Neville, Mind The Buzzcock!

Gary Neville has long been a source of frustration for myself, and no doubt countless other football fans.

Whilst a limited player, his work-rate led to him being a crucial part of the success Manchester United achieved throughout the 90s and 00s. His dedication to the cause and ‘win at all costs’ mentality meant whilst it was impossible not to respect him, he was an incredibly irritating player.

Once Neville’s playing career ended and he began working as a pundit at Sky in 2011, he appeared to be a breath of fresh air and offered an interesting point of view from a recently-retired player.

Aside from the weird orgasm-like reaction to Fernando Torres scoring for Chelsea at the Nou Camp, he was someone whose voice was worth listening to.

The problem is he started to believe this too, to the point where his ego now far exceeds that of any other mainstream football pundit.

There’s several examples I could go into to demonstrate this, but the reason I’m writing about Neville is because of what he had to say on Sky following a 1-0 victory for Spurs over Fulham.

Listening to Pundits on Sky Sports resembles what I’d imagine it would be like if TalkSport had their own TV channel. Essentially, lazy opinions designed to provoke viewers. Well Gary, consider this viewer provoked.

Neville argued that Tottenham should be pleased with the situation they find themselves in this season; Conte has been backed by Daniel Levy and Spurs should be satisfied so far.

“He’s signed Yves Bissouma, he’s signed Dejan Kulusevski, he’s signed Richarlison, he’s signed Rodrigo Bentancur, he’s signed Cristian Romero [He didn’t!]. I’ve probably missed someone out but he’s spent £190m worth of signings in two windows and that doesn’t include Kulusevski who’s still on loan technically. The idea that Spurs haven’t supported him is wrong. It’s a myth.”

“It’s going really well at Tottenham, I’d say they’re on track for where I thought they’d be.”

Let me dive into this because in fairness to Neville not everything he says is completely out of line. Regarding the signings it is undeniable that for once Levy did to some extent back his Manager, especially in the summer. However, what Neville conveniently ignores is that Conte was desperate to sign Alessandro Bastoni, the talented left-side centre-back from Inter Milan. Whether or not Bastoni wanted to come is another matter, but instead of signing a potential lynchpin in the side for years to come (or at least a suitable alternative), we went for the budget option – Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan from cash-strapped, yet at the same time (in the summer, anyway) freely-spending Barcelona. Lenglet has been fine, but given he has essentially rotated with Ben Davies this season, it shows he cannot be considered an upgrade to the starting eleven.

Let’s move to the position of right wing-back. A position vital to the way Conte sides succeed. Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty were not suited to the role, so Spurs opted to buy exciting prospect Djed Spence. An unproven, but seemingly ideal fit, this was a classic transfer where negotiations went on for months, with respected journalists reporting that Levy was personally involved in the negotiations.

Finally the deal was done and Spurs had their man. The fans were happy, presumably Levy was happy, but as it happens the most important stakeholder was not. Conte went on record to say this was not his signing, and now at the end of January Spence is still yet to start for Spurs in any competition, let alone play for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Yes, Daniel Levy spent £20M on a player that Antonio Conte didn’t want, and whether you like it or not, Conte’s stubborn behaviour is a product of Levy undermining yet another Head Coach he appointed.

Jamie Carragher briefly referenced this point, but it’s no surprise Neville didn’t explore this or the failure to bring in a permanent left-side centre half.

“I’d say they’re on track for where I thought they’d be”

I’m referring to the above from Neville again because this is what really struck a nerve. In the very same segment, Gary Neville said how well Conte did to get Spurs top 4 last season, and then based on the summer acquisitions, he along with other Sky pundits had predicted it was Spurs, rather than Woolwich, who would be challenging the likes of Man City and Liverpool at the top of the table.

It was a fair prediction, but as I said before the failure to seriously improve at CB and the decision to bring in a wing-back Conte did not want has seriously contributed to our lack of progress. Given that, why is Neville saying Spurs are where he thought they’d be? I thought he predicted we would be challenging for the title?

At the very least you expect clarity from a pundit, regardless of whether you agree with what they say. Neville demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge about Spurs and the reasons behind the frustrations of this season.

Here’s some things Neville didn’t really talk about: Son’s form has dropped off a cliff, Lloris continues to make error after error, and off the pitch Spurs (and Conte in particular) were rocked by the tragic death of Fitness Coach, Gian Piero Ventrone.

When you consider the fact Spurs have a Chairman not giving his manager what he wants, a downturn of form in key players and tragic off-field events, maybe Spurs are where they should be this season and maybe (at the time of writing) with Spurs still in the hunt for the top 4, as well as FA Cup and Champions League campaigns alive, perhaps something special could still happen.

Neville does (sort of) say this, but again the part about Spurs are where we should be just shows his true colours – dismissing the notion of Spurs genuinely contending. In a season where Woolwich are leading the pack, why can’t Spurs do something similar?

Gary Neville believes Spurs fans should effectively not open their mouths and that our Manager could not get a better job than the one he has at present. Both things are not true.

Spurs fans have been consistently let down by Levy for not just years but decades. It is possible to believe this whilst accepting off the pitch he has succeeded in ensuring the club is financially stable and helping to create a state of the art stadium.

On Conte, Neville claims no other big clubs would take him. I think that is a ludicrous opinion. He’s won the league with Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and transformed Nuno’s brittle side into a team worthy of Champions League football. If rumours are to be believed, and Conte doesn’t sign a new contract, the giants in football will be queuing up to secure his services.

Antonio Conte is a born winner, and whilst he’s at Spurs, our chances of winning silverware are arguably greater than they have ever been during the Levy/ENIC era, even when he’s not being given the support he has earnt from Daniel Levy. The fact Levy isn’t doing everything in his power to give Conte the tools to succeed is unforgivable, especially when he records shows that when you back him, he will deliver.

It is frustrating to be a Spurs fan at present for many reasons, but it doesn’t help when Gary Neville produces lazy punditry that isn’t truly reflective of the situation at hand.

Maybe TalkSport TV wouldn’t be such a bad thing.