Off Script: Neville's Wembley nerves
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What makes Wembley a special venue for players?
Welcome to this edition of Offscript with myself, Geoff Shreves, and Gary Neville. And the subject today is Wembley. Glorious Wembley. It was a very different Wembley that Gary used to visit as a player. But in the Leasing.com trophy, Salford have just qualified. So, Gary, does Wembley still have the same allure for you, although be it as known in this time?
Yeah, I think, obviously... I was lucky enough to be an assistant coach to Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington at Wembley with the England team for a few years, and obviously played at Wembley for many years for United and for England, and it's a special place. Maybe we don't treat it as special as teams from different parts of the world do. I think we always used to recognise the uniqueness of Wembley when we recognised how other teams approached Wembley rather than how we did. We probably take it for granted about Wembley being the iconic venue that it is. I think for players who've never played there before, it's really special.
How has the allure of Wembley changed over the years?
For players who've played there a long time, you maybe take it for granted. In my early days of the old Wembley, I struggled with it a little bit because there was an attitude towards Manchester United players in those days, which was difficult for the England players who played for United. You sure it wasn't just you? Maybe a little bit me. They're like the others. No, but I think that ultimately I've had mixed opinions of Wembley, but then when you go now, you have to recognise it is a great stadium. Full and bouncing, it's wonderful. I'm really looking forward to the Euros this summer. Euro 96 was the most special time for any England fan experiencing what Wembley was. There was an opportunity to recreate that this summer.
And for Salford's point of view, we're going there for the second time in... 10 months, which is just incredible, really.
What's it like as a player as you make the approach to Wembley? Because regardless if it's the old Wembley or the new Wembley, it's the same journey. What is that like as you draw closer?
It is special because it feels like an event. Every time you play at Wembley, it doesn't feel like a game of football. I know that everybody will tell you that you just treat every game the same, you prepare the same. You do, but then you know that That coach ride to Wembley, the feeling of what's going to happen, whether it's England international or it's a cup final, it does feel like an occasion, an event, rather than just a football match, which obviously we've got a football match here today, which happens every single week in the Premier League. But you go to Wembley, you know it's something very different. I think we've talked, or people have talked over the years about maybe... weakening that position by putting the semi-finals there and obviously allowing Tottenham to play there and other such things.
But if you get to an FA Cup final, if you get to an England... If you're a young England player making your debut and you're playing for England at Wembley getting that cap, it is an incredibly special place and you will be extremely nervous. There'll be levels of anxiety that you've never experienced before. I remember my first game when you were 96. I had the driest mouth I've ever had in my life. It was warm, but just... You may have had it when you started off in television, Geoff. You know what I mean? You never had it, Geoff, no. I mean, Geoff never felt anxiety, never had any feeling of sort of... Call us a cucumber. No, but you do, you get that sort of dry mouth feeling. Was that just nerves? Just nerves and just feeling that you're just completely dehydrated and...
You see players getting cramp at Wembley. You see players having things happen at Wembley that never happened to them before. And that's just purely the occasion and what happens in terms of the build-up to it. It's just a completely different feeling. I remember at my first FA Cup final, 95 v Everton, we lost. We went down three days before. I mean, it's just completely abnormal. The build-up to the game is so long.
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