Chapter 1: What were the initial thoughts about joining Monday Night Football?
Well, Gary, there won't be too much of this, but I wanted to start by saying something nice, because you have become a pundit who's admired, who a lot of people enjoy. But I wanted to go right back to the start, 2011, and particularly to that very first MNF, because I do think personally of MNF as being Sky's flagship. It's where we see the deepest analysis.
Um, it's where we see the cutting edge technologies, maybe where in 92, we saw Sky make the biggest difference in terms of introducing MNF and always think of it as a big test of a pundit as well. Cause you've got to lead it. You're not just answering questions. So maybe just like, where did the MNF journey start for you? When was it pitched to you? What did you think of the idea?
It was pitched to me about probably six weeks before six to eight weeks for maximum.
Chapter 2: Why is Monday Night Football considered the most challenging show?
I'd agreed to come to Sky actually at the start of the 2010 season, but for some reason, probably regrettably now, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill persuaded me to stay on another year. So I actually just put my start with Sky back a year after. And in that season, Andy Gray and Richard Keyes left.
So I originally was planned just to come in and support them along with the other pundits in the studios, Jamie Redknapp and others, Graham Souness. But obviously in that period where they left, There was obviously a void at Sky in respect to presentation and also on the punditry side.
And it was partway through that summer, that off-season, where Andy Melvin and Barney Francis, the head of Sky Sports and deputy head of Sky Sports, called me into their office. And I went in there and they said to me that they wanted me to do Monday Night Football. And I said, no. I said, that's not really...
Chapter 3: What memorable moments occurred during Gary Neville's first MNF?
It wasn't sensible. I think that obviously Richard and Andy had such a huge impact on that show. It was their show. And the idea of coming in and sort of almost like following Sir Alex Ferguson in some ways, almost doomed. And I just said, no, I said, you know, I think I feel like others should do it and I should have a year to sort of like, you know, make my name in punditry.
It was difficult enough as it was. People were very doubtful about Mr Manchester United playing
being able to come on to Sky Sports and be neutral and be fair to all the other different teams that I'd obviously disliked all these years so there's already a sort of a wave of opinion or doubt should I say against me the idea of then doing sort of what would be the most difficult show and doing it in my first season without any real experience I just said no but they
insisted, Andy Melvin, I remember saying, no, son, you will do it. It was a little bit like Sir Alex in his manner, Scottish, quite fierce, and said, no, you will immerse yourself in it, you will do it.
Chapter 4: How did Gary prepare for his debut on MNF?
And they sent a screen to my house, one of the MNF analysis screens, about probably, I think, three weeks before the start of the season. I had a couple of weeks with it, but I had huge doubts and didn't really want to do it.
It's hard to think of you with huge doubts. I mean, you just said in that answer there that it's the most difficult show. So a lot of, I mean, I see a little bit, but a lot of people don't. Why is it the most difficult show?
It's all live, no autocue. You are literally reacting to what happens. The first hour you can plan a little bit around what happens, but you don't know what teams. You can plan for your team shapes and your team selections, but they're always different than what you imagine.
Chapter 5: What were the early mistakes made during the show?
You've got to react to that. You get the teams through at quarter to going on air. So you really have built pieces that might not exist. There might be an injury. There might be things that happen. I just think the show is so demanding. It's four hours. You're there all day from nine in the morning through till half eleven at night.
I always felt like Tuesday, I felt like I had a massive hangover in the first few years of Monday Night Football. It took so much out of you from a mental point of view.
Chapter 6: How did Gary handle criticism and expectations as a pundit?
It's definitely the most demanding television experience that I think you could have in football. There is nothing like it, but it's also the most rewarding and the most brilliant show to do. The concept is fantastic. It's studio, it's analysis, it's obviously the Twitter Q&A at the end. Now it's very different, obviously, with Jamie Carragher in there, so you've got someone to come off.
But at the very beginning, it was just me and Ed. So I was having to field every single question for four hours apart from when the game was on. And it was just... completely consuming in terms of it took three or four days just to get my head around what we're going to do in the show, what the producers were telling me, what the directors were telling me, what Ed was thinking.
And to get that all to come together when you've got a real lack of experience was just hugely challenging in those early years.
Chapter 7: What changes have occurred in MNF over the years?
So that first weekend that you worked for Sky 2011, I think you did the Super Sunday as well. In terms of maybe putting your reputation on the line, was the Monday Night Football the thing you were thinking about, say, a week before, two weeks before? Right, that's the show I've got to get right. The Sunday will be fine. It's almost like the football takes care of itself.
If I'm going to be a success of it, if other people who are making their debuts are going to be a success, it's all on that Monday.
Yeah, because before I went to Sky, I knew I couldn't really fail too much in the studio. I've been comfortable doing interviews for years. You go in that studio, you've got two or three other people alongside you. You have time to think.
Chapter 8: How has Gary's perspective on analysis evolved since his debut?
You watch the game in the first half and you have loads of time to prepare what you're going to say. You see the goals 15 times before they come to you. I mean, it's the easiest thing in the world. for someone who can articulate football to speak in a studio. I don't think it's particularly a difficult job.
Some people can attach themselves to the fans at home more than others but generally it's not the most demanding thing to do in the world.
monday night football and commentary a completely different level you know the commentary you're in game it's immediate it's almost like having to make a decision you have to react on the ground you have to analyze things that people can't see with camera angles that you haven't seen before so it's really demanding cold commentary still to this day monday night football is demanding from a point of view you've got to come up with something innovative i used to say that on a monday night you are
You are the last bus stop, if you like. You're the last stop in town because you've had the Soccer AM, you've had Match of the Day, you've had Super Sunday, you've had Match of the Day 2, you've had all Sky Sports news showing all the goals all day. And come Monday evening, people would say, well, you have more time to plan.
You've got less to go at because all the other outlets have discussed it, debated it, analysed it already. And you've got to try and come up with something innovative that still exists.
off material that really to be fair should have already gone because the other pundits and other broadcasters or other shows within Sky should have really dealt with it so it really is challenging because you can plan to really do something and then on on a Super Sunday and it's match of the day to cover it really well you're in a situation where you think we can't repeat what others have done you have to change your mind then you have your meet on the Monday morning and you've got to change direction I have to say though in that early year
18 months, I was so surprised at how much I still had to go at in terms of big things that were happening in games. I don't think that a lot was going on in terms of analysing games at that point. It was more commentary on the goals. But it gets more and more difficult now because I think punditry's got better, more analytical.
And I have to say now in the shows that I do with Jamie on a Monday night now, We get less left to go at on a Monday night than we ordinarily would have, but it's still a really demanding show. The toughest show to do, I always say, the toughest four hours in football television is definitely that Monday night football.
You really have to think about what's going on all the time, watch the game, think about the game, think about what he's going to say because he's a loose cannon. He's in, Cara. Yeah. Yeah, Carragher, yeah. He's a loose cannon. You don't know what's coming next. You know, you've got a presenter, to be fair, who'll throw you things. You know, Dave, or if he was at it in the early years.
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