Phil Neville is out at Portland. The Timbers announced Monday they've parted ways with the former Manchester United defender after two-plus seasons, with the club sitting 13th in the Western Conference and going nowhere fast.
The final straw was a 3-1 home loss to San Jose on Saturday — the Earthquakes, of all teams. That result left Portland at 4-8-2, a record that makes a laughing stock of the playoff ambitions this club is supposed to carry every season.
A tenure that never found its footing
Neville finishes with a 27-31-24 record in Portland. Before this, he went 35-42-13 at Inter Miami. That's two MLS jobs, two losing records. The pattern is hard to ignore for anyone who followed either stint closely.
He replaced Giovanni Savarese, who took the Timbers to four playoffs in five-plus seasons. That's the baseline expectation in Portland — and Neville never got close to meeting it.
To his credit, Neville's farewell statement didn't dress things up. "I realize we are in a results business, and the results haven't been to the expectation of this football club," he said. That's more self-awareness than most departing coaches offer.
Owner Merritt Paulson praised Neville's leadership and positivity, which is exactly what owners say when the football hasn't worked. The praise is genuine enough — it just doesn't change the table.
What comes next for Portland
The Timbers haven't named an interim, which is at least a sensible call given MLS is currently on an international break with the men's World Cup kicking off June 11. There's time to make a considered appointment rather than a panicked one.
But the window to salvage this Western Conference season is closing. Portland are five points off the playoff line with a negative goal difference and no obvious momentum. Whoever comes in next inherits a difficult rebuild, not a tune-up job. The odds on Portland reaching the postseason this year just got significantly longer.
"Keep getting behind the players and the club in this wonderful city. I will miss you all," Neville told the Timbers Army. Whether the players he leaves behind are good enough — that's the question his replacement will have to answer fast.
