I can’t believe I just wrote that but I did and I mean it.


Obviously I don’t like Gary Neville – he’s a twat, but he’s the kind of twat that football needs, just as it needs every other player who actually give a rat’s arse about who they play for and who they play in front of. I like the fact that Neville hates us as much as we hate him which is right and proper and the way it should be in the general scheme of things. Lets face it, any true Mank would say the same about Carra or Gerrard.


That incident at Old Trafford didn’t incite me to riot; it didn’t make me feel faint and start texting my solicitor to set up an appointment to see if I had grounds to sue the wanker. It did make me swear at the TV, it did make me loathe him a little more at that precise moment, but as for lasting damage – no none at all.


Without these players, teams are in danger of becoming passionless, soulless and (from a fan’s perspective) pointless. Players are becoming more and more emotionally disconnected from the fans that pay their wages, youth policy is seen as a piggy bank and countless 'international stars' who 'kiss their shirts' are only doing so to check what colour it is, so they know which set of fans to run to. With each new transfer window that passes and each new multi-million pound deal that’s done, the 'Totally Disconnected Team' moves a step nearer to reality for many UK clubs.


Setting a Perilous Precedent


Inmy opinion, Man U is moving ominously close to becoming the first British Team to fall into this mire and are proudly marching headlong into disaster. But for them the danger comes from within – from their own fans. Oh – I can hear them rattling their beads from here – you think not, do you Mr Mank?


Well, let me remind you of a year or so back when Ryan Giggs was going through a bit of a problematic patch. Every football phone and column in the country was full of Manks screaming for his head, urging that he be discarded in favour of that well known Mank-lover; Damien Duff.
They didn’t give a shit that Giggs has been their most consistent and loyal player for more than a decade. Luckily for United, they still have Ferguson who, loathe him or hate him, clearly knows what makes British teams tick and that’s why the likes of Giggs and Neville are still there. But how long can Ferfie realisticaly stick around? Look out for what happens when he gives it in!


Arsenal should already be at this point – only 2 English players of note in the squad and one is supposedly Chelsea-bound whilst the other should (allegedly) simply be bound (cuckoo, cuckoo). Yet somehow ‘Mr Blinkers’ keeps their heart beating. This isn’t a joke, Arsenal fans – I mean it. They play like a team that cares and, at home at least, do it damn well.


Chelsea are almost there – luckily for them, Mourinho does actually know his stuff - when he isn’t stroking himself. He made sure from the start that he had a British spine running through the team allowing the foreign imports to carry on with their diving, cheating and finger action all around them. If they are caught and beaten for the Premiership (Oh God what a dilemma!) Jose’s out and that could spell the end.


So that’s whey I believe British football needs the Neville’s of this world.


Swansea Shame


However, a word of caution: While I'm all for players showing their emotion and loyalty to their club, there is a line which should not be crossed. I don’t think Neville crossed this line at Old Trafford. However there’s a difference between passion and belligerence and there have been some examples this season, where the line has been, not just crossed, but pole-vaulted. A good example is Lee Trundle and some of his Swansea team mates at the recent League Trophy Final.


For those of you who aren’t aware, Swansea and Cardiff have a relationship that’s about as warm and loving as anthrax and Kurds. With the final between The Swans and Carlisle taking place in the Welsh capital there was always going to be potential for trouble. As Swansea were rightly celebrating their fantastic victory in a very entertaining match, probably just as some of Cardiff’s more communally challenged “fans” were tooling themselves up looking for an excuse to cause trouble, some Swansea players gave it to them as they lofted a flag insulting their Welsh rivals. Trundle went even further displaying a T-shirt of someone urinating over a Cardiff top.


Now I am not one of those people who think players have a moral responsibility to the world –lets face it most of them are as thick as shit. However they do have a responsibility to the club they represent – I think these players overstepped the mark and not because they insulted an enemy but because they let down their own club.