Gary Speed...

Same thought had crossed my mind RT.

I don't recall having read this thread before, but have now, and one thing that strikes me is that, in my opinion, and something that one or two have missed, is that a person who commits suicide isn't in a normal frame of mind, and to judge them by normal standards is wrong. We cannot understand what fears and reasoning they use, as they are in a place that we, generally, don't understand.

I notice that former Crewe manager Dario Gradi has been suspended by the FA today. Not wishing to read too much into events but Gradi has been at Crewe over twenty years and as well as never being married it now transpires that one of Barry Bennells victims was assaulted by Bennell at Gradi's home address.

It is suspicious under the circumstances, especially as nobody else has been banned, or even mentioned, (apparently). Even though you probably know, I'll just mention that the Gradi covering up incident, was when he was at Chelsea.

Reebok Trotter wrote:it now transpires that one of Barry Bennells victims was assaulted by Bennell at Gradi's home address.

Where did it say that, the one incident he appears to be linked with is smoothing over an assault by Eddie Heath who was a scout, I haven't seen any links to Bennell and Gradi unless you've seen a different report.

Reebok Trotter wrote:I notice that former Crewe manager Dario Gradi has been suspended by the FA today. Not wishing to read too much into events but Gradi has been at Crewe over twenty years and as well as never being married it now transpires that one of Barry Bennells victims was assaulted by Bennell at Gradi's home address.

Would you say that this kind of  thing is a sickness RT ?

Lard Lad wrote:

Reebok Trotter wrote:I notice that former Crewe manager Dario Gradi has been suspended by the FA today. Not wishing to read too much into events but Gradi has been at Crewe over twenty years and as well as never being married it now transpires that one of Barry Bennells victims was assaulted by Bennell at Gradi's home address.

Would you say that this kind of  thing is a sickness RT ?

Not really a sickness as such. More a case of individuals having an unhealthy interest in children using their position of authority for their own gratification. No different than the Catholic Church or the Entertainment industry.

whatsgoingon wrote:

Reebok Trotter wrote:it now transpires that one of Barry Bennells victims was assaulted by Bennell at Gradi's home address.

Where did it say that, the one incident he appears to be linked with is smoothing over an assault by Eddie Heath who was a scout, I haven't seen any links to Bennell and Gradi unless you've seen a different report.

Taken from Wikipedia.

UK football sexual abuse scandal[edit]

Main article: United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal
On 16 November 2016, former Crewe defender Andy Woodward revealed that he had been the victim of child sexual abuse by former football coach Barry Bennell (convicted as a paedophile in 1998) at the club in the 1980s.^[13][14][15] Subsequently, six other individuals contacted the police, and on 22 November, The Guardian reported that Crewe team mate Steve Walters had been another of Bennell's victims.^[16] As Gradi had been manager at the time of the abuse, and as one attack was reported to have taken place at Gradi's home but without his knowledge, Gradi was pressed to "say more about what he knew and when."^[17][18] On 24 November, Gradi released a statement saying he knew nothing of Bennell's crimes:
I would like to express sympathy to the victims of Barry Bennell not only at Crewe Alexandra, but at other clubs in the North West. The first I knew of Barry Bennell’s crimes was when he was arrested in the United States in 1994. I knew nothing of his crimes before this time when he was employed by us. No-one at the Football Club knew of Bennell’s crimes until his arrest in 1994 and his subsequent prosecution in the United Kingdom. The football club also co-operated fully with the authorities in 2003. The club are in the process of a review and I won’t be making any further comment until this is finalised."^[19]
Also on 24 November, another ex-Crewe academy graduate Danny Murphy talked to the Evening Standard about Gradi:
“He was an amazing, generous, caring guy but he would never cross boundaries. I felt comfortable in his company. I felt safe in his home and under his guardianship. The more time I spent at Crewe, I notice the caution he exercised within his role. ... For example, he wouldn’t come into the bedroom to wake you up but he would always shout through the door. ... I hate the fact that he might be doubted in any way or even remotely linked to such negativity and bad things. My experience is totally the opposite. ... I believe that if he had known what Barry Bennell had been doing, he would have put a stop to it.”^[20]
Similar character references were provided by former Alex trainee, now Crewe Chronicle journalist, Peter Morse,^[21] and former defender David Wright.^[22]
On 3 December, The Independent reported a Chelsea youth player's allegation that Dario Gradi, then Chelsea's assistant manager, visited the player's family's home to "smooth over" a complaint of sexual assault against Chelsea chief scout Eddie Heath in 1974.^[23] Gradi responded with a statement: