The Idiocy Of Gary Neville: Former Manchester United Stalwart Praises Wayne Rooney
CAN Gary Neville, formerly of Manchester United, talk sense in the Daily Mail – even with the help of sub-editors?
Neville is talking about England’s upcoming match against Spain.
My heart sunk as I watched Wayne Rooney being sent off against Montenegro on Friday night playing for England. But not for the same reason as most people watching the game, who will be talking about how he never learns and how he lets everyone down.
Don’t get me wrong, he can’t hide from the mistake and he was right to apologise in the dressing room afterwards.
Rooney did hide. He apologised to his team-mates in the dressing room – well away from the cameras and the fans.
When Germany’s Jürgen Kohler was once red-cared in his team’s losing match to Brazil, manager Berti Vogts made sure the player was alongside him at the post-match press conference. Kohler apologised to one and all. Rooney did not.
Neville goes on:
But what gets me is that now everyone will get caught up in the circus and furore surrounding the sending-off. The most disappointing thing about his red card is that it distracts from the major issue.
Is the major issue that Rooney is a cosseted dolt who gets treated like a toddler?
With England, we’re always looking for an excuse; we’re always caught up in the minor rather than the major. The real issue is that the spine of the team is not good enough, as it stands, to take on Spain, Italy, France or Germany at Euro 2012.
Got that. England are not good enough.
…When I look at it coldly, a team that has John Terry, Gary Cahill, Scott Parker, Gareth Barry, Darren Bent and Rooney in its central positions is nowhere near good enough to take on the major nations such as Spain.
Again Neville tells us: we are not good enough.
… Rooney aside, there is hardly any pace, very little invention and hardly any rotation of positions. Compare that with the spine of Spain: Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, David Villa and Fernando Llorente.
Let’s be clear, England are not as good as Spain. Have you got it yet? Spain are better than England. Gary has told us three times. And then he tells us:
But you can’t just accept they’re better. You have to find a way to stop them, to disrupt the rhythm and to hurt them going forward — because England need to believe that, in a one-off, they can beat Spain.
Well, so long as they don’t read Gary Neville’s words of wisdom, they might…
The rest of Europe is watching and if Spain do what most people think they will do and destroy us, just like France did in February 1999 at Wembley when they were world champions, then England will go into Euro 2012 thinking they have no chance.
No pressure, lads…
Posted: 11th, October 2011 | In: Sports Comments (11) | TrackBack | Permalink
