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| Taunting Liverpool: How fans will want to remember loyal servant |
In 2008, as Manchester United held on for their second leg 1-0 win over AS Roma, a roar went up around Old Trafford to break the tension as the hosts tried to stagnate the final minutes of the Champions League quarter-final.
It was the number two, the captain, Gary Neville – with a face that only a mother or a United fan could love – coming down the steps ready to make a return from a year-long injury layoff. He sat in central midfield, one of three anchors, collecting and returning passes from his back four to the sound of a raucous and exaggerated "ole" from the stands.
The fullback had struggled for fitness ever since falling victim to a mistimed Kevin Davies tackle in march 2007. Missing the title run in would have killed Neville; watching his teammates reclaim the Premiership title for the first time in three years. However, without Neville, the would-be Champions were a much more serious, galvanised outfit.
Their title-clinching results at Goodison Park and Eastlands, grounds where Neville has lost his cool in recent history) may not have been attainable with him present. Particularly the 2-4 win over Everton when the incumbent right back, John O'Shea provided a game turning goal with United trailing 2-0.
Watching the former England international in his latest incarnation, there is now absolutely no doubt that his team is better off in his absence. The awful away form of the 18 times champions is not his fault (in fact he has started both of their away wins this term) but it has become embarrassing for fans of the Red Devils to watch him play, and exasperating for the rest of us watching a has been lining out for the club proclaiming to be the best in the land.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been lauded ad nausea for his ability to remove sentiment from his decisions, cherry picking star names on the wane out of his team and replacing them with medal hungry youngsters. Yet it is Ferguson's admission that allowing Jaap Stam to leave is his only regret which confirms the belief: Fergie jettisons great players when they clash with his own ego, not because their form is heading south. Those, like Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, who leave their hubris on the pitch and become subversive in his presence may stay.
On Saturday morning, Neville was named in the starting line up at the Hawthornes. But he has rarely looked as lost as he did in those 70 minutes. He hugged the touch line like a life raft, leaving Rio Ferdinand exposed with acres of grass to patrol. The alarm bells were ringing loudly even before the hosts drew level: Our Gaz waited on an outswinging cross like it was the 192 bus and allowed Jerome Thomas steal in front of him, though the wingers touch zipped harmlessly out of play.
Then the incident which could define the title race; Neville was once again caught in no man's land, Graham Dorrans streaked past him into the box leaving only a standing foot for the defender to aim for with his despairing tackle. The rain pelted down and Neville resembled a rodent, out of his depth and close to drowning. His saviour was the rhodophobic referee, Chris Foy, who chose the easy way out: Play on, no card, no penalty, no foul.
When Ferguson sent on attacking reinforcements in the second half, Neville pushed on and was level with Thomas when United lost possession in the Baggies half. But by the time the former Arsenal youth was dancing around Ferdinand, Neville was nowhere to be seen, even in the wide angle of the replay.
As with their only previous away victory, the defender should have been sent off long before he was substituted. As with their only previous away victory, the turning point for United came with Neville's withdrawal. Fabio, a left sided wingback, was deployed in place of the specialist. It took the Brazilian little time to instigate the string of corners that led to Chicarito's winning goal.
Against Stoke in October, it was his woeful tackling, rather than absent positional sense that exposed the Neviller. He emerged for the second half in the Britannia ready to do battle again, but his manager had a last minute moment of clarity, introducing Wes Brown. "Are you joking?" Neville asked as his number went up and the manager laughed at his expense.
That is what a once great professional was reduced to, a joke. Rarely has the stalwart looked so lost as in these two games, perhaps during his 1994 trip to the Nou Camp when he faced up to Hristo Stoichkov. The other of his three starts this season came against Everton where he ticked along nicely until he stood off a Leighton Baines cross and looked helpless to stop another as the Reds discarded a two goal lead in stoppage time.
Jonny Evans rightly took the brunt of criticism that day as the heart of a leaky defence, but Neville's recent outings have been defensively incontinent. Perhaps the next time we see our Gary should be in a testimonial, Barcelona would be fitting opponents in memory of the harsh lesson he learned at the Nou Camp.
He could share that showpiece with his aging cohorts.
Messrs Giggs and Scholes were always infinitely more talented than Neville. Now with his body betraying him, drive and determination is no longer enough to pass mustard at the top level. However, the skillful duo are in danger of befalling the same fate. Scholes in particular, as he possesses little of Giggs' natural athleticism. In the engine room Scholes knows that he must be on the move for 90 minutes in every single game, and for the most part he has defied the odds to do this.
Giggs, one of the most graceful footballers ever to lace up a pair of boots, probably has another year left on the clock. After all, he has been successfully operating in a cameo role across various positions for close to half a decade.
The reception against Roma should have allowed Neville bow out gracefully. Hopefully, Scholes and Giggs will hang up their boots and move as gracefully out of the game as they did through it. Otherwise they run the risk of embarrassing themselves like the club captain.
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