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Classless Gary Neville and the Ignoble Knight

2 min read
by The Fighting Cock
“Maybe I’m just being cynical,” said Gary Neville, in his post-match analysis on Sky Sports. Aside from the unparalleled ecstasy of seeing Spurs snatch a more than deserved equaliser in the last minute of added time, this comment by Neville is what struck me most about yesterday’s proceedings. Neville was referring to the clear one-on-one […]

“Maybe I’m just being cynical,” said Gary Neville, in his post-match analysis on Sky Sports. Aside from the unparalleled ecstasy of seeing Spurs snatch a more than deserved equaliser in the last minute of added time, this comment by Neville is what struck me most about yesterday’s proceedings.

Neville was referring to the clear one-on-one chance Clint Dempsey had been given against the United goalkeeper. Neville claimed that, in Dempsey’s boots, he’d have gone down when challenged by Evra, securing both a penalty and a sending off and so maximising Spurs’s chances of winning the game.

His co-analyst, ex-Spurs player Jamie Rednapp, was incredulous. This was a striker, in clear sight of goal! In clear sight of glory! Why would he, or anyone else in their right mind, opt for such blatant cheating?

[linequote]The sub-text was clear: woe-betide match officials who dare make decisions against my club. Off with your heads! I have the power.[/linequote]

Maybe Manchester United’s most successful ever captain has yet to understand what Spurs’s equivalent managed to figure out a long, long time ago.

“The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning,” said Danny Blanchflower. “It’s nothing of the kind. The game is about glory.”

A few hours before yesterday’s glorious game kicked off, the match officials were still inspecting the pitch to ascertain whether it would actually go ahead, given the blizzard-like conditions. The uncertain referee announced that it was still 50:50.

avb-fergie

Keen to avoid a fixture backlog that might affect United’s chances of securing their 21st championship, Sir Alex is reported to have responded, “It’s a 100% on!”

What authority this knight of the realm now commands: to be able to override referees and make important decisions on their behalf. Is it any wonder Manchester United have become so… so successful.

Sir Alex spent most of his post-match interview assassinating the character of the linesman. This mere commoner had had the temerity not to award Wayne Rooney a penalty. What’s more, claimed the noble knight, this was on the back of another bad decision against Manchester United a few years ago! The sub-text was clear: woe-betide match officials who dare make decisions against my club. Off with your heads! I have the power.

So no prizes for guessing which noble knight schooled the cynical Gary Neville in the greatest of football fallacies.

If Sir Jimmy Saville has taught us one thing, it’s that ‘success’, power, influence and royal patronage, does not a real man make. Indeed, quite the opposite, if the privilege so bestowed is used for decidedly inglorious ends.

Or maybe I’m just being cynical.

[author name=”Zeno Citium” avatar=”http://i.imgur.com/cWb9z.jpg” twitter=”ZoC4″ website=”www.thefightingcock.co.uk” tag=”ZenoCitium[/linequote]

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

18 Comments

  1. vic
    21/01/2013 @ 1:57 pm

    Thanks for highlighting that Neville is and always was a cheat. Disgusting that my son listened to the moron and thought he should dive if clean through in the area. I’m not a Dempsey fan but I’m proud he proved that he’s not a cheat like Neville. Sky – dump this idiot NOW

  2. rob
    21/01/2013 @ 2:01 pm

    Comparing Ferguson to Jimmy Savile is a bit strong! You’re not so much being cynical, as a bit of a drama queen.

  3. spudulike
    21/01/2013 @ 2:02 pm

    ….if Spurs had a penalty denied, old red nose would just say ‘that’s the way it goes sometimes.’ Over the years, Spurs have been on the receiving end of far more bad ref decisions than Manure. So was it a penalty? Who gives a f8ck? We took 4 points off them this season, and that’s that.

  4. Mikee
    21/01/2013 @ 2:04 pm

    I’m only surprised that ferguson didn’t moan that too much fergie time, (sorry, extra time) was played, thus allowing Spurs to score an equalizer.

    • Canadianraptor
      21/01/2013 @ 3:02 pm

      Agree he got 4 minutes at OT and moaned it wasn’t enough and I was surprised too that he didn’t moan about the 3 minutes yesterday!

  5. @Manilahotspur83
    21/01/2013 @ 2:22 pm

    If BALE was in DEMPSEY’s position.. ONe on One with De Gea, and felt Evra’s (i THINK it’s Evra’s) nudge, would he have gone down?

  6. paulp
    21/01/2013 @ 2:22 pm

    Loved the photo – AVB is a class act.

  7. Alex
    21/01/2013 @ 2:30 pm

    YES thats right if you want to compare anyone to Savile it should be Wenger with his track record in Japan..

  8. Alex
    21/01/2013 @ 2:34 pm

    Bale would have finshed that chance!

  9. AlphaT
    21/01/2013 @ 2:54 pm

    Comparing Saville and SAF is actually quite apt, it shows how much influence someone who is knighted has over their relative profession!

    • Canadianraptor
      21/01/2013 @ 3:05 pm

      I bet that Berbatov has a few “own goals” when he was alone with Fergie! “Dimitar what’s that on the floor over there, bend over and pick it up, that’s a good lad! Sweet!”

  10. Canadianraptor
    21/01/2013 @ 3:00 pm

    A much deserved point for Spurs yesterday. No mention by Fergie of the two deliberate shirt pullings by Kagawa, one outside and one insdie the box. The first would have been a direct free kick in Bale “territory” 20 yards out and the second a penalty. Grabbing a hold of someones shirt to pull them back is still a foul/direct free kick, they don’t have to fall over the way Roo-implants did when Caulker clipped the ball off his toe! It’s the old mare Fergie was put out to pasture! She has just become a bitter old crone now!

  11. AL GRANVILLE
    21/01/2013 @ 3:00 pm

    It’s about time a decision went against M.Utd. I heard somewhere this morning that they havn’t had a single penalty given against them this season-coincidence? No one can deny that United are successful, but class they certainly havn’t got.

  12. Bobby Bennett
    21/01/2013 @ 3:04 pm

    I was astounded when I heard Neville say that about Dempsey! It’s the first time I’ve heard his true colours, ManU, influence his opinion. Definitely sour grapes. Good for Jamie R. to immediately disagree. Loved the quote from Blanchflower, but that sentiment barely exists in today’s mentality. As for Ferguson you just have to laugh; he’ll never change. By the way, AVB acknowledged fearing ‘Fergie time’ earlier in the week. How sweet it is!

  13. Pedant
    21/01/2013 @ 3:11 pm

    The word you are after is “sight” not “site”.

  14. Charles (armchairgeezer)
    21/01/2013 @ 3:24 pm

    Agree with Paulp, photo is classic, love the passion AVB is inserting into the game.

  15. moe
    21/01/2013 @ 4:17 pm

    It was hilarious to see how bitter Neville was immediately after the game.
    It wasn`t hilarious having to put up with gooner Alan Smith spend the entire second half saying how likely Man U were to score a second, as though there was only one team on the pitch.
    It was very unfunny when the question was put to SAF post match `Would it be true to say you scored a good goal and conceded a poor one?`
    It was infuriating to reflect on the fee sky charge in an attempt to brainwash viewers.
    One bright point – Jamie Redknapp. He was full of praise for AVB, no sentiment for the old man there. Cheers Jamie you are pure class.

  16. GARY FOX
    21/01/2013 @ 8:29 pm

    Fergie is a genius, pure and simple. Every paper, every headline, every pundit was talking about a 50/50 penalty shout – and not about how Man Utd were outplayed, outfought and outclassed – 60% possession; 16 shots to 4; only fluky goalkeeping keeping them in the game. So the script,as written and directed by Fergie, becomes how unlucky Utd were, not how lucky they were! Pure genius at deflecting criticism of his team. Notice too how clever Utd’s players are – challenging every decision, kicking the ball away at free kicks and claiming not to have heard the whistle, tripping people off the ball, tugging at shirts and arms (no mention of Spurs own penalty shout in the papers or in a slo-mo replay) – even down to running away when being booked so the ref has to lose authority by going to them and not vice versa – its classic gamesmanship. The truth is, if we had an RVP (hate to say it) instead of the ‘almost good enough’ Defoe and Dempsey the score would have been 3 or 4 nil. D and D arent rubbish – they are good enough for nearly every team in the EPL – but not the top 2. Thats what we have to remedy but it doesnt look likely and thats why we will be 4th and Man Utd will win the League.

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