Phil Neal Hopes History Will Judge Him Kindly

[LeverEnd]

And Andy Walker, what a signing he was.

[Burnden Paddock]

I quite like peeling a spirits bra off and watching those magnificent fun bags be released from constraint.

How often do you wear it?

Neal never stood a chance after his, 'water off a duck's back' comment about the abuse that he got from certain sections of the fans.

He'll always be alreet by me, after buying a minibus full of Wanderers fans a pint on the way home from Swansea, after asking us to give them 10 minutes to themselves.

[Harry Genshaw]

Courtesy of the dvds I got off Clapton I've only recently been watching the Neal years. Easy to forget now but there were times we played some terrific stuff with Reeves, Thompson, Darby, Green & Philliskirk in full flow.

The last few months are pretty grim though. Walker's goals aside, Darby was out of sorts, Mickey Brown running round in circles, Winstanley getting a regular roasting and Ally Maxwell flapping like a dying fish. The less said about Chic Charnley the better!

[Bruce Rioja]

we played some terrific stuff with Reeves

A teenth of your gear please, Squire.

[Harry Genshaw]

we played some terrific stuff with Reeves

A teenth of your gear please, Squire.

Oo you cynic

He didn't score enough but he didn't half work hard for the team.

[LeverEnd]

we played some terrific stuff with Reeves

A teenth of your gear please, Squire.

Oo you cynic

He didn't score enough but he didn't half work hard for the team.

I remember him going about 20 games without a goal once, but Tony P got a fair few in that time. He started scoring for Chesterfield though after he left us. I remember him fondly.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Neal got the bones of a good team together, was building for the future and committed to attacking football (4-4-2 with two wingers), started off the 90s tradition of cup runs (and play-off attempts). Rioch did better, but then he was backed more - for instance, Neal wanted to buy David Lee for two or three seasons before Rioch managed it.

Rioch was a much better man-manager and inspirational leader (of players and fans): Neal was getting stale and stubborn. But the club was in a far, far better place when he left than when he came, and for that we can all be thankful.

[jaffka]

At the time I was glad he left, we progressed well following his stabilisation of the club.

He left the club in a better position than when he joined.

I have no ill feeling to him at all.

[coffeymagic]

At the time as an impestuous youth I was one of Phil Neal's most verbal critics.

Looking back I can see the difficulties he faced with the club in a terminal tail spin but think he made things hard for himself the way he carried on.

The players I've spoken to since said he couldn't leave Liverpool behind him and was constantly banging on about 'Shanks' (he was Bob Paisley's first signing), the Kop and all the glory days.

Tony Caldwell said they were all a bit star struck when he first arrived due to his England caps, league titles and everything but within about 20 minutes of the first training session Mark Gavin was nutmegging him and I think they all thought 'hmmmm'.

You've got the story of Ian Stevens fighting with him in the showers at York and other acts of subordination but he did sign John Thomas and Andy Walker.

And I suppose for that you have to be grateful.

His comment about being better than Messi though? I don't think it's as tongue in cheek as you might think.

When he signed Phil Brown he said that he was always mad at Brownie because he'd taken his 'goals by a full back' record off him - although he (Neal) had done all HIS scoring in the top flight.

Like anyone cares. That's like something a school leaver puts on their first c.v.

And no matter how he tries to deny it he was Turnip Taylor's Yes Man.

I do feel sorry for some of the stuff I said about him and to him and if I met him I would probably apologise in a My Name is Earl kind of fashion. Perhaps he was a nice guy who was just a bit out of his depth.

I got the feeling that it wasn't really 'water off a ducks back' y'know. In his book 'Life at the Kop' he talks about how people in pubs would shout 'Hey! Nealy! You're rubbish' - His response is like something Alan Partridge talks about when people shout 'A-ha!' to him in the street. I think he thought he was above criticism and deserved 'respect' - perhaps he did. Perhaps he was badly treated by the boot room at LFC, perhaps he should have been made manager instead of King Kenny.

So in short in his credit column we have.

Got rid of the 'fat cats'. Signed Thomas and Walker and would always talk to us no matter what we wrote about him.

In the minus column we have.

Peter Barnes, relegation, England, torpid football, almost Megsonesque view of the fans.

And he called me and my NN collaborator 'hooligans'.

It was 25years ago. Perhaps I have to let it go too.