Over a period of almost twenty years, Gary Neville was a mainstay in defence for his only club, Manchester United. Now he is a pundit I thought I would examine how well he did as a player and now that he has retired from the game.
As a player
gary neville became a true legend in the English Premier League since he emerged as one of Fergie's Fledglings. Alongside his friends David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and his brother Phil, Neville and co rose to prominence by winning the FA Youth Cup in 1992. After making his debut in 1993 Gary Neville would go on to make 381 league appearances and a total of 602 appearances for the club, according to the Sporting Heroes website.
During his time at Manchester United, Neville won the Premier League 12 times, the Champions League twice, the FA Cup on four occasions and the League Cup twice also, as reported on the Eurosport website. On the Manchester United 24 website, Neville was viewed as being "reliable and consistent" and a "team player". Furthermore, his greatest strength was "being able to perform well over a sustained period for nearly two decades".
And now a pundit
However, having retired as a player in 2011, the former full-back has become a respected pundit. This is illustrated by the fact that Neville's performances for Sky Sports have "won him praise", not only from viewers, but also from those in and around the game, as stated on Sky Sports.
Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stated that "he's brilliant the way he explains things" and that "I quite like to hear what he has to say because I do believe he knows what he's talking about". Furthermore, after being named Best Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit for a second year in a row at the 2015 Royal Television Society Programme Awards, the judges said, "Gary showed insight, strategic knowledge and a mission to explain".
In addition to this is his pivotal role in revolutionising Monday Night Football. Alongside former foe Jamie Carragher, Neville has helped, with an "eye for detail", to make the programme what it is today, as stated in the Guardian newspaper.
It is clear that Gary Neville is a legend of the game, not only as a player but now in the studio. He is now educating those who watch football on Sky and rightly deserves all the praise that he gets.
