Gary Neville has been appointed as Head Coach of Valencia until the end of the season.

A friend once told me that Andre Villas Boas was only successful at Porto because he knew the club from top to bottom and had worked under the Mourinho regime. I don't know enough about Porto to say whether this is true but his time at Porto was far more successful than anything he's done since, so I'm wondering was having worked at the club for several years the biggest factor in his success?

I'm not implying Ryan Giggs or Gary Neville are the next Villas Boas before anyone jumps down my throat.
AVB has done very well at Zenit and his first season at Spurs wasn't bad.
 
Zidane, Enrique and Pep all coached a side before getting the big job and learnt how to handle a team over a season. Not 4 fecking games. It is bullshit and that is why the Neville thing is so relevant.

Its interesting that none of the three managers you've mentioned have yet coached in the PL, and certainly didn't start there.

Pep's obviously brilliant, but he's lucky he didn't get roped into any situations like the one at Valencia before his big chance at Barca. The fact he could probably have handled it doesn't mean everyone could - he's clearly a hell of an exception rather than a rule.

My point, really, is that the PL is a tough league to start in, especially at a club with serious ambition.

I wonder why more young managers don't follow Keane's lead by going to Scottish football.

When Deila gets sacked by Celtic I'd be very disappointed if Giggs and Neville don't go for it. Its a wonderful opportunity for guys in their position to learn the ropes outside the intensity of the PL.
 
Its interesting that none of the three managers you've mentioned have yet coached in the PL, and certainly didn't start there.

Pep's obviously brilliant, but he's lucky he didn't get roped into any situations like the one at Valencia before his big chance at Barca. The fact he could probably have handled it doesn't mean everyone could - he's clearly a hell of an exception rather than a rule.

My point, really, is that the PL is a tough league to start in, especially at a club with serious ambition.

I wonder why more young managers don't follow Keane's lead by going to Scottish football.

When Deila gets sacked by Celtic I'd be very disappointed if Giggs and Neville don't go for it. Its a wonderful opportunity for guys in their position to learn the ropes outside the intensity of the PL.

What? He never managed in Scotland.
 
What? He never managed in Scotland.
My bad. Point still stands: all these young guys with no experience but wanting to go straight into management at PL level should get experience in the Scottish league - it's a proven path into management.
 
My bad. Point still stands: all these young guys with no experience but wanting to go straight into management at PL level should get experience in the Scottish league - it's a proven path into management.

Worked out brilliantly for Lennon who won 3 titles there and has got job at great Bolton. Scottish league is terrible now, no point going there as you hardly need any expertise to manage Celtic. Maybe managing a lower tier side would work better - Aberdeen, Hearts, whatever.
 
Worked out brilliantly for Lennon who won 3 titles there and has got job at great Bolton. Scottish league is terrible now, no point going there as you hardly need any expertise to manage Celtic. Maybe managing a lower tier side would work better - Aberdeen, Hearts, whatever.
Are you being sarcastic about Lennon? I much prefer his experience level to Neville and Giggs'. I agree it doesn't have to be Celtic - imagine what it would do for one of the class of '92 lot if they actually took a job at a place like Hearts, tore a new hole in the league and won a couple of trophies.
 
Are you being sarcastic about Lennon? I much prefer his experience level to Neville and Giggs'. I agree it doesn't have to be Celtic - imagine what it would do for one of the class of '92 lot if they actually took a job at a place like Hearts, tore a new hole in the league and won a couple of trophies.
Yes, I'm sarcastic about Lennon because I feel that there is very little to learn in Scotland now if you're at Celtic. There's some competition from Aberdeen this year but you still feel that Celtic will finish at least 5-6 points ahead in the end. You need to be at competitive level to learn something, not at a level where tactics have a very small meaning.
 
Worked out brilliantly for Lennon who won 3 titles there and has got job at great Bolton. Scottish league is terrible now, no point going there as you hardly need any expertise to manage Celtic. Maybe managing a lower tier side would work better - Aberdeen, Hearts, whatever.

For a manager with no experience, its not a bad job. Easy way to learn your trade before you come into a more difficult league.
 
Phil Neville seems have gotten away scot-free among the media.

And this is his second managerial team disaster.

Phil is a clown, if i ever see him at the club again, i will be fuming. Every time i see him, i associate him with his mentor, Sir David Moyes.
 
Yes, I'm sarcastic about Lennon because I feel that there is very little to learn in Scotland now if you're at Celtic. There's some competition from Aberdeen this year but you still feel that Celtic will finish at least 5-6 points ahead in the end. You need to be at competitive level to learn something, not at a level where tactics have a very small meaning.
Good for Lennon that he got that experience at Celtic and now Bolton. I've far more respect for that than what some of the class of '92 have done. Certainly far more than I have for Neville's team ownership and then suspicious appointment at Valencia. And I wish Giggs would go out and get a proper job and some experience before he's talked of as a United manager.

You're far too dismissive of Scottish football and your ideas on tactics in that league are clearly bollocks, it's still a great place to learn a trade for someone with PL aspirations.
 
Good for Lennon that he got that experience at Celtic and now Bolton. I've far more respect for that than what some of the class of '92 have done. Certainly far more than I have for Neville's team ownership and then suspicious appointment at Valencia. And I wish Giggs would go out and get a proper job and some experience before he's talked of as a United manager.

You're far too dismissive of Scottish football and your ideas on tactics in that league are clearly bollocks, it's still a great place to learn a trade for someone with PL aspirations.
Of course it's better than sticking about hoping someone will offer you a top position just because you're a club legend, despite having no experience and having not proven your qualifications in any way.

I will stick by what I say about Scotland experience having little impact on doing well later in your career. The quality of the league is similar or even worse than Poland and we have not had a single coach going outside of Poland doing reasonably well in the last 20 years. Back when the league had proper Celtic and Rangers teams it was a good league to gain experience in but currently there's not much to learn there IF you're at Celtic because you will inevitably win games given the gap in quality. However experience gained at mid-table clubs could be valuable and it's possible to get to Europe without spending much money so there's something in it. There's not a chance Neville or Giggs would ever take a Kilmarnock job though, we both know it.
 
Good for Lennon that he got that experience at Celtic and now Bolton. I've far more respect for that than what some of the class of '92 have done. Certainly far more than I have for Neville's team ownership and then suspicious appointment at Valencia. And I wish Giggs would go out and get a proper job and some experience before he's talked of as a United manager.

You're far too dismissive of Scottish football and your ideas on tactics in that league are clearly bollocks, it's still a great place to learn a trade for someone with PL aspirations.

Celtic were actually very good at picking out signings under Lennon initially (Wanyama, Izaguirre initially, Kayal initially), although I'm not sure to what extent Lennon was involved in that. He was quite tactically naive at times arguably, though. Celtic's generally a difficult one to measure by because even a very shite manager will come 1st/2nd with them.

Alex Neil's done well to go from SPL management to Norwich though, now managing in the PL. Not something players like Neville and Giggs should rule out.
 
Of course it's better than sticking about hoping someone will offer you a top position just because you're a club legend, despite having no experience and having not proven your qualifications in any way.

I will stick by what I say about Scotland experience having little impact on doing well later in your career. The quality of the league is similar or even worse than Poland and we have not had a single coach going outside of Poland doing reasonably well in the last 20 years. Back when the league had proper Celtic and Rangers teams it was a good league to gain experience in but currently there's not much to learn there IF you're at Celtic because you will inevitably win games given the gap in quality. However experience gained at mid-table clubs could be valuable and it's possible to get to Europe without spending much money so there's something in it. There's not a chance Neville or Giggs would ever take a Kilmarnock job though, we both know it.
Huh? I don't know it and certainly think they should consider an SPL job.
 
Huh? I don't know it and certainly think they should consider an SPL job.
Giggs has zero incentive going out of United as long as he is guaranteed a future job here. He can only lose by going somewhere else, he has nothing to gain.

Wages at mid-table Scottish clubs would be abysmal for former United players too.
 
Giggs has zero incentive going out of United as long as he is guaranteed a future job here. He can only lose by going somewhere else, he has nothing to gain.

Wages at mid-table Scottish clubs would be abysmal for former United players too.
He's got a hell of a lot to gain. He could introduce new ideas, tactics, training methods etc. If he won trophies and made an impact in Europe, played great football and won the respect of everyone he'd be in a far better position.

Even David Gill, still on the United board, has suggested he needs experience outside being a Nr. 2.

Wages are irrelevant - an ex-United player would be doing it for experience, not money.
 
He's got a hell of a lot to gain. He could introduce new ideas, tactics, training methods etc. If he won trophies and made an impact in Europe, played great football and won the respect of everyone he'd be in a far better position.

Even David Gill, still on the United board, has suggested he needs experience outside being a Nr. 2.

Wages are irrelevant - an ex-United player would be doing it for experience, not money.
Giggs should look at Pochetinos career. Started off at a club in the relegation zone, did well and learned for 3 years. Moved to Southampton and earned himself a move to Spurs and is now being talked about as a potential United/Madrid/Barca manager.

A lot of people don't want him to leave because they probably know that he might be a shit manager like Neville and ruin his chances. They rather United deal with the risk than another club
 
Giggs should look at Pochetinos career. Started off at a club in the relegation zone, did well and learned for 3 years. Moved to Southampton and earned himself a move to Spurs and is now being talked about as a potential United/Madrid/Barca manager.

A lot of people don't want him to leave because they probably know that he might be a shit manager like Neville and ruin his chances. They rather United deal with the risk than another club
Exactly.

If he's proven to be good enough,he'd easily get the job.
 
Giggs has zero incentive going out of United as long as he is guaranteed a future job here. He can only lose by going somewhere else, he has nothing to gain.

Wages at mid-table Scottish clubs would be abysmal for former United players too.
I don't think Giggs is guaranteed a job here. I am fairly confident he will not be the not manager. I also don't think the club will impose him on another manager for the third time in a row.
 
Giggs should look at Pochetinos career. Started off at a club in the relegation zone, did well and learned for 3 years. Moved to Southampton and earned himself a move to Spurs and is now being talked about as a potential United/Madrid/Barca manager.

A lot of people don't want him to leave because they probably know that he might be a shit manager like Neville and ruin his chances. They rather United deal with the risk than another club
Madness. I wonder if they support individuals within the club more than the club itself.
 
Gaz could very well be the beneficiary of some good fortune in Copa action tonight as Barcelona are all but qualified for the Final after last week's drubbing and will likely rest most key players. They have a win streak of 28 consecutive matches without a loss, matching a club record with Pep, which is perhaps the only motivating factor apart from their normal appetite for winning. I see a draw in all likelihood but Luis Enrique is far more pragmatic than say Pep so Neville might be able to seek some much needed momentum with a win
 
Still think they will ship 3/4 goals tonight especially if Suarez plays. He doesn't do less than 100%.
 
Is this the worst record of any former United player turned manager in history?

I think so. Poor Nev. He was one of the less talented of the class of 92 but at least he could cling on the perception that he was the most intelligent of the lot. Now that had been stripped away from him too.
 
I think so. Poor Nev. He was one of the less talented of the class of 92 but at least he could cling on the perception that he was the most intelligent of the lot. Now that had been stripped away from him too.

:lol:
 

It's not funny. It's going to be very hard for him to lecture pep, LvG and mou about tactics and mentality after this horrible experience. Ffs it's even a worse performance than his last game with us

Also whose going to employ Phil now? He's an average pundit and he bring more bad luck than a Lord of the rings ring. Whoever employs this guy as coach get sacked
 
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Former Inter and Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo says he is “almost happy” to see Gary Neville struggle at Valencia as it highlights the marked difference between management and punditry.

The Argentine, who took on a rather less spectacular first managerial job in the form of struggling Serie B side Modena, was talking about the former Manchester United defender during an interview with Paolo Di Canio.

Crespo believes Neville was too harsh on television – he was less than complimentary about Di Canio’s Sunderland side during his time as a pundit – but hopes his failings will illustrate the difficulty in swapping a microphone for the dug-out.

“To watch a game from the TV, it's much different than from the bench,” Crespo explained to FOX Sports. “I'm almost happy for Gary Neville's troubles at Valencia. I remember he was too harsh as a TV pundit!”

Crespo was rather more upbeat about one of his former managers, Claudio Ranieri, and praised the Italian's work in taking Leicester City into title contention more than a decade after his time at Chelsea turned sour.

"When he trained me, he had to change everything because so many new players had arrived at Chelsea that he had to integrate into the team,” Crespo recalled.

“He was unfortunate because we finished second in the league and were eliminated at the semi-final stage of the Champions League.

“Ranieri with Leicester is doing an incredible job on a mental level. The players are playing with maximum organisation, making the most of their movements.”
 
Giggs should take over the U18/U21 teams for United. Get some proper experience and see if he actually can do it. Then he should go to a smaller league like Scotland or Ukraine.
 
I can see Gary doing much better in the return leg and only losing 4-0.