Neville’s reputation dented by his drivel
BY the knee-jerk standards of television punditry, Gary Neville is a serious man. But even serious men can be swept away by the pressure to transform the mundane into something guaranteed to start an argument in the pub.
Hence his reaction when an Everton footballer named Kevin Mirallas became involved in a foolish spat with his colleague and designated penalty taker, Leighton Baines, over who should take a penalty in the match with West Bromwich. Having insisted on taking the kick, Mirallas missed it, thereby costing his team two crucial points.
Now we can probably agree that Mirallas is an irksome clown, that Baines is more docile than an England defender ought to be and that the Everton captain Phil Jagielka has the leadership qualities of a garden gnome.
But that did not go nearly far enough for our Gary. It was, he said, ‘a scandal’. ‘One of the most despicable breaches of team spirit you can possibly have. You do not do that at any cost!’ And there was more. ‘It doesn’t get much worse,’ said Neville. ‘You can punch someone, you can go over the top and break someone’s leg, which is unnecessary, in a tackle, but to go against team orders in the dressing room is terrible. It’s one of the worst things you can do.’
The entire diatribe was delivered with an heroically straight face.
Yet Neville was talking the kind of nonsense he would have mocked without mercy in his days as a player. Does he seriously believe that snapping an opponent’s leg is merely ‘unnecessary’, but taking a penalty against orders is scandalous, selfish and despicable? Of course not.
But Sky Sports is never knowingly undersold, so he delivered his drivel in apocalyptic tones, while the suits in the studio stared on in mute approval.
Next time controversy comes along, we must hope that Neville resists the lure of amateur dramatics. For he is a serious man, with points to make and things to say.
And now, a reputation to retrieve.