful career. His past was bright and so was his future. He won a title with Leeds United in 1992, an M.B.E. in 2010 for services to football, enjoyed passing on his experience as a coach and was a popular teacher. His effect on a moribund Wales has been immediately extraordinary. After a remarkably long playing career he excelled in his final job, which makes his apparent suicide all the more unfathomable. The facts just do not seem to fit. He had planned a family and working trip to the Middle East at Christmas; only hours before he hanged himself, Speed appeared on BBC television, watched a match with Alan Shearer , and joked with Welsh colleague Robbie Savage on the phone before hosting a dinner party. He spoke in his final hours of planning future friendlies for Wales, of returning to the Football Focus show before Christmas and of meeting a friend this weekend. Never has a suicide made less sense. The testimony of TV presenter Dan Walker on Speed's final day is typical: "He was as bubbly as I've known him," said Walker. "He was talking about his kids, how they were really coming on, and talking about playing golf next week." Welsh teammate Savage concurred, incredulous, "I spoke to him yesterday and we were laughing and joking." "Just cannot believe the news regarding Gary Speed, " tweeted Michael Owen . "We waved at each other two days ago dropping our kids off at school. I'm numb." Former Leeds teammate Gordon Strachan said that Speed, unlike some players he had come across with mental health issues, had shown no signs of suffering from depression. "This one is right out of the blue," he commented, while Welsh starlet Gareth Bale , who has shown impressive form under Speed, summed up the ubiquitous sense of dismay: "Everyone still can't get their head around this." FAW Chief Exec, Ford added, "He was a model professional, a lovely guy, gregarious person. Players wanted to play for him, fans loved him." Shearer, who like Speed's former Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson and others has taken the death badly, called Speed "bright" and "fun" and that he "lit up every room he w alked into." And this was the man who felt he could not go on living? Nobody yet claims to have ever spotted any warning signs. His wife, via his agent, has insisted theirs was a happy marriage and that no row had preceded the tragedy. Speed's suicide remains a baffling mystery to one and all, a completely out-of-character decision, as far as everyone can understand. But the truth must be out there. The police reported no suspicious circumstances to the coroner, while a full inquest will be held in January. All we know so far is that Speed's wife discovered his body hanging in the garage at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. This has set the theory-mongers off, but until we hear otherwise we cannot but play amateur psychologists. We need the world to make sense for our own sanity. If Paul Gascoigne had taken his own life, no-one would have been surprised. But Gary Speed? So are skeletons about to jump from the closet to explain his sudden death, or was the placid exterior and professional perfectionism an elaborate mask for a highly troubled soul and his apparent whim of an exit in fact long in the planning? And was this another Robert Enke , a second victim of a high-profile sport's failure to treat mental health as a serious ailment? In his column for the Daily Telegraph, Liverpool legend Alan Hansen confirmed depression remains a taboo in the dressing-room, and that football is fundamentally a "brutal culture." "Players know that any admission of a problem or a call for help would see them annihilated by their teammates," he wrote, "so as a result there would be a real air of silence when it came to telling people that you needed help." Paul Farmer, head of mental health charity MIND , appeared to confirm football itself might have a case to answer. "The high-pressure environment of top-level sport can cause huge levels of stress," he wrote, "and just because someone appears to be able to carry on their usual daily life, it does not mean that they are not struggling in private...T hree quarters of suicides are by men. The macho culture of football means that we have seen very few professionals come forward to talk about mental health problems." Society at large understands little about depression, and football still has not got a clue. That a man so apparently successful on the outside should feel so cornered by his inner de mons that he could not face another day alive is something we all need to sit down and take stock of. We may not understand it at this moment, but we need to try. We think we know the symptoms of depression well when we seem them in a person on a regular basis, but they can also remain invisible to outsiders as well as to the sufferer. Stan Collymore remains the only player to have publicly railed against his treatment when suffering depression as a player, making the unarguable case that missing a match with a bout of poor mental health should be as acceptable as missing a game with a pulled hamstring. Perhaps Speed's death will be a catalyst for English football to wake up to its dereliction of duty. Sue Baker of the 'Time to Change' campaign for acceptance of mental health issues certainly hopes so. "W e want to encourage anyone experiencing similar levels of despair to try and speak to someone, whether friend, family or their doctor," she said. " We hope that everyone feels able to follow Collymore ’s advice to seek help if they feel like this." Encouragingly, Tony Adams ' Sporting Chance clinic reports that more than ten players have rung since Sunday revealing serious fears about their states of mind. Away from match-days, I saw Speed in person once, in a Cardiff nightclub with fellow Welsh internationals about 15 years ago. He was smart, clean-cut, relaxed and had a calm aura about him. In a fascinating moment, he, Ryan Giggs and Dean Saunders stood on a balcony together, the entire dance floor below cheering in worship of the three Welsh demi-gods looking down on them. Speed looked on contentedly, though maybe a little blasé as well. He was undemonstrative compared to most players and was always in peak physical condition, which suggests he led a life of discipline, perhaps too much so - is this the clue to the mystery? If no-one spotted the signs, then obviously no-one really knew the real Gary Speed. The fame and money probably made it harder for him to come clean about his feelings and certainly distanced us, the public, from the man inside. Better to lose it on and off the pitch like Gazza then, so life-saving help can be forthcoming. The loss to Welsh football remains immense, yet to his loved ones incalculable. 840 club appearances and 134 goals is a fantastic tally, plus 85 national team caps and six strikes for Cymru completes a remarkable innings. Whilst he probably considered himself a failure when he took his own life, Speed's final accomplishment in catapulting his little country from 117th to 45th in the FIFA World Rankings with four wins out of five proves he died a shining success. My abiding memory is of a crowd at Cardiff Arms Park chanting for a substitution to be made during a Wales home game, and a fan turned to ask his friend what was being sung: "We want Gary Speed, say we want Gary Speed!" When the tears have dried, our best tribute to Speed will not just be a continuation of the winning Welsh team he forged, but a sea-change in football's attitude to the disease which took his life, so tragically at the age of only 42. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile - Coincidentally, Ronald Reng's book on Robert Enke's suicide, "A Life Too Short," has just won the William Hill Sports book of the year award. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

Wales face Germany at Borussia Park, Monchengladbach, this Wednesday. The 54,000 capacity ground is home to Borussia Monchengladbach and is one of the most passionate stadiums in Germany. Dusseldorf is the largest city to Monchengladbach and is connected by an S-Bahn line. For a more cultural experience, staying in Dusseldorf might be the best bet, but Monchengladbach has enough of its own pubs and restaurants if you are only on a short stay. Monchengladbach has a population of about 260,000 people. Book hotels in Monchengladbach Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags World Cup soccer football Monchengladbach Germany Betting

'If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well, It were done quickly' - Macbeth (Scotsman), William Shakespeare (Englishman) Team GB is getting ridiculous. The prospect of Britain fielding a football team at the 2012 Olympics should have been something to celebrate after years of absence. Instead it is fast becoming an almighty calamity. For years, I watched in envy as other nations played soccer in the Olympics, but it was never a huge loss for us to be left out. Now we have finally been invited to (our own) party, we are umming and erring so much we might not even end up going. There are two immovable obstacles at the heart of the current furor, which shows no signs of abating. One is that the UK is four nations in one and those four nations are the oldest football associations in the world, with privileged seats on FIFA’s International Board but in danger of disappearing if enough FIFA nations choose to dissolve them into a UK team. And second is that the UK has no choice but to host an Olympics football tournament in four years. Plus, FIFA President Sepp Blatter does not have the right to veto congress decisions, and in any case is equivocating and fudging the issue instead of showing a clear lead. To complicate matters further, Scottish Nationalists are the largest party in the Edinburgh parliament at the moment and plan an independence vote two years before the Games. What a mess. Try explaining this situation to anyone from outside the UK and you are met by baffled looks. Most Europeans irritatingly use ‘English’ to mean anyone from the UK or even the British Isles. Oddly enough, Americans are more on the ball when it comes to using the right adjective, perhaps because of their diverse origins. I once found myself on the wrong end of a Welsh fist in Cardiff for the crime of having an English accent, and twice in Britain, once at Hampden Park for Scotland v England and once at the Millennium Stadium for Wales v Northern Ireland, have I witnessed the British national anthem deafeningly booed. This is four nations, not one, when push comes to shove. So if there is a solution, it is in a political division which would end the football arguments once and for all. But given this is unlikely to happen by 2012, we are left with an insoluble conundrum. However funny it is to see the Tartan Army in a tizzy, their fears are not to be sniffed at. Four votes is not enough to stave off an African rebellion in FIFA corridors. If we just made our excuses and left before the Games begin that might solve the problem, but refusing to enter a team will also look silly given the tournament is to be staged in Britain. Will Wembley sell out without a GB eleven? And will the IOC not want a GB team there given football normally attracts huge crowds at the Games. Nobody seems to have mentioned their wishes in this debate. And how many international competitions can you recall which did not have a host nation? And since this is the homeland of the sport, there really must be some sort of British team competing. So what the heck do we do? A playoff between the four home nations’ U23 teams could allow one to represent Team GB and still stay under FIFA’s umbrella, but this just seems too far-fetched a possibility. However sensible it might seem, I just cannot see it happening. The Celtic FAs are already dead set against anything ‘GB’ but it might be worth a shot trying to persuade them. The best the Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh FAs can realistically do therefore, is continue to refuse to participate and voice their opposition as shrilly as they can. That also means they insist that Cardiff and Glasgow are not used as venues for the football as planned. What games there are must take place in England alone and Team GB must be made up of only English players, like it was when we used to enter a team and no-one cared a hoot. If that means the fans sing ‘Ing-ger-land’ and wave St George’s Crosses, all well and good: That will help the Celts’ cause. But an all-English team singing ‘God Save the Queen’ in Scotland or Wales??? P-lease! Maybe only when the rest of the world sees British people booing the British anthem and cheering another country against 'Team GB' would they understand what this is all about. When London 2012 is over and Team GB has lost to Croatia or on penalties to Germany, then we can all go back to watching the Olympic football on television like we used to and forget about this unprecedented hullabaloo over what should be a simple matter of the hosts fielding a team. Whatever we decide to do, please let's get it over with. "Lord grant that Marshal Wade, May by thy mighty aid, Victory bring. May he sedition hush, And like a torrent rush, Rebellious Scots to crush. God save the Queen!" (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

By Andy Greeves Cardiff City compete in their first FA Cup semi-final since 1927, when they take on Championship rivals Barnsley at Wembley next month. With only one Premiership side left in the famous old competition, never has the Welsh side had such a great chance of bringing the Cup back to Ninian Park for the first time in 81 years. While City fans are concentrating on getting tickets for the big game, the club’s board is focusing on a far greater issue - a make-or-break ruling over the club’s financial future. City’s creditors Langston are taking the Bluebirds to the High Court this week over £24m worth of unpaid loan notes, which chairman Cardiff Peter Ridsdale insists are not due to be repaid until 2016. Should the Swiss-based financier win the court case, Cardiff City would have to make immediate repayments, inevitably forcing the club, already £30m plus in debt, into administration. Cardiff City are fully aware of the precarious nature of their current position, especially given that building work is already underway on the construction of their new £29m stadium. Ridsdale admits that should City lose their legal battle, the ramifications would “materially damage the club”. The knock-on punishment for entering administration would see Cardiff stripped of 10 Championship league points, which would plunge them into the relegation zone. The financial implications of losing their fight would also bring about a mass sale of the club’s best assets. Young stars such as Joe Ledley and Aaron Ramsey would be amongst those likely to leave Ninian Park in a desperate effort to balance the books. The threat of administration has hung over Cardiff City for a number of years, a situation exacerbated by the uncertainty over repayments to Langston. Welsh international Chris Gunter was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £3m back in January, with Cardiff claiming to be in no position to turn down the offer for one of their best players. “The bid was of the magnitude that we had to say yes”, lamented Peter Ridsdale. “It's regrettably one of the facts of life of Championship football is everybody is for sale”. Cardiff’s trips to court may not end with this week’s High Court appearance. Should City win the FA Cup, or be runners up to a Portsmouth side that finishes fifth or above in the Premiership, they would not be eligible to take a place in the UEFA Cup, open to the other remaining FA Cup sides. The English Football Association have stated on numerous occasions that they can’t nominate Cardiff for a place in Europe, on the grounds that they don't have the option to. As Cardiff City are registered with the Welsh Football Association, but play in England, they are deemed ineligable to play in European competition by UEFA, as are Swansea City and Wrexham. Peter Ridsdale has deemed the current ban on Cardiff City competing in Europe as “wholly unacceptable”. It would seem he has point, given that teams in Cardiff’s situation have recently appeared in the UEFA Cup and Champions League. For example, FC Vaduz have played in European competition, despite being a member of the Swiss league. AS Monaco have also been regular members of the UEFA Cup and Champions League, despite the fact that Monaco is an independent principality and the club plays in France. Ridsdale has vowed to take legal action to ensure City would be able to take part in the UEFA Cup next season, should they be in a position to qualify. “If we win the final and are then not put forward to the UEFACup I am sure there will be a lot of people with something to say”, he remarked in Wales’ Western Mail newspaper. “It is completely wrong that a side like Cardiff City can enter a number of mainstream competitions, yet find every avenue to Europe blocked”. Ridsdale is open to the possibility of Cardiff City having a reserve side compete in the Welsh Premier League next season, with the first team continuing to play in the English Football League in order to resolve the issue. Whether this proposal becomes reality is as uncertain as Cardiff’s future. Cardiff City’s new stadium in Leckwith is set to open at the start of the 2009/2010 season, a date by which the Bluebirds had orginally targeted a place in the Premiership. The current nucleus of talented young players and size of the club’s fanbase are reasons to suggest this target is realistic. Given the possibility of Cardiff entering administration, it is equally fesable to suggest the team could be playing in League One in 2009. By which point, they could have added another FA Cup to their honours list or finally broken back into Europe. While perilous, the next few years promise to be anything than dull for Wales’ biggest club. Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Disturbing Durban Draw: Oh no, England vs Croatia again!? An unpleaseant realization for England and Croatia: these teams will meet each other again in the European zone of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers! The whimsical Lady Luck decided that competing alongside England and Croatia in the Group 6 will be Ukraine, Belarus, Kazahstan and Andorra. The draw has not amused the English fans, with the wound inflicted by Croatia very fresh, but the trips to Kiev, Minsk and Almaty cannot be pleasant either. Ukraine, the quarterfinalists of the last World Cup, have had a meagre Euro qualifying campaign, but cannot be easily dismissed, specially in the early stages of the new qualification cycle. The odd Belarus side proved capable of losing at home to Luxembourg, winless for ages, but also of defeating Holland on the last day of the competition. Kazahstan offer more of the same uncertainty: the Asians kicked out Serbia from Euro by beating them 2-1 last March. They will also naturally want to avenge Englishman's Sacha Baron Cohen's massive insult dealt upon the whole nation through the infamous movie featuring Borat, one of Cohen's alteregos.