'In among the brickbats, the accusations, the regrets and the rising tide of pressure, Sir Alex Ferguson probably saw it coming - an absolutely inspired performance from Phil Neville, the player he had nurtured through the ranks, seen develop into a top-class player and, after 11 productive years together, reluctantly let leave through a lack of first team opportunities.
Typical. Just when the Manchester United manager needed it least, Neville returns to Old Trafford for the first time since joining Everton in the summer to give an object lesson in the art of the anchor man's role - a position where so much attention has inevitably settled since Roy Keane stomped off, a position that continues to present United with all sorts of problems.
In the cold light of day, it is unfair to compare Neville's performance with that of his opposite number yesterday. Alan Smith is a wholehearted competitor doing his very best to fill the gaping hole left by Keane. While Neville has been playing in this position off and on for the best part of a decade, Smith is trying to learn the ropes under intense scrutiny during an extremely bumpy period in the club's history.
Unfair perhaps. But you couldn't avoid it. Where Smith was diving in, going to ground, always stretching to retrieve the ball in a series of risky tackles, pushing the patience of referee Rob Styles to its very limit, Everton's holding player was calling on all his experience to very nearly make the job look pretty straightforward.’