GEITF 2013 - In Conversation with Gary Neville

[Music] good afternoon everybody what an honor it is actually to be here today I think I'm right in saying this the first time in a very long time that Sky Sports have been to what is a fantastic event so thank you very much for having us it's great timing as well because at Sky we've just started our biggest ever season of live football which we kicked off of the weekend it's a big relief to have our first Super Sunday and Monday Night Football which of the two shows that I present under our belt those of you who don't watch it and those of you who do will know that on the Monday Night Football we've given it a bit of a tweak this season Jamie Carragher has joined myself and the man I'm about to introduce a man who played 85 times for England he's won everything you can win at club level including eight Premier League titles and he's not bad on the telly as well I think you'll agree let's have a look at the man in action [Music] you're proud of watching English football in the way in which it represents hard work desire the will to run no one a go past it no one would move this is just natural wonderful wonderful strike my mother I'm not letting you through get out of here get out my box aggression I by the way play Diaz three or four years ago at the Emirates Stadium pull my pants down with sixty minutes I got sucked it's like this it should be dude it's got to there to go there we'll defend this league to the hilt and call it best league in the world to me the people decide that around the world not was in this country [Music] ladies gentlemen please welcome Gary Neville Gary so Gary I played that and you got applause as well very nice indeed listen it's been billed as what pitch to pundit what does that transition be like for you I've enjoyed it first and foremost I think that it's a challenge it's not something he said to me six years seven years ago Gary you'll go and be a pundit you won't go into coaching I'll management I would have said no chance but the opportunity came a year before I finished my career one of the sky people came to me to be delighted to come on to our shows at that time it was just to do the super Sundays and to be in the studio and then basically I got the opportunity when I came to do Monday Night Football and have to say I met with the two main people at Sky and said no I'm not doing Monday Night Football and I said no way I say it's too much I said I need to get used to actually being on television first and they just didn't listen to me he said no you're going on Monday Night Football and that's is the best thing that I ever did is we do it together now we do it Jamie it's the best show it's the most thrilling show for I was live Lots going on nothing to react to different things long day of preparation to get there I mean even Monday's show for instance would start about conversations on the way out way down today it's a lot of time in the building I have to hold my hands up I thought it was going to be a disaster I genuinely did for a number of reasons one i sat there on that first Monday Night Football remember it was Man City against Swansea and I thought because I've never done live football before I was sat with you just explained you didn't have the experience and we've had all the I think it was a session on Twitter earlier what Twitter thing what you're doing signing Gary Neville blah blah blah what was going through your mind when we were sat then you get a count in your ear ten seconds here on our first Monday Night Football ever what were you thinking where's my water because honestly even now you just I thought if it's anybody Billy's been on television but just basically you can't get your mouth so dry and you're so nervous and people's house nervous a football player at times but it was so much more nervous due Monday Night Football for the more nervously Monday Night Football in a Cup final a game for in the Wembley definitely I mean now obviously I'm a little unsettled down a little bit but that first show it was like somebody was on times 32 I mean they're literally you ask me a question and I was so fast my hands were Eddie not doing my hands my broadcasting technique was nil but he just got to get used to it was most nerve-racking experiences I've had in my life probably long with my driving test I remember we got to kick off at the game I think we got there six minutes early because we both so knows we've done so fast gotta call for six minute within an hour in 54 minutes it was a no we're gonna cut I want to come back to Monday Night Football a bit later but I want to talk to you about Gary Neville of football at first give us an idea Gary what it was like you were what 19 was it when you first went into that Manchester United dressing room losing in the first thing legends everywhere one earth was that feeling like for you it was incredible feeling at the time I traveled with the first team for a couple of seasons from the age of 17 that made me debut because of the foreigner rule at the time there's a three foreigner rule in Europe we had to basically make up the squad with the young British talent so we were looking at fortunately of myself Paul sculls Nicky bought David Beckham my brother to travel with the team and always be in the squads and just to be around Canton are and Keane and Robson in Schmeichel there were big personalities there were big leaders there I would say it was probably the last school of the traditional type football player the ones that would potentially go out for a drink after every game really you know I played on sassy go for a drink on a Saturday night on the Wednesday and then the Premier League was obviously just been introduced there were more foreign players coming into the country more foreign managers coming into the country into fair professionalism I have to say increased enormously around that time and now to the point whereby players you know drink very little have to say but they will do at the right time but very little and for me at that time all they want to do is play fine IT that's been to watch the team at the age of four or five watch them all the way through my childhood and couldn't believe that I was getting the opportunity didn't feel as though I was the most talented by any stretch of the imagination particularly the group I was in but we dragged each other through I was part of a very special group and we all looked after one another and you've mentioned some big-name their leaders as well amongst them and in your career which are the best leaders that you've played with Roy Keane was the was the best captain Lee that I played with because of the fact that he just wanted everything out of you all the time he never accepted anything other than absolute perfection a pass was you know that far away from his foot and it shoulda been near it he wanted them standards to be perfect and I have to say that that's something that even when I go into Skye now is that's still the same and that's why I like what I'm doing you know we have a producer there a Monday night that basically if something's not right it's in your ear and it's got to be right and in quite another honor as well yeah you know you told when to delivery I think that's where I'm I respect that I like being told what to do I was a manager for 20 years you always knew where you stood and I'm going to ask you about Sir Alex in a minute just going back to Roy Keane surely that doesn't work with everyone now you thrived on it yeah but some people need an arm around them I remember there was one game thinking our first season on M&F we've done it for a couple of seasons now and David the hair came up off at halftime he'd had a tough time and I said I think I said to you you'll need an arm round him surely now he went no he's got to get it right I think when you I think when you're at the elites but don't get me wrong you've got to obviously approach different people different characters in different ways and certainly can't be sort of forceful with them all the time but you're also talking about people who are expected to deliver and when you play for Manchester United the idea that you sort of have to cuddle people continuously and babysit them is not what happens and I think that for me in my early is the toughness of seeing the lights of Inns and Robson and Michael and Bruce the way in which they treated each other the way in which they dug each other out during matches or in training it sort of got to a point whereby there were the standards that they were expected you had to get to that standard actually I think that they saw the young players at the time potentially even as a risk to their success because they thought are they going to be good enough we were starting to do knighted startings win championships but I think that you're absolutely right I think you've got to expect high standards all the time in fact that you do potentially need an arm around your shoulder it's something that I get no you can't certainly be critical of people all the time but either manager for 20 years again that well done was what you got that was it after a game well done but you knew if he'd said that to you it meant something so the idea that you need to turn around say oh you're wonderful today you're amazing you were brilliant I love you in all that sauce stuff doesn't really I've never that's into me life and for guys that are here from all sorts of different industries the world of television and so on you've talked about football there what do you think all round is needed and what the requirements to be a great leader soon a sex an example that people follow I believe and that can be in different ways I can take you through the captains that had a old trafford Steve Bruce was the brown Robson was the first one and someone who would run through a brick wall for the team for his teammates would protect his teammates to the absolute enth degree and he played an 18 game which like in under 18s game with us a Chester once and one of the sailors at marine and one of the marine pull backs the Marines it was a team from Liverpool and basically just absolutely took out Ben Thornley and Bryan Robson just basically the next tackle went over and absolutely clutter diamonds that you would really protect you on the pitch and that's what leaders do they look after you they they set the example for the rest of the team to follow they don't allow standards to drop and they have a good level of authority and I think you move on to Steve Bruce it was a more gentler figure than the Bryan Robson but again demanding set by exampled had any ball that came into the box would be always motivating people and saying come on you know we need to get a goal back or whatever it would be moving into sort of canter now it was very quiet but would lead by example you knew full well if the eyes came your way that he wasn't happy enough to say anything you knew breeze that by his eyes with Eric and he was somebody that would win you games so he would win your matches and that's again another way of leading another way of becoming somebody of authority and football team moving on to Roy Keane he was the captain I played with most for 10 years who pretty much out had everything in the sense of his Drive on the pitch big moments he would make sure he stuck to the plate he would protect teammates look after his teammates and expect the maximum from his teammates all the time wouldn't let anything go and then I became captain myself and all I try in that sense I was certainly the weakest of all the players that I've named in terms of ability and talent but a long stretch but at the time I was at the top of my game I was playing for England was playing for United every single week had won probably six seven championships I did the right things so I got first into training I worked as hard as I could I would never take a shortcut on anything and from that people would solve if you like you know when you're 19 year old this is what I used to say when I was a kid when you're in 18 19 year old and you see somebody like Steve Bruce at 34 or brown Robson at 36 behaving the way they are in training the way they are you've got no excuse as a kid you have no excuse because the people in the dressing we've won everything we've earned all the money you've got all the fame still grounded in the work rate and their ethic so I think a leader for me somebody who sets that example for the rest of the team and obviously Alex the biggest leader of all blessed is the only club manager that I ever had and it was it was incredible experience playing under in ruining when I look back now and thinking you take it for granted at the time because all I ever knew but actually looking back now you think how blessed I wasn't privileged to actually work in that period because it'll be talked about in the history for the next 100 200 years well tell us about his leadership then you know I don't any one could argue he's one of the greatest leaders this country this footballs ever had what was his secret many things obviously and the first thing was that what he's what what he said he was going to do he did he give people opportunity if you were good enough you would get in that's what he told a 16 year old so my first experiences of him were at 16 17 when he would come down into the youth team changing room and say I want you boys to be Manchester United players and he would always talk about a Manchester United player I want young boys the Manchester United players I want you to grow up as a Manchester United player behave as a Manchester United player play the manchester united way and all you ever ask for as a kid is a chance and he'd give you a chance he gives young kids a chance every single year in the Carling Cup the FA Cup in the Champions League if you've already gone through in league games where he can you'll always get opportunities a talented young cadet united and he believed in that thoroughly dan at Aberdeen you wanted to recreate what Sir Matt Busby done so the first thing was that you actually you believed what he'd said has he trusted him the next thing was that actually obviously said the correct incredible work ethic he talked about working hard continuously in his team talks about how he should be proud to work out how he should be proud to look round the dressing room and trust the people that are in alongside you I've selected with you that will work out with you and that comes from his traditional values if his upbringing obviously in Glasgow and what he was surrounded by but that saves probably the last of a kind in that he was able to keep the traditional principles and values of Nelson you won't do that which is very difficult nowadays to young people because they sort of get a little bit upset to to the fact that you move with the times and relaxed a little bit as he got older and recognised that a different type of young person was coming through that they're a little bit more sensitive that so they're a little bit more they were different types of characters you have to behave in a different way himself but still retain those traditional values in terms of individual stories I mean communication and man management he was a manager he delegated to his fitness staff his medical staff his coaching staff they were to control their elements of the club it wasn't a control freak in so he surrounded himself a bit like a Clive Woodward or a Dave Brailsford surrounded himself with the best people would that be fair yeah he had really good people around him that he could trust that he knew would basically he would he would come out as a training pitch ten minutes after we started always be on the training pitch would say very little during training might pull a player over an individual word with them but the biggest thing for me was that he always communicated with his players and he had 24 players and only could pick 11 and he was leaving 13 of them out every week and there wasn't a time ever in the 20 years where he would you would play one match and then you wouldn't be playing the next match and he wouldn't have a word with you as to why you weren't playing so he would always call you into his office for two or three minutes a minute and just say if he was resting you genuinely he would say I'm arresting you today so no I'm playing you on Saturday but genuinely he was somebody who can drop you and make you still feel good I mean an incredible thing I mean you could walk man management at its absolute finest isn't it I mean some of the most incredible I call them excuses now and I look back at the time I suppose of buffle I mean for words like Ryan Giggs would go in and we'd always sat in our car to me Giggsy backs goals in let's say gigs he's gone in and you knew full well when once Albert the KITT man saw officer Giggs it he knew you're being dropped so basically of the walk of shame down the corridor into his office and he'd say look I'm leaving you out today I'm not playing your book show something you can win me this match I'm gonna bring you off the bench and you're going to score a goal from it to win this match and he'd walk back into the office and think we thinks I can win this match I'm just gonna did anyone deceive me once famously say that's a soul shot yeah who felt a million dollars and came on and did exactly that honestly left me out for the most incredible I remember once him leaving me out because he left me I guess nothing on forests when I was 21 at home because he said that combat 18 were going to be at present at the Chelsea game the week after and that he thought it was gonna be a bit hostile for me as a young kid even though it was its time and all that was was knocking around but I said playing Nottingham Forest at home yeah but I need to prepare the cook I need to prepare you for it so I need to get your any photos like okay came I thought why I've been dropped there and you see we actually it was an inoffensive way of doing it there's always a reason that he gave you even when the work mean the probably the only time I ever swore him on a pitch which is a bad mistake he's a very bad mistake and I remember going to his office on the Monday morning and apologizing to him and you know he gave me a telling-off a roller can if you like and said never do that again soon I thought I'm alright huh I've got I've got away with that it gets to the Friday which I've been down to London to Fulham and I think I'm playing up so I've been playing all the games I'm captain at the time and about two hours before kickoff he pulls me aside he says I'm just gonna leave you out today I'm gonna play West Brown at fullback they're gonna have a really tall team and I think it's best we play with like a sensor Offit right right but rather than yourself I mean okay sounds genuine enough I got the team through and Rosinski was playing left-wing yeah bomb or teal brother both and five foot nothing and I thought I've been conned there anyway when I fat when I when I really worked out that I was sort of still being punished but in a nice way was when I traveled to reading in the cowling cup squad with 19 players on the Wednesday and he said I'm gonna leave you his 19 man today because I need you on Saturday but he pulled me down to reading on the Wednesday night its captain which is not what he usually do a 33 year old so basically the roundabout way till continue to talk to me all week but he basically left me out for two games which set the tone for the rest of the squad what you say in there is I'm not the fallout with my captain I'm apologized to me but to the rest of you just be aware that only I've left him out for two matches and it was away in which of managing a situation in a clever manner rather than sort of being confrontational and sort of taking it to her he was really clever like that I mean he was he was very good at managing people and leaving you out which we can all learn from particularly bosses in the room and and watching as well just finally on sir Alex would it be fair to say for me to say that his greatest secret you've touched on actually was the way he evolved over such a long time in a football management the way he embraced you talked about young players but also technology sports science and all this kind of thing he was he was always looking to evolve would that be fair yeah I mean it was it was an innovator which in football terms we think about for strikers everyone talks about having four strikers now when I'm in a squad well the first time that anybody ever played a different group of players to the normal first team in a big game was at Port Vale 1994 stroke 5 where he brought all those kids in and it was basically debates in the house of parliament basically he was degrading English football and it was disgrace but he knew full well the way in which the modern game was set up with the Champions League with the speed of the game changing that he had 20 players he needed to in each position in outfield positions we have 20 outfield players and that basically needed for strikers now everybody wants for strikers everybody now plays their second team or their reserve team in the sort of cowling cup an FA Cup he was the guy who faked up semi-final in 99 and played a team on the Sunday and then left five out for the Wednesday took risks he's a big risk-taker he always talked about risk you have to have risk they used to say about it was when we were playing play with risk always play with risk because if you just sit there and be safe you'll never get away with anything and he was something you evolved with the time and created different things the things that we think have been normal today the four strikers the squad system the rotation that was him in this country he brought that any saw it first there's no one else doing it before that before Sir Alex Ferguson so he was somebody who moved with the times who saw things sports science I mean towards the end we were having tests done every single day before we went out to train again I'm you know he started off 25 years I got Manchester United he had one physio one master one doctor probably a goalkeeping coach and a first team coach now was probably 25 traveling staff so he evolved with the time and let things move with him it never stuck in his ways I want to talk about TB in a minute could only get some questions in from the floor as well we're just finally on this section this would relate to all of us in business football everything you as a player how and why did Manchester United to stay at the top how do you keep winning what's what's the key ingredients for that because the manager the manager basically demanded excellence from the players all the time and hard work and the players just bought into him massively they just really bought into him I mean we got to the point whereby you're almost twenty four clones really in some ways because you want a Premier League it didn't you celebrated that night and you forgot you forgot about it it's gone you lost the Premier League out to stayed with you a little bit longer but no matter what you just moved on you know that you move on you would never allow players to become comfortable anybody that got complacent were gone they were gone through finished so anybody didn't actually work as hard as they had done previously or anybody that fell below the standards and you could see we're just about to go you were gone you've done but he got 24 young people younger people and him and probably a hundred staff to absolutely work as hard as they could every single minute of every day that they could for him and it was a massive hit that in for 26 years at Manchester United is an incredible achievement and I'd say there are some difficulties along the way and things that didn't go so well but for him to have actually that's the biggest thing that obviously they'll miss now is the element of control he had control of the whole club and I suppose that's the same in every walk of life with with business with television with anything that if you've got a boss he has to be in control and the mantra has to flow through the staff and basically the clubs that don't do that well are the ones where the changing their owners all the time the changing the managers the players are don't show a great deal of loyalty to the club because they really haven't got anything to stay for he was the complete opposite of that and he had traditional beliefs that you know founded on hard work that you a man goes to work and work hard you get up first thing in the morning I remember we played the Champions League final on the 2009 which when it was it was a Wednesday night me and me and Ryan Giggs were doing our coaching badge at Lille shawl on a Sunday we played on the Wednesday night we'd got back to Manchester on the Thursday and we had to be a little shawl on the Sunday at I think it was eight o'clock in the morning so I picked Ryan up from his house at six o'clock in the morning we had to go to Carrington to pick up my boots and literally what we drove into the carpark and his lights on he sat there on his desk walk past a par six on a Sunday after the season's finished just there on his own no one else was ghost town I mean it took out a massive training facility and he's just there and you just think what is he doing what is he doing up there for a 6:15 and Sunday morning out-of-season just sums up his attention to detail his passion for it I would say this but I believe it at Sky we think we're market leaders are this similarities between Manchester United and Sky Sports in your that's a fair question well everyone's laughing there are internally when I get there yes there are there you go and I'll give you examples because it's not me just saying yeah you think it's basically a company fluff the fact that the producer and director are now among that football show up in there since there were 17 as if you like runners the coil the mod T boys basically going doing the running doing that you know running around getting people drinks when they want them the fact that you know Barney who's the head of Sky Sports was somebody that started there and has worked his way up through different production levels the fact that they promote from within that the people now that we have working ins on them on that football not just the actual producing director but underneath that I've been there for seven or eight years and they have to move up the chain so there's definitely that element of development and opportunity that in the company you know you might come as a seventeen eighteen year old but you could end up being the head of skysport so you could end up actually being a director and one of the main football shows so that's something that that's really struck me in terms of a similarity the other thing is the seriousness of the business and what they expect and that's something that is driven into me all the time even during shows after shows them they are hugely serious about producing the best television program that they can every minor detail and that they're actually if you make a mistake but a bit technical mistake or whether you say something that's wrong they're on to you they tell you how but we as I did on Monday ya know the producer will be in you and he will tell you we don't do that here we don't say that we dressed this way this is how we work and there is a mantra that flows down through the company of how you basically is supposed to and I have to say I mean I came in to two years ago and my first words of the producer were don't try and make me into a broadcaster whatever you do don't try me into a broadcaster and that's it he sort of laughed at the time you know these little looks at the camera your camera to me little looks and I mean I don't if you know television in a lot me shoot and sure do but you have this earpiece in and if you're on an open mic you can hear everybody in the back and there's a guy in there shouting numbers and I was counting down to bread for me and basically I went to the first break I think in my first show second break and I might get those numbers out in my head and that was the bit of me being naive in broadcasting of saying you know I don't think one open mic I just want to go on I just want to listen to you and concentrate on what I'm doing but actually now um I listen to all the stuff in the background and more comfortable and you improve you look to get better I just feel for me I need to improve continuously and work harder and get better what to do one thing that can never improve also one thing that's not going to change is what comes out of a mouth that's my knowledge that's my experiences that's what I see so that's that's uh something that I'm in control of and I'm happy with it's the other bits that I need to improve the circuit is of knowing when to look at things when to look at you when to look at the camera how to sort my hair and your preparation for the show I mean my my mates I think think from what we go on air at seven o'clock on a Monday night I think my friends think I turn up at 6 o'clock get changed and go and talk football doesn't quite work like that I don't know about you it's always on my mind what's preparation for a Monday Night Football like for you it's that I mean the one that we've got Manchester United Chelsea on Monday it's a big one it's a big game big game English football and we're presenting it we're presenting the show you're presenting but you know we're on the show we are the front line of what I don't how many people watch it will be millions we'll see and it has to be good simple as that has to be good that's the way I feel about it have with the information we give to people has to be good so it started for instance last Saturday against Swansea Manchester United I watch the game I went to the game and all already after that game I room got the Monday Night Football a system producing and talking to him about things that I saw on that performance that I would want to talk through next Monday Sunday we're not working but we go and watch Chelsea in Hull because we want to watch Chelsea head of this Monday's game and we take mental notes of where the strengths are where the week's is how we're going to present it the Monday after myself and Jamie were there last night Chelsea and Aston Villa played so we'll watch that game last night on the highlights and this morning I had a 45-minute conversation on the way down driving myself with again the producer and the assistant producer talking to him about exactly what I want to be going through the detail and the kind of clips the kind of information we should be sharing with everybody in the country that's going to watch it on the Monday night I'll put them to the conversation on Saturday for an hour and another conversation on a Sunday on the other game so Saturday game Sunday games what's happened what the big stories sometimes we eat with the big story on Mondays Manchester United Chelsea but for instance last week we will will think that maybe the big the big story last weekend predicted from us the week before was going to be city's new manager Manchester United's new manager Chelsea's new manager and the National lose at home and it blows it all out the window and all of a sudden asked on the story so you've got to get your head around Arsenal so you've got to watch the Arsenal game you've got to get your head around that you've got to get the key bits out of it Jamie did a lot of the presentation of actually what's the full game through so in terms of you never really switch off from a Night Football you know you've got them on the Night Football coming up on the monday you're always thinking about the information that you're going to put into the show and the clips the clips the key the clips thinking you've got to pick the clips you've got to make sure that what you say is over the right clip that actually gives people something that they wouldn't normally pick up that's what I always try and think about I look upon it as Ben I don't I try not to ever insult the viewer by believing that they don't know about football I always speak them as though they are knowledgeable football people's I think they are and they pick up things a lot quicker than will ever believe and they watch football they want to know more about football and I think that's what I always think I look at it as a coach I look at it as a scout of a football team not as actually broadcaster to viewer I would do exactly the same type of information and to a an England team before a game I would pick out the clips I'll go through it with them if I was doing that on one particular week I do it sometimes for the pre maps for the team in Ukraine as an example a few weeks and I will go through the clips describe them to them and I would present exactly to the view what we present to a football player if I was talking to him about what each what you should do strengthen weeks we meet at 9:30 on a Monday morning and it's lively isn't it yeah it is lively we go through everything that we we want to come we never agree arguments but at the end of it we come up with a plan and then through the afternoon we rehearse it and get used to it the producer is strong-willed I think that's fair the I'm strong-willed and no it's very fair I always feel as though if I'm delivering something have to be passionate about it and have to believe in it so for me on a Monday morning the big discussion was around what we did on United and how much we did on Arsenal and I prefer was quite vociferous in that we were doing the for app we were doing the for Manchester United goals and in the end I think I'd say I think that's around them and I persuaded you I think yeah I joined us and luck is too many we're doing one we'll do one and then we'll do all the Arsenal in the second part and I think the Arsenal was a big story absolutely so we did it all in the second part you the way in which ad works and it's critical because he drags out and was everything that we want to give so he listens to us all day and does a lot of listening and when he listens to us he's picking up the nuggets of information that he believes we need to recreate during the evening so he listens was in the meeting in the morning he'd ups got his own difficulties with all the presenting side of things but then during the show he knows he's got to get that out of us out of missile myself and Jamie and that's the critic that's the critical element of what ed does and the worst bit for me learning my life that I have AutoKey I'm learning my like my first link is the most terrifying thing in the world what I've got that out of the way I start to relax a bit you saw hearing walking down the corridor actually a big weekend Patel soul are you doing again that's all right now the most nervous I am anyway listen times catching up I got two more questions for you and then we'll get some questions the audience so I know you've got to go firstly Gary what's it like working with Jamie Carragher you enjoying it yeah I really enjoyed it in the first two shows I think that he's done incredibly well considering how I wasn't in that first show when I was 100 miles an hour and my hands were everywhere I thought he was so much more comfortable than I was and to be fair I thought did really well in the preview show that we did and on Monday in it said to be fair I felt it worked well between the three of us in that it'll get better of course it will and we have to better but it was a good start I felt and he's incredibly knowledgeable about football I mean he's he's an encyclopedia isn't is exactly you know cheerful everything he watched I mean I watch a lot of football but he watches everything I mean the first thing we did with Brazil second division at 3 o'clock in the morning on Hill Channel 458 he'll be there watching it you know he's like unbelievable something up Stanford signed a player on Sunday night Pablo Osvaldo first thing you do rather than go on the internet now ring Kara he'll know all about and he'd marked in blah blah blah just before we have questions for us give us an idea and when we leave work and so on what was it at Sir Alex Ferguson used to say to you as you left the dressing room to go out onto the field was there one thing he used to say to you he was very quiet in the period before a match you you wouldn't you never understand the monster United yes who needs to be brought home to me last week and Swansea I was there my brother was walking out near the dugouts and because we're in the broadcasting will we actually get access to the dugout and to the side of the pitch and we'll just then he came out I said lads okay he said yeah he said the televisions on said the music's playing the laughing and joking and it took me back to how it was in the 35 minutes from 2:00 till 2:35 so yeah from sort of 10:00 to 2:00 till 2:25 when you go out for your warmup it's the most relaxed environment you wouldn't even be in there the manager that was he done his work during the week he had his team talk two and a half hours before it said his piece he left you to it and literally you were you were in such a jovial happy mood in that period because you just went in there with you mates you you it was really relaxed everything was relaxed and then he would literally probably 10-minute we came back in from the the warm-up ten minutes to go he would walk in probably seven minutes to go and literally he would stand at the door peering down the corridor where the opposition were coming out almost like a pride lion marking his tree you know just literally walk looking at the referee looking at the opposition as they come out the dressing room knowing that the opposition is they look right there seeing him first and foremost it was always a telling thing that felt that you know he was stood there at the front and he took every single player down on the way out and say all the best and that was it that was all he would do before in the immediate before a game and he done his women's team talks for about half an hour and generally sometimes would be nothing to do with football could be about Dockyard could be about growing up it could be about a gentleman that he met there were 72 last week that are 78 last week it was going into work as much as he'd ever done but he was literally trying it he's a psychologist really I mean he didn't believe in psychology he was a psychologist in that every message that he gave you was trying to affect your mind to get you into a positive mindset to actually go out and play and you know to free you up really in that two hours before a game he never made you never said anything that made you feel more tense because you're tensing off you know it's a big moment for you and you in your career you go out play football Manchester United two hours before you don't want your head full of mints you just want peace you want quiet you want you've got enough going on in your mind as is whom are playing against Who am I playing it's what's he like what's the what's the crowd gonna be like is the atmosphere gonna be good what's you've got all these things going on you don't need a lot of confusion you know good a good manager will step away from it in trust he was a massive word of his trust I trust you you'll go out and do it I'll trust you even when we were down a halftime there wouldn't be three nil down he would not bat an eyelid he might have a goals but he would not bat an eyelid didn't say in the last messages always get one goal and you know and you would always say if it's 87 minutes 88 minutes it's nil nil don't worry we always get a chance play the same way and it's always those repeated messages over 20 years that you just come back to me every now and I wish I'd filmed him actually throwing him up there fascinating absolutely fascinating questions let's let's start down the front front right we got it we got a microphone coming I think Gary thank you for coming I'm a huge United fan so it's good to see I went to the charity shield game being a cockney monk and I saw kids play and he's going to be 40 this season and he was running to me he looked like he was running the hardest on the pitcher was trying to win every ball every tackle he was he was there and he's my favorite United players very motivated and he's amazing and my question is about winning this Giggs to me defines what winning is all about but can you talk about the winning mentality so many United players have I know you've kind of touched on it but like day in day out for me who works in television you know how do I take that winning mentality that you know United the United teams through throughout throughout you know Alex Ferguson's years and you know since the beginning of time really they have that winning mentality yeah they do I mean how would you win the first one's hard to win it's like anything else apology who in television or anything to get your first job is hard but once you get your first job and you win once then it's been able to repeat it again again I think for us winning the first one was difficult the first championship for the club but also for us as young kids we lost the championship in our first year to Blackburn we lost the Cup final a week after and that's when people turn around say you know you never experience disappointment well another season we lost a double in a week and our level that we were at that's that's not good you know you have got to cope with that and come back the year after and winning was something that was just eat we had to win we had to win it wasn't opening we had to win and we always win but we just had to win I mean I got the question last week before the swans again about Manchester United and would the BAP with a draw today I draw and she's not a draw or a football match that just doesn't enter your head you do draw a football matches and sometimes you lose but you never go into any maps with anything other than we're going to win and that was something that came down from the manager but not just winning absolutely the right way as well I mean whether United fan or not we played football the right way I mean we in terms of the style of it the players that you had the wing is the attacking play the Renaldo's the canton ours and other clubs do it as well it's not just Manchester United but basically it was all there's no option other than to win there's no option we had to win let's come up to anyone on the left-hand side here just get the front out yes Patrick Weitzel short answers Garrick yeah I'm a Chelsea fan and I must say when you started I just couldn't believe you could leave your partisanship behind and not be a man United biased play commentator but or respect you you did that I'm interested in in how you learn to kind of be critical of other players even people that you played with because footballers generally never dissy to other in public and there you are passing judgment on people's performance and it's got to be personal sometimes so did you have to learn how to do that or did you just do it instinctively I think I think the thing that helped me was that actually I played in a team for 20 years that HP didn't play well you were told so actually I was I was used to being told I hadn't done well I was used to being judged so the idea that football player can play in the Premier League and not feel that they're going to be judged is absolutely not going to happen and I think I think the way in which I like to do it is with it with a degree of honesty you know and to try and be constructive but be honest you can't come football fans if I was sat there continuously praising everybody that I knew all the time then you just literally returned you know you would like all the last five minutes basically I don't speak to a great deal of football players in the country I don't speak to agents I don't speak to managers I don't get friendly with people not because it's just purposely that I think once you start to get into that world of being influenced by people continuously you then basically lose your ability to be able to speak and I think that for me I just go out there and you know sometimes it's tough you know me brother made a mistake against United forever t if you remember Darfur Oh Phillip you always say Gary that they are not done he'll know he'll know himself you know yeah I've never had one player come up to me and say I thought you were out of order today they're what you said about me because it's the truth what's wrong no right okay we'll get on with that you know if I'm wrong and actually and they've been a 2 or 3 times they've been 2 or 3 times I've said things and I've cringed and afterwards I thought I went too far I shouldn't have said that don't get me wrong that I'm not I've not always got it right it's even now I think I said something in the week on the preview show about a player and I thought that's wrong question and said that so when you say how I've done it I probably got it right 95% of the time but there's still five percent at the time where I'll use the wrong word and sometimes use the wrong word so fast on television it's live everything that we do is live and you can't always come out with the right word that's describing the situation and sometimes you could come up with a way I saw unforgivable well why have you said unforgivable cause it's a bigger ball do you know me have to choose the word unforgivable well all these ladies give a gold away I mean we're not gonna sort of put them in prison for an hour so I think there's things that I just just try and look at my performance on the telly all the time on the TV and try and get to a point where by up to the words that I use are correct but I still make mistakes as everybody does in the middle anyone near the back yes you say in the blue shirt it's a shelter shelter way back good time for a couple more Gary yeah they might want to go they might want to go not me hi guy I think it's fair to say since you've been on mnf people have been to a more critical of football pundit tree especially shows like much of the day I've been getting a bit of flack I was just wondering sort of what your attitudes your fellow pundit says and if there any you particularly admire or dislike you're absolutely right I was thinking I was finishing football I've been criticized at times for the last 19 20 nothing else go sit on the telling have a little bit of a jolly up here okay every time you every time you go on television I mean that suppose it's a social media I can now actually probably the pundits get as much attention in terms of what the critic criticized as the players at times it's incredible the way in which actually everyone now has a view on pundits everyone has a view on whether they like them or not like them and from my point of view I suppose it's no different I've always been judged in what I've done so it's about it's expected to be as sort of a sociable social media doesn't help at all social medias not help now on Twitter as well and I would say when I was on that when I for start on Twitter I'd say probably I was getting 50 50 positive to negative in terms of United fans that followed me like me the other fans didn't simple as that now I'd say probably it's more ninety ten that a lot of other fans from other clubs follow me and they usually quite constructive you still get the odd I mean some funny ones I could show you might which is cool I'm sure this time of days where it's got a cat's work in terms of pundits that admire and I think when you think of match today you have to look at Alan Hansen he's been an institution for putting the tree for the last 20 years and something that I would always have huge respect for one when I was growing up watching match today and then listening to him obviously in last 10 15 years and even now to last that long than do what he's doing and have that great delivery that he has and that sort of passion for the game for me something that I believe is is great on sky you know the work because I see them individually so light of Graeme Souness Jamie Redknapp Glenn Hoddle I know that the work that they put in and the feeling that towards the game and and the work that they do and how much they want to share that knowledge with the viewer at home and how we want to spot every single man you detail it's a competition bundage is a competition who can spot something different than another and so for me monday night comes around and you've had match today on the saturday night you've had goals on Sunday at Sky Sports News all day you've had match of the day - you've had all Sky Sports News on the day of the Monday you've got to Sunday night and you've got to try and come up with something different on the Monday night and that's been said in the previous 40 hours when it's absolutely been done to death every goals been shown from a million angles everybody's had to say and you've got to try and come up with something different that's where when I watch the game now on a Saturday I'll watch it now watch mansion United last Saturday thinking about a week on Monday and what I'm going to show a way knighted may have problems and where they can be successful same with Chelsea on Sunday so I always try and spot things that maybe I'll think other people won't spot or that if they have it happens you'll watch maps a day sometimes and you'll be there you think always done a little bit that I wanted to do so I won't do it now you can't you can't repeat what people are doing sometimes have to repeat a goal but from my point of view I admire all the pundits I would never ever criticize or comment on what another pundit said I wouldn't I really wouldn't having been both in football now in the media which it's an opinions game you all have an opinion I have an opinion and no one's wrong all right you might disagree with them but their opinion you know last weekend the cachet only penalty the second one I think if you probably didn't split a lot of people thought it was a penalty a lot of people because he's wrong he thinks it's a penalty and I don't think it is it's just a difference of opinion I think you have to have a great deal of respect for all the people who are trying to do the same thing issue because nothing is easy if you if it's worth doing the things easy it's not I mean don't get me wrong it's not hard but it's not easy either your live television is not easy it's not you've got microphone in your ear you've got 15 people speaking to you he's throwing a lot of words that you've got a pen in your hand you trying to look at that television you've got to look at a camera as well and for me that's hard and you've prepared yeah we've prepared for half time and then if there's a goal just a half time it's the worst thing you get to solve you've got your halftime Clips built for Monday Night Football halftime and literally goal will be scored in the 44th minute and you literally have to you know you're giving it you have to you have to win that you're literally on your feet so the idea that you're five hours to prepare what you're going to say we don't move that football we the first hour is prepared obviously because we could prepare that for halftime at the end of the game we don't know what's going to happen so literally we have to be on our feet sharp and make sure we get those right points across and do it in the right manner and actually just um it's worth saying that we have a screen like this in the studio it's a big camera so huge camera in the stadium that looks at the whole pitch and I don't watch the footage that you see at home i watch the whole pitch so I want to see all 22 players all the time it's almost like a bird's-eye view basically so obviously the footage at home that wouldn't be TV that wouldn't be viewer friendly because the view wants to see the sauce the close-up of the player taking throwing or the the shot and the keeper saving it at close distances sometimes you have to do on penalty decisions and refereeing decisions you have to go into the close distance cameras but I watch again like that I watch it from a bird's-eye view so I try and see who's in the wrong positions who's not in the right positions and that is a big advantage to me because I believe that that's something that maybe others don't have when the watching the game I don't watch the game as you see it home i watch it as I'm in the stadium and looking down on the whole pitch I think that's the biggest difference and one of the best things about my job actually watching games with these guys the two Jamie's and sue they watch a game of football completely differently to you and I even when you're live at the game you watch totally different things to us we follow the ball and what have you I'm fascinated yeah man watching the I can be watching the center-backs when the balls and the opposition I can walk to the center backs that are defending here when the balls in the opposition box I'll have a glance to see what they're doing see whether anything's developing I mean that the Chelsea goal the one in the new camp and the Torres scored I think that if you watch the commentary back you'll hear joint MSU as actually Cole clears it I have already looked up here and I shouted is in and that's before that so the cameras swings because I'm literally watching the fact that Torres is in acres of space and he's through on goal so you what you do watch the game a different way to try and get an advantage of obviously seeing things quicker than potentially people cat other people can do at home over here yes sir brief Gary okay I think you've been brilliant on this guy and I'm a lead sponsor you do something right I must be yeah live away from outside with something more you are super don't tell em omeka has perhaps just for a picture but joking um what we've got a new rival this season in BT sport I wonder whether you've seen it at all or what you've made of it how any tips for them tips alumni have any tips no I'm not I've only been in television two years myself army the first game on Saturday I didn't see because I was traveling outside rolled to Swansea in the morning so I was driving through it the driving through the match I didn't have to have chance to see it I mean you say the rivals BT produce football ITV our football BBC our football I watch it all I watch all football why wouldn't you do sit here and say that to be on television channel is wrong you watch everything you watch football any channel at any time if you're there and there's more than room for one there has to be you know I respect all of the television channels I have you know no problems we just try and do the very best that I can do when we're at Manchester United we didn't really concentrate too much on what people were doing less we were playing against them but this is not a direct playing against somebody this is purely you concentrating on your own job was obviously I wouldn't concentrate too much on the teams when I was at Manchester United other than when I was playing against them you really wouldn't you just do your own job and do the very best that you can and the rest will take care of itself yes but second row on the left here in the purple t-shirt how you can time Gary hi Gary I'm a forest fan so I remember the game you were subbed for with Soulja come on yeah for so I'm just as a general football question or anything else do you think with all the gossip surrounding Wayne Rooney in World Cup you'd benefit from a move or to stay at Man United can have a day off yeah well look at me I'm obviously the most United player so from my point of view I've seen players who have left at the age of 27 28 you know David Beckham lefting went on to have a fantastic career we've done this to Roy left all the players have left and gone to great things and I've seen players who've stayed there for a long time and do great things he asked him down to the individual you know what I think really isn't is it irrelevant whether he should stay or not it's down to him he's got to be happy himself the club have got to be happy as well and it'll be interesting this next 10 days what happens with that situation because I think they'll be more to play out this question behind you I think rather hello Gary I'm a Newcastle fan so it's been interesting hearing people talk about good managers and winning football that's new just on the subject of bad teams is there ever a point where you guys are sat there watching a game and it sort of 40 minutes in and you kind of like I don't know enough in this merch that there has been the odd game on though I've had plenty yeah that Bron West Ham last season literally yeah I was going to offer you a gun on holiday honestly it was a nightmare yeah there has been the odd game where you eat or Gary on Mondays we've had some stinkers yeah you have to three I can think of two you're thinking putting up first season I think in that first season midway through there's a game that wasn't particularly great and you are struggling a little bit you are thinking what we've got how we're going to position this and you don't want to come out on just a matter what was poor but you can't say that you've got to say why it's been poor so even if even if it's a situation that games really poor in quality I would want to look into why it's been boring quality and describe the fact that the passing has been poor so we'll look at the touch maps or the pass maps that we have in say how many times at the given possession away how many times of the yeah me times in possession away me show examples of them not being in the right position to be able to pass to each other or the fact that they might be nervous so you will always find something but it's always better when there's goals and there's incident because obviously it makes it far better watching for everybody far easier for us because there are goals you just show the goals and potentially the little clips that go with it but when I remember where I think you were you're different to anyone I've worked with before there was a game at Stoke on a Monday Night Football they scored from a set piece which to you and I our thought was just a run-of-the-mill set piece nicely worked from a corner and you went that's one of the best goals of the season and I remember going to the break going and Gary will explain well that's one of the goals of the season Twitter lit up what's he talking about what's he doing and we did that whole half time didn't we on that one goal did the whole half time on one set piece goal which is broke it down into its rawest form really of how would they worked it and that to me that's detail and I love the detail I don't like the fluff I love flow no he loves the fluff you know you're these little montages of like your little goals and all this sort of stuff and I was rubbish that's not football that's just it's all part of it we get to be here this is entertainment business don't you want detail they don't want entertainment the amount of time will do something in your gum here what are you doing what are you doing what we're doing here now this fancy song that's just called this snowman you know the snowmen and crackers pulling across the street at Christmas and thinking come on this is not football it's wasting my time I've got a lot things to say yeah two more quick questions yes I'm on the left here left wing and one more from over on this side I hope we've got time for this we'll have tomato knockouts walkouts much more important enough coming on after this issue hi Gary I'm a Chelsea fan and I just be interested to know what your prediction is for Monday he loves predictions I don't I don't under the thing I'm chief a miserable son really no I don't like predictions you know I'm not a betting shop I'm not no but I will give you about well might be a prediction but if I put myself in the United that is the hardest game and toughest game has been for 15 years benighted even when Chelsea weren't as strong as they are now they've got the best record against United they've never had any fear going to Old Trafford I'm not saying we've never beat them but generally but a great record there and that is a game whereby you think about those things you know that they've beaten you before they'll think about it they weren't there last year for instance at the end of the season the matter that scored was it it won't matter score Denis and you think to yourself those players that stepping out onto that pitch I'm wonderful Chelsea one here four months ago so ie I always say the big games you can never call no one can ever tell you what's going to happen that's the great thing about the big games the reason the big games are the big games is because everyone looks forward to them because they don't know who's going to win on Monday that could be sending it off the cob it could be five four could be nil nil we hope it's not there could be incredible challenges incredible goals you could see anything under that is the Premier League and the beauty of it that I'm under you've got a team that will go to Old Trafford with no fear they'll think they can win and a Manchester United team at home will believe they have to win as well so that's what makes it the great games and I've not given you a score line because I haven't got a clue and I said this to Ed sometimes you say what's your feeling tonight and I think one side they say I'm got clue I have different ways of passing that exact same question final thoughts Gary what's going to happen Gary how do you see this panning out Gary is the worst quest you can ask me really is because I'll ask your Monday I guarantee and the tunnels the players come out yeah and I'll get I know what I'm gonna get ya ask me a question one so what's the tunnel like a full perfectly reasonable question ice oh three meters wide its we walk down it but we haven't been there it was the dressing rooms as well at Fulham with your Marietta seems like it full of like not interior designer I find all of that interest interesting we haven't leaned there right one more question yes in the green jacket and there's obviously been a lot of different managers in the Premier League past and present with very different management styles is there another manager that you would have enjoyed working under do you think and what is it about their style that you admire great question yeah it's a good question I think there are not a number of managers that you would look up I think I mean react I like Mourinho I love watching Marini I think he's fantastic you look at Murray neon people see that wasn't the character but then the way I always look at it is all these players in each of his teams these played I've said some problems at Real Madrid at the end but that is the exception love playing for him so you must be doing something that's making them feel good and I always think that when the players and I've got the players and the happy I think the manager must be good because he's keeping 24 people happy 20 people happy the reason you get the discontent at clubs and you get the sort of subs or sometimes not settling in it's because the manager hasn't got the changing room he hasn't got the changing room they're not happy for some reason it is possible to keep players happy when they're not playing is I've seen how talked about it before so I think they're the ones that sort of fascinate me Mourinho of the David Moyes and a fantastic job at Everton awesome van Gogh and his different style and how he created that you think about arson bangers Arsenal teams when they had Perez Vieira album over Mars Bergkamp and you think honoree I think that was some football they were playing that was some football you would have liked to have been you know at the time I would never have left Manchester United's and so anybody who's there saying going in with lights up late rehearsal please stop but you would think that's incredible football so you had you admire not I would have liked have played on the different managers I never would have changed or managed about anything but actually you admire and respect or the managers definitely 100% and you respect to the clubs as well you know at Manchester United you you do respect to the club's the ones that have got great traditions and histories are you understand you're not the only tool about their listen thank you so much to all of you for listening to us putting up with us for an hour and please everybody thank Gary Neville [Applause] you

Channel: Edinburgh Television Festival

Views: 116,189

Keywords: Gary Neville (Football Player), Manchester United F.C. (Professional Sports Team), Football, GEITF, Edinburgh TV Festival

Id: fv38NsgihWc

Length: 60min 9sec (3609 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 10 2013

Reddit Comments

[u/snakedog]

Great watch,hes destined to become a legend in punditry, i think we'll be seeing him for a very long time

[u/gypsybear]

this was really interesting. i loved Nevs as a player, but i could listen to him talk for hours. he has such a unique insight into it all.

[u/fallark]

Thanks for posting this. It was very interesting to listen.