Despite making a career out of speaking to the press, towing the company line, and praising his boss – Gary Neville still looks likely to lose out to Ruud Van Nistlerooy to replace Roy Keane as captain. The Dutchman wore the armband for the win against Charlton and it seems Alex Ferguson sees him as a long term option,
“The response from Ruud has been absolutely brilliant,” said Ferguson. “His manner and demeanour has been excellent and he has a very professional attitude. I have been very lucky to have had a lot of good captains during my time at the club and Ruud has the right attributes.”
“Then you have Gary Neville, who, like Ryan, has served his time. He is a loyal man, a great servant. He is a very emotional and enthusiastic person and has great qualities.
“There are others in the squad, like Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney, who would love to be captain – Wayne is always telling me – while Rio is another possibility, but I will choose from those three.”
Poor ol Gary. His brother gets shipped off to Everton, his captain deserts him, his mentor is under fire, and now he’s been passed up for the promotion he so dearly wants and perhaps deserves.