OneofthemostinfluentialandauthoritativevoicesinEnglishfootball
GARY NEVILLE
n Sunday April 18 ,TheTimes
reportedthatsixEnglishclubs
- Liverpool,ManchesterUnited,
ManchesterCity, Chelsea, Arsenaland
TottenhamHotspur- hadagreedto
takepartina newEuropean league,
alongsidethreeteamseachfromItaly
andSpain.This“SuperLeague”,itwas
revealed,wouldeventuallyinvolve 2 0
teams, with the 12 originalfounders
assuredofpermanentmembership.
Inthe UK,thereactionwas
immediate,andexplosive.Fansofall
clubs– both insideandoutsidethe big
six– werequicktoexpresstheiranger,
withmanyheadingstraighttostadiums
tomake theirfeelingsknown.
Withintelevision,the reactionwas
similarlyvociferous.Speakingfromthe
gantryofOldTrafford,GaryNevillewas
incandescent:“I’ma Manchester United
fanandhavebeenfor 4 0 yearsofmy
life,butI’mdisgusted,absolutely
disgusted,” he said.
“Thereare 10 0-oddyearsoffootball
inthiscountrywithfansthathavelived
andlovedtheseclubs,andtheyneed
protecting.Thefansneedprotecting.
“Make no mistakeaboutit,thisisthe
biggestsportin theworld,thebiggest
sportin thiscountryand it’s a criminal
actagainst thefans, simpleasthat.”
Thatevening,the EuropeanSuper
Leagueclubsputouta statement
confirmingtheirintentions.The
followingday,Nevilleappearedon
MondayNightFootballalongsideJamie
Carragher. Theirtonehad notcalmed.
“Wehaveto nowmobilise,organise,”
saidNeville.“Everybody’sgotto come
behindthis.Forgetallegiances,forget
whoyou support,we’vegottocome
togethertostopthisproposal.
“Wemustallcometogetherbecause
thisisanattackontheintegrityofour
nationalsportanditmustbe stopped.”
Carragheralsocalledfor unity:
“Ithinktheseclubsthinkthisisa done
deal;I don’tthinkitis.I thinksupporters
upanddownthiscountrycanstopthis.
“Football fansgettogether, allofus,
inTV, pundits,players,managers,get
togetherandstopthisbecauseitcan
bestopped. I’mconvincedofit.
“Thiscannotbeallowedto happen.”
Bythe endofTuesday,allsixPremier
Leagueteamshadwithdrawntheir
involvementfromthe proposal.
TheinterventionsofNevilleand
Carragherdid notsavetheday,but
theybecamethe publicfacesof fans’
opposition.Whileex-playerscan,at
times,beaccusedofbeingoutoftouch,
thetwoformerdefendersusedtheir
platform to articulate thepopular
moodoffansacrossthecountry.
Neville’sinitialreactionwasoneof
themost-watchedvideosof 2021
onthe SkySportsFootballYouTube
channel,secondonlytoCristiano
Ronaldo’sManchesterUnitedreturn.
Asa memberofthe “Our Beautiful
Game”group,Nevillehasalreadyled
callsforfundamental reformsinthe
waythatEnglishfootball is run,
includingtheintroductionofan
independentregulator.
TheESLproposalscausedhimto
stepuphiseffortsand,if anythingis
tobeachieved in 2 022 followingthe
fan-ledreview(page 10 -11), he is
sureto be at theheartof it.
JamieEvans
Authoritative...
GaryNeville
PEOPLEOFTHEYEAR
ALLY McCOIST
In 202 1,McCoist
demonstratedwhyhe
isthe nation’sfavourite
co-commentator:clear
andinsightfulanalysis,
combined with sheerjoy
atbeing paidtowatchthe
gamehesoclearlyloves.
ALEXSCOTT
Anotherground-breaking
yearfortheformerArsenal
andEnglanddefender
sawherbecomethefirst
woman to be namedFSA
punditofthe year, as well
astakingchargeofthe
BBC’sFootball Focus.
EMMAHAYES
Hayes’biggestachievement
in 2021 was winningthe
WSLwithChelsea,but
shealsoenteredthe wider
footballconsciousnesswith
herincisivetacticalanalysis
asa televisionpundit
during Euro 2020.
H O N OU R A BL EM EN T I ON S
O
B R O A
D C A S
T E R
