Gary Neville's Football Education Clinic

It’s a far cry from the announcement that Gary Neville was going to be a pundit on Sky’s football coverage in the summer of 2011. A number of fans wrote to Sky in disgust and threatened to cancel their subscriptions in protest at Neville’s ascent to TV football.

Fast forward 16 months or so, the decision to appoint the former Manchester United defender in mine and my peoples eyes has being a masterstroke and not bowing to the requests fully justified. By all accounts as a Liverpool supporter, his views of my club didn’t help when he was player at United. A dye in the wool United fan who played in their major successes during that period, there is a grudging respect as you understand yourself what it means to love the club you support since a kid.


The player and pundit are one of the same, his passion for football and his understanding of the game has endeared him to football fans right across the tribal divide. His critical analysis of football as a pundit on our TV’s has been nothing short of brilliant. His role in Sky has being a  breath of fresh air and what, how football is analysed needed. Out went the drudgery of Andy Gray-esque spoon-fed rubbish and has allowed football fans to critically analyse, understand more aspects of professional football. Thus shaking up how punditry is done on TV.


Neville’s in all this is showing up really how bad we have being told why this player did that etc...the likes of Burley, Hansen, Lawrenson, Shearer, Southgate and Jamie Redknapp punditry is second rate and in some cases third rate. The critical analysis Neville is providing, is spawning a new way of how football is analysed by the supporter viewing both on TV and at the game. Thus, giving not only the younger generation but football supporters who have experienced the names mentioned above over the last 20 years thinking more for themselves and differently than ever before.


The prime example of this, was Gary’s analysis of Spurs against Arsenal and City last night on Sky’s Monday Night Football. Specifically looking at how tactically both Arsenal and City attacked 50% & 47% down Spurs left hand side throughout the 90 minutes in both games. Neville went in depth and showed why both sides pinpointed this weakness/Gareth Bale’s game intelligence.


Did anyone notice this in both games that Spurs were skinned down the left in both games in 50% of the opposition attacks? I believe the majority will not have noticed that.


He further elaborated as to why this was happening which primarily focused on Bale’s in game intelligence. Bale’s in game intelligence that Neville pinpointed were in regards to his defensive responsibility. Neville showed how when Vertonghen pushed ahead of Bale to provide more in attack Bale didn’t provide the cover, so as Arsenal counter-attacked they exploited the space left where Bale should have being covering. Simple and to the point.


Neville went further to hammer home the point, Bale had cleared the header from the box to an Arsenal player 30 yards out from goal. The obvious thing would be to close down the space or keep the shape Neville was alluding too, Bale did neither after he headed the ball wandered off as if Spurs had possession, towards to the left wing to do what he does best. But with Spurs down to ten men and Arsenal in possession, Bale’s decision to not keep in the shape which Spurs had set-up on the edge of the box, left the space open. This allowed Arsenal’s maestro Santi Cazorla to cross the ball into that space where Bale had vacated when he cleared the header previously. Arsenal scored and Bale was no where in the vicinity of the 18 yard box.


Did anyone notice this in the game on Saturday on both accounts? I would believe again the majority did not. While you have being reading the above, you probably can recall countless of moments on TV where Neville has done this.


The point I am hinting at here is next time you watch or at a game because of Neville’s analysis you will find yourself critically assessing why certain things happen or are happening in a game. Neville is the Spain of football analysis, leaving like Spain everyone else in the shade. From a Liverpool fan, I say thank you to Gary Neville for giving clinics on football each and every week on Sky thus giving supporters more reason to critically assess the game in a different way. Long may it continue.