Phil Neville

Phil Neville

Personal information
Full name	Philip Gaylord Neville
Position(s)	Full Back/ Defensive Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Everton
Number	18
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:15, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Philip Neville (born January 21, 1977 in Bury, Greater Manchester) is an English footballer, who plays for Everton and England. He previously played for Manchester United. He is the brother of Manchester United captain Gary Neville, and the twin of England netball international Tracey Neville.

Club career

Neville was much-decorated during his Manchester United career, winning six Premiership titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup. He can play in defence or midfield, and was used predominantly as a full back, usually on the left (despite being right footed) through his earlier career though it is genuinely unclear where his strongest position on the pitch is.

Neville started training with the Manchester United academy along with his brother, then later joined as a trainee with Manchester United and made his debut in 1994. From that point he was a regular, although not consistent, member of the first team and seemed destined to spend his whole career there. Like his brother, and arguably to a greater extent, he is much maligned by some football fans and fellow players although some seasoned observers of the game see a mature, versatile and unfussy player who proved an important part of Manchester United's success. Nevertheless, when Neville won his 50th England cap in 2004, former Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, in his monthly FourFourTwo column, bemoaned the apparent state of the English game that such an "average" performer could achieve this milestone. As of September 2007, his tally had risen to 58 caps (23 as a substitute), although it is accepted that he is now only called upon as a reserve understudy for either of the full back positions.

On 4 August 2005 Neville joined Everton on a five-year contract for a fee in excess of £3.5 million. He made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Villarreal CF of Spain, coming face-to-face with his former Manchester United colleague Diego Forlan. The following weekend, Neville made his FA Premier League debut for the Toffeemen. Fittingly, it was against Manchester United. The match marked the first time Phil and brother Gary had played for opposing teams.

Neville's attitude, work-rate and willingness to play anywhere has seen him become one of manager David Moyes' favourites. On 8 August Neville was announced as vice captain to David Weir, and – on Weir's departure to Rangers in January 2007 – he became the club captain. In the Manchester United versus Everton match on 29 November 2006, Phil and his brother Gary became the first siblings to captain their respective clubs against each other in the Premiership.

Recently Neville commented in the press about the first ever red cards of his long career (he never received any playing for Manchester United), claiming that he would perhaps not have been booked in a game against Fulham if he had been playing for United. However, he finished with more cards than any other Premier League player in 2005–06 (including another red soon after his first). Whilst at Manchester United he was booked many times, such as in the 2002–03 season when he got far more cards than any other United player in all competitions, despite only starting 35 games. Additionally, in September 2003 Neville also received a warning from the FA regarding his future conduct for his behavior after Manchester United's game against Arsenal.

Neville scored his first goal for Everton in a 3–0 Premiership win against Newcastle United on 30 December, 2006.

International career

Neville has also regularly been picked for England squads, making his debut on his 19th birthday against China in 1996. He played alongside his brother Gary in this match; they had also appeared together in the 1996 FA Cup Final two weeks earlier and thus were the first pair of brothers to play together in an FA Cup-final winning side and for England in the same season since Hubert and Francis Heron in 1876, 120 years earlier.

He was only briefly a regular first-choice player for the side, as a left back in 2000 under Kevin Keegan's management. In recent times he has struggled to make the squad with youngsters such as Wayne Bridge being preferred as backup to Ashley Cole. He has, nonetheless, once briefly captained the side in a friendly match (a game in which England fielded four different captains [1]). Despite having been in the England squad at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 European Championships, and having 59 England caps, Neville has never been in an England World Cup squad.

Neville's England career included the honour of being the youngest member of Terry Venables' squad for Euro 96, though he never kicked a ball (his brother played in every match until the semi-finals); he was one of the players omitted at the last minute by Glenn Hoddle when he was selecting his final 22 for the 1998 World Cup. It is known that Hoddle's decision left Neville in tears, though media attention was almost entirely devoted to the exclusion of another player, Paul Gascoigne. Neville revealed himself in an interview that Gascoigne, not known for his maturity, took the younger Neville brother under his wing and consoled him.

Keegan played Neville at left back in Euro 2000; Neville received criticism and a large proportion of blame for England's exit, when he committed a late foul which led to a penalty for Romania which they scored to win the match.

Neither of the Neville brothers went to the 2002 World Cup – Phil was left out, while Gary was injured. Both were back in the squad for Euro 2004.

Neville was again not included in Sven-Göran Eriksson's squad for the World Cup 2006 as Eriksson wanted to give youth a chance. However, he was drafted into Eriksson's stand-by group of players after Nigel Reo-Coker withdrew through injury.[2] Neville remained in the England squad with new England manager Steve McClaren and started at right back against Andorra. Phil and his brother Gary are the only remaining players on the England squad from Euro 96. The brothers played together for England for the first time in seven years in a friendly against Spain on 7 February, 2007, which England lost 1–0. They hold the record number of England appearances by a pair of brothers (142) and the most starts in the same England team by two brothers (31). Despite so many appearances, neither brother has managed to score a single international goal for England.

Personal life

Neville was also an excellent cricketer in his youth and a contemporary in Lancashire's Under-19 side of England's star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff not to mention captaining England Under-15s at cricket. It is said that he was good enough to have been a professional cricketer if football had not claimed him. One of his former coaches called him the greatest schoolboy cricketer he'd ever known. His father, Neville Neville, was a well-known league cricketer in Lancashire. Neville is married to Julie and has one son, Harvey, and one daughter, Isabella. Isabella is diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

External links

• Phil Neville Caricature
• Philip Neville at Soccerbase
• TheFA.com profile