From the history and charm of Providence Park to the intensity of the Timbers Army, the Rose City Riveters and the devoted soccer community they anchor, there’s no place quite like Portland in MLS, or NWSL, for that matter.
Few clubs on this continent exist as close to the beating heart of their home, dubbed ‘Soccer City USA’ since the days of the old NASL, as the Timbers and their sibling side the Thorns.
That presents both a powerful allure and a unique set of challenges for the Timbers’ new head coach, Phil Neville, whose hiring was announced Monday afternoon.
“From the very first time I met Ned [Grabavoy, Portland’s general manager] and Merritt [Paulson, the club’s owner], it sounds a little bit cliche, but there was no other club for me,” Neville told MLSsoccer.com in a 1-on-1 conversation Monday.
“Our values, what we want, what we represent, the city, the football club, everything that goes with it – I’ve followed my gut a lot in my life and it's never let me down. And my gut told me from meeting them that this was the opportunity that I wanted the most.”
It’s a far cry from the tropical environs at Inter Miami CF, his last coaching gig.
“We've probably moved to the furthest diagonal point of the country from Miami. And we are so looking forward to it,” he said of himself and his wife Julia.
“The weather, the greenery, the mountains, the tight downtown, the bars, everything is similar to where we come from in the north of England. So when I landed last night and it was raining and it was cold, it felt like going home in a way.”
Back in MLS
Despite spending significant chunks of the last few months doing analysis work on MLS Season Pass and other media platforms, Neville was committed to returning to management, specifically on these shores.
“When I left my last job, the one thing I said to my family was that I want to stay in the MLS,” he said. “It's the place where I've enjoyed managing, I have unfinished business, I still want to be successful and I just think it's the place to be.”
Neville wants to install an up-tempo, attacking style, noting the cooler climate helps facilitate that, and expressed hopes of bringing through some young talent from the Timbers Academy, which has long struggled to produce first-team contributors with regularity. He also said his stints in Miami and Spain, where he worked as an assistant coach under his brother Gary at Valencia CF, have helped him develop enough Spanish fluency to speak directly to PTFC’s large contingent of Latin American players.
Grabavoy told MLSsoccer.com that he, Paulson and the rest of PTFC’s leadership had conversations with around 20 potential candidates to replace longtime boss Gio Savarese, who was dismissed in mid-August as the Timbers languished in 12th place in the Western Conference.
“I thought it was important to look at coaches at different levels,” said Grabavoy. “So we spoke with assistant coaches in MLS that have never been a head coach. We spoke with international candidates who have no experience in MLS, those with MLS head coaching experience, and even, in all honesty, reaching out to see what the situation might be with some coaches that are currently within MLS and under contract.
“We took a really sort of broad view in terms of who we were speaking to, ultimately to put us in a position that when we did make a decision, we felt a lot stronger and had a lot more conviction in who that person was. Phil is someone that has obviously impressed throughout.”
Neville first visited the Rose City during his playing days two decades ago on a preseason visit with Manchester United, and got the full Providence Park experience in 2021 when he and Miami hit town for a 1-0 loss to the Timbers. He compares both the venue and the city to his experiences on the blue side of Liverpool.
“You look at the crowd last night,” he said about the sold-out NWSL semifinal between the Thorns and Gotham FC, “the crowds that the Thorns and the Timbers get for every game, it's a proper soccer city and I've missed that, I think. It reminds me a lot of my time at Everton. This place is a little bit of Merseyside: working-class people, intense people, people that are passionate about their city, people that love their football and they want to win, and I think all that added up to the perfect scenario for me.”
Fan sentiment
There’s no escaping the reality that he will have to win over many among those legions of fans.
That was made clear by the statement released by the Timbers Army when reports broke of his imminent hiring on Friday, expressing that members are "deeply disappointed," noting his "history of sexist public statements that run counter to our ethos as a club, city and supporters' group" – an apparent reference to problematic social-media posts dating back to 2012 – as well as his on-field record at Inter Miami.
Neville apologized for the sexist tweets when he took over the England women’s national team in 2019, and on Monday said he hopes to initiate a dialogue with the TA and the fanbase at large in hopes of addressing their concerns. He recognizes the wider context of the organization he’s arrived at, where the Thorns are up for sale and in many ways still recovering from an abuse scandal that rocked the NWSL when it broke in 2021.
“When I got the Lionesses job, I addressed obviously the issues there and like I said at the time, and I reiterate now, nowhere near is it a reflection of me as a person,” he said. “I think my whole career, the way I've behaved, and even the fact that I was the Lionesses manager for three years – I'm a strong advocate of women's football, women's sports in general. My sister [Tracey, who played for and coached England’s netball team] is an international athlete and coach. I grew up in a house with clear diversity.
“I can reassure them – I can guarantee them – that those are my true qualities and characters. I'm an all-in type of guy. I would love to sit down with the Timbers Army, all the Portland Timbers fans, and for them to get to know me and for me to get to know them, for them to see that I'm all in, to see my qualities, to see my character. I can't wait to do that.”
Neville plans to become a Thorns season ticket holder and pledged to “support them any way I can,” hailing the unparalleled equity of support and commitment Portland and PTFC have provided to both their professional soccer teams.
“I feel really lucky to be head coach of an organization that has two incredible football teams,” he said. “During my time with the Lionesses, I fell in love and experienced something that I've never experienced in my life before. And that was the power of women's football. And we're in a city where the most incredible supporters support both teams the same.
“I don't think any other city or any other football club in the world has the type of backing for their male and female team. I played for a football club in Manchester that doesn't get anywhere near the levels of support for each team, and don't get the same backing financially that way. So I feel really lucky and proud to be part of an organization that sees equality and diversity for both male and female soccer players, and the Thorns are going to be a big part of my life.”
"Not a tear-down project"
There’s work to be done on the pitch as well. Despite a marked turnaround in results under interim coach Miles Joseph that left the Timbers just one point short of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs after a gutting 3-1 home loss to Houston on Decision Day, significant changes are expected to the roster this winter.
Grabavoy has already confirmed that DP striker Jarosław Niezgoda will be leaving the club and that goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic has requested a trade; recent media reports suggest DP attacker Yimmi Chara will also depart.
Both GM and coach seemed to pump the brakes on the idea of a full makeover, though.
“I don't believe that everything is broken and that there are no players here that have the ability to help us win, and sustain that winning. But at the same time, there were other things I think that were very clear, and that was having new leadership and a new voice, and ultimately in that head coaching role, was vital for us,” said Grabavoy.
“We'll take a heavy focus on that, both character and level of talent, and how do we improve in a few key positions. But for me, this is not a tear-down project. It's sort of reshaping and fine-tuning in some ways and trying to find those two or three additions that can really, really take us to a different level.”
Said Neville: "If you assess the last two months of the season, then I don't think we're as far away as people probably tend to think we are."
