Source: Daily_Mail
So, what is Gary Neville really like?
Gary Neville retired this week after a glittering playing career which featured a staggering eight Premier League titles, one European Cup and fifth place on Manchester United's all-time appearances list. But he will also be remembered as a forthright character who was one of Sir Alex Ferguson's most trusted lieutenants. [LNB]Here, two of his England team-mates offer a glimpse of the real Gary Neville. [LNB] Was he the best right back you played with?[LNB]MARTIN KEOWN: Lee Dixon just shades it for me. His positional sense was perfect, he knew exactly when to push up and when to drop off. [LNB]When I played with Gary, which of course was less often, I didn't feel as comfortable as I did with Lee and there were times when he would play people onside. But Gary was a marginally better player going forward. At Manchester United the culture is always to attack and at times Gary was like a second winger on the right.[LNB]JAMIE REDKNAPP: Yes. His desire and will to win is like nothing I have ever seen. With England, you would look around the dressing room before a game and feel safe knowing he was playing. He had a ferocious obsession with defending his position and doing his job. He would be one of those players who didn't like to lose at anything.[LNB] Never a backward step: Gary Neville and Martin Keown square up during Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup fifth round victory at Old Trafford in February 2003[LNB]Who is the real Gary Neville?[LNB]KEOWN: He is a winner, hugely driven and very intelligent. He is fiercely loyal to his team-mates and especially good at getting the best out of them. During warm-ups, the rest of us would go through the motions, but Gary's intensity was amazing. [LNB]When I was playing for England, there was a group of Manchester United players who would stick together and most of them Scholes, Beckham, Phil Neville were softly spoken. Gary was their leader and their spokesman. They would arrive first for meals and leave first. They would be first to training and first on the plane, where the front two seats with the extra leg room were always for Gary and David Beckham. It was rare to speak to them on their own but when I did have time with Gary alone during a massage for example he was excellent company and there was good banter. [LNB]I understood why the United group stuck together and I didn't feel the need to try to break that up; I was part of a group of Arsenal players who were their rivals. [LNB]REDKNAPP: Honestly? I don't know. I spent time in England squads with him, including six weeks during Euro 96, but he was a quiet and private man. He was the leader of the Manchester United crew, that's for sure. He seemed very comfortable in their company. I have nothing but respect for him. Like Jamie Carragher, he lives for football.[LNB]Foul throw? Keown was convinced...[LNB]Tell us your favourite Gary Neville memory?[LNB]KEOWN: He had a massive, long throw but I was convinced it was illegal, because he put one hand behind the ball rather than two hands either side of it. Every time we played United, I would warn the referee before the game that I thought Neville's long throw was a foul throw. Gary would then come away with England and moan about the fact that someone from Arsenal kept telling referees his long throw was illegal.[LNB]I kept quiet about it then but now we've both retired I think it's time I owned up that it was me. I'm still convinced it wasn't a legitimate throw but it was a great attacking weapon and typical of Gary in that he was making the very most of his natural ability. [LNB]REDKNAPP: I always remember him being with David Beckham. On the pitch, they were close; right back and right winger. Off the field, they were just the same. Inseparable. They trained together, roomed together and ate together at meal times. It was close-knit between all the Manchester United lot, even on England duty. You could see why they made such a successful team. They grew up together and kept that unity throughout.[LNB]Will he make a good manager?[LNB]KEOWN: He seems a natural fit. He would always ask me about defending and the way Arsenal did it. He would want to know every detail about the offside trap and how it worked. This was in the late Nineties, when the two clubs were fighting it out for the title each season. [LNB]He may decide he wants to put a bit of daylight between playing and managing, which is all-consuming and doesn't allow you the same chance to enjoy a life away from football for a while. But he has the experience and is part of the family at United. He also has the aloofness which can help managers.[LNB]REDKNAPP: Yes, he would make a top manager. He has a lot to offer the game, but maybe he feels he has had his turn. As a player, he has put so much into his career. [LNB]It hasn't come easily to him, he has had to work incredibly hard to achieve so much. Will he want the abuse as a manager, the hassle, the impact of dealing with inferior players? [LNB] Learning from the master: Sir Alex Ferguson has been Neville's mentor for the past two decades[LNB]And you can watch it too, Little 'un! Neville seems to man mark Redknapp'sson Charley before the 2008 Community Shield against Portsmouth[LNB]What was his greatest quality and how good was he off the field? [LNB]KEOWN: As well as his intelligence, which meant that he made the very best of his ability, another great quality was his competitiveness. He would do anything to win and to protect his place in a team. If it was his younger brother Phil competing for his position, Gary would be just the same 'I'm not giving you an inch'. [LNB]I remember watching him and Phil play table tennis. Phil was winning but Gary started talking him out of it, telling him he was no good. I was saying to Phil, 'Don't listen to him, just play your game', but Gary got inside his head. Gary won the match through mental toughness alone. Leaving United has been the making of Phil and now he is as strong a character, but at that time he used to tuck in behind Gary. [LNB]REDKNAPP: Defending. He was a master of the full-back position. He wasn't like these modern full backs, like Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra, who play like converted wingers. In his mind, he only wanted to give the ball to David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo and let them get on with the creative work. [LNB]Gary would overlap and could cross, but he was obsessed with protecting his area. He loved to hold the fort. Every team needs that sort. [LNB] Gary Neville: I didn't want to become a passenger at Manchester UnitedVideo special: The good, the bad and the ugly as Gary Neville retires from footballNeville's been 'fantastic'... that's not Fergie's tribute, it's from rival Wenger!Neville vows to stay at United until end of the season to finish his badgesManchester United stalwart Neville hangs up his boots after Euro snubGary Neville, the true fighter who bristled with attitudeAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Jamie Carragher, Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp Places: United Kingdom
