By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Four months after arriving into his maiden role in football management, Gary Neville was sacked as manager of Valencia at the end of March.
It ended a spell which was by all proportions, cataclysmic. When he
took over the position to the surprise of many in early December, Valencia were
ninth in the La Liga table and just five points off the Champions League
qualifying positions. When he left, the former Spanish champions were closer to
relegation than Europe.
They were also knocked out of the UCL by Belgian newcomers KAA
Gent, beaten by Spanish rivals Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Europa League and
thrashed 7-0 in the Copa del Rey semi-finals by Barcelona, a game described by
the sporting director of the club Suso Garcia Pitarch as “one of the worst in our history.”
A fortnight after his axing from the post at the Mestalla, I pose
the question of what’s next for Gary Neville?
A step too far
Gary Neville had never hidden his desire of getting into management
after retiring from playing at the start of 2011. He has immense tactical
knowledge of the game and had won widespread acclaim for his senior punditry
and commentator role he had with Sky Sports.
It was still seen as a bolt out of the blue when on 2 December 2015,
Valencia announced Neville as their new head coach until the end of the season.
His brother, Phil was on the coaching team already as assistant manager. It was
an opportunity that he couldn’t turn down and that was completely understandable.
When one of Spain’s biggest clubs outside of the Clasico rivals come calling,
it would be foolish to at least not consider it.
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| It took over two months for Gary Neville to record a win as Valencia boss |
With fixtures against Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Madrid and
Villarreal left on their schedule, relegation was becoming a distinct
possibility and a change was required. Neville’s future was coming under the
microscope on a regular basis in the Spanish media. His win percentage in all
competitions was 35.7% and the 7-0 thumping Barcelona dished out in the Copa
del Rey was Valencia’s heaviest in a cup game since 1928.
Pako Ayestaran, who most recently coached Maccabi Tel-Aviv of
Israel and a former assistant of Rafa Benitez at Liverpool FC, has succeeded
Neville. A recent win over Sevilla has moved Valencia eight points clear of
relegation trouble. However, it has been a season to forget at the Mestalla.
So what should Gary do next to restore his reputation?
Stay with England
In the short-term, this is what Neville will do. He has elected to
remain in Spain with his family and concentrate on his coaching role with England
for Euro 2016. Appointed as a coach before the last European Championships,
Neville has continued to work under Roy Hodgson since. At the time of his
appointment, former teammate David Beckham called it a ‘shrewd appointment.’
It is the perfect opportunity to continue learning and now he has
the experience of being a no.1, this will only help Gary even more in the
current role with England.
Should he be considered as a future manager of the international
team? Yes absolutely, but not for the foreseeable future. Hodgson is expected
to stay on into the next qualification campaign for the World Cup in 2018 and
it would be worth Neville staying on too to gain more vital experience.
Return to Sky Sports
When he left his TV post in December to take the Valencia vacancy,
Sky Sports managerial director Barney Francis said he would ‘leave
the door open’ for Neville to return.
It is reported that he has already been offered the opportunity to
return to the corporation, but won’t consider this until the start of next
season.
Some might think this would be a backwards step if Gary returned to
where he came from, but Sky has most definitely missed his presence, both as a
co-commentator and a pundit. As it turned out, Andy Gray’s shoes were filled by
the right man. Neville replaced Gray when he and Richard Keys departed Sky in January
2011 following the sexism scandal that left the pair heading off to the Middle
East to continue their media careers.
It has been far difficult to replace Neville though. His
partnership in the Monday Night Football studio with Jamie Carragher was a
brilliant on-screen combination. Memories included Carragher stating that
full-backs were either ‘failed wingers’ or ‘failed
centre-backs’ and Neville comparing the 2014 title showdown between
Liverpool FC and Manchester City as a choice between ‘two guys who nick your wife!’
Management is where he wants to be, but going back to Sky would only
be seen as a sideways move. And he would make their team much stronger again.
If he didn’t return, Sky would have to make another permanent signing who has
no interest in managing or playing again. Craig Bellamy or Brendan Rodgers
would be early contenders to fill the vacancy more permanently if it happened.
Management – Back in England
In an ideal world, Neville would love to stay in Spain and manage
another club abroad. The chances of this happening are quite slim, as his reputation
took quite a blow.
If he wants to make a real success in management, I sense a return
to these shores being the most viable option and taking a job in the lower reaches
of the Football League wouldn’t be such a disaster.
Bolton Wanderers might have just been relegated from the
Championship, but they could be a good fit and they wouldn’t be far away from
Neville’s Manchester roots. Other vacancies might surface in the Championship
or League One in the summer.
These are two notoriously tough leagues and another way for Neville
to improve and enhance his education.
Gary Neville’s Spanish experience was not the way he hoped it would
turn out. However, he will have learned a lot and has plenty of time on his
side to become a successful manager in the future. It will be interesting to
see what direction he takes once he finishes his coaching duties with England
this summer at Euro 2016.
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