GARY NEVILLE was the player all non-Manchester United football fans loved to
hate.
Many fans threatened to cancel their subscriptions and there was even a
petition to Parliament to prevent him from commmentating on football when it
emerged he would move into TV.
However, the former United and England defender has revolutionised the way
football is analysed on television since joining Sky three years ago.
From one of the most annoying footballers in world football to the one of the
most respected pundits on television, just how has Gary Neville changed the
attitude towards him?
During his playing days Neville was loved by United fans but hated by
Liverpool supporters and beyond.
And when the England right-back joined Sky Sports in August 2011, there was a
genuine fear among non-Old Trafford supporters that ‘Red Nev’ would assess
the game through red-tinted spectacles.
Fear not.
Neville has an attitude that you can’t con football fans and his honest,
forthright and no bulls*** approach has turned the 85-cap international into
the number one pundit on the box.
Go down the pub and followers of Arsenal, even celebrity fan Piers Morgan who
once called Neville ‘an officious little numpty’, Accrington Stanley,
Everton, Exeter, Newcastle or Northampton and they will say the same.
His analysis is undeniably good, neutral and he’ll make you think about the
game in another way and a world away from the bland re-runs of goals you
find elsewhere.
As a result of his quality punditry, Monday Night Football has become
unmissable TV.
Neville’s experiences plus the trophies he won within the last 20 years in the
game — including eight Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, three
FA Cups and two League Cups — combined with a dedication and commitment to
deliver innovative insight into the standard that is required at elite level
football allows him to be brutally honest.
And that’s what the punters like to see and hear.
It’s so frequent nowadays for ex-players to provide bland sound bites in
modern football that it is refreshing to see someone say it exactly how it
is.
His offerings are meticulously researched and thorough and the number of times
I’ve watched him, agreed and said, ‘He’s spot on there’ is in double figures
every week.
I feel confident I’m not the only one either.
And it doesn’t matter whether it is United or another club he is talking
about. In fact, he’s probably harsher on Louis van Gaal’s men than most.
Yes, he’s a one-club man who started life on the terraces as a fan at Old
Trafford before emerging through the youth ranks to remain at the Red Devils
until the day he retired after 602 United appearances in February 2011.
But he’s not just about that.
He’s also a man who almost led an England squad to strike when team-mate Rio
Ferdinand was banned by the FA for a missed drugs test to show he will stand
up for what he believes in even on the international stage.
He doesn’t pussy-foot about and his comments tend to be blunt.
As a defender who never pulled out of a tackle or shirked a challenge then you
wouldn’t expect anything less.
Neville wasn’t blessed with natural talent despite the tag as the nation’s
best right-back over a 15-year period.
But his hard work, intense preparation and drive to succeed with a bit of
humour at times has transferred from the pitch to the touch screen in the
Sky studios alongside fellow pundit Jamie Carragher and host Ed Chamberlain.
And those humble qualities which can be applied in any industry commands
respect.
Neville as an ex-pro has seen more than most, good and bad.
Which allows him to accuse then Chelsea defender David Luiz of playing like he
was controlled by ‘a ten-year-old on a PlayStation’, call Mario Balotelli
‘an embarrassment to his club’ or tell Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin he should
‘go back to Russia’.
Then there was the attack on Gunners boss Arsene Wenger by claiming the
Frenchman must be either ‘naive’ or ‘arrogant’ not to add more power to his
squad.
Yet Arsenal players such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin actually defended his
controversial comments.
Neville is an England coach and part of Roy Hodgson’s backroom staff, has
business interests with the restaurant Cafe Football in London as well as
Hotel Football outside the Theatre of Dreams in Manchester, a column with
the Telegraph newspaper.
More recently he’s been involved as a joint owner of non-league Salford City
alongside his Class of ‘92 pals Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and
brother Phil.
The description ex-United defender Jaap Stam once gave of him being ‘a busy
little c***’ really doesn’t do him justice post-playing.
In fact, he’s busier in retirement than when he played but he is still setting
the standard.
Neville has an opinion about everything and you wouldn’t be surprised or laugh
if he fancied a shot at being a bigwig at the FA or even go for the Uefa
presidency in the future given his new found popularity.
