The coronavirus crisis has served to accelerate the decision, yet there is no escaping the notion that Neville has served his purpose and was no longer improving the Lionesses.
The passion and optimism that made him an important hire, fostering a new level of belief in a talented group of players, ran out of steam and eventually morphed into a kind of blinkered stubbornness. It has been clear for some time there was never going to be a way back from that.
England’s ultimate goal is to win the next European Championship at home and claim a first ever major international trophy. The likelihood of that happening with Neville in charge unfortunately seemed to be shrinking with each passing game.
With Euro 2021 now officially postponed it means that the Lionesses can look forward to a fresh chapter and new cycle a year ahead of the rearranged tournament in 2022, which will then ultimately also feed into the 2023 World Cup as well.
Despite having never previously worked in the women’s game and never before as a manager at any level, Neville was chosen to lead the Lionesses by the FA in January 2018.
The former Manchester United player brought a new drive as he tried to create the kind of winning mentality in the setup he had known throughout his own playing career. As such, he enjoyed instant success with a 4-1 thrashing of France in his very first game in charge.
England went on to qualify for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, win the 2019 SheBelieves Cup ahead of the United States and consolidate their place as one of the best international sides in the world to head into the World Cup among the favourites to lift the trophy.
But while his initial impact in terms of mentality and belief was beneficial, questions over Neville’s tactics and coaching ability were already starting to be asked before the tournament in France, with his team notably labouring in several warm-up games.
Although they progressed through the World Cup group stage with a 100% winning record, England were guilty of lax performances and defensive sloppiness. A 3-0 quarter-final win over Norway was probably their most polished display, but it still wasn’t free of avoidable problems.
England went toe-to-toe with the United States in the semi-finals and narrowly lost, before also being beaten by Sweden in the third-place playoff. Given England’s jubilation over finishing third four years earlier, Neville’s comments that it was a meaningless game drew criticism.
In the months after the World Cup, England’s form fell off a cliff. They won only two of their six remaining games in 2019, both scrappy late victories against much weaker opposition, and were outplayed and beaten by Norway, Brazil and Germany.
The 2020 SheBelieves Cup, which Neville was hoping would be a fresh statement, brought further defeats against the United States and Spain, either side of a narrow win against Japan.
In December 2019, England dropped out of the top five in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings for the first time since before the 2015 World Cup, a tangible indication of the team’s recent slide, and the prospect of Neville leading the country at a European Championship on home soil was not one many Lionesses fans were looking forward to with optimism.
For England, the time is now for a fresh approach at a critical moment.
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