19/11/2009

Everton's younger Munster brother breaks City hearts!


Today's proved a sad day, and one i'm sure none of us will ever forget. Certain moments in life stay ingrained on your mind until you're under soil; where you met your first love, tying the knot, losing one of your nearest and dearest, where you were when you heard the news of someone cataclysmically famous popping their clogs. November 20th 2009 will go down in history as being the day the world learned that one of football's modern elite ruled out joining God's own club, Manchester City.

Phyllis Neville, it should be pointed out somewhere in the oncoming adulating prose to such a great man, has got the odd medal. During over a decade across the road Neville won ten major honours. He also, somehow, won 59 caps for his country. During those years his main competition came from the likes of Michael Gray, Steve Guppy and Chris Powell, that's not the point, he was amongst the best in his position, or at least England managerial greats like Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan thought so.

Sadly for the lad, almost 400 appearances for The World's Greatest Football Club(TM), including a European Cup win (didn't play, like, but let's not clutch at straws), his career is probably best summed up by his distinguished international record; untried during Euro '96, dropped for the World Cup in France in '98, responsible for England's exit against Romania at Euro 2000, dropped again for the '02 trip to Japan & Korea, roughly half an hour in Portugal '04, again 'rested' in 2006, and now unable to get a game at all.

Struggling to budge greats like Quinton Fortune, Wesley Brown and John 'The Cat' O'Shea from the United line-up, and with funds needed to be raised after their selling out to the much-loved American Glazer dynasty, young Phil found himself having to leave Old Trafford. When 'The People's Club' came calling, and knowing his only real competition would be ponies like Tony Hibbert, Lee Carsley and Nuno Valente, he moved for a staggering £4m.

His career at Blue Scouse started fantastically well; eliminated from the Champions League at the earliest possible opportunity having snook 4th place the season prior, they'd win just two of his first dozen games. His season wouldn't get much better, his new club finishing 11th, and Nev spending most of the year wearing down the pencils of referees and being described by pundits as 'hard-working', as players of such limited ability often are.

During the three years that followed Neville did, to be fair to the pug-faced freak, become a key component of an Everton side that relies, and still does, heavily on a couple of cloggers 'putting themselves about' in the middle of the park. Three successive top six finishes under Gollum can't be sniffed at, but as we're seeing with their results so far this season, the main reason for that was the Franco Baresi-like defensive consistency of Joleon Lescott.

Phil's public statement, then, that he wouldn't play for or manage Manchester City would have to be deemed somewhat fanciful. Even with our sometime problems at full-back he'd be lucky, and turning 33 in January the odds of one of the big five snapping him up are absolutely nil. The days of us signing tinpot, over-the-hill ratters are long gone, and the best hope Nev Mark II has got to fall into management would be if Moyes' men continue to wobble and he's offered some sort of caretaker role.

As a City supporter, though, and obviously not the biggest fan of either brother, i'm quite glad that they, and other players who are or have been associated with our humble neighbours, continue to talk about us. We'll just bob along, quietly improving, leaving the likes of the Brothers Grimm and other poor deluded souls to make their continued noise. We're not a threat, to any of them, remember that.

10 comments:

  1. What a crock of shite!

    'Franco Baresi' my arse!! He's over-rated and EFC mugged you lot for 20 odd million sov's - LOL

    Your envy at Everton's league placings (against the odds it must be stated) as you lot will never achieve that is hilarious - you've struck lucky and bought your way to the 'big boys table' - something you lot like to forget. You seem to believe you're a team of sparkling footballers (Gareth Barry, Le$cott, Gimp-never as good as my step dad-Phillips, Tour(ned inside out)e are examples of over rated players) not forgetting of course that world wide respected footballing great Joey 'Jailbird'Barton.........

    Delusions of grandeur again from a City Prick jealous of Phil Nev's sparkling trophy cabinet.

    You , like Everton will forever remain in your Red Neighbours shadow.....

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  2. well i'm gutted to say the least...

    sadly it comments like this that perpetuates the myth that the chuckle brothers* are gormless mindless twats!


    *(garry and phill not barry and paul who i would far prefer to play or manage city)

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  3. LOL

    Bet you never thought you'd "hook" so many retards when you posted that!!

    Nice fishing and keep up the good work

    BluePete

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  4. and were the bitter ones.

    joey barton hasnt played for city for some time...

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  5. Great read, like we would ever want a player like filth Neville. He was sold for being shit. That hasn't really changed, can't see hughes knocking on Moyes door anytime soon for this one.

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  6. Keep reeling in the MUPPETS! Norfstander good work

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  7. :-) Joleon Lescott... you don't fancy bidding for Tony Hibbert too do ya?! As an Everton fan I almost feel guilty for taking so much money off you there... then again.

    And there's only five points seperating our two teams right now - you've had a full squad so far (with your Baresi-esque center half), we haven't. So to me, City are nothing to worry about. Especially if they keep buying overated's who can't get a game for the big clubs...

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  8. Why would you wright such rubbish and waste your time just to reel in MUPPET'S?
    What a sad life!

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  9. it just shows how stupid some city supporters clearly are, you over-paid for a defense that can't finish a game and you seem to think the only reason that we continuously finished in the top 6 for 3 years was because of lescott, i'd say lets re-cap city's illoustrious past, but there isn't really is there.

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  10. Gutted. Was hoping and praying Hughsey would sign both the Nevilles. I can't go on, life has lost all its meaning.

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