Phil Neville

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Phil Neville

Personal information
Full name	Philip Neville
Date of birth	21 January 1977 (1977-01-21) (age 32)
Place of birth	Bury, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1][2]
Playing position	Full back Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	18
Youth career
1990–1994	Manchester United
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1994–2005	Manchester United	263 (5)
2005–	Everton	143 (3)
National team3
2007	England B	001 (0)
1996–2007	England	059 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:43, 26 May 2009 (UTC). 2 Appearances (Goals). 3 National team caps and goals correct as of 18:31, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

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

Neville won six Premiership titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup with his previous club, Manchester United. He can play in defence or midfield, and is often used as a full back.

[edit] Club career

Neville, along with brother Gary, was one of "Fergie's Fledglings". He started training with the Manchester United Academy along with his brother, then later joined as a trainee, making his first-team debut in the 1994–95 season but did not get many first-team opportunities until the following season.

While at Old Trafford, Neville helped United win six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup. He was not established as the club's first-choice left-back until the start of the 2000s due to the consistency of the much older Denis Irwin.

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, 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.^[3]

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.^{[citation needed]} However, he finished with more cards than any other Premier League player in 2005–06 (including another red soon after his first).^[4] 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 competitive games.^[5] 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. He has also scored two other goals for the club, a cross the evaded the keeper against Bolton and a deflected low cross against Aston Villa.

On 19 April 2009, Neville scored his penalty to help knock out his former club, Manchester United in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. He sent the keeper the wrong way, putting it low to the keepers right. He is the first former Manchester United player to captain Everton for the final.

[edit] 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.^[6]

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 players 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).^[7] Despite having been in the England squad at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 European Championships, and having 59 England caps (23 as a substitute), 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 usually noted 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).

[edit] Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 24 January 2009^[9]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Manchester United

• Premier League (6): 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03
• FA Cup (3): 1995-96, 1998-99, 2003-04
• FA Community Shield (3): 1996, 1997, 2003
• UEFA Champions League (1): 1998-99
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999

[edit] Personal life

Neville was a cricketer in his youth, and a contemporary of England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in Lancashire's Under-19 side, captaining England Under-15s. Neville holds the record for the youngest player to score a century for their county's second XI, when he was 15.^[10] It is said that he was good enough to have been a professional cricketer if football had not claimed him.^{[citation needed]} One of his former coaches called him the greatest schoolboy cricketer he'd ever known.^{[citation needed]} His father, Neville Neville, was also a well-known league cricketer in Lancashire. Neville is married to Julie and has one son, Harvey, and one daughter, Isabella. Isabella has cerebral palsy,^[11] which has lead to Neville becoming a patron of the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital New Children's Hospital Appeal.^[12] He made the property headlines in April 2008 when he struggled to sell his £4 million mansion in Lancashire.^[13] In May 2009, he accepted a £2.6 million cash offer for the house from local businessman Matthew Greensmith.^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Philip Neville

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

England Squad v • d • e England squad – UEFA Euro 1996 semi-finalists 1 Seaman • 2 G. Neville • 3 Pearce • 4 Ince • 5 Adams • 6 Southgate • 7 Platt • 8 Gascoigne • 9 Shearer • 10 Sheringham • 11 Anderton • 12 Howey • 13 Flowers • 14 Barmby • 15 Redknapp • 16 Campbell • 17 McManaman • 18 Ferdinand • 19 P. Neville • 20 Stone • 21 Fowler • 22 Walker • Coach: Venables v • d • e England squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Seaman • 2 G. Neville • 3 P. Neville • 4 Campbell • 5 Adams • 6 Keown • 7 Beckham • 8 Scholes • 9 Shearer • 10 Owen • 11 McManaman • 12 Southgate • 13 Martyn • 14 Ince • 15 Barry • 16 Gerrard • 17 Wise • 18 Barmby • 19 Heskey • 20 Phillips • 21 Fowler • 22 Wright • Coach: Keegan v • d • e England squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 James • 2 G. Neville • 3 A. Cole • 4 Gerrard • 5 Terry • 6 Campbell • 7 Beckham • 8 Scholes • 9 Rooney • 10 Owen • 11 Lampard • 12 Bridge • 13 Robinson • 14 P. Neville • 15 King • 16 Carragher • 17 Butt • 18 Hargreaves • 19 J. Cole • 20 Dyer • 21 Heskey • 22 Walker • 23 Vassell • Coach: Eriksson