Gary Neville

[fredm]

Listening to him talk about us last night was very impressed with the stature in which he holds us.  "Big club", "terrific stadium" etc.  Also made the point of our progress this year as opposed to last season saying that PL is building a team and it will take time for it to come together.  Specifically mentioned that 8 - 12 position this season is where he expects us to be and this will be real progress from where we were last year.

Also good insight from him and Carragher regarding tactics and they highlighted Liverpools first goal on saturday.  Described how teams will work on planning against opponents positions/tactics at corners etc all week and then when something different occured, as Liverpool did, how this can cause consternation and confusion.  Illustrated by the looks and movements of the Everton players.  I thought about this when we had 3 throw ins during the second half and each time the Baggies finished up with the ball.

Another bugbear of mine were the time Bacuna had the ball midway in the Baggies half when we were on top in the second half, and CB, Gabby and Andi were all together in the box, with the midfielders stood in the centre of the field.  No one made a run or move to go out in front of Bacuna either to give him an option of playing it down the line as opposed to just hoisting it into the area together with the facts that such movement would also pull a defender(s) out of the box.

[olaftab]

I was very impressed with Neville's analysis of the match. He has lot of substance.

[peter w]

The throw-in thing winds me up. I haven't seen a side lose so many of their own throw-ins as we do. We may as well just flip a coin.

[pauliewalnuts]

Did anyone also see Neville making that point about the first goal Spurs conceded at Man City, practically from the kick off?

At the point they (Spurs) kicked off, he highlighted there were five players strung across the pitch doing a mixture of stretching / tying up laces / squatting down, basically in no way ready to start the game.

They then kick off, the ball goes to Kaboul, he clearly hasn't woken up, who plays a poor backpass, keeper kicks it straight at the Man City player, and they concede.

I thought it was a really good point he was making.

[pauliewalnuts]

Listening to him talk about us last night was very impressed with the stature in which he holds us.  "Big club", "terrific stadium" etc. 

Before the first game of the season, they did a preview thing with Neville and Carragher. You should have heard Carragher bigging us up, said he wasn't a Villa fan but as a kid used to go to our matches etc etc. It was genuinely surprising to hear.

[cheltenhamlion]

I got stick in the pub for saying it last season but Neville is the best pundit around.

[Dr Butler]

I saw Carragher's mouth moving, I could not hear him....mind you, there was a pack of hounds howling outside the pub.

UTV

[eastie]

I got stick in the pub for saying it last season but Neville is the best pundit around.

Yes he's a decent pundit, not keen on carragher though - too squeaky voiced .

[Chris Smith]

I got stick in the pub for saying it last season but Neville is the best pundit around.

What I like is he offers the sort of insight that we don't see ourselves, i.e. he uses his expertise and experience to offer a proper insight into the game. Contrast that with the 'he'll be disappointed with himself' of most pundits.

I also agree with his point that he hopes we stick with the way we are trying to play even though there could be mishaps along the way.

[Fred]

I like Neville, When he speaks it feels like he has thought it through. Compare that to some of the pundits on MOTD.

[UK Redsox]

Its really annoying that Neville has turned out to be an excellent pundit and comes across as a decent bloke

[Mortimer's Bear]

I've said all season Neville is the best pundit on TV, his analysis is always spot on and he seems to (for whatever reason) hold us in high esteem.

I detested him as a player mind.

[darren woolley]

I enjoyed listening to Gary Neville he talks a lot of sense.

[eamonn]

Yeah, he's the most insightful of all of them. I think Carragher has improved due to Neville's level of expertise. BT's lot are a load of gubbins. Way too many pundits and the anchor acts a bit too much like a wanchor (didn't Ginola get into trouble for giving him that very hand-sign?).

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

The throw-in thing winds me up. I haven't seen a side lose so many of their own throw-ins as we do. We may as well just flip a coin.

Couldn't agree more. I've never known a team so incapable of taking a throw-in and gaining an advantage from it. It's ridiculous. We gift the ball back so many times from poor throw-ins.