Books by footballers tend to be a bit boring and not too insightful for two reasons. First, if they are superstars then their careers have already been in the spotlight — like David Beckham. Second, if they aren’t superstars, there isn’t much to talk about and they fill the pages with inane details. Perhaps that’s why Gary Neville’s autobiography comes as a refreshing change.
Red, written by Neville himself rather than via a ghost writer, is an honest and insightful look at a career that might well have been different. Neville is not ashamed to admit that he was not too talented but played over 600 times for one of the greatest clubs in the world only because of hard work and determination. Neville played right-back for Manchester United for over 17 years and was a part of group of home-grown youngsters such as Paul Scholes and David Beckham that formed the core of one of the club’s most successful teams — they were known as “Fergie’s Fledglings” after United’s charismatic manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
There’s a song that United fans sing for Neville, “Gary Neville, he’s a Red and he hates the Scousers” with reference to their animosity towards traditional rivals Liverpool. Neville, not the type to mince words, has often gone on record to say how much he hated Liverpool’s success in the 80s. United fans have loved him for this reason and more — even though he is considered one of the most hated players in England for standing up for colleague.
Not only does Neville talk about himself and how hard it was to make the cut at United, he talks at length about how Ferguson built United into one of the best clubs in the world. “He’s always in control. He makes or breaks your career. He is the one who decides whether you get to enjoy your Chinese meal or a glass of wine after the match,” Neville writes about how Ferguson has managed to be at the helm of affairs and the kind of power he wields at United.
While Neville says he was always in awe or probably too scared of Ferguson, there was one occasion when he lost his head. In a Champions’ League game against Lille, there was a confrontation between the two and Neville swore at Ferguson. “He was apoplectic. He blitzed me. We were playing at Fulham at the weekend and he took me all the way down to London and didn’t even put me on the bench,” says Neville describing how Ferguson would make his point about not rubbing him the wrong way. “That’s why he is so successful, that’s why he has managed players with such egos because he is the man at United,” he explains.
While other footballers often tend to go on and on about their personal lives, Neville barely talks about his. Red is an out-and-out football book. No mention about how he got married, or how he felt when his kids were born or any of the other conventional stuff that fills footballers’ memoirs. The only personal bits are about his childhood and how he got along with his brother Phil, who also played for United for about 12 years. “Phil was more talented than me but there was never jealousy,” writes Neville about his relationship with his younger brother. It was interesting to know, however, that Gary played cricket for the U-15 clubs in England as well and even shared a 236-run partnership with Australian opener Matthew Hayden.
Some of the most enlightening bits in Red are his experiences of playing for England. “There have been times when I reflected on my international career and thought ‘well, that was a massive waste of time’.” That might sound blasphemous considering how players talk about playing for their country as the biggest honour. But not Neville, and he explains why — it was the tedium of playing under managers who were good but couldn’t handle the pressure like Steve Mclaren or someone like Sven Goran Eriksson who was afraid to make the big decisions. Neville talks about how once Kevin Keegan, England manager in the late nineties, fell asleep in one of the talk sessions conducted by other coaches. Or how Glenn Hoddle, another England manager under whom Neville played, got a faith healer to spread positive vibes among the players.
But mostly it was because of the 2004 incident when the English Football Association (FA) had banned his Manchester United colleague and fellow defender Rio Ferdinand for missing a drug test. The England team had threatened to go on strike before a Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey and Neville was the man behind it. The media called him “the most hated footballer in England”. He says that he didn’t want Ferdinand to get off the hook but the manner in which the FA dealt the situation left him bitter. A phonecall from Ferguson, however, deterred him from quitting the game. Although he went on to play for three more years for England, but the pressure, fan abuse and media scrutiny made that anything but a pleasure.
Neville is candid about most things including England’s chances of winning an international trophy (not for the next ten years, he predicts). Or when he talks about the role of “leeching” football agents. “For years I’ve been wanting the football organisations to come together to look at ways of weeding out this cancer. It’s time for players to do their bit, and to make a start I’d take the radical step of publicising every player’s wage,” he writes. Neville knew his football and even though he might have been underrated by many football fans, his book will be lapped up by even those who hated him. It’s an honest, candid and no-nonsense account of the world of English football.
RED
Gary Neville
311 pages; £18.99
