Doing His Neville Best

Six Premier Leagues, three FA Cups, three FA Community Shields, a UEFA Champions League and an Intercontinental Cup. Few English football players have pocketed as many medals as Phil Neville, the former Manchester United legend now equally as revered at Everton where fans were won over the moment he scythed Cristiano Ronaldo down in an F.A. Cup tie. Allegiances switched from Old Trafford to Goodison Park, the 33-year-old has helped complete The Toffees’ transformation from perennial mid-table dwellers to a side capable of turning over Man U and Chelsea, which they did last season within the space of ten days.

After a sluggish start, Everton’s 2010/11 campaign came alive in the most satisfying fashion last month with the 2-0 derby demolition of Liverpool – the jumbo Man of the Match bottle of champagne going to Killybegs boy Seamus Coleman who you suspect would gladly swap all that Moët for a place in the Ireland starting XI against Norway in a fortnight’s time.
“What stood out during the derby was Seamus’ ability to run at people with pace, beat them and put in a telling cross, but he’s also great defensively as he showed last week against Spurs,” Neville enthuses. “He’s only made a handful of first-team starts, and already he’s bossing games.”
What were Phil’s first impressions of young Seamus when he arrived at Everton’s Finch Farm training ground in January following his £80,000 move from Sligo Rovers?
“I just laughed because he was so typically Irish – white as a sheet, no colour. Y’know, it looked like he needed a good suntan. His hair wasn’t brushed, he was dressed scruffily – no frills or flashness – and he just went out and trained. From day one, I thought, ‘This kid’s got a chance’ because he wasn’t bothered. He didn’t come over here to drive an expensive car or to earn the money. He came over to play football, and he didn’t do the academy system, which I think has helped him.”
A surprising statement, given that in recent years Everton’s own youth academy graduates have included Dan Gosling, James Vaughan, Victor Anichebe, Jack Rodwell and Wayne Rooney who may have become the forgotten man of football since leaving Fortress Goodison but, hey, there’s no accounting for poor career decisions!
“I’m not against academies – I mean, the success of Everton’s speaks for itself – but from age 16 through 18, everything is laid on a plate for you and Seamus hasn’t had that. He’s had to fight for everything. He’s got that something in him that’s going to make him successful. He’ll run through a brick wall for you and I absolutely love him to bits. I think he’s got an unbelievable opportunity to be Everton and Ireland’s right-back for the next ten years.”
Personally, I think playing Airtricity League football in front of two or three thousand people and learning how to deal with crowds and the media is a far better education for young Irish lads than being stuck in the Scunthorpe – or indeed Everton – youth teams for two or three seasons.
“Well, when Seamus came to Everton he was ready ‘cause he’d played with men rather than other under-20s,” Neville agrees. “He’s had to do, as I call them, the crappy jobs like cleaning his own boots. He’s paid his dues, served his apprenticeship and now he’s reaping the rewards.”
According to an obsessive Blackpool-supporting mate of mine, Seamus Coleman is one of the main reasons that Bloomfield Road is hosting Premier League football this season.
“Seamus went on loan to Blackpool and came back a different player,” the Everton captain reflects. “It gives you confidence ‘cause when you’re in the reserves and playing in front of small crowds, you can get a bit down. He learned a lot under Ian Holloway, who for all his rants and clowning around is a great manager.”
Another Everton player who’ll be hoping to get a call from Giovanni Trapattoni or Marco Tardelli over the coming week is Shane Duffy, the former Foyle Harps youngster who had to undergo life-saving surgery in May after rupturing his liver whilst training with the Ireland development squad.
“I got a call off the Everton physio when I was on holiday saying that Shane nearly died. I thought ‘Aw, that’s got to be an exaggeration’ and the next time I saw him at the training ground joked, ‘Dear me, Duff, I thought you were pushing up the daisies!’ The seriousness of the situation only hit home when he took his shirt off and I saw the scar down his chest. All of us at Everton are indebted to the Ireland team doctor for saving his life.”
Is the 18-year-old Derryman ready yet for senior international football?
“He’s a big, strong centre-back who’s doing well in the reserves and would probably benefit now from going out on loan and playing first-team football in front of crowds. That said, if he gets the call I think he’d do an excellent job for Ireland.”
Seamus Coleman isn’t Phil’s first ex-League of Ireland teammate, with Cobh Ramblers old boy Roy Keane the dominant force all the time he was at Man U. Did he get to know the real Roy?
“No, I don’t think I ever did but I loved him in a strange way. He was always at arm’s length, but I had an unbelievable amount of respect for him and he showed an unbelievable amount of respect back to me. He was scary, he was frightening and he pushed me never to settle for second best. You know when you look for leaders that you want to be in the trenches with when you go to war? Roy was that person. I always knew 110% as a full-back that he’d be there to take the ball off me, and that if I had a problem on the pitch he’d be the first one – sometimes literally! – to jump in and help. And it wasn’t just me personally, he’s like that with everybody. He makes me laugh; he makes me smile. Everything about him I just love.”
How bromantic! It’s become a law of the universe that should more than two Irish football fans gather in the same place, the conversation will turn to Saipan and whether or not Keano betrayed his country. What are Phil’s thoughts on the matter?
“Difficult really, because he has strong beliefs and if things aren’t right he’s not going to just go along with it for the sake of it. By all accounts the training conditions were rubbish; the hotels were rubbish. They turned up and they had no training kit and balls. Now you’re talking about somebody who’s a world-class player going into what was probably his last major tournament… he couldn’t accept that. Standards since then seem to have improved, so at least it was a kick up the backside for better professionalism within the Irish camp.”
Phil also got to play briefly at Man U with that other footballing riddle wrapped up inside an enigma, Wayne Rooney. What was he like as an 18-year-old rookie?
“I’ve seen him come to training in his slippers because, you know, Wayne is Wayne, he just wants to play football. He’s at his best when he’s out on the training pitch. He never stops running and working, and sucks other people in with his enthusiasm. I think he could become an unbelievable captain – not so much in terms of what he says, but what he does on the pitch. It was a special year when I played with him because he’s a special talent.”
Having been quick to offload players like Roy Keane, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy when they were deemed to have gotten too big for their boots, was Neville surprised last month when Alex Ferguson basically capitulated to Wayne Rooney’s demands?
“I think it got blown out of all proportion,” he ventures. “I’m not going to name names, but there have been numerous other contract disputes at Manchester United, which weren’t leaked to the press and therefore got sorted without any fuss. It’s just something that happens in football. I actually think the way Alex Ferguson handled it was brilliant. The outcome he wanted was Wayne Rooney to stay at Man United, and that’s what’s happened.”
What are the things most likely to have Fergie turning on the hair-dryer?
“Well, the big one is losing! You’ve got to give your best. People think that bravery on the pitch is going around tackling and being aggressive, but for Alex Ferguson it’s when it’s nil-nil or one-nil in the semi-final of the Champions League and you want to take the ball and pass it. That’s the thing we were taught from ten-years-old – take and pass, take and pass. If you’re the type who shies away and hides, you’re not going to last at Man U.”
Of all the incredible players Phil has had as teammates, who are the real “Oh… My… God!” ones?
“The best of the best has to be Ryan Giggs because he’s done it for so long and doesn’t have bad days. He always remains that calm, cool, level-headed guy. He still has the same mates; he still lives in the same town; he still goes down to his mum’s for tea. To remain so humble and relate to everyone – that’s the most impressive part. He’s a soccer superstar genius. I learned everything off Ryan Giggs – he’s my hero.
“Somebody else who’s a phenomenal player and has retained his humility is David Beckham. We just knew him as David the lad from Leytonstone who came up to United at 14 with his mum and dad, Ted and Sandra. He may have married a pop star, but in the dressing-room he was always that shy, humble lad. I saw him in the summer, and while his life might have changed, he hasn’t. Without wanting to blow our own trumpets, what all of us ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ have in common is that we’re down to earth, working-class lads who just want to play football on Saturday.”
What does he think the future holds for Brand Beckham?
“David’s been a brilliant England captain and ambassador, and in the future I think he’ll be a great England manager. Fans, the media, the footballing authorities, other players – they all love him.”
The footballing authorities fell out of love with him when he kung-fu kicked that right-wing leaning Crystal Palace fan, but the only United player I can remember matching Becks in the adoration stakes was Eric Cantona. Was he as aloof and distant as we’re led to believe?
“Not at all. He was always the first to put his name down for team nights out. He wouldn’t necessarily be the life and soul of the party, but if Eric winked at me I knew he was having a good time. Actually, he was always the one who’d wink behind the manager’s back if you were getting a bollocking! We all had to wear club suits going to games, but he’d add a cap just to show his individuality. On the pitch he’d talk and cajole – he helped us develop and set an unbelievable example of what it takes to be a top player.”
Given how often he was left warming the Man U bench because of him, Phil must have got royally pissed off with Denis Irwin.
“Actually,” he insists, “I wasn’t fed up because I learned from probably the best. The problem – I mean, the good thing – about Denis was that he could play left or right-back, either side he was just as good and perfect in every game. He worked hard, he did everything right and for me and my brother growing up, he was the perfect example of what a full-back should me.”
Was Denis Irwin the most underrated player in the treble-winning Manchester United side?
“By the media perhaps, but not by his teammates or Alex Ferguson who I can’t remember ever dropping him.”
Talking of the defensive arts, what did Neville make of Fulham captain Danny Murphy saying that there are more bad tackles in the top flight now than ever before?
“I don’t agree. There were way worse tackles back when I first started. We have a coach at Everton that talks to us about that great Leeds team of Bremner, Giles and Charlton who when off the ball would just elbow into someone. That doesn’t happen nowadays. If you play at the speed we play at, there are going to be mistimed tackles and you’re going to get injured – that’s part and parcel of the game. When I was starting out and playing against a winger, the first thing I had to do was boot him up in the air. Put him into Row Z and you’ll never see him again! You can’t do that nowadays. You used to be able to tackle from behind and take everything and get away with it, but now that’ll earn you a yellow card. So I don’t know how he thinks tackling has got worse.”
Back in the ‘70s, the likes of Liam Brady and Kevin Moran would have played for Ireland with a broken leg, but now you get the distinct impression among Premier League players that club comes before country.
“If playing a friendly against Hungary on Saturday means you’re unlikely to be fit for AC Milan away on Wednesday, then the Champions League is probably more important. When it comes to a qualifier for a major tournament though, that’s the be-all and end-all. When people say, ‘Oh, the players don’t care about playing for their country’, that’s rubbish. Winning the Champions League in the Nou Camp was probably the best night of my life, but I’d swap it for appearing in a World Cup Final. That’s still the ultimate.”
Lest Everton fans feel neglected, their captain also cites the Blues’ 2009 Wembley final against Chelsea – “that FA Cup run was just special” – as another career highlight. It’s noticeable that in all of his time at Goodison, he’s never once mentioned the honours he won at Man U. Has that been a conscious thing?
“Definitely,” he acknowledges. “It was difficult leaving Man United because I’d been there for 18 years, which was my entire adult life, but I had to wipe the slate clean and prove myself again. I wouldn’t have gone without Alex Ferguson’s blessing. I went around to his house, had a cup of tea, and we talked about where the best place was for me to play football. He was more a father that day than a manager.”
Does it worry Phil that a lot of people are tipping David Moyes to take over from Fergie when he finally retires?
“Yeah, it does because he’s been an unbelievable influence on me personally and the team as a whole. The five or six England managers and two club managers I’ve had have all been different, but for one thing – their work ethic. There’s no shortcut. There’s no coming in at nine or ten o’clock and leaving at one. They work from seven o’clock in the morning ‘til ten o’clock at night. We win a game and you think, ‘Oh, everyone’s having a day off tomorrow’, and then you turn on the telly and he’s at a match. You think, ‘What are you doing? Spend the day with your wife and kids!’ I don’t care if it’s a steel worker, an electrician or Bill Gates with Microsoft, I bet David Moyes works harder than everybody else.”
Changing tack somewhat, John O’Shea told Hot Press last year that the quality of the tunes on the Old Trafford ghetto blaster nose-dived when Patrice Evra wrestled control of it away from Phil’s Britpop-lovin’ brother Gary. Who’s in charge of the pre-match entertainment at Everton?
“I’ll be totally honest with you, there’s 22 in the squad and I’m probably 22nd in line to put my iPod on!” he laughs. “Yakubu and Stephen Pienaar play their African music, which is really happy and gets everybody singing along. Joe Yobo and Sylvain Distin are both into their hip-hop, which I can take or leave really. Sometimes I stick my iPod on with a bit of Take That or Westlife and it gets binned straight away! I’m a big pop fan and go to a lot of concerts.”
The last being?
“Take That at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground on the Circus tour. People laugh at me for liking them, but they put on a great show. The best one before that was Phil Collins, and I’ve also gone to Westlife, Boyzone, Girls Aloud, Steps, U2, Whitney Houston and Elton John when they’ve been in Manchester.”
Moving swiftly onwards, today’s interview is taking place in Goals Liverpool North, an all-weather 5-a-side complex just down the road from the home of the Grand National, Aintree Racecourse. Apart from giving Hot Press good quote, Phil is here to pass on some tricks of the trade to a gaggle of young competition winners who are overjoyed at meeting a real, live Premier League player. While the flicks, step-overs and one-on-ones with the goalie aren’t quite of the standard he’s used to, it’s obvious from his interaction with the kids that Neville’s a natural born coach.
“I’m keen on management, but I’m going to cover every base,” he venture. “I’ll get all my coaching badges. I’m going to make sure that I learn, practice and improve my media skills and I’m also going to have something away from football because, you never know, I could be sacked after one day in management.
“I want to – this is going to sound awful – start at the bottom. I want to learn my trade and whether that’s youth team, League One, Two, Championship, even doing the cones at a Premiership club, I don’t want to go into management unprepared because players see right through it. By starting now, I’ll have three or four years experience under my belt before I hang up my boots.”
Today’s coaching session is being filmed for Phil Neville Football Training, a “how to” iPhone app for aspiring footballers, fans and coaches, which recently topped the sporting downloads chart and is set to revolutionise the way Hot Press Munchengladbach 1891 goes about its AUL business.
“When I was young I wanted to know what professional football players did not just on the field, but off it in terms of preparation, training, footwear, tactics, diet… the whole lot,” he says of his foray into e-commerce. “I thought, ‘I’m going to put myself in a little kid’s shoes and explain every detail.’ We’ve got match footage on there, a hidden code that gives you a chance to win signed shirts and boots and loads of other stuff that we’re continually updating.”
So what sort of weekly shift does a Premier League player have to put in?
“I was complaining last night to my sister that, ‘Oh, we’ve got a tough day tomorrow’ and she asked, ‘Well, what time are you finishing?’ I said, ‘About a quarter to one’ and she just laughed at me! It doesn’t sound very gruelling, but for two hours you’re running flat-out. It’s a team sport but at the end of the day there’s people wanting your place. So there’s rivalries, there’s tension… the training is unbelievably competitive. The way it works at Everton is you train Monday, Tuesday, probably have a light day Wednesday, train Thursday and Friday, game Saturday, Sunday off.”
Is Phil himself a big gadget man?
“Yeah, I’d go to bed with my iPod if the wife’d let me! I got it six months ago and I’m obsessed with it and the various apps you can get.”
Does he tweet?
“No, we’re not allowed Twitter at Everton, purely and simply because it’s dangerous. There have been instances with players at other clubs where they’ve tweeted something as a joke, and the following day it’s been turned into some really serious news story.”
Finally, should a certain Everton-supporting Hot Press journalist have put fifty yo-yos on The Toffees to qualify for the Champions League this season, is he likely to see a return on his money?
“Our form’s been good recently so, yeah, I still really think we’ve a chance of breaking into the top four.”
Correct answer!

Phil Neville Football Training is available now from the iTunes App Store for 79¢. See www.philipneville.com for all the details.