Preamble. I would say good afternoon but this has been anything but. On occassion the phrase "it puts football into perspective" is overused and trite but the truly horrible and shocking news about Gary Speed that has emerged in the last hour makes giving any significance whatsever to Swansea and Aston Villa chasing around after a ball for 90 minutes seem utterly pointless. How the many players on both sides who play for Wales under Speed must feel, as well as the countless members of the coaching staff and officials at both Swansea and Villa who would have known him so well, is beyond comprehension. The game at the Liberty Stadium is definitely going ahead with a minute's silence for Speed beforehand. I imagine the subsequent 90 minutes are going to be pretty muted too. What an incredibly sad and strange day.

1.18pm: Here are the teams for today's game. I do think it's slightly odd that the game is going ahead but I suppose everyone is shocked and stunned by the news and a decision had to be made quickly and they've decided it should take place. Here are the teams ...

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Taylor, Sinclair, Britton, Allen, Gower, Dyer, Graham.
Subs: Tremmel, Dobbie, Routledge, Lita, Moore, Richards, Moras.
Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, N'Zogbia, Delph, Herd, Bent, Agbonlahor, Heskey.
Subs: Guzan, Jenas, Albrighton, Delfouneso, Clark, Cuellar, Bannan.
Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)

1.24pm: Nicholas John has emailed to say: "I do not mean to be in any way pithy or sarcastic or anything that people normally have to be when writing to MBMs, but while it is true that this particular game has no significance in light of the terrible news, it is only because of football that we are mourning Gary Speed's death at all."

1.26pm: There are many great aspects to football, and indeed all sports. As Nicolas points out the world is stunned of the news about Speed because of what he has achieved. Football has always been an arena to remember your heroes while at the same time distracting you from your from your worries. The minute's silence taking place in the Liberty Stadium at the moment has spontaneously turned into a minute's applause as the ground remembers and honours Speed. The next 90 minutes may provide a tiny bit of distraction from this truly dreadful news.

1 min: Swansea get the game underway playing from right to left. Villa appear to have started with five in midfield but I'll confirm that when the game settles down. This seems rather trivial but we'll plough ahead nonetheless.

2 min: A yellow card for Fabian Delph for a rather crude challenge which,, inside two minutes, is one aggressive challenge more than the entire Villa team put in during the 2-0 defeat at Spurs on Monday.

4 min: Scott Sinclair charges down a Villa clearance and picks up the loose ball himself on the left. He feeds a pass through to Joe Allen just inside the area but his cross is poor and sails behind Shay Given's goal.

6 min: Swansea have started really brightly here with Nathan Dyer and Joe Allen heavily involved. Sinclair then gets a yellow card for a late challenge and Villa are relieved to have some respite from the relenteless pressure from the home side. Alex McLeish's side seem to have picked up exactly where they left off on Monday – on the back foot. Meanwhile George Solomon writes: "Tears streaming down Shay Given's face before kick off and he's now got to play football. I'm sorry, and I agree with the comments that without football we wouldn't even be remembering Gary Speed, but this match shouldn't be happening. It's all far too raw and the circumstances surrounding Speed's death make it all the worse. I am just a humble football fan and I have been genuinely moved by the news - the majority of the players on the pitch today knew him as a friend. This game should not be happening." Thanks George. It must be very bizarre for those who call Speed a friend, as Given obviously does following their years together at Newcastle.

12 min: Villa launch their first attack and Heskey wins a corner off Monk. Fabian Delph pings it left footed into the area but it's deep and too high for Richard Dunne who can't get any power on his header and Swansea clear.

13 min: Alan Hutton has been shown the third yellow card of the game so far and this is the worst of the bunch. The Villa full-back is late and high on Taylor and slides right through him and the referee, Neil Swarbrick, has no choice but to show him a yellow. A foolish challenge by Hutton.

20 min: Swansea have had 75% of the possession so far. McLeish's game plan seems to be going off without a hitch. The brilliantly named Angel Rangel is down injured but Swansea decide not to put the ball out of play which looks like a fooloish move when Villa counter and Rangel has to hobble back to try and close down Agbonlahor, which he can't do. Agbonlahor shoots low but Vorm stops with his legs.

21 min: Heskey meets a deep cross from Warnock with a header which skims off Taylor and goes behind for a corner. It's taken low by Delph, nicely flicked on by N'Zogbia but Dunne can't get his header on target at the back post. Meanwhile Niall Mullen writes: "In the light of such sad news we should reject the 'puts sport into perspective' cliche. What it reminds us is that life can be tragically short and so we should cherish the things that make life worth living. For many of us, and I'm guessing that included Gary Speed, football is one of those things that weave joy into the fabric of our lives. He was a fine player, may he rest in peace."

23 min: A loose pass from Leon Britton - that's a first - and Agbonlahor picks the ball up 30 yards from goal but his low shot is deflected behind for a corner, which comes to nothing. Craig Bellamy has apparently asked to be excluded from Liverpool's squad for today's game against Manchester City following the news about Speed. Meanwhile Ben Stanley writes: "I don't think we can exclude the possibility that the players have been consulted about this and have decided to play the game in tribute to Gary Speed. People deal with grief in different ways. But clearly, nobody in these circumstances should be forced to play."

26 min: Angel Rangel has gone off with the injury he sustained when he appeared to catch his studs in the turf earlier on. Ashley Richards is on in his place. Whatever the reasons for the game going ahead or not I don't really think anyone should be criticised. There are arguments for and against but in the end somebody had to make a decision under pressure and decided it should be played. I agree with Niall's earlier sentiments about football but I do feel that some of the minutia seems utterly trivial.

33 min: Agbonblahor goes down the left testing the newly introduced Richards. He fires a low left-footed cross which Williams thumps clear.

36 min: Another yellow card - this time for Richard Dunne - and it's for another needless challenge, this time through the back of Danny Graham. "Sorry to be contradictory at a time like this," says Kerry Davies. "It is not solely because of football the Gary Speed will be mourned but for his humanity and restoration of pride amongst many non-lovers of football in Wales. I hope that the club managers of the younger Welsh players will be extra careful and vigilant of the young 'uns this week as they so obviously loved the man."

40 min: Ashley Richards has got into the swing of things pretty quickly picking up a yellow card for a foolish challenge on Agbonlahor.

43 min: Villa have come into this much more as the half has gone on. Herd is impressing in midfield and he feeds N'Zogbia on the right. His inswinging cross is met by Keskey but his header goes wide. It appears to clip Williams on the arm on the way past the post but a goal kick is awarded. Williams's hand was raised there and you've seen them given, as they say.

45 min: Three minutes of stoppage time. Patrick Body writes: "Surely as an advocate of good football himself and with an attitude like his, Gary Speed would have wanted the game to go ahead? I would be hard pushed to say that he would have wanted a day of football to be stopped for him. Although, as previously mentioned, it is hard to believe that the players are chomping at the bit to be out there on a day such as today."

Half time: The whistle goes at the end of a fairly uneventful 45 minutes. Minds appear to be elsewhere, understandably.

Half-time emails: Gary Naylor: "Gary Speed was an Evertonian and ex-captain of the club. I'm not one for halting life in the face of death - for death is all around us and always has been - but at his age and in these circumstances, I would not have wanted Everton to play today."

Paul Kelly writes: "Such a great player. His performances for Newcastle under Bobby Robson thrilled me and, like every other Newcastle supporter I know, I was always happy to see him succeeding after he moved on because he came across as such a committed, honest, decent man. When I read the Secret Footballer's excellent article about depression in the professional game yesterday I didn't expect such awful news to follow so quickly. Just listened to a shell-shocked Robbie Savage struggling to find words on 5 Live. I don't see the point in debating whether the game should or shouldn't have gone ahead, or whether football is meaningful or meaningless at a time like this. It's just terribly sad to think that someone so universally loved and respected in the game has gone in such a fashion, most of all for a young family left without a dad."

46 min: The second half is underway. No changes at the interval.

46 min: Herd is robbed of the ball by Gower in midfield and responds by hacking down the Swansea man. He escapes a yellow card which is a surprise given how frequently they were bandied about in the first half.

49 min: The second half has started in much the same way as the first - Swansea having all the ball but with very little penetration. All the play is in front of the Villa defence. In fact the visitors look slightly more threatening on the counter-attack.

51 min: Danny Graham is down after an innocuous loking challenge from Richard Dunne. The Swansea striker seems in a little bit of trouble.

52 min: Graham is carried off and Leroy Lita comes on in his place. The Swansea fans again chant "there's only one Gary Speed".

54 min: Bent climbs to knock down a raking pass from Richard Dunne. There's a bit of hesitancy between Monk and Vorm and Charles N'Zogbia very nearly nips in to get a touch.

55 min: It's very nearly the opener for Villa as Agbonlahor spins Ashley on the left-hand edge of the area and lets fly with a powerful shot which squirms out of Vorm's hands and the Swansea goalkeeper is relieved to see the ball land on the roof of the net.

59 min: This is a good spell for Villa as Heskey finds space centrally but decides not to shoot - surprise, surprise - and instead the ball is worked to Herd who clips a cross towards Warnock who is attempting to steal in at the back post but Dyer stands his ground and Warnock can't get his head to the ball.

63 min: A lovely move from Swansea who initially look as if they're playing themselves into trouble in their own half but instead they work the ball nicely to Sinclair who lays off to Joe Allen but his shot from the edge of the area drifts wide.

66 min: Yet another yellow card - this time for Garry Monk - and that's six players who are walking a fine line. Stephen Warnock wastes the free kick.

68 min: Lovely skill from Scott Sinclair on the edge of the Villa area but he perhaps chooses the wrong pass when he tries to play Leroy Lita in. Villa make their first change as Jermaine Jenas comes on for Emile Heskey.

71: The best chance of the match for Swansea and it's one of the few occassions where they've midfielders breaking forward. It's Gower who made the run and slips a pass through to Lita who turns Collins brilliantly but drags his left-footed shot wide from 12 yards.

74 min: Terrible defending from Alan Hiutton who gets under a crossfield pass but misjudges the flight of the ball and Sinclair is away. The winger skips into the area but James Collins comes across expertly to block Sinclair's shot.

76 min: Stephen Warnock is very fortunate to escape a yellow card for a poor challenge on Nathan Dyer, who hobbles off to recieve treatment. In fact it's not even a free kick, which doesn't please the Swansea fans much.

78 min: Another change for Villa as Barry Bannan comes on for Fabian Delph.

79 min: The flag goes up against Darren Bent who picks up a lovely weighted pass from Jenas. The Villa No9 doesn't see the flag and fires goalwards but Vorm stands big and makes a decent stop before the whistle is blown. The replay shows that Bent was just onside.

82 min: Chances at either end now. Leroy pinches the ball of Sinclair and attempts to clip past Given but the Villa goalkeeper is quick off his line and blocks with his chest. Swansea make a final change - Nathan Dyer goes off and Wayne Routledge is on.

83 min: Wayne Routledge is straight into action trying to pick out Lita in the area but the cross is too high for the pint-sized striker.

85 min: Villa looking threatening again and it's Agbonlahor once more who is causing the problems. His shot deflects off Britton and nearly falls ito Bent's path but instead goes behind for a corner. Herd finds space fromt he set-piece and probably should do better but his header drifts wide.

87 min: Agbonlahor skips down the left and delivers a brilliant, teasing cross but neither Bent nor Jenas are expecting it and the sails harmlessly across goal. Great ball from Agbonlahor who has been Villa's best player.

90 min: Three minutes of stoppage time and it's Villa who are pushing for winner.

90 + 1 min: Swansea counter attack but can't threaten the goal. Shay Given very slowly retrieves the ball which has gone behind which suiggests that Villa seem happy to take a point. They've been a fair bit better today than they were at Spurs on Monday.

90 + 2 min: James Collins picks up a yellow card but more importantly the foul gives Swansea a chance to launch one last attack. The free kick is floated into the area but Collins rises and heads clear.

Full time: The whistle goes and it's finished Swansea 0-0 Aston Villa. It's the third goalless draw at the Liberty Stadium this season. I imagine both sets of players are glad that is out of the way. There were tears beforehand from Shay Given and around the ground on a day that will always be remembered for the tragic death of Gary Speed. It's perhaps unsuprising that the match never really got going after that news. Thank you for your emails and your memories of Gary Speed. They were much appreciated. Bye.