Gary Neville needs no introduction. He was a very good footballer. Some might say World Class.
His football punditry especially his analysis on British TV is peerless for now. However he cant hide his obvious bias when he is commentating live on Manchester United matches.
His writing though is another matter. I find some of it piss poor.
He wrote an article about Jose Mourinho in October 2014 that the Chelsea FC's PR department will balk at writing. Gary was so fawning that some of his body parts is still stuck up Jose Mourinho's bum. However that's for another day.
Last month, Gary wrote about Liverpool with a similar headline to the subject of this post. Forget the fact that it was the equivalent of rewriting history or kicking a man that is down and out in the teeth. I am of the opinion that Gary's logic didn't quite stack up and that the points he raised in the article are equally relevant to his cherished Manchester United. I will try to make my point below.
For Raheem Sterling at Liverpool substitute David De Gea. I have been hoping that the De Gea to Real Madrid rumours will be confirmed now but hey ho, we wait. If DDG does not move to Real Madrid, I might end up with egg on my face, notwithstanding though I plough on.
DDG was out and out Manchester United's best player this past season. He has been offered stratospheric amounts by Man U to stay but NO he is on his bike to another club who are potentially offering him less money. Same with Sterling, best Liverpool player by a country mile this season. Desperate to go elsewhere, even to the 'bottlers' at Arsenal presumably for less money than that offered by Liverpool because I don't see Arsenal paying him the wages of Alexis and Ozil.
Like Sterling, DDG is not letting Man U down by all the rumours swirling around that he wants to leave, "he is just a player who wants to play football and win trophies"
The only difference between the Sterling and DDG issue is that the former has turned into a circus because Liverpool think they can dick Aidy Ward (Sterling's agent) about whereas United in all their supposed glory and mightiness will never dream of trying the same with Jorge Mendes (DDG's agent).
According to Gary Neville if your best player wants to leave, you are in danger of becoming a provincial club. So tick point 1 for Manchester United too. In line with GNev's comments, "the harsh reality for the club (Man U) is that this situation has been 15 years in the making and the uncomfortable truth is that this is nothing new for Manchester United"
Just look back at all the big players that have left Manchester United to win bigger and 'shinnier' trophies. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerald Pique, Paul Pogba & Patrice Evra have all gone to win bigger and better things.
This passage in Gary's article is an example of some of the inaccuracies and illogical statements he offered
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"if you compare Liverpool to Manchester United over the same period of time, I can think of only one player - Cristiano Ronaldo - who left when he wanted to go, rather than when Sir Alex Ferguson wanted it to happen"
Not sure he is familiar with the name Paul Pogba. Also Don't think Sir Alex was in charge in the last 2 seasons so he should compare like for like (Liverpool in the last 15 years versus Manchester United in the same period). Not talk about Suarez who departed & Gerrard who is departing after Sir Alex's retirement. In the period after Sir Alex' retirement, Manchester have lost a player like Patrice Evra against their wish. So Garry are those signs of Manchester United's descent into obscurity too? Gabriel Heinze forced his move out of United. Yes he didn't get his wish to go to Liverpool but he forced his way out. Wayne Rooney's two major rows with United's hierarchy (one during Sir Alex's reign and the other after) proved the power the player had over the club. On both occasions the club backed down. I don't remember any proper big non - provincial club been embarrassed in the same way. Do you?
The comment about Liverpool been one of English's football best supported club is perhaps another evidence of the inaccuracies served up by Gary Neville. This is obviously the view of someone stuck in the past. In modern times (and in my opinion), you determine the popularity of anything by its popularity on Social Media. So if you want to call any club best supported, please compare and contrast the Social Media standing of Liverpool versus the other clubs Gary casually discarded and come to your own conclusion.
I think someone needs to confront the faux belief that Man U is this big great commercial entity that can buy their way out of the current quagmire they find themselves in. Man U like most English clubs will have to feed off the scraps left by Barcelona & Real Madrid. And if England is the preferred destination of any big name player (Cheslea and Man City) are likely to get first dibs. There is only so much your 'big and mighty' global commercial operation can buy you, so if Liverpool had taken Gary's advice and gone down the same route as Man U, Arsenal etc, at the very best now, they will be another big fish in the small pond like Manchester United, rich enough to afford knock offs from the genuine global clubs who the real stars of the game want to play for.
I'm sorry, Gary's comments about Gerrard's inability to escape the attention of Liverpudlians when he goes out on a night out is just laughable and proves everybodies jibes that Manchester United are not truly a Manchester club. Perhaps it is true that all Man U fans are from London and Thailand. And that's probably why United players can't socialise or go for a meal in Liverpool because the people of Liverpool are true fans of their club and genuinely hate Manchester United players. Also the fact that several Liverpool or Everton players socialise in Manchester just proves the point that Man U fans are based outside of Manchester.
By the way Gary, when is Manchester United going to expand Old Trafford. Maybe the fact that the capacity is less than that of the Nou Camp and Santiago Bernabeu is what his holding Man U back from fulfilling their destiny beyond England. Yes Old Trafford "is a wonderful old stadium, with a fantastic history and atmosphere" but sticking your head in the sand and thinking of Old Glory is no recipe for progress. Chelsea have remained at Stamford Bridge and they have been successful. Arsenal have moved to The Emirates and they have not experienced success bar the last 2 seasons, City's move to the Etihad is nothing to do with their successes.
So Gary, spare us your apocryphal yarn about Liverpool's descent into a provincial club. Tell us about that of Manchester United.
Ouch.
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