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Phil Neal facts for kids

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For the American legal scholar and university administrator, see Phil C. Neal. For the midfielder and cricketer, see Phil Neale.
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Phil Neal
Phil Neal in 2012.jpg
Neal in 2012
Personal information
Full name Philip George Neal
Date of birth (1951-02-20) 20 February 1951 (age 74)
Place of birth Irchester, Northamptonshire, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Full-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1974 Northampton Town 187 (28)
1974–1985 Liverpool 455 (41)
1985–1989 Bolton Wanderers 64 (3)
Total 706 (72)
International career
1976–1983 England 50 (5)
Managerial career
1985–1992 Bolton Wanderers
1993–1995 Coventry City
1996 Cardiff City
1996 Manchester City (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Philip George Neal (born 20 February 1951) is a famous English former footballer. He played as a full-back for teams like Northampton Town, Liverpool, and Bolton Wanderers. Many people think he is one of the most successful English players ever.

During his eleven years at Liverpool, he won many big trophies. These include eight First Division titles, four League Cups, and four European Cups. After his playing career, he became a manager. He managed Bolton Wanderers, where he won the Football League Trophy. He also managed Coventry City, Cardiff City, and Manchester City.

Phil Neal also played for the England national team 50 times. He even played in the 1982 World Cup. Later, he was England's assistant manager. At Liverpool, his nickname was Zico, like the famous Brazilian player. This was because he often scored important goals. His son, Ashley Neal, also became a footballer.

Playing Career: From Northampton to Liverpool Legend

Souness (links) en Neal (rechts) in duel met Cunningham (Real Madrid)
Phil Neal (top right) playing in 1981

Phil Neal started his football journey at Wellingborough Town. In 1967, he joined Northampton Town. He played 187 games for them.

On 9 October 1974, Liverpool manager Bob Paisley signed him for £66,000. Paisley wanted Neal to replace an older player, Chris Lawler. Neal first played as a left-back. But he became famous for his hard work and energy as a right-back.

Making His Mark at Liverpool

Neal played his first game for Liverpool on 16 November 1974. It was a Merseyside derby against Everton. The game ended in a 0–0 draw. He scored his first goal for Liverpool almost a year later. This was on 4 November 1975, in a 6–0 win against Real Sociedad.

Neal scored a penalty in the 1977 European Cup Final. Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in Rome. This was Liverpool's first time winning the European Cup. He also played in the winning finals in 1978 and 1981. Liverpool won against Club Brugge and Real Madrid.

In the 1984 final against A.S. Roma, Neal scored again. The game ended 1–1. Liverpool won after a penalty shootout. Neal scored Liverpool's first penalty in that shootout. He was the only player to be in all four of Liverpool's European Cup wins in the 1970s and 1980s.

A Record-Breaking Player

During his eleven years at Liverpool, Neal won many trophies. He won eight First Division titles. He also won four League Cups and five FA Charity Shields. Plus, he won four European Cups, one UEFA Cup, and one UEFA Super Cup. This makes him one of the most successful English players ever.

Phil Neal was a regular player in Liverpool's starting team for many seasons. He played in 366 league matches in a row. This is a club record and one of the highest in English football history. This amazing streak lasted from December 1974 to September 1983. An injury against Manchester United finally made him miss a game.

In 1985, after 11 years, Neal left Liverpool. He joined Bolton Wanderers as a player-manager. He stopped playing football in 1989. By then, he had played over 700 league games. He also had 50 games for England.

Managerial Career: Leading Teams to Success

In December 1985, Phil Neal became the player-manager of Bolton Wanderers. He managed the club for seven years. In 1989, he led Bolton to win the Football League Trophy. However, the club later went down to the Fourth Division.

They quickly won promotion back to the Third Division. They even reached the play-offs in 1990 and 1991. But they could not get promoted to a higher league. In 1992, he was sacked.

Managing in the Premier League

Neal returned to managing on 23 October 1993, with Coventry City. His first game was a 5–1 loss to QPR. Despite a tough start, Coventry finished 11th in the Premier League. This was their highest finish since 1989. A great win was 4–0 against Manchester City in February 1994.

In the 1994–95 season, Coventry struggled. Neal was sacked on 14 February 1995. His replacement, Ron Atkinson, helped Coventry stay in the Premier League.

Later Managerial Roles

In February 1996, he became manager of Cardiff City. In October of that year, he left Cardiff. He became assistant manager at Manchester City. When the manager resigned, Neal became caretaker manager for a short time.

For the 1997–98 season, Neal worked as assistant manager at Peterborough United. He also played for and coached the Liverpool masters team. This team was very successful in the Sky Sports Masters series.

Media Work and Books

In recent years, Phil Neal has worked as a football expert. He appears on different television and radio shows.

He has also written two books about his life in football. The first was called Attack from the Back (1981). The second was Life at the Kop (1986).

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Northampton Town 1968–69 Third Division 21 4 1 0 0 0 – – 22 4
1969–70 Fourth Division 13 1 3 1 1 0 – – 17 2
1970–71 18 2 0 0 2 0 – – 20 2
1971–72 41 1 4 0 1 0 – – 46 1
1972–73 38 9 1 0 1 0 – – 40 9
1973–74 46 9 3 0 1 0 – – 50 9
1974–75 10 2 0 0 3 1 – – 13 3
Total 187 28 12 1 9 1 0 0 0 0 208 30
Liverpool 1974–75 First Division 23 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 – 25 0
1975–76 42 6 2 0 3 0 12 1 – 59 7
1976–77 42 7 8 2 2 0 8 4 1 0 61 13
1977–78 42 4 1 0 9 1 9 2 1 0 62 7
1978–79 42 5 7 0 1 0 4 0 – 54 5
1979–80 42 1 8 0 7 0 2 0 1 0 60 1
1980–81 42 2 2 0 9 0 9 1 1 0 63 3
1981–82 42 2 3 0 10 1 6 0 622 3
1982–83 42 8 3 0 8 1 6 2 1 0 60 11
1983–84 41 1 2 0 12 1 8 1 1 0 64 3
1984–85 42 4 7 1 3 0 10 0 2 0 64 5
1985–86 13 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 16 1
Total 455 41 45 3 66 4 74 11 650 59
Bolton Wanderers 1985–86 Third Division 20 2 – – – – 20 2
1986–87 28 1 – – – – 28 1
1987–88 Fourth Division 8 0 – – – – 8 0
1988–89 Third Division 8 0 – – – – 8 0
Total 64 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 64 3
Career total 706 72 57 4 75 5 74 11 922 92

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
England 1976 2 0
1977 7 0
1978 6 3
1979 7 0
1980 7 0
1981 5 0
1982 8 1
1983 8 1
Total 50 5

Honours: Trophies and Achievements

Player Honours

Liverpool

Manager Honours

Bolton Wanderers

  • Football League Trophy: 1988–89

See also

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