Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville admitted he is still waiting for the ‘penny to drop’ with under-pressure defenders Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling.
Neville, who remains a passionate United fan despite his new career as England assistant manager and TV analyst for Sky Sports, has revealed he sometimes struggles to keep the level of emotion he feels for his old club out of some of his commentaries.
The former Old Trafford star has claimed United’s defensive issues this season have largely been due to injury problems — but has also stressed that United’s three central defenders have work to do if they are to develop into proper players at the very highest level.
Neville said: ‘When you’re with England and you work with the likes of Smalling or Jones, you hope a manager comes in and grabs them, plays them, trusts and puts belief in them.
‘Louis van Gaal has come in — a great coach and someone who has worked all over Europe. He’ll get them good on the ball, good defensively, in good positions to receive the ball, opening their body out and passing forward with composure. With Smalling, Jones and Evans we still have great hopes for that penny to drop.
‘They’re still developing and picking up injuries but when they stop and the penny drops, you think: “We’ve lived with his faults, development and now we’re getting the benefit of it.”
‘There is no doubt they have talent but they need experience, maturity and injuries to stay clear — and they will fly,’ said Neville, in a wide-ranging interview with the Stretty News fanzine and website.
Jones is only 22 but Smalling is 25 and Evans, 27, which makes some wonder how long Van Gaal will have to wait for them to reach the potential Neville talks about. He added: ‘I look at United’s defence and what it lacks is control. I see players that have talent but they’re all individually working, not having controlled movements together. That comes through understanding and from playing together.
‘No manager, whether it’s Sir Alex Ferguson or someone else, over the past three years, would be able to put a consistent defence out there.
‘The reason Chelsea have the best back four in the league is because they have good players, who play every week without many injuries.
‘United have been absolutely blitzed with injuries in those positions for the last three years. But, in Van Gaal’s defence, he has had Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in defence, with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young as wing backs. If you said last season Van Gaal’s going to come in and Young is going to be a left back, you’d laugh your head off but he’s been fantastic.’
Asked for his three favourite current United players, Neville mentions Wayne Rooney and Angel di Maria but is unstinting in his praise of Carrick.
‘I love Carrick,’ he said. ‘I have respect for Carrick. You never hear anyone that’s played with Carrick at United have a bad word to say about him.
‘I think he would be first or second on Van Gaal’s team sheet. When you play with Carrick, there is authority, control, peace. Against Liverpool or Manchester City, you need peace around you.
‘You sometimes don’t want people running around like blue-arse flies.
‘Scholes and Carrick together was peaceful. It was like going to a bar and hearing a piano playing. It’s relaxing. Listening to some rock is good and you like that too but sometimes it’s nice to listen to a piano. Carrick’s a piano.’ – Daily Mail