Sympathy seems to be in short supply for Messrs Neville after last night’s demolition.
Well, there is very little sympathy for Gary at least.
Just after the former England coach and acclaimed Sky Sports pundit was surprisingly named as the new Valencia manager, he sat in the Mestalla stands as his younger brother Phil oversaw a creditable 1-1 draw with Barcelona.
Fast forward to last night and the difference Neville has made ins two months was laid painfully bare.
Solamente falta Neymar en la foto. Estos son los mejores atacantes en este momento. Visca Barça! 💙❤️ #Messi #Suarez pic.twitter.com/iiC1CA3qyX
— Mario Larios (@Infrashock) February 4, 2016
In case you missed it, or don’t have sporting antennae finely tuned for schaudenfreude, Neville’s Valencia got the mother of all spankings from the European champions last night.
Leo Messi and Luis Suarez both headed home with a match ball after scoring three and four respectively in a 7-0 Copa Del Rey semi-final first leg massacre.
It’s fair to say that Valencia’s last hope of silverware has gone the way of Neymar’s tax accountant and all Neville and his assistant brother have to look forward to is a league campaign that has yet to yield a single win in EIGHT matches, with six draws bringing a total of half-a-dozen points from a possible 24.
Despite winning just five of their 11 games before Neville’s arrival, Valencia were still in contention to return to the Champions League – that dream appears to be dying a death, along with Neville’s reputation.
Picture credit: Sky Sports
Lauded as the sharpest pundit on television and a future England or Manchester United manager in waiting, Neville last night had to fend off questions about resigning.
It’s all going a bit Alan Shearer, except Shearer was never asked about resigning.
After Joe Kinnear underwent a triple bypass in 2009, Shearer sprung from the Match of the Day couch to come to the rescue of his beloved and beleaguered Newcastle United.
He took over from caretaker manager Chris Hughton with the Magpies two points inside the relegation zone, however a single league win in eight matches saw Newcastle drop out of the Premier League for the first time in 16 years and Shearer return to Saturday night’s with Gary Lineker.
Just to jog your memory, that Newcastle team featured Damien Duff, Joey Barton, Fabricio Collicini and Michael Owen.
He did manage that one win, though. So, y’know…
