It was the suicide of Gary Speed that prompted Leon Osman to reflect on the darkest days of his own life as a footballer.
“I’d have been 18 or 19 when it started to get to me,” recalled the former Everton midfielder. “I suffered a serious knee injury – and then just kept getting injured.
“It felt like I couldn’t stay fit for more than five minutes. I was either waiting for another operation or undergoing rehabilitation, while I watched lads who I’d played with when we won the FA Youth Cup getting into Everton’s first team.
“Tony Hibbert, Franny Jeffers and Richard Dunne. Danny Cadamaeteri as well. I’d been left behind.
“My mates, all living my dream. I was jealous of them. I thought I wasn’t going to make it, that I would never play in the Premier League. I was down, just so down.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“Looking back, I recognise that I was depressed. I know now that I needed help. The problem back then was there was no one to turn to, no one to talk to.
“But I was one of the lucky ones. I had my family. I had people in my corner who recognised the place I was in and kept pulling me back up. Some people aren’t so fortunate. Some people bury their feelings until it’s too late – like Gary Speed .”
Speed killed himself in November 2011, aged 42, after a career with Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United that realised a title medal and 85 caps for Wales. He was manager of his country’s national team when he died.
Like everyone at Goodison, Osman felt the loss deeply.
He said: “I first met Gary when I was a YTS and he was the player we all wanted to be. He was such a positive influence around the club, always offering encouragement and advice to young lads like me.
“It was only when Gary passed away that I started to think back to my experiences at the start of my career. I realised how troubled I was. His death was a wake-up call to everyone in football.”
Osman was 23 when he finally started his first game for Everton – but he made up for lost time by carving out a career at Goodison that saw him make 433 appearances as well as winning England recognition.
Now 37, he has a career as a media pundit. But he is also involved with Everton’s efforts to address mental health issues, drawing on some of his own experiences to educate young players in the club’s academy. The aim is to encourage them to treat mental health issues as they would physical problems.
Osman explained: “If a player pulls a hamstring, he goes to the physio. Another player with the flu will ask the doctor for medication. We want to educate our youngsters to understand that, if they feel stressed, depressed or anxious, then it is just as natural for them to seek help from a mental health professional.”
Everton and its official charity, Everton in the Community, has been at the forefront of mental health provision for more than a decade, delivering often life-saving mental health provision across Merseyside.
More than 5,000 people have had their lives changed.
At the beginning of the season, the Blues launched a fundraising campaign to build a permanent facility – The People’s Place – in the shadow of Goodison. Help will be made available to anyone, regardless of age, gender or location, and will be designed to promote positive mental health and support relating to suicide awareness and prevention.
(Image: Hope&Glory PR)
As part of The People’s Place campaign, the club has also made a commitment to equip all its staff with an understanding of mental health through accredited training delivered by “Chasing the Stigma”.
Everton’s manager Marco Silva, director of football Marcel Brand, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale and club captain Phil Jagielka are among the staff who have already had training.
Osman said: “It’s getting easier to speak about mental health issues because we are slowly removing the stigma. But it’s still hard to convince a 30-year-old to open himself up to something he feels uncomfortable about, so the key must be to educate people from an early age.”
As part of its ongoing fundraising for The People’s Place, Everton have launched The Speed Cycle, a cycling challenge in memory of Gary Speed. Backed and endorsed by Gary’s parents Carol and Roger, The Speed Cycle will visit each of the Wales international’s former clubs over the weekend of Friday, May 31 to Sunday, June 2.
Starting at St James’ Park in Newcastle, the cycle challenge will travel to Leeds’ Elland Road, Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane and the University of Bolton stadium, before making its way to Goodison.
Osman added: “This really is the People’s Club – and if Everton can continue as pioneers of improving mental health awareness, then, hopefully, others will follow our lead.”
* For more information on The People’s Place anf the upcoming Speed Cycle, visit www.peoplesplace.net
