Timbers hire Phil Neville as new head coach
Due to his record and past posts on social media, the move has elicited a strong negative reaction by fans - and reportedly some internal staff.
Three months after dismissing their third full-time coach in their MLS era, the Portland Timbers have found their fourth.
Phil Neville was announced today as the new head coach of the Portland Timbers. The club announced that Neville was signed to a multiyear contract through 2026.
“I am massively excited about the challenge ahead, and from the very first moment I met the staff I knew it was the right opportunity for me, the right club for me and the right city for me,” said Neville in a team press release. “The fans are the most important part of this football club with their intensity and support, and I think this journey is going to be something special. I have great memories visiting Portland, which reminds me of Manchester, my hometown, and I can’t wait for my family to get to know this beautiful city.”
The 46 year-old Englishman comes to Portland with six years of head-coaching experience, serving as manager for the English Women’s National Team from 2018 - 2021 and MLS side Inter Miami CF from 2021 - 2023. Neville led the Lionesses to a fourth-place finish in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and with Miami he tallied a 31-41-11 record in two-and-a-half seasons in charge, leading Miami to a playoff appearance in 2022.
Prior to coaching Neville had a 19-year playing career, and made over 500 club appearances for English Premier League teams Manchester United and Everton and 59 appearances with the senior English Men’s National Team.
“Phil’s character makes him the right person to lead this team forward as we continue to reshape the group with a goal of returning to sustained success,” said Timbers General Manager Ned Grabavoy in a press release. “His leadership qualities, diverse experience as a coach, and ambition to evolve made him a terrific fit here with us in Portland.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Phil Neville as the new head coach of the Portland Timbers, and we look forward to making Phil and his family feel at home in Portland.”
A number of Timbers fans are not thrilled by the appointment however, with much of the ire stemming from a series of sexist tweets Neville posted from 2011 - 2012. The tweets joke about women being too “busy making breakfast/getting kids ready/making the beds” to engage with his tweets, that “women always wanted equality until it comes to paying the bills,” and that he “just battered the wife”.
Neville has since apologized for the tweets, calling them “wrong then and wrong now”.
But for a fanbase that endured bombshell revelations in the wake of the Paul Riley scandal last year which named multiple men in positions of power within the Timbers organization complicit in not doing enough to stop extensive abuse towards women, the tweets were disqualifying for the next person to take control of the Timbers.
When the news of Neville’s appointment was first reported by Tom Bogert and Paul Tenorio of the Athletic last Friday, the reaction from wide swaths of the fanbase online was strong. That evening, the Timbers army and 107ist released a statement calling for the Timbers to “reconsider this hire and reevaluate other candidates before finalizing a contract.”
“The Portland Timbers are currently rebuilding a team on the pitch in addition to their ongoing efforts to rebuild trust with their fans and the community,” The TA statement began. “We are deeply disappointed that the club has reportedly settled on a finalist for head coach who has a history of sexist public statements that run counter to our ethos as a club, city and supporters' group, and who also lacks a proven track record as a manager.”
Regardless of whether the decision makers in the Timbers organization were aware of the pushback from fans, the hire was made official this morning. And according to Ryan Clarke of The Oregonian/OregonLive, there was reported discontent among internal Timbers staff with the hire.
Via a source, Clarke reported that “some internal staff at the Timbers are wary of Neville’s hire, concerned about what they’ve heard regarding the experiences of technical and performance staff when Neville was at Inter Miami.” In addition, Clarke reported that “the mood among some Timbers staff members was also described as ‘frustrated’ that the club pushed forward with the hire despite public outcry.”
And so with Neville officially onboard, it puts a fanbase at odds with its club’s leadership and organization yet again. The Timbers, whether they were aware of it or not, have thrusted themselves right into the middle of a controversy and conflict yet again with one of the most passionate and outspoken supporter’s groups with the country.
Fans have many questions, and some will surely be answered during Neville’s unveiling Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. But some questions may never be answered, and there may be some fans who are pushed even further away from the club they so desperately want to be able to support again without reservations.
One thing that isn’t in question: Phil Neville is here. And with a busy and high-stakes offseason ahead, he has the keys — whether fans want him to have them or not.
You can read the team’s full press release here.
The vitriol over this hiring is just a bit too much. I'm gonna give him a chance. There is some nuance to his previous jobs that shows he's not as bad as some paint him to be. Is he who I would hire? Nope. But I'm holding out hope this works.
There are a lot of coaches who work really hard to make it and invest their time learning the hard way by coaching through the ranks. Then there is the likes of Rooney, Lampard, and Neville, who fall into the top jobs with no experience other than they played at a high level. Then they fail a couple of times and still get another top job.