Is he the most underrated player to represent England? Would any youngsters today have heard of him? Do the same youngsters realise that he was part of the core players when Liverpool were arguably the best team in Europe? He is probably the most successful or decorated Englishmen ever to play the game.
Bob Paisley bought him to Liverpool in 1974 to replace the ageing Lawler, making his debut in a Merseyside derby. The full-back became such an important part of Liverpool’s solid defence alongside the likes of Alan Hansen, Phil Thompson, Mark Lawrenson and Alan Kennedy that he did not miss a league game for the club from 1975 to 1983, playing 417 consecutive matches.
Phil Neal has an impressive medal collection on his mantle piece. His days at Liverpool brought him eight League Titles, four League Cups, five FA Charity Shields, four European Cups, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Super Cup in a spell at the club stretching 11 years.
In English football he is one of the most successful players to have graced our game, second only to Ryan Giggs in the number of major honours he has accumulated. Giggs has won 21 trophies, not including the Charity Shield, and Neal has picked 18 major honours.
Plucked from Fourth Division obscurity for £66,000 in October 1974, the former Northampton Town man was Bob Paisley's first managerial acquisition and undoubtedly one of his most inspired. Despite being a defender Neal was the team’s penalty taker and a prolific marksman, by full-back standards, with his tally of 60 goals.
He scored a penalty in the 1977 European Cup Final, to help Liverpool beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in Rome to win the European Cup for the first time. He also scored seven years later, also at Rome's Olympic Stadium, in the 1984 European Cup final, prodding the ball home from close-range to open the scoring against hosts AS Roma.
Neal also played in the 1978 and 1981 Finals, helping the Reds in beating FC Bruges and Real Madrid respectively. The only Liverpool player to feature in all four of Liverpool's European Cup wins in their period of dominance in 1970s and 1980s.
At Anfield he was known as 'Mr Consistency' and has become a Liverpool legend. Maybe its time that the rest of the nation realised just how much of a star player and model professional Phil Neal really was. He should be looked at as an icon of the game. For those to young to know, below is the record of Neal’s honours.
Football League First Division (8): 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86
Football League Cup (4): 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84
FA Charity Shield (5): 1976, 1977 (shared), 1979, 1980, 1982
European Cup (4): 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1983–84
UEFA Cup (1): 1975–76
UEFA Super Cup (1): 1977
Source: DSG
