Red: My Autobiography

by Gary Neville

No player has been more synonymous with the glory years of Manchester United Football Club over the past two decades than right-back Gary Neville. An Old Trafford regular since he attended his first match at the age of six, captain of the brilliant 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning team that became known as 'Fergie's Fledglings', outspoken representative of MUFC, Neville is the ultimate one-club man. He has been at the heart of it all and, at the end of an amazing career, is now ready to tell it all. Authoritative, insightful, fearless and never less than 100 per cent honest, no-one has better credentials for documenting the story of United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Neville reveals the behind-the-scenes secrets of his early days with the likes of Giggs, Scholes and his best mate David Beckham; what it was like to play with Cantona, Keane and Ronaldo; the Treble in 1999; and of course an entire career of playing for the greatest manager in the game.
Then there are all his experiences with England, from being the youngest starter at Euro 96 when football came home, to the ups and downs of five major championships and seven managers - Venables, Hoddle, Wilkinson, Keegan, Eriksson, McClaren and Capello. There are opinions and analysis on Gazza, Rooney, WAGs and the true story of the FA and Rio Ferdinand. For twenty glorious years, Gary Neville has worn his heart on his sleeve. This is his story.

• ISBN10: 0593065603
• ISBN13: 9780593065600
• Publish Date: 1 September 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 22 August 2013
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Bantam Press
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

Gary Neville will admit that he's not the most talented footballer in the world, however what makes him great is his determination, his drive to succeed. That is what kept him at the top at United for so many years, that's what made him one of the greatest right backs in the world. After a career spanning almost 20 years, he brought the curtain down on his glittering career this past year, which he did with typical Gary Neville style. No fuss, no wondering if he could go one more year... When Gary knew it was time to quit, he did.

In his auto-biography, Gary is as honest as ever without it being the kind of controversial auto-biography footballers favour. Instead, it's the story of how Gary became a United great, right from the very beginning. How he pushed and pushed and pushed, how he strived to be the very best and how he just wanted to be a footballer. It may not be the most exciting auto-biography, but for me I liked its honesty. Gary Neville is nothing if not opinionated and he gives opinions on everything - from England managers he played under, to the time he swore at Sir Alex Ferguson, to his own bad performances, to the "strike" scandal I knew nothing about until I read the book...

I admit, I only started watching football in 2005 so I wasn't clued up with Neville's history so the book was an insight into someone I hugely admire and it was a worthy one. He doesn't shy away from calling a spade a spade and although the book won't be hugely popular with many people (namely Liverpool fans for no other reason than it has a big picture of Gary Neville on the front) it's one of the best football auto-biographies I've read.

I think Gary had help in writing his auto-biography, but you can imagine everything that went into the book was dictated by him and you can just feel his passion for football, for United, for the game, dripping off every page. I loved the book, I love the man, I love the way he doesn't necessarily care what people think of him, that he's not only a great footballer but a great person as well. He's now moved into punditry and it's no surprise he's good at that, too. Gary Neville will always be a die-hard Red and in a time when footballers wages play a massive part in where they play, it's not too often you can say that of a footballer, but Gary is red through and through and always will be and Red is a brilliant insight into the man himself.