Gary Neville heaped notable praise on Manchester United's attackers last night, describing them as the "most inventive" he has ever played with. The full-back has lined-up alongside a host of stellar forwards during his 15 years at Old Trafford but he believes the movement and flexibility of the current crop has taken United to a new level.
"The way our current players inter-change is definitely different to the United teams I've played for in the past," said Neville. "The front of three or four seem able to play in every position across the front-line and it's difficult for opponents and defenders of the other teams to know who they're going to be playing against from minute to minute, let alone match to match. In that sense this is probably the most inventive side I've played in."
The dynamism Neville refers to was certainly on show during Sunday's Community Shield when the front-three of Tevez, Nani and Ryan Giggs proved a constant source of danger for the Portsmouth defence with their switching of positions. Had it not been for an excellent performance by David James in the opposition goal, United would have undoubtedly scored in normal time.
"It is not just the way they attack that makes them so special," added Neville. "Carlos [Tevez], Nani, Giggsy and Wayne Rooney for that matter are also fantastic defenders in their own right. They tackle well and are all willing to win the ball back."
Neville's enthusiasm is not so keenly shared by the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who confessed after the win over Portsmouth that he still intends to sign another forward before the transfer-deadline. United have been linked with Dimitar Berbatov for months but with Tottenham seemingly unwilling to sell the Bulgarian international to United for less than £30m it appears the Premier League champions have switched their focus, with Thierry Henry mentioned as a realistic target.
Whoever does arrive will be set the task of helping the club retain the European Cup, something that not been achieved for 18 years. Having missed the victory over Chelsea in Moscow three months ago with an ankle injury sustained 17 months ago, Neville more than anyone is determined to emulate the Milan side of 1990.
" I'm really excited about the coming season and am looking to all the fantastic challenge ahead of me," he said. "This is an important year for me having been out for so long and I want to thrive on the fact that I've obviously not got a great deal of time left in my career. I'm coming to 34 years of age so its important I play as often as possible and enjoy doing it while I can."
