Forget It

Phil Neville rightly says that concentration and simple mistakes cost us victory against Champions elect Man United on Saturday, but if we want to consider Europe next season we have to quickly forget about last week and get our minds on this weekend must win clash against Pompey. Phil believes for at least an hour we did ex Everton Legend Alan Ball proud, but we can make him even prouder by securing a European place this weekend.

Phil says: " It's must win for us now. Nothing other than three points will do. It is going to have to be a rip-roaring game next Saturday and we will have to get over the disappointment quickly. For 60 minutes I think he would have been proud of us (Bally). Then we lost concentration. All four goals were individual errors and we hold our hands up." (30/04/07)

Never Say Die

Phil is still optimistic that Everton can make Europe happen, even with injuries to Cahill, Anichebe, Fernandes and now Vaughan.

The skipper says: “The squad is down to its bare bones at the minute and if we get two more injuries, we’ll be looking at playing kids or the coaching staff. But that’s when we pull together even more. We have got a never-say-die attitude and we never thought we were going to lose against Bolton.

Our hearts were in our mouths with Vaughany. AJ signalled for a stretcher straight away and even Alan Stubbs could see there was a lot of blood from where he was standing. Touch wood he will be fine because he’s on fire at the minute. At this stage of the season, you need fresh players and that’s what he is. He could be the key for us. It was quite a good game to play in, though I’m not sure the purists will have enjoyed it. There were two committed teams who desperately wanted to get three points but it was a good game and there are no complaints with the result.” (11/04/07)

Vaughan can be the key into Europe

Phil Neville is still positive about our chances of getting into Europe despite the draw at Villa. Even though it felt like a defeat Phil thinks that the players attitude and confidence is still very high and he, like all of us is liking the look of James Vaughan more and more by the game.

Phil says: "We go into Friday's game full of confidence and it is a must-win game for us now because every one of our rivals play on Saturday, If we win on Friday, we can be in fifth place. It is going to be a massively tough game, but that is what we are aiming for. Europe is our aim. We are not going to settle for anything less. We set ourselves targets just after Christmas and, at the moment, we are meeting those targets, but there are still seven games to go. Easter is a crucial time and if we are to come out of that period still up there in fifth or sixth place then we are going to be right in the hunt.

James Vaughan is the type of player that, the bigger the occasion, the better he gets. The only thing missing from his last two performances has been a goal and he has deserved that, so, if he keeps putting that kind of effort in, the goals will come. He doesn't look fazed. He is a very confident lad. Every time he plays for the England youth side, he scores, and that tells you he is a big occasion player. We've got some big occasions coming up over the next couple of weeks. With the squad as light as it is, we need him to continue the form he has been showing." (03/04/07)

We Love You Phil

Moyesy has leapt to the defence of his beleaguered Skipper after some sections of the media turned on Phil Neville after England's hapless draw in Israel last weekend. Phil who has lived with criticism in an England shirt for most of his career, may not be universally loved by football fans, but Moyesy points out that he is at Everton, and we are a better side for him, hear, hear.

Moyesy says: "It doesn't really concern me what other people outside the club thinks. Everyone here knows what he gives the team, both as a player and as captain. Phil is still relatively new here and I expect that he will get better the more he gets to know the place. But the good thing about him is that he had been around a winning team before he joined us and we hope that attitude will rub off on others." (30/03/07)

Just Like My Ex

Everton Skipper Phil Neville pays Moyesy the ultimate compliment when he compares him to the modern days greatest British Manager, Sir Alex of manure. No one is better placed than Phil to compare the two men, as under Sir Alex Phil won countless Premiership titles and a fine collections of Cups as well. Skipper Neville is delighted at the way the club is going, with the new training facility, big money signings and European footy back on the horizon to name but a few. If Moyesy however is to be like Sir Alex a trophy or two would be nice in the coming seasons.

Phil says: "They have both got unbelievable work ethics, they are both Scottish, they are both driven, they are both probably from working class backgrounds and his passion for the job is the same passion that Sir Alex Ferguson has got.

He does everything around the club. He isn't just the first team manager, he controls everything around the place and I think Everton are very lucky to have a manager like him. Fans are sometimes fickle but I know Everton fans have taken David Moyes to their hearts and he has repaid them by putting in an unbelievable shift over the last five years.

The club is getting better and better and we are progressing as a team and that is down to the manager. I think prior to him coming in there was instability on and off the field. But together, Bill Kenwright and David Moyes have brought a real stability to the club. Moving to the new training ground shows the way the club is progressing off the field as well as on it. The players that are coming in and the fact that we can spend £8.5m on an England centre forward shows how far we have come over the last five years and that is down to the two people that are running the club, Bill Kenwright and David Moyes.

From the first time that I met him you could tell he had a real passion about the place, and he has taken Everton to another level, a level that Everton fans were used to seeing maybe 10 or 15 years ago when Howard Kendall was here. He has brought Everton back up to the level of constantly being in the top ten and challenging for European places and bringing quality players into the club. When he joined the club we were 16th or 17th in the league with an average team.

"Now he has got a good team playing exciting football. He has brought European football back to the club and the test of it all is that he has been here for five years and if you look around the Premiership there are not many managers that have that kind of length of time in a job anymore. He has been here for five years and you can almost sense that he is going to be here for the next five years as well." (15/03/07)

Phil's Pledge

With Manure, The Arse, and Chelski still to face this season, Everton's job is hard enough, but Skipper Phil Neville is adamant the boys will give it their best to try and claim a UEFA Cup slot for next season. With the fans behind the team, the Skipper believes that it could be one of the Blues most successful campaigns in the Premiership yet.

Phil says: "It will take a monumental effort to stay in sixth but we have a couple of weeks to get our legs back and we will be firing on all cylinders when we face Arsenal. If you cast your minds back two weeks when we were booed off against Tottenham the players and the management kept calm and now we are sixth in the league.

We have got a tremendous end to the season. The next game is against Arsenal which is a highlight to any calendar and we need the fans behind us. If we have a rip-roaring end to the season it could be one of our most successful in the Premiership." (06/03/07)

Must Do Better

Everton Skipper Phil Neville is urging his teammates to put right the wrongs of Wednesday nights defeat to Spurs, when the Blues travel to bottom club Watford tomorrow evening. Phil like us all was gutted at the result, but hopefully he see's it as a blip after our recent good run of form prior to the Spurs defeat.

Phil says: "It is time to put it right on Saturday. We have been on a nice little run recently so hopefully it was just a little blip. Disappointingly, it was our game in hand on everybody else. Now we have played the same amount of games as Reading and the teams above us so now we have got to really kick on and we need nothing but three points on Saturday at Watford.

We have got to move on now, I am sure they will be there backing us on Saturday and we have got to make sure we put on a performance. Our fans are great. They travel everywhere, they turn up in their droves at Goodison Park and they create a great atmosphere." (23/02/07)

Win The Home Games

The Everton skipper was back at Bellefield after the England shambles with a target to win every home game this season. Sounds good to us.

Phil says: "We have set our targets and we need to win every home game between now and the end of the season. It starts against Blackburn. We’ve had a break this week with the Internationals but we will be right back on it from today. We had a dark moment against Blackburn in the FA Cup when everyone thought our season was on the way down. I think the good was that it wasn’t just me who was worried in the dressing room. It was everyone. We all pulled together and we also said ‘come on, let’s kick on’. It wasn’t a big disaster. Yes, it was a blow to be out of the FA Cup, but we have a good league position. We should have done better on the run-in last season but this team keeps progressing." (09/02/07)

Club Captain

With club captain Davie Weir now playing in Scotland, Moyesy thinks Phil is the ideal candidate to take up the mantle.

Moyesy says: "He probably is the right man for the job. He is the type of professional deserving of it. He handles himself very well and he has plenty of medals in his draw so we will use him as captain at this moment in time and hopefully he will be the captain in the future as well.

"He has been terrific here. I wouldn't say he has been a breath of fresh air because all the players have the right attitude but he is somebody the players can look up to and say he gives the best he can every week. He will always try to do the right things and that is why he is that little bit special to us." (05/02/07)

Team Spirit 10 out of 10

The Everton team captain was chuffed with a point at Analfield, but thinks we can now move on and take our chances to go for a win in future.

Phil says: "In the back of our minds, to get to Liverpool's level we need to take our chances and show a little more composure in the final third. There were moments in the game where we could have counter-attacked against them and got a goal. But it is a measure of how far we have come that we are the first team to keep a clean sheet at Liverpool this season and we are talking about what we need to do to take that next step.

The last two weeks in training have been very intense - as intense as a pre-season. The boss said we were going to be the fittest team that has gone to Anfield and we were on the day - we kept going all the way to the end. Team spirit at the moment is 10 out of 10. We had a bit of a wobble after the Blackburn game because our season was teetering but we have come back and shown good attitude." (04/02/07)

Sorry

Phil has issued an apology to Everton's fans for getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn yesterday.

Phil says: “The gaffer asked us before hand to remember the 1980’s and all the great Cup traditions that this club has had.The last thing he said before we left the dressing room was ‘let’s have a right good cup run’. We never lived up to that at all and it was a disappointing day for Everton Football Club. This club has been built on Cup success down the years and we have let everyone down. At half-time we were losing three-nil but it seemed like they only had three attacks.

That tells you it was our doing rather than anything Blackburn did. When it was two-nil, we felt that we could get back into the game. Even at three-nil, I was convinced that if we got an early goal, we could kick on. It wasn’t through a lack of effort. It was just the final shot, a final pass that wasn’t good enough. You get those days sometimes, particularly in the FA Cup. We have got to take it on the chin and hold our hands up. We just didn’t deserve to go through to the next round.

The league campaign is absolutely massive now. Sadly, it’s the only thing we have got left to play for. We are eighth in the league - that’s still a good position - regardless of the result against Blackburn. If we beat Reading next week, people will probably forget about today. The disappointing thing, though, is that we really wanted a Cup run. We really wanted to put on a real rip-roaring occasion for the fans and we didn’t do. We let them down and as a team, we can only apologise for that." (08/01/07)

Get Your Finger Out Tony

Phil Neville can't wait to see the return of Tony Hibbert to the starting eleven, so he can move back into his favoured central midfield role. Phil has been doing a fantastic job in Hibbo's absence, but he longs for the day he can partner Harry Hill in the middle again, and free up some more options for the Boss. Hibbo who injured himself against the Skunks back in September, is in training and his return to the fold is not too far away.

Phil says: " I have missed playing in midfield. I have been right back for the majority of October, November and December and I've enjoyed it there. But my preference is to play in midfield so the sooner I get back into midfield the better. At the moment players are being asked to play out of position each game so you have just got to get on with it.
We have got a small squad and you have got to be flexible. It's not a problem to me where I play but centre midfield is where I'd like to play." (03/01/07)

First Goal For Everton

Phil was chuckling all the way back to the centre circle after his first ever goal for Everton against Newcastle. His performance against the barcodes was an inspiration to all the other players.

Moyesy says: "He caught it right out of the middle of his foot, and for him I think it was probably the best goal he's scored. He's reliable, resilient and his attitude, for every game, is spot on. He has his failings at times but in the main his performances for us have been very good." (02/01/07)

Gutted

Spot the glaring error in our team news ahead of today's game against Boro. Phil Neville is out due to picking up his fifth yellow card in the defeat by Chelski. A error in our match day research, so apologies there, put it down to the sherry, port, vodka and copious amounts of lager that was consumed in the last few days. Anyhow Lavo has been took outside and flogged at the stake. Meanwhile back at the Blues Phil is a bit miffed that he is missing the Boro game.

Phil says: "I thought I would be missing the Reading game, but the rules stipulate that with five bookings it's seven days later, which means I miss the Middlesbrough game. I am disappointed but we have got competition for places and we have just got to get on with it. The squad has been stretched over the last couple of weeks and we have handled it okay so we have just got to get on with it because injuries, suspensions, they happen in football.

We haven't got the biggest squad but we have got players coming back to fitness now so we will need everyone fit for the Christmas period." (26/12/06)

Must Do Better

Three defeats in a a week has seen the Blues Cardiff hopes die, and a top five place in the Premiership go begging. Phil Neville has admitted his failings of late, but has pointed out to his teammates that they are all to blame. Hear. hear, lets put it right against notloB this weekend lads, and let me get pissed with a smile on my face for a change.

Phil says: "Three 1-0 defeats in a week is very disappointing. It is not what we expected and not what we wanted. There were a lot of disappointed faces in the dressing room. We were thrown out of whack a little bit when Tim went off but we have got good players that can come on. From a personal point of view I didn't play as well as I should have done and we didn't play as well as we should do as a team. It is nobody else's fault, we just didn't play well enough.

There were some good performances but there were some bad ones as well and in order to get back up the league we need all 11 players to be at it all the time." (12/11/06)

Bring On The Arse

After yesterdays disappointing defeat at Fulham, Phil Neville believes the ideal pick me up will come in the form of European Cup Finalists Arsenal, visit to Goodison on Wednesday in the Carling Cup. With a full house expected under the Goodison floodlights, Phil believes that the Arsenal game could not come at a better time, and he thinks Everton have what it takes to ago all the way in the League Cup this season.

Phil says: "Without a doubt Arsenal is the ideal game to bounce back from a defeat. We hope it is a full house at Goodison. Night matches at Goodison are fantastic occasions and if we play to our potential we will win and will be a step closer to a cup final. But we are against a strong Arsenal side and we will have to be on top form to win the game.

The Carling Cup can be a springboard for success for years to come and we desperately want to get to a cup final. We feel we are progressing as a club and although we lost on Saturday we feel we are a better side than Fulham. We have raised the bar from last season and it is a good side to be a part of." (05/11/06)

Cross expert

Moyesy praised Phil Neville for his assists from full back this season.

Moyesy says: "It is normally Mikel supplying crosses but I have to say that is probably three crosses that have led to goals Phil Neville has supplied from the right-back position. We need to give him an awful lot of credit for that." (23/10/06)

Must Win Game

Everton Skipper Phil Neville is urging his team mates on by telling them that this weekends clash against Prem new boys Sheffield United is a must win encounter. Since humiliating the shite back in mid September, the Blues have drawn three and lost one, of their last four Premiership matches, and the table looks hard reading, not for the fact that we are in relegation doo daa, but the fact that we could be comfortably in the the top three.

Phil says: "There is a tremendous spirit in the camp and the lads were great in the way they kept fighting to the end. Now we have to show our mettle next week against Sheffield United. A draw is no good, we have to win the game. It is a big week for us because we aim to go far in the Carling Cup and we also have to go to Arsenal. We have to give every ounce of spirit we have to win all three games." (16/10/06)

Doubt For Boro

Phil was named as sub for England tonight, but picked up a hamstring strain during the warm-up before the Croatia game. Phil is now a doubt for Saturday's trip to Boro. Everton may turn to Tony Hibbert, who came through a run out with the Rezzies last night. (11/10/06)

Sign of The Times

Phil Neville is praising his Everton team mates who are currently away on International duty. With six players away with their respective countries, and the likes of AJ, Nace, Tim Howard and Harry Hill still sat at home but with International experience, Phil sees it as a sign of how far the club has come in recent years.

He rejects that the International break can do the club harm while they are in the middle of a decent run, and see's it as a way of keeping the lads fresh, Jesus Phil, normally a good shower keeps me fresh.

Phil says: "A lot of the lads are involved with internationals at the moment and that shows how far we have come as a team. It shows the development and the progression of the squad and the quality that we have in the squad.

It does everybody the world of good, and it keeps you fresh for when you get back. We have had a good run with Everton and it is nice to go away and freshen up for ten days and then get back into it." (04/10/06)

Six Points Dropped

After dropping 2 points at home to Man City, Phil Neville feels that the same thing has happened in the last 3 league matches.

Phil says: "In the dressing room it was as if we had lost the game. After the Wigan game we felt it was two points dropped. It was definitely two points dropped against City and we went up to Newcastle and felt as if we had dropped two points there aswell. So we have dropped six points. We should have got the second goal and killed off the game. When you drop so deep you are inviting trouble." (01/10/06)

High Standards

It's a measure how far Everton have come in a short space of time and the high standards they have set, that the Everton skipper thinks it was 2 points dropped against Wigan.

Phil says: "It's two points dropped really but that shows how far we have come. This time last season we'd have been happy with a point at this stage. I always think that if you draw games and you are still disappointed then that shows the level of ambition between the players and the supporters. We set high standards against Tottenham and Liverpool and with those standards we would have expected us to win the game. The manager said afterwards that we should keep our chins up because we are still unbeaten after five games. We can take heart from the fact that we scored two more goals and the forwards are on fire at the moment." (17/09/06)

Fantastic Professional

It looks like Phil has won the race to replace their kid in tonight's Euro opener against Andorra. New Boss Malcolm McLaren, is delighted with the Everton Vice Captains attitude and has no problem throwing into the mix tonight.

Malcolm says: "Phil Neville is a fantastic professional and that was epitomised in the summer when he was on holiday with his family and was asked to break off from that and come and join the England squad as a stand-by player. Phil is a fantastic servant and has got great flexibility. He can play right-back, left-back, in midfield, but that key word we keep talking about and we keep preaching to the players is professionalism. He epitomises that." (02/09/06)

Mr Nice Guy Thanks Sexy Sven

Everton's Vice Captain Phil Neville has more reasons than most to take a swipe at ex England Boss Sexy Sven. The dignified defender cum midfielder won't lower himself though, and surprisingly thanks the Ex England coach for the times he did pick him for his Country. Phil finds himself back in the fold and he is relishing the chance of making one more Tournament before he retires.

Your right Phil don't lower yourself to slag of the Sad Swede, leave it to us. We are over the proverbial moon to see the philandering, money grabbing, tactically clueless Beckham loving turd piss off into the Swedish sunset, you arse hole.

Phil says: "I won't have a word said against Sven- Goran Eriksson because we always get on really well and I've won the majority of my caps under him, but I think I was good enough. That thought has kept me going and it's part of the reason I'm here now. When I missed out on the [1998] World Cup it hit me really hard. But this season I've had the bit between my teeth because I felt I should have gone to the World Cup. It's given me extra determination.

People have said that I should have told him to get lost but that's not in my make-up. In a funny way, it made my summer. The alternative was having eight weeks off and I hated the thought of that. At the end of it all Sven rang me to say 'thank you'. I told him it should be me saying thank you to him.

I knew a new manager was coming in and even when I had the disappointment of missing the World Cup I still felt that I was good enough to be in the squad. You have to keep fighting. It's not like club football where if you are left out you can ask for a transfer. You can't move to another country. My attitude was always that I should keep trying my hardest and give everything I've got to get back in the squad " (31/08/06)

Best Everton Performance

When it's a backs against the wall job, Everton will always come out fighting, and so it was against Spurs.

Phil says: "Since I came to the club that is the best we have played in terms of footballing quality. It was amazing really because when it was XI versus XI I think maybe Tottenham shaded it a little bit. They had more possession and we were a little too direct.

"But We didn't let them create much until the last five minutes - and that was understandable when they are the home team and they are trailing. But we withstood everything they gave us and we played a bit ourselves.

"The game against Blackburn at home springs to mind as an example of going down to 10 men galvanising us. I said at half-time that going down to 10 men with an hour to play is made for the way this club is and how it responds when the backs are against the wall and we are having to play against all the odds. That is what this club is all about." (27/08/06)

No Excuses

The time is now and the boys have no excuses as far as the vice-captain is concerned. I'm getting excited now.

Phil says: "We've had a settled pre-season. We have got a settled squad - probably the strongest squad that Everton have had for a number of years, so there is no excuse for us now.

"As I had only just joined the club, it didn't really sink in until Christmas the effect that the start had on us because I was still settling in during that period. But in looking back, the only thing you could say it was relegation form. To pull ourselves out of the mire like we did was a great achievement but we should look back at last season as a disappointment. When you look at the players we have got, we should have been kicking on and got into the UEFA Cup. That's our aim now."(19/08/06)

Top Pro

David Moyes has given Phil Neville a big pat on the back.

Moyesy says:"I think we all felt Phil would have been ideal for the World Cup squad. He could have filled in at right-back when his brother was out, he could have gone into the middle of the park without much fuss and he is an England man through and through who was desperate to be there. But not getting there has not affected him. Since he has come back he has trained great and shown what a great pro he is."(16/08/06)

England

The Chuckle Brothers are back together again. Phil has joined his brother back in the England squad to play Greece on August 16. Well done Phil.(13/08/06)

Captain My Captain

Phil Neville has not given much thought to being the next Everton Captain. As far as Phil is concerned Davey Weir, is the skipper of the club. Every Blue knows though that one day Phil Neville will be the skipper of Everton Football Club, when he will follow in the tradition of Brian Labone, Kevin Ratcliffe and Dave Watson, all legends, and all trophy winners.

Phil says: "David Weir is the club captain and he will always be the captain whilst he is here unless the manager decides to go in another direction. In David we have an experienced professional who is not only respected by his team-mates and management but the whole club and supporters. Personally speaking I don't think too much about being captain as everyone should do the talking on the pitch and not just the player who has been given the armband." (01/08/06)

Pre Season Plus

Phil Neville is delighted with the way Everton's pre season has been going up to know, after the horrors of last pre season. With Moyesy having assembled his squad for the forthcoming year by the end of May, with new boys AJ, Tim, and Roger coming in, Phil is delighted with the spirit in the camp, and like Stubbsey is aiming at European qualification as the Blues aim for the season.

Phil says: "It is vital. The basis of any season is the pre-season. Last year, by all account, the pre-season was a bit stop-start with players coming and going but this year we seem to be more settled and you can see that in training.

It's important that we get really focused on the season ahead. We played a couple of games before we left England and perhaps our sharpness wasn't as good as it could be but hopefully the two games out here will help us and we've got two more games then before the start of the season.

We need to start the season as well as we possibly can and with the players and the talent we've got here we should be aiming for European football. This trip has been excellent. The lads are enjoying themselves and we've only got minor injuries so everything seems to be going our way at the moment." (29/07/06)

Top Six Place

Everton's captain at Bury, Phil is saying that a place in Europe is well within Everton's grasp this season.

Phil says: "If we had won a couple more games (last season) we would have been right in the mix for the Uefa Cup places. With the players we've got, and the additions we've made this season, that's what we should be aiming for." (16/07/06)

Clean Slate

Now that the reign of the Swedish lothario is nearly at an end, Phil Neville is hoping the new England boss Steve McClaren gives everyone a fair crack of the whip. Utility man Phil is desperate to regain his England squad place, and he is looking at the friendly on August 18th to get back into the fold. Just tell him your good at pens Phil, that should cement a place.

Phil says: "There is a clean slate with the new regime and we have got to look forward. I am no different and I desperately want to continue playing for England. Just being called back for the three weeks I had in the summer gave me a taste and kept me involved. There is a game on August 18 and a European qualifier on September 2 so everyone wants to be in Steve McClaren's first squad and I am no different." (10/07/06)

Focus

Phil is glad it's all started again and he wants to get of to a better start this season.

Phil Says: "After the slow start last season we have got to get this right this year and so far things are going well and all the lads are really focused. I don't like having too much time off in the summer anyway because you can lose focus of what you want to achieve."(08/07/06)

Possible Skipper

With skipper, Davie Weir still to say if he's going to be playing for Everton next season and Moyesy has hinted that Phil could be an Everton captain in the future, don't be surprised if Everton announced that the new captain is in fact, the chuckling Nevile.

When captain last season, Phil says: "Being given the captaincy at Everton so soon - I got it for the Bucharest game - was one of the proudest moments of my career." (13/06/06)

Phil Neville 2005/2006     Everton 1st Team Squad 2006/07