By PHIL THOMAS
JONJO SHELVEY will never forget the instant he became a Kop idol to Liverpool fans around the world.
Shelvey was trudging towards the touchline after being shown a red card for a feet-off-the-ground challenge on Manchester United’s Jonny Evans last month.
Already seething at what he still sees as a hugely debatable dismissal, the sight of Alex Ferguson on the sidelines sent him over the edge.
Shelvey was convinced the Old Trafford gaffer’s usual pre-match mind games, claiming United never got anything at Anfield, had not helped his cause.
When he saw Fergie speaking to the fourth official in the immediate aftermath, it was just too much, and Shelvey made the point with a finger-jabbing tirade before heading down the tunnel — to a chorus of cheers from the Kop.
Now the 20-year-old Reds hero reckons it was a defining moment in his career. He even earned Fergie’s respect with a heartfelt apology in the corridors after the game.
Shelvey revealed: “I still stand by my decision that I wasn’t going to pull out of a tackle.
“If I’d done that against United I’d have hurt myself and the fans would have gone mental. But that walk felt like a mile.
“I saw Ferguson in the fourth official’s ear so I said to him, ‘it’s your fault I got sent off,’ but I pulled him aside afterwards and apologised because I knew I was in the wrong.
“I was walking back down the tunnel towards the car park and he was walking towards me. I apologised for what I had done and said ‘it was wrong and I was frustrated’. I’m a young boy and I think the emotions got the better of me.
“I said I still wouldn’t have pulled out of the tackle if it was there, and he said ‘it’s fine. It takes a man to apologise, no hard feelings. It’s an emotional game, don’t worry about it’.
“It is a learning curve for me and, to be honest, I am glad it happened. It is something I will be more wary of in the future.”
His spat with Fergie ironically helped break the ice after Shelvey’s shock England call recently.
He added: “I’d quickly gone from playing in a park with my mates to sitting next to Wayne Rooney at dinner, so I was a bit nervous going in there with England.
“I didn’t know what to expect and thought no one would talk to me. It was a bit weird but Danny Welbeck pulled me when I arrived and said ‘leave my manager alone’. That helped break the ice.”
That England cap off the bench against San Marino summed up Shelvey’s meteoric rise this season.
After struggling to get a regular start at Anfield, he spent two months on loan at Blackpool last term, bagging six goals in 10 games.
But this season under new Reds chief Brendan Rodgers he has been a regular starter. And the £1.7million he cost from Charlton as an 18-year-old looks a snip now — and justifies his decision to snub Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham.
Shelvey revealed: “Chelsea said if I joined them I’d go into their development squad but at the time I was playing first-team football and didn’t want to take a step back and play for the reserves.
“I know Chelsea is a big club but I wanted to go into the first team and be in and around that, which happened from day one here.
“I had been at Arsenal when I was nine, but I didn’t like the manager of the Under-10s so I went to West Ham. He had us doing 10 press-ups when we missed in shooting practice when it was raining — I can’t do 10 now!
“At West Ham when you are in the younger age groups, you’d play four games of 20 minutes.
“The favourite players play in all four and the less so might play two. My brother George was two years above me and he was only playing two and I was in his age group and playing all four.
“My dad, Ricky, was a coach at West Ham at the time and he thought that was wrong, so pulled my brother away from it. My dad said if I stayed they would support me but I said ‘I’ll stick with my brother’ and left. I had a year out and played local football.
“West Ham was the club I supported so it was a hard decision. Glenn Roeder, who was manager at the time, pulled me into his office to try to make me stay.
“But I wanted to stick with my brother as he was a bit upset by it at the time. I’ve been brought up to be very family-oriented. I showed loyalty to my brother.
“My dad has always brought me up to respect people, but if you have your opinion and feel you are in the right don’t be afraid to say it. You have to fear no one — except for our manager!”
Now Shelvey, whose only Mersey derby experience so far is nine minutes off the bench 18 months ago, is relishing tomorrow’s Goodison showdown.
He insisted: “Everton have some great players but if we go there and perform how the manager is telling us to, we will win.”
