Portland Timbers and Phil Neville 'mutually part ways'
The club announced Monday morning that it had mutually agreed to part ways with the third-year coach following Saturday’s 3-1 loss to San Jose.
Phil Neville is no longer the manager of the Portland Timbers.
The club announced Monday morning that it had mutually agreed to part ways with the third-year coach following Saturday’s 3-1 loss to San Jose.
The loss dropped Portland to 4-8-2 (14 points) on the year and 13th in MLS’ Western Conference. It also ended with a large portion of Providence Park chanting for Neville’s dismissal.
Neville finished his tenure in Portland with 27 wins, 31 losses, 24 draws, two play-in appearances and one first-round playoff berth.
“In my nearly two decades of owning and operating the Portland Timbers, there are very few people I have enjoyed working with more than Phil Neville,” Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said in a club statement.
“Phil has outstanding leadership qualities and a boundless sense of positivity even in the face of adversity. I cannot thank Phil enough for his tireless dedication to this club and the Portland community, which he and his family truly embraced.”
The Timbers did not name an interim manager. Players not currently on World Cup rosters are on a three-week break before training resumes in mid-June. Portland’s next game is July 16 at Seattle. There are 20 games remaining on the schedule.
But for the first time since 2023, those games won’t be managed by Neville.
“I’d like to thank Merritt Paulson, Ned Grabavoy, and the entire Portland family for their unwavering support in giving me the job and standing behind me,” Neville said in the release. “To my staff, thank you for your incredible loyalty and hard work. And to the most incredible bunch of players: thank you for the effort, the good times, the good results, the bad results, and all the laughs we shared together. I realize we are in a results business, and the results haven’t been to the expectation of this football club. To the Timbers Army — you are the reason I felt inspired to try and bring success to this club. Keep getting behind the players and the club in this wonderful city. I will miss you all.”
The I-5 Corridor will have a more thorough story on Neville’s departure on Tuesday.
I don't root for people to get fired, but it was obvious to all that something wasn't working.
Personally, I thought they should have made a change last year. But I'm also still bitter that they got rid of Evander. Nobody that gets rid of a superstar in their prime, in any sport gets the better end of the deal.
Maybe we get a better manager; maybe we get better players. But MLS is going the way of NASL, and that's going to ruin everything. Miami FC is New York Cosmos 2026. It can't be sustained.