Book Review - RED: My Autobiography by Gary Neville

The season is back, and with it, comes Monday Night Football. The ultimate indulgence for those who consider football with an air of intelligence in debate. With two absolute footballing heavyweights - in the form of Liverpool and Manchester United legends Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, sitting on the panel, the Sky punditry line up is probably the best in world football right now. 

Football analysis and punditry was getting very stale by the time Sky Sports picked up the two former England defenders. Almost to the point where Brian Clough’s famous interview with John Motson had become absolutely relevant again (watch here). Match of the Day has become one of the most boring shows on TV, and let’s not even mention the standard of analysis/coverage on The Football League show.

In taking on Carra and G. Nev, Sky Sports have added modern top level experience to their line-up, which already boasts the brilliance of Graeme Souness, Jamie Redknapp and Glenn Hoddle, taking football broadcasting to a whole new stratosphere.

This is particularly interesting in the case of Gary Neville. He has gone from being one of the most hated men in English football to one of the most respected and adored. From “Gary The Rat” and “Red Nev”, to one of the most intelligent and intriguing analysts of the game we have yet been subjected to.

Best mates

Shortly before his debut on Sky, Neville brought out his autobiography; Red - which is the focus of this article. The debut of this book was categorically the turning point for G. Nev. and his reputation amongst English fans who had previously held the former United captain with disdain.

Neville speaks to us with the frankness and intelligence that we have since become accustomed to. Although, let me announce from the off that in the build up to this post I have read several other reviews, whereby I mainly concerned myself with the poor ones - of which there are very few. The general disappointment stems from the lack of personal life that is revealed throughout. 

But they've missed the point. For Gary Neville, football is life, and this book oozes that fact. Do not read this book if you are concerned with the birth of his children, his wedding, his home... (you get the picture), as you will ultimately not find what you are looking for. If you are however interested in the inner mentality of a winner, a man obsessed with football, and in particular Manchester United, the emotion of the game on the pitch, and maybe just a bit of insight into what life under Sir Alex Ferguson was really like, then go out and pick up this book immediately.

From the FA Youth Cup winning side of '92, to deciding to retire mid-game against West Brom, Neville takes us on a detailed account of his time as a Red, kicking off with tales of his upbringing into a working class family in Bury (which happened to yield three international athletes). We are taken inside his school playground and how life was growing up standing in the K-Stand (Old Trafford's East Stand) under the shadow of Liverpool, as well as the inescapable bust-ups with supporters of United's famous rivals. Indeed, Liverpool play a huge role throughout the book, as they undoubtably have throughout Neville's sporting life.

"As a kid, I had to suffer at their hands again and again. But that’s why every victory later in life tasted so sweet. That’s why I charged up and down the pitch celebrating every win over Liverpool. It’s why I kissed the United badge in front of them, like any true fan" 

"Now I am able to appreciate Liverpool as another true working city of the north. I can recognise the loyalty of their supporters and admire how Liverpool, like Manchester, has punched above its weight when it comes to music and football. But back then I loathed Liverpool and I loathed their success"

Fergie's Fledgelings - Then and now

Neville gives us a stark insight into what life was like growing up as part of the famed "Fergie's Fledgelings" - the hard work and commitment that was required, and of course the unenviable initiations that the apprentices were put through - often at the hands of a certain Welsh winger. Neville puts us under no illusion that it was never his footballing talent that got him where he was, very much demonstrating the type of steel that was needed to just be a part of Manchester United under SAF. 

What is starkly apparent is the sheer aggression and fierceness with which United conducted business from top to bottom in the early 90's. Fergie comes across every bit as ruthless as we imagine him to be, with youth coach Eric Harrison coming up not far behind. Second place was most certainly the first loser.

Aside from the seriousness of on-pitch affairs, we also gain priceless stories behind the "kids" who rose from humble beginnings at The Cliff to defeat the world of football and go on to win countless trophies. The book works very well as an accompaniment to the recent cinema release "The Class of '92" in this sense.

"There are a few moments you look back on - those cross-roads moments - and wonder how life might have played out differently. I wasn’t nailed on to be a professional footballer. I knew that."

Notable sections in the book also include the relationship between David Beckham and the boss, the England players' 'almost-strike' following Rio Ferdinand's drug-test ban, the treatment that Beckham received along with brother Phil from England fans following errors in the national shirt, being shit-scared of Peter Schmeichel, and of course his disappointing time in an England shirt, with some mention of the methods employed by now-Sky colleague Glenn Hoddle. 

"What are you meant to do? Smile
sweetly and jog back to the half-way
line?"

Red is a must for any fan of sport. An unflinching account of life at the top of world football, without over-zealous commentary it provides a peek inside one of the most famous/infamous dressing rooms around in a time when both England and Manchester was changing for the better.

I actually had the pleasure of being coached by Gary Neville on more than one occasion, during the time he took his UEFA Coaching Licenses, and what struck me the most about his style of coaching was first of all, he loved to have a laugh, and secondly, that he cared deeply about football as a tactical system, and how the game evolves through certain phases of play - he very much wanted to impress the importance of this on us as players (in fact on one occasion it turned out that he wanted to coach a system whereby the attacking team did so through the wing backs. As the left-sided wing back on the attacking team, he more or less spent a whole hour showing me the in’s and out’s of playing in the role he dominated for nearly two decades. It was brilliant).

It was presented to us and explained in such a way that it made learning easy, and made us thirsty for more tactical insight - and that is exactly what he is doing to the wider public now in his role as Sky pundit. His knowledge of the game is clearly exceptionally strong.

Of course, it was quite a proud moment for us who partook in his sessions when he passed his qualifications, and subsequently went on to enter the England setup under Roy Hodgson.

United celebrate the 1996/97 Premier League title; L to R - Cantona,
Butt, Giggs, Beckham, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Scholes, Keane.

Bill Shankley famously said: "Football is a simple game, made complicated by idiots”. But in the case of Gary Neville, when the game of football is complicated by men of intelligence who possess a deep understanding of the game, great things can become of it. It is important for the development of footballing intelligence amongst English supporters that Neville remains on our screens for a long time to come, whilst undoubtably providing the England setup with his winning mentality and invaluable insight.

"Being a football supporter has never just been about the team you love. It’s also about the teams you love to hate. English football is brilliant for being so tribal and there’ll always be an edge between United and Liverpool"

8.5/10

nb. I am well aware that this post has probably gone beyond the realms of just a "book review". However, given the sheer influence that Gary Neville now has over English football on both sides of the media/professional football fence, I feel it is more than warranted. 

Enjoy our article? Let us know! If you have any suggestions for further reading material that you would like reviewing or discussing, send us a tweet @LoneStrikerBlog

European Away Days: Vol. 1 - Aberdeen FC

...Wow, what a World Cup!

Having looked at the last time that either Rob or myself did a proper post (before Rob's effort earlier this week - if you haven't yet read it make sure to check it out), I was shocked to see that it had been almost a month since our Italy vs England review. It's been too long!

We do, of course, apologise for this short-term lack of contact, but the fact of the matter is that with the sheer amount of football that needed watching, it has been extremely difficult for the two of us to firstly watch it, and also manage to shower, eat, and go to work and stuff, whilst still maintaining regular writing.

Hopefully now though, we can resume where we left off with our regular Monday & Thursday posts.

Now, back to the matter at hand. As you may have seen on our blog homepage, we have a section dedicated to "European Away Days", that has yet to have any content uploaded...until now.

Let me to explain..

A while back me and Rob were chatting about various clubs we'd like to go see in Europe, which gave me an idea. It is my target this year (and who knows, maybe for many years to come), to do a bit of Football Tourism. 

I'm planning on visiting various clubs, getting in a game, maybe a stadium tour, eating the local food - essentially just soaking in the atmosphere of football in different cities and countries across Europe, and documenting my experiences for TLS.

I have an obvious list of "big clubs" that I would like to visit; the likes of Dortmund, Ajax, Barcelona, etc., but i'm also planning on paying a bit of attention to some of the more outlandish places. So if you have any recommendations, fire me or TLS a tweet!

So here we go. European Away Days Volume 1;

Aberdeen vs FC Gronigen,

Pittodrie,

17 July 2014

OK, so this one may be cheating. Slightly. However, given the upcoming outcome of the Scottish Independance referendum, this game could indeed count as a full-blown European fixture.

As you may know, both from my bio section, and my constant tweeting about Middlesbrough, I am a Teessider. I have however, relocated to live in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the last couple of months for work purposes. What is cool about where I now live, is that it's quite literally 200m away from Pittodrie; the home of one of Scotland's most historic football teams; Aberdeen FC.

The Club

The Dons, as they are affectionately known, are a club steeped in history, most notably at the hands of some fella named Alex Ferguson, who famously led them to the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup Double.

Since Fergie left however, silverware has been in short supply, with both Glasgow teams dominating Scottish football. That was until a recently resurgent team, under new manager Derek McInnes clinched the Scottish League Cup last season; just the clubs forth trophy since Sir Alex left for Manchester 28 years ago, and the clubs first since 1995. 

Aberdeen also managed to finished 3rd in the SPL last time out, missing out on second place in a decisive final day clash against Motherwell, in what was effectively a 2nd vs 3rd shootout. In essense, this changed little as both were destined to require entry to the Europa League via the qualifying rounds - Motherwell just had to do one less stage of this. Celtic of course, who won the SPL, entered the UEFA Champions League, again via the qualifying rounds - due to the seeding on the SPL within Europe.

As a Middlesbrough man, the second tier European competition is something close to my heart, as Middlesbrough made it to the Final in Eindhoven in 05/06, when it operated in it's former guise - the UEFA Cup. Sadly, we lost out to Sevilla that night 4-0. But let's not talk about that... 

Either way, I saw Aberdeen's entry as an unexpected opportunity to get some European football in, in my new city.

The first qualifying round was a routine win for McInnes' men, seeing off a poor Daugava Riga of Latvia, 8-0 on aggregate. 

Aberdeen were drawn against comparatively stiffer opposition for the second round.The Dutch side, FC Gronigen, the opposition..

Tickets: What, Where, How?

Tickets for me, as you can imagine were relatively easy to come by. I just walked down to the ticket office and asked for some. I imagine this may be something that is more complex for when I visit European teams abroad. 

Pricing was reasonable at around £23 for an adult ticket. This was a moderately priced section of the ground, in Block Y, situated on the corner of the Merkland and South Stands. 

Tickets were more expensive (£25-30) in the Main and South Stands, along the touchlines, as you'd probably expect, with the Richard Donald Stand falling somewhere in the middle.

The Ground

The Richard 'Dick' Donald Stand is the tallest stand at Pittodrie, and can be seen for miles around.

A 21, 421 all-seater stadium, Pittodrie is situated in the middle of a residential area, harking back to many grounds around England in the late 80's/ early 90's, akin to the likes of Maine Road and Ayresome Park.

Personally, I think the old-school red brick looks great - a real bit of British footballing heritage that you just don't see anymore with the architecture of modern stadia.

However, despite several redevelopments; most notably the Richard Donald Stand in 1993 (named after former chairman, Dick Donald), the future of the home of AFC remains uncertain, with plans for development of a new Aberdeen football stadium on the edge of the city in full swing.

Access to the stadium, due to its location, is not great. Congestion in Aberdeen is a real issue, and on match days, you can see why. Small roads, with no real infrastructure geared towards hosting a football crowd make this a real headache to get in and out of. 

The City

The Merkland Stand entrance pays homage to
Aberdeen's architectural roots.

Aberdeen is known as the Granite City. With good reason. Most of the buildings in and around the town are built using the grey colored rock - which looks surprisingly nice on a sunny day. However, on a wet one it can look quite dull.

As I've already mentioned, congestion in Aberdeen is a nightmare, with poor accessibility for travelling by car around the city center. The best way to get around for travelling fans would undoubtedly be to use public transport.

Parking costs are also high, along with many other things; notably the cost of entertainment, as well as food and drink. This is due to the money culture that exists in Aberdeen, as it is home to one of the wealthiest industries in the world, as the Oil & Gas capital of Europe.

The centre of Aberdeen is full of things to do in the hours leading up to kick-off. Union Square offers a vast array of shops, as well as places to eat out, and cinemas. Pittodrie itself is also situated close to the City Beach, so if you bring your flips flops along, and the sun is shining...you never know, you might be surprised.

The Match

The game itself was a bit of a slow burner. As ever when you are playing at home first in Europe, Aberdeen's main concern was evidently to not concede an away-goal to the Dutch visitors, largely happy to hold possession in the middle-third of the pitch. 

When the opportunity did present itself, the Reds did try and carefully unpick the defence, often with a selection of training ground free-kick routines, none of which were particularly effective against a tall back four.

Aberdeen, for all their lack of creativity in front of goal did appear to be a class above Gronigen, with the Dutchmen offering very little in all areas.

With the game finishing 0-0, Aberdeen went to Holland with a significant advantage, knowing that a score-draw at least, would see them through. 

In essence the game won't go down in history, but with post-World Cup blues setting in, and still a few weeks away from the start of the domestic season, i'll take whatever I can get.

Ultimately, the away-goal rule wasn't necessary, as Aberdeen ran out 2-1 winners in Holland, progressing to the third qualifying round of the Europa League.

Aberdeen face a sterner test tonight in the third qualification round of the Europa League, where they face Real Sociedad of Spain. The home leg at Pittodrie is to be played this time next week, where I will most certainly be attending. Hopefully Aberdeen can provide me with more European football season!

Come on the Dons!

This was the first installment of our new section - European Away Days. Be sure to tweet us any thoughts, questions, or recommendations you might have for our new footballing adventure!