Source: Daily_Mail
Gary Neville right back in his old routine - but magic of Ribery suggests the end may be near
Sometimes it's possible to get an insight into a person's life - and their accompanying dilemmas - in the space of a few minutes. So it was with Manchester United's Gary Neville last night.[LNB]Neville's future at Old Trafford remains unresolved. His manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has yet to decide whether to offer his captain an extension to the contract that expires this summer, and Neville, beset by injuries and poor form until recently, does not know if he would accept.[LNB] Clinging on: Gary Neville attempts to get the better of Bayern Munich's flying winger Franck Ribery[LNB]On Tuesday night at the Allianz Arena, as Neville enjoyed a terrific tussle with the French international Franck Ribery, a passage of play just before the half-hour cut right to the heart of the issue. In the absence of his fellow winger Arjen Robben, who was injured, Ribery was very much Bayern's 'go-to man'.[LNB]He saw a lot of the ball and at times looked the player whom United and Chelsea have looked at recently.[LNB]Having decided to get as tight as possible to Ribery whenever the Frenchman got the ball, Neville managed to limit the number of occasions the Bayern player had the opportunity to run directly at him.[LNB]Nevertheless, Neville found himself in trouble when the winger turned him in the 28th minute. At 35, Neville was never going to catch him and Ribery was able to begin a movement from which Bayern almost scored.[LNB]These are the moments that haunt Neville as he recovers from the calf and ankle problems that until recently had robbed him of so much of his athleticism. These are moments that must remind him of the way he was embarrassed by Bradley Johnson as League One Leeds harrassed Neville and his United team when knocking them out of the FA Cup in January.[LNB]Yellow peril: Neville is booked for the handball that led to Bayern's equaliser[LNB]Moments later, though, Neville had shaken the moment from his mind like those with a strong will somehow manage to do. His covering tackle on Thomas Muller as a cross flew in from the other side of the field kept United's lead intact and said everything for his enduring football intelligence.[LNB]There, in 60 seconds, was the best and the worst of Neville. The case for his retention and the case against.[LNB]The Neville issue has formed an undercurrent of United's season since it was boldly suggested towards the end of last year that he would definitely say goodbye at the end of the season.[LNB]Ferguson has attempted to rubbish the story but has at times appeared unconcvincing.Neville, for his part, has fallen back on his general distrust of the media to say absolutely nothing.[LNB]Nevertheless, it is not hard to understand the patterns of recent weeks, to spot and understand the mental process.[LNB]At his age, Neville has no wish to be a bit-part man. He doesn't want to be a cheerleader.He has spent the best part of 15 years as an integral part of Ferguson's team. When that is no longer the case, he will be gone.[LNB]Last night in Bavaria was his kind of night. High stakes, big crowd, inescapable pressure. As he led the team out he smiled. It will have brought back memories of many such evenings. But what is important is that he looked at home again.[LNB]Last season he barely featured and this time round he has still played just 13 Barclays Premier League games. But since the low point of the defeat to Leeds, he has wintered well.[LNB]His fitness has improved markedly and with it his form. Recently he has started to play consecutive games again, big games too. His body has allowed it and his manager has trusted him against teams such as Liverpool and AC Milan.[LNB]The Brazilian Ronaldinho, for example, took his young compatriot Rafael to pieces at the San Siro in the first leg of the last round. He didn't do that to Neville in the second game.[LNB]According to those who know him, this is what matters to Neville. He must, by all accounts, have that feeling of responsibility, of importance, when he drags his tiring body round the training pitches of Carrington on cold winter mornings.[LNB]Last night, his was one of his team's better performances. Ribery looked persistently threatening but was rarely allowed to make decisive contributions. Indeed, his best moment - before his late deflected goal - came as he drifted infield and off Darren Fletcher's shoulder to float a ball towards the breaking Hamit Altintop in the first half.[LNB]At times this was a difficult night for United, despite their early goal. But when Ferguson made substitutions to try to stem the red Bayern flow midway through the second half, Neville remained on the field.[LNB]That, as much as anything, spoke volumes. Both for his night and for his prospects.[LNB] Wayne Rooney exits on crutches: United seek to allay fears England striker has broken his foot againMartin Samuel: Not since Cinderella has so much rested on one footBayern 2 Man United 1: Pain for Wayne after Olic provides late stingWayne Rooney in agony after injuring ankle: World Cup fear for United starMANCHESTER UNITED FC
