FA Cup final 2009: Phil Neville has another chance to prove his Everton allegiance

29 May 2009 18:50
The stigma of having played for Manchester United, the club he will forever be associated with, tends to stick. Few leave the Theatre of Dreams for anything but nightmares, their new fans suspicious, their motives questioned. Building a career away from the biggest club in the world is hard enough at the best of times. When Manchester leads to Merseyside, lesser men would balk at the challenge.[LNB]Neville admits he was doubted, inside and outside the dressing room, upon his arrival in 2005. Liverpool fans delight in informing their neighbours that their "captain's a Manc," the implication one of treachery. After almost four years of unstinting service, if any worries remained, they were dispelled in the most dramatic of circumstances. An FA Cup semi-final penalty against the side he once loved. Now or never, the future or the past.[LNB] Related ArticlesFA Cup final 2009 previewChelsea plan Hiddink farewellMikel: Cup defeat unthinkableWembley has faith in Cup final pitchDavid Moyes v Guus Hiddink'Chelsea sign Zhirkov' "It dispelled a lot of myths about me," said Neville. "You get moments in your career where you have to say your time has come. I thought about it for weeks before – Manchester United in the semi final and still a million questions. Is he a blue, is he a red? I had a feeling it would go to penalties and I knew I had to put myself on the line.[LNB]"The only thing that disappoints me was the pictures at the end of the game. It looked like I wasn't celebrating, but anyone who knows me must know I was happy. I was in Wembley stadium, the pinnacle of football, I had played well for the club I love against the club I used to love playing for. It was one of the happiest moments in my career."[LNB]Such delight was deserved after what Neville admits was a difficult start to his new, post-United life. David Moyes appointed him captain just nine games into his Goodison Park career, at the expense of "close friend" David Weir, the respect and responsibility the man in the Old Trafford shadows craved. The reaction, though, was not uniformly positive.[LNB] "I think at the time I did upset the whole dressing room," he said. "Not me personally, but the way I came in from Manchester United. Who does he think he is? Nobody said anything personally but you could hear the vibe. They'd just finished fourth, broken the Big Four's stranglehold, and this was a lad the manager put a lot of faith in when he could have turned to other senior players.[LNB]"It would have helped me get accepted quicker if I had taken a step back, but I wanted success. I was ambitious. I didn't leave United to see out my career picking up wages. I'd have made more friends if I had said no, but you have to upset people if you want to win things. It was a difficult time. I wanted to be accepted as Phil Neville the player, not Phil Neville the ex- United player. It probably took them a season to understand I wasn't a spy or a teacher's pet." [LNB]They understand that now. One penalty, converted, proved it once and for all. The past is gone, and for Neville, the future is here. [LNB]"It seemed a hard task to win another medal when I left United," he said. "It has taken four seasons and hopefully now our time has come." [LNB] 

Source: Telegraph