Jury out
on Phil
Neville
There is an old theory about the
Football Association, that when hiring
an England manager they swing “from
bookies to bishops”, that each manager
is the antithesis of the predecessor.
So they went from Don Revie to Ron
Greenwood, from Graham Taylor to
Terry Venables, from Kevin Keegan to
Sven Goran Eriksson. Perhaps most
obviously, Sam Allardyce was succeeded
by Gareth Southgate.
It appears this decades-old trend
applies to the women’s game, too.
Hope Powell – a noted former player
but rookie coach, English and female
- was succeeded in late 2013 by Mark
Sampson – a male, Welsh coach of no
playing pedigree. When Sampson left
four years later amid scandal, he was
replaced by Phil Neville, a squeaky-
clean former England men’s
international with minimal management
experience.
Now Neville has left. His long-term
replacement, Dutch Euro 2017 winner
Sarina Wiegman, is quite a contrast, but
his temporary successor is even more
so. Hege Riise was a legendary player
with Norway, winning188 caps and
collecting winners’ medals for the
World Cup, Olympics and European
Championship. She subsequently has
13 years’ coaching experience, which
includes being on the staff as the US
won Olympic gold, and latterly lifted a
series of Norwegian titles with LSK
Kvinner.
Riise had already been hired as
Neville’s assistant, replacing Tottenham-
bound Rehanne Skinner, when Neville
announced he was off to coach MLS
club Inter Miami. Neville’s decision can
be understood. He said it was “just too
big an opportunity for me to turn down”.
Nevertheless, it caught the FA on the
hop. He had spoken of his desire to
coach at the Olympics, at which they
have responsibility for Team GB, and
they had expected Neville to accept a
contract extension to include Tokyo.
Riise steps up as interim coach
assisted by Rhian Wilkinson, the former
Canada international. She had been onthe Canucks’ coaching staff but quit
after being beaten to the vacant head
coach job by former England assistant
coach Bev Priestman. If the February
camp goes well, Riise will stay in charge
for April and potentially the Olympics.
The legacy Neville leaves her is
mixed. Success was followed bystagnation and his departure, after three
years and 35 matches, was greeted with
a shrug and not just because coronavirus
meant England failed to play a match in
his last ten months.
Many supporters were very happy
to see Neville go. The media, initially
doubtful, then to an extent won over,
had largely reverted to scepticism.
The FA also seemed to have growing
reservations. The players, however,
mostly remained supportive even
as results went awry.
A shock appointment – Neville had no
previous connection with the women’s
game and had not even applied – he
almost took England to the heights. In
the 2019 World Cup semi-final against
eventual winners USA, only a late missed
penalty prevented England taking the tie
to extra-time. Yet having been semi-
finalists at the 2015 World Cup and 2017
Euros, making the last four was par. With
only the US team better funded than
England’s, success now means reaching
a final, then winning one.
In the wake of that tumultuous night
in Lyon this target appeared to recede
rapidly. England won three and lost
six of their subsequent ten matches.
Performances were disjointed and
Neville felt the pressure, claiming
England should “thank their lucky stars”
they have him. When the Euros were
pushed back a year by the pandemic the
FA seemed in no great hurry to extendGlenn MooreWomen’s Football
World Cup...
Neville addresses
his players at the
2019 tournamentThe legacy Neville leaves her [Hege Riise] is mixed.
Success was followed by stagnation
Tenure as Lionesses
manager comes to an
end after three years
Walking away...
Phil Neville