Phil Neville’s England tenure
Tenure as Lionesses manager comes to an end after three years
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 squeakyclean 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, winning 188 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
The legacy Neville leaves her [Hege Riise] is mixed. Success was followed by stagnation
won Olympic gold, and latterly lifted a series of Norwegian titles with LSK Kvinner.
Riise had already been hired as Neville’s assistant, replacing Tottenhambound 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 on the 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 by stagnation 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 semifinalists 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 extend
his deal and he announced in April 2020 he would be leaving, as planned, in July 2021.
Wiegman was anointed his successor, but was committed to leading the Dutch at the Olympics. That left Neville as the obvious choice for Team GB, but it seemed the FA were waiting for the autumn internationals to see if the team’s form revived. COVID meant those fixtures never took place and by the time the FA accepted it had to be Neville, he was in discussions with Inter Miami co-owner, and former Manchester United team-mate, David Beckham.
One area in which the Neville experiment worked was in raising the profile of the women’s game, which had been a key factor in his appointment back in 2018. Secure of his status in the game and used to very high standards in his playing career, he also demanded – and got – better treatment for his players, an example being improved flying conditions and more professionalism from them.
Neville overhauled England’s style, recognising that the more direct football practiced under Sampson, while successful, was unlikely to take them the next step. The issue with this was the timing: were the players really good enough to play out from the back when pressed by elite opposition? Time and time again the team lost possession in dangerous positions, especially against the US. Sampson had been initially more expansive as manager himself but opted for a more reactive style after bad results against top teams. In time the change should have benefits, but it will be interesting to see which approach Wiegman takes.
Perhaps the most significant bequest will be his faith in youth. Neville had began easing out some of the veterans and bringing in youngsters. Not all were ready, but they will benefit from the experience and players such as Manchester City trio Chloe Kelly, Lauren Hemp and Ellie Roebuck have already made an impact. If Neville was by no means a clear success, history may regard him more kindly.