Phil Neville: Ex-Man United defender sacked by Portland Timbers | OneFootball

Former Manchester United star Phil Neville has been sacked by Major League Soccer outfit Portland Timbers, it has been confirmed.

Neville sacked

Neville joined the Timbers in 2023, five months after he was dismissed by Inter Miami. He left Inter Miami, which is co-owned by his former United and England teammate David Beckham, with the club at the bottom of the Eastern Conference after a run of 10 defeats in 13 games.

Before that, Neville was the coach of the Lionesses for three years from 2018 to 2021 before moving to MLS to take the Miami job.

He set a new scoring record and took the Timbers to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons to start his tenure, but fell in the opening round the first year and the first round the next.

Neville’s last game at the helm of the Timbers was Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of the San Jose Earthquakes. This result left Neville and his players third from bottom in the Western Conference, eight points adrift of an automatic MLS play-offs spot.

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Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said in a statement, “In my nearly two decades of owning and operating the Portland Timbers, there are very few people I have enjoyed working with more than Phil Neville.”

“Phil has outstanding leadership qualities and a boundless sense of positivity even in the face of adversity. I cannot thank Phil enough for his tireless dedication to this club and the Portland community, which he and his family truly embraced.”

Neville admitted that results had ultimately not been good enough to warrant a continued stay.

He remarked, “I’d like to thank Merritt Paulson, Ned Grabavoy, and the entire Portland family for their unwavering support in giving me the job and standing behind me.”

“To my staff, thank you for your incredible loyalty and hard work. And to the most incredible bunch of players: thank you for the effort, the good times, the good results, the bad results, and all the laughs we shared together.”

“I realise we are in a results business, and the results haven’t been to the expectation of this football club. To the Timbers Army – you are the reason I felt inspired to try and bring success to this club. Keep getting behind the players and the club in this wonderful city. I will miss you all.”

Neville made 386 appearances for United after coming up through the club’s academy alongside his brother Gary. He was part of the famed ‘Class of ’92’ alongside Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt.

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