WHO IS ALEX NEIL?
The former Norwich manager has been out of work for several months after leaving Preston North End in March 2021. He joined Preston in 2017 when a certain Simon Grayson left to join us. It’s safe to say we don’t have the best track record of signing former Preston managers.
Neil left Preston by mutual consent and left the club in an underwhelming 16th. He is now the favourite for our vacant job, which is really underwhelming news. The appointment of Roy Keane would’ve been a risk, but an exciting one. Now we take a risk on a different calibre of manager – another unremarkable British manager. This means it would be an entirely fresh approach from the last five appointm... oh wait, no it wouldn’t be.
Neil began his short managerial career as Hamilton Academical where he had already been involved in coaching the club's youth team. He was appointed player-manager on an interim basis, but this was made permanent in May 2013, when Neill was just 31. Assisted by Frankie McAvoy, Neil led the club to promotion back to the top flight in his first full season, winning through the play-off system in May 2014. Hamilton then enjoyed a good start to the 2014–15 Scottish Premiership, defeating Celtic away for the first time in 76 years, before Neill was approached by Norwich in 2015.
At 33, Neil was the second youngest manager in the Football League. A bold appointment from the Canaries, it initially proved a masterstroke. In his first game his team beat league leaders Bournemouth 2-1 only a day after taking charge. This immediate impact will be something absolutely necessary for us, should he be made Sunderland manager. He won 17 of his 25 games in his first season and Norwich secured a play-off place, finishing third. In British football’s fiercest rivalry, the East Anglia derby, Norwich beat Ipswich Town 4–2 on aggregate over two legs to get through the final. On 25 May, Neil led Norwich to a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough in the 2015 Football League Championship play-off Final.
It has been downhill for Neil ever since this high. Norwich were poor all season and immediately suffered relegation back to the Championship. Neil had his contract terminated in March 2017. Norwich had won only seven of their last 24 games in The Championship and were nine points outside the top six play-off places. They were 8th. He then joined Preston, where he spent four anonymous years in charge, where he did nothing to bolster his reputation in football management.
Misery, anger and confusion are likely to arise if he gets the job. If Speakman trusts this man to take us up rather than Keane, it is his funeral. Neil has done nothing in 5 or 6 years to warrant this job and one spell of good form with Norwich is not enough to suggest he is the man to take us up this year. I was no Johnson fan, but swapping him for Neill would be absolutely baffling. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to amateur hour.
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) side of the family bar the odd Everton support a team that win a trophy every few years and have had no hard times in the last few decades (despite what the fans think when you listen to them, oh it's so **** we didn't finish in the top three this team is **** we didn't win this week
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