Michael Speight (born 1 November 1951) is an English former footballer who had a long spell with Sheffield United and later had a five–month caretaker manager stint at Chester City in 1984–85.
[1] He left after a testimonial in 1980 for Blackburn Rovers for a reported £60,000, having rejected the chance to join Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town side two years earlier.
Despite the impressive run of results, Speight had to stand aside in July 1985 when former Wigan Athletic manager Harry McNally was appointed the new Chester boss.
Speight had earlier in the year been announced as manager,[3] but he had not signed a contract and had been openly critical of the way the club operated, saying it was "run on an amateur level right through the place".
[3] Speight continued playing for the club in the early weeks of the 1985–86 season but he began looking for new opportunities and took up a management post in Norway midway through the campaign, after a brief spell with Rhyl.