I had not missed being a footballer since quitting almost two years ago until this week, when I saw the video clips of Shinji Kagawa singing Gangnam Style at Manchester United’s Christmas party.
And of Robin van Persie singing ‘Glory, Glory Man United’. Like many former professionals, it’s the camaraderie in the dressing room that I miss. And never was the team spirit more tangible in my time at United than at the Christmas parties.
It’s a real shame that we’ve seen a lot of teams cancel their parties out of respect for the fans — sides such as QPR and Reading — and other clubs banning them because of the potential trouble they can cause if they get out of hand or the way they might be reported in the media.
Enlarge Party Line: The United Christmas do in the days when Neville joined Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs cemented team bonds More from Gary Neville... Gary Neville on his best friend: Playing football is Beckham's only driving force 18/05/13 GARY NEVILLE: It is impossible to identify what made Fergie such a gigantic force, but my memories of him provide a few clues 11/05/13 Gary Neville: First it was Spain, now it's in fashion to copy Germany... but we must never forget our own football identity 04/05/13 GARY NEVILLE: Sir Alex will set his sights on those German thrillers now 27/04/13 Gary Neville: It was the worst Barcelona performance for years... then their half-fit No 10 limped on and redefined greatness 13/04/13 Gary Neville: Manchester City must not think that spending 'just another' £150m will catch United 06/04/13 Gary Neville: It's time we stood up to protect the soul of the British game 30/03/13 Gary Neville: Fans must never get bored of the stability that Moyes and Pulis bring 16/03/13 EXCLUSIVE: When Gary met Ryan... 'I’ve never, ever experienced a shock like that on the football pitch,' says Giggs on United's Champions League exit 09/03/13 VIEW FULL ARCHIVEI understand why clubs and managers feel they have to take that step. When every phone is a camera, it’s almost impossible to allow yourself a night out. Even something relatively innocuous can cause problems for the club or the players in the media. And it’s always possible, as at any Christmas party across the country, that a serious incident might occur.
But when people pinpoint the moment they thought Manchester United would win the Treble in 1999, most analysts will point to the amazing FA Cup semi-final win against Arsenal or the comeback in the Champions League against Juventus. But no one in that squad would underestimate the importance of December 21, 1998, the date of the Christmas party.
As a squad, we would work hard all season, living disciplined lives, but would always have an eye on two events: the pre-season tour night out and the Christmas do. For years we would start the Christmas party in central Manchester for lunch and then move on to The Old Grapes pub by around five o’clock. An acoustic guitarist would be on stage and for two or three hours we would sing non-stop together as a group before going on to a private party which would go past midnight for as long as you could keep going.
And if you could give me back 15 days of my life, then a good few of them would be in that pub singing those songs with my team-mates. By 8pm the pub would be full with Manchester United fans, which now seems like a throwback to another era. Looking around at people like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Jaap Stam singing United songs at a traditional Manchester pub with the fans was a great bonding experience.
Watch Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa enjoy themselves at United's party...
&
