Former Reading and Stoke striker Dave Kitson has revealed himself as The Secret Footballer, saying his anonymous exposes into the modern game “stopped being fun” when Gary Speed died. Kitson, who also played for Cambridge, Sheffield United and Portsmouth, said: “I am The Secret Footballer. “The worst thing that happened was when I wrote a column about mental health called Sometimes There’s Darkness Behind the Light. I said there was a mental health epidemic and I predicted it was only a matter of time before someone took their own life. That’s when the Secret Footballer stopped being fun.”

Source: Irish Examiner February 18, 2026 17:15 UTC