Manchester United legend Gary Neville has admitted that he is baffled at how opposition teams did not strategically man-mark one of his legendary former teammates.
Gary Neville spent his entire playing career at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson after rising through the ranks of the Premier League club’s youth academy.
A famed member of United’s ‘Class of ’92,’ the 49-year-old enjoyed an incredible spell at Old Trafford and later became club captain after Roy Keane’s departure.
Neville, who is a key figure in punditry for Sky Sports, lifted eight Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, three FA Cups and three League Cups at United.
The former United skipper became a key locker-room figure for ex-Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson towards the end of his career alongside two other former players.
During his time at Old Trafford, Neville shared the pitch with a roster of star-studded talent, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane.
However, Neville also played alongside another truly exceptional United legend, who was among the four world-class players that Ferguson managed at the club.
Neville talks one Man Utd legend’s influence
Gary Neville appeared on the latest episode of the Stick to Football show alongside Manchester United legend Roy Keane, Arsenal legend Ian Wright and Jill Scott.
Speaking on The Overlap show, Neville opened up about the influence of Paul Scholes and the role that he had in United’s legendary teams of the past.
Paul Scholes spent his entire career at Old Trafford – across two different spells – and was the beating heart of the United midfield for Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 49-year-old is widely considered one of the best midfielders of all time, with United legend Keane once dropping the ultimate praise on Scholes.
Scholes initially retired from United in 2011 before he made a U-turn and returned in 2012, with the Red Devils legend calling it time on his career for the second time in 2013.
Neville admitted that he was “actually amazed” how opposition teams did not target former United and England midfielder Scholes towards the end of his playing career.
“I was actually amazed watching United for the last few years [and] why Scholsey wasn’t man-marked every game,” he said.
“If you stopped him, in the latter part of his career, in that last three or four years, getting it from a full-back or a centre-back [and] just switching… it was the switch of play.
“If you stopped the switch of play, the whole team was out of position and he would literally pinpoint to say whoever’s out on the left wing, say Cristiano is left wing, he would literally find him and… but if you just stopped it there.”
Ian Wright fully agreed with United legend Neville and insisted that Scholes was the type of player who needed to be marked wherever he was on the pitch.
Responding to Neville, he said: “He’s just one of them players you have to mark everywhere they are on the pitch.”
Neville on Scholes being man-marked
Neville recalled one match where Scholes was man-marked by former West Brom defender Paul Robinson, saying that he did “alright” against the United legend.
However, the Sky Sports pundit added that Scholes “eventually” started to ‘drag’ Paul Robinson in the match, proving to be too much for the ex-West Brom star.
Speaking on Robinson, Neville said: “I think West Brom. What’s the guy Robinson at West Brom?
“[Keane suggested the full-back.] Yeah, he man-marked him one game I remember.
“He did alright with it, eventually Scholes started dragging him. But basically, no-one man-marked him.”