Neil Webb

Neil John Webb (born 30 July 1963 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English former footballer and television pundit. He played as a midfielder but could also play as a defender between 1980 and 1997 notably for Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. Webb also played for Reading, Swindon Town, Grimsby Town, Aldershot Town and Hong Kong side Instant-Dict.

Club career

Webb joined Reading on leaving Little Heath School in 1979 and made his first-team debut in February 1980 at the age of 16. He became the youngest ever scorer for the Berkshire side. In July 1982 he transferred to Portsmouth for £87,500. At Fratton Park he was a regular first-team player and helped them win promotion to the Second Division (as Third Division champions) in his first season, and over the next two seasons they came close to reaching the First Division.

In 1985, Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough paid Portsmouth £250,000 for Webb. At Forest he developed into a top class midfielder with a strong goalscoring record. During his time on Trentside he won the League Cup in 1989 (scoring in the final against Luton) and became a regular member of the England national team from 1987. Webb was one of the Forest players who had to cope with the horrors of the Hillsborough disaster during the opening minutes of their FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool. Webb played in the rescheduled game at Old Trafford, which Liverpool won 3–1. He scored Forest's only goal of that game.