England to benefit as Neville swaps studio for the dugout

As the blue half of Manchester continues to celebrate its first top flight championship for 44 years, one of the red half’s greatest servants will be excused for pouring himself an oddly-timed celebratory drink tonight: step forward England’s new coach, Gary Neville.

In all the hysteria following one of the most dramatic final days of a football season in history, the appointment of Gary Neville as part of Roy Hodgson’s permanent coaching staff has gone relatively unnoticed. For those that have had the decency to pick up on the FA’s announcement, surprise seems to be the most common reaction. 

Surprise as Neville was settling in well to his role as a pundit at Sky, and had impressed many with his tactical acumen, forthright opinions and his completely unexpected willingness to criticise his beloved Manchester United. He seemed to be revelling in the role, and a certainty to be the long-term successor to Andy Gray as the network’s chief co-commentator.

But with his coaching badges completed and a burning desire to be involved in the cut and thrust of the game rather than the gloss and pomp of the TV studio, Neville clearly had other ideas. He apparently bit the FA’s hand off - not literally, that would be too eager - when offered a job as part of Roy Hodgson’s coaching staff, in what could yet prove to be the smartest move Hodgson makes as England boss.

Although Neville has no real coaching experience so to speak, he has all the other attributes one could hope for in an international coach. With 85 caps, he has international experience in abundance. His involvement in World Cup and European Championship squads will be invaluable both in Poland and Ukraine, and hopefully Brazil and France in 2014 and 2016 too. As captain of United and at times England, he is one of the game’s most passionate leaders of recent times. And as he has shown through his work at Sky, he is more tactically astute than most of us would have expected.

But I’m sure there will be many England fans that find it nigh on impossible cheer Neville’s appointment, for as a player, he was also one of the most divisive players of the Premier League era. Divisive is putting it kindly perhaps; most non-Manchester United-supporting fans simply despise him.

Why such hatred for a man that always served his country with such passion and skill? Well, Neville would - or at least should - be the first to admit that he hasn’t always helped himself: there was the celebration in front of the Liverpool fans in 2006; his role in organising an ill-fated England players’ strike in the wake of Rio Ferdinand’s suspension following a missed drugs test; and of course, that pathetic attempt at growing a moustache. Football fans can be forgiving folk, but they don’t take abysmal facial hair lightly.

But over the last year, Neville seems to have won over certain sections of the supporters that disliked him as a player. His even-handed analysis on Sky has certainly helped, whilst his infamous ‘goalgasm’ when commentating on Fernando Torres’ goal at the Nou Camp has gone down in TV football history. He is also a genuinely entertaining user of Twitter, unlike many of the players and ex-players that dominate timelines of football supporters up and down the country. It seems Neville has demonstrated possession of something few of us thought he ever had: a personality. 

It is that personality, that experience of tournament football and those unrivalled leadership qualities that means Neville can be a huge asset to Hodgson’s team - regardless of his coaching inexperience. He will not be there to lead the coaching - Hodgson has more than enough of his own experience and ability to do that - he will be there as a confidant of the players; someone they know has been there and seen it all, yet also understands the demands and pressures of modern football. He will help rouse the squad when the pressure is on and perhaps the odds are stacked against them. He will also defend them to the hilt in the face of any criticism; something that Sven and Don Fabio were never really able to do.

As a player Neville was never the lead star. He was always part of an impressive supporting cast to stars such as Beckham, Ronaldo and Rooney, but played just an important role. This summer, he will once again be joining the ensemble rather than grabbing the headlines himself, but it remains the case that with everything he has to offer, he could yet prove to be England’s shining light.