By Mark Heys
August 21 2005

Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that he made enquiries for England full-back Phil Neville prior to the players move from Manchester United to Everton. Allardyce has struggled to attract the right quality of players to the Reebok Stadium during the summer transfer window, with Bury-born Neville being one such player on the "missed list".

The Bolton boss admitted a strong interest in Neville but in the end the player moved over to Merseyside in the summer to end his long association with the Trotters arch-rivals Manchester United.

"I would have loved Phil Neville at this football club - I would seriously have loved it, And I'm sure if I had spoken to Phil Neville he would have loved to have come here, if we'd got in before Everton."

"I'm not saying that, if we were competing with Everton we'd have got him because, in the end, we couldn't have afforded it - not just the fee but the contract too. And for me that's my heartache. It's something we've always had to live with but it's still heartbreaking."

Despite having much more money to spend over the close season by the club's board, Allardyce has bemoaned the fact that a player such as Neville has slipped through the net.


"It's times like this when you really feel gutted - when a player like that, who is just down the road, wants to leave Manchester United and you know he can contribute so much and you can't compete financially, We made the enquiry but couldn't have gone much further."

"For us, that sort of signing would have been a major benefit for a few years. But it wasn't to be."

The youngest Neville brother allegedly once declared a hatred towards Bolton in a book publicised with brother Gary after a minority of Wanderers supporters continued their jibes about the Munich Air Disaster in 1958.

Twenty-eight year old Neville played the whole game for Everton during their 1-0 win at the Reebok Stadium this afternoon.