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Liverpool the football club always had my respect, says Gary NevilleManchester United's captain admits that the rivalry with Liverpool is bigger than the one with Manchester City
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Daniel Taylor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 October 2009 22.00 BST Article history
Manchester United's captain Gary Neville taunts Liverpool fans after running 60 yards following a late winner from Rio Ferdianand. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters
Over the last few years Gary Neville has laid bare his dislike of Liverpool, he has been fined by the Football Association for deliberately goading their supporters and was lucky to escape injury when a group of vengeful Liverpudlians spotted him in his car after a game at Old Trafford – and tried to overturn it.
Neville even inspires a tribute chant to celebrate the fact that "he hates Scousers", but the Manchester United captain was in a diplomatic mood as he looked ahead to the clubs renewing hostilities at Anfield on Sunday, and the potential damage a fifth successive defeat for Liverpool could do to their title hopes.
"Liverpool haven't had the best start to the season but even if we beat them it would be too early to write off their championship challenge," Neville said. "We cannot knock them out of the title race; that is not an interest of ours. There are only nine games gone so it is far too early to talk about that.
"We've still got 29 games to go. We say this every year at our club because we have the experience of going through it. You can't make any predictions at all until January or February. Any team in the top four is capable of winning six or seven games on the run and they'll be back up there again."
This did not sound like the man who once declared to a United fanzine: "I can't stand Liverpool, I can't stand Liverpool people, I can't stand anything to do with them."
Never one to hold back with his opinions, Neville was so flagrantly anti-Liverpool that his father, Neville Neville, interrupted one of his rants a few years ago to switch off an interviewer's tape-recorder, apparently fearful that his son was talking himself into trouble. Neville Jr is said to have responded: "But I do hate them, Dad."
Neville, however, now wants to clarify his position. "I've never said I don't respect Liverpool," he says. "You have to respect a team that have been as successful as they have and have the history and tradition they have. But I'm a United fan and the rivalry is well documented. United fans want United to win and Liverpool to lose, and it's the same the other way.
"There are a variety of reasons why this fixture is so important – the cities are very close yet have different cultures, both clubs have enjoyed great periods at different times in the past 40 years, and now we're level on the number of championships won.
"It's always been a really great game to play in. We never want to lose, but it's the same for both teams. Liverpool has been the biggest game of the season for a long time, going back 30 years or more. Our rivalry with Liverpool is bigger than with Manchester City. They are the best games to play in, but also the hardest to lose."
United suffered that experience twice last season, including a 4–1 thrashing at home in April, but a victory for Sir Alex Ferguson's side would put them 10 points clear of Rafael Benítez's team. "I wouldn't say we're looking for revenge," Neville said. "When the top teams play against each other, it seems to go through cycles that teams have good results and bad results. We know that anything can happen in these kind of games, so the main thing is not losing.
"These games are always a one-off. They can go either way against Liverpool. The fact they lost at home in the Champions League and we won away won't really matter. They'll be in front of their own fans and we have to be on the top of our game to make sure we do well. It is always the same. The most important thing at the end of the season is winning the league, and we're delighted that we won it last season. We'd rather lose both games again and win the league than beat Liverpool and not win the league."
As for the reception that awaits him, Neville still knows he will also be a popular target for the crowd, even if most of the hostility is directed towards Michael Owen this year on the back of the former Liverpool player joining their arch-rivals.
Owen has already accepted that he will be given a tough time and Neville, too, knows it is par for the course. "I don't get a great reception at Anfield, I must say," he said. "I'm not their favourite son. No United players get a good reception at Anfield, but it's the same for their players at our ground, and it is to be expected.
"The atmosphere at Anfield is great, and it's the same when they come to Old Trafford. The first thing to try and do away from home is silence the crowd because the fans are passionate."
Buzz up!
Digg it
Daniel Taylor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 October 2009 22.00 BST Article history
Manchester United's captain Gary Neville taunts Liverpool fans after running 60 yards following a late winner from Rio Ferdianand. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters
Over the last few years Gary Neville has laid bare his dislike of Liverpool, he has been fined by the Football Association for deliberately goading their supporters and was lucky to escape injury when a group of vengeful Liverpudlians spotted him in his car after a game at Old Trafford – and tried to overturn it.
Neville even inspires a tribute chant to celebrate the fact that "he hates Scousers", but the Manchester United captain was in a diplomatic mood as he looked ahead to the clubs renewing hostilities at Anfield on Sunday, and the potential damage a fifth successive defeat for Liverpool could do to their title hopes.
"Liverpool haven't had the best start to the season but even if we beat them it would be too early to write off their championship challenge," Neville said. "We cannot knock them out of the title race; that is not an interest of ours. There are only nine games gone so it is far too early to talk about that.
"We've still got 29 games to go. We say this every year at our club because we have the experience of going through it. You can't make any predictions at all until January or February. Any team in the top four is capable of winning six or seven games on the run and they'll be back up there again."
This did not sound like the man who once declared to a United fanzine: "I can't stand Liverpool, I can't stand Liverpool people, I can't stand anything to do with them."
Never one to hold back with his opinions, Neville was so flagrantly anti-Liverpool that his father, Neville Neville, interrupted one of his rants a few years ago to switch off an interviewer's tape-recorder, apparently fearful that his son was talking himself into trouble. Neville Jr is said to have responded: "But I do hate them, Dad."
Neville, however, now wants to clarify his position. "I've never said I don't respect Liverpool," he says. "You have to respect a team that have been as successful as they have and have the history and tradition they have. But I'm a United fan and the rivalry is well documented. United fans want United to win and Liverpool to lose, and it's the same the other way.
"There are a variety of reasons why this fixture is so important – the cities are very close yet have different cultures, both clubs have enjoyed great periods at different times in the past 40 years, and now we're level on the number of championships won.
"It's always been a really great game to play in. We never want to lose, but it's the same for both teams. Liverpool has been the biggest game of the season for a long time, going back 30 years or more. Our rivalry with Liverpool is bigger than with Manchester City. They are the best games to play in, but also the hardest to lose."
United suffered that experience twice last season, including a 4–1 thrashing at home in April, but a victory for Sir Alex Ferguson's side would put them 10 points clear of Rafael Benítez's team. "I wouldn't say we're looking for revenge," Neville said. "When the top teams play against each other, it seems to go through cycles that teams have good results and bad results. We know that anything can happen in these kind of games, so the main thing is not losing.
"These games are always a one-off. They can go either way against Liverpool. The fact they lost at home in the Champions League and we won away won't really matter. They'll be in front of their own fans and we have to be on the top of our game to make sure we do well. It is always the same. The most important thing at the end of the season is winning the league, and we're delighted that we won it last season. We'd rather lose both games again and win the league than beat Liverpool and not win the league."
As for the reception that awaits him, Neville still knows he will also be a popular target for the crowd, even if most of the hostility is directed towards Michael Owen this year on the back of the former Liverpool player joining their arch-rivals.
Owen has already accepted that he will be given a tough time and Neville, too, knows it is par for the course. "I don't get a great reception at Anfield, I must say," he said. "I'm not their favourite son. No United players get a good reception at Anfield, but it's the same for their players at our ground, and it is to be expected.
"The atmosphere at Anfield is great, and it's the same when they come to Old Trafford. The first thing to try and do away from home is silence the crowd because the fans are passionate."