Sports
Gary Neville Names 3-Man Shortlist to Become Next Man Utd Manager
After Manchester United‘s top brass ‘reluctantly’ parted ways with former head coach Ruben Amorim, it was revealed they’d appoint a caretaker in due course before addressing the situation permanently in the summer – and former defender Gary Neville has name-dropped the only three managers who should be on the club’s managerial shortlist.
Amorim’s 14-month tenure was full of ups and downs, but more of the latter, and it was decided that his comments suggesting there were grumblings between himself and Director of Football Jason Wilcox resulted in him being relieved of his duties.
Darren Fletcher, former midfielder and current Under-18s boss, has taken charge on an interim basis until the summer – and the club’s plan is to delve further into the managerial market once the 2025/26 campaign comes to its conclusion. Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola are among those in the running, but neither were named by Neville.
The Only Three Managers Man Utd Should Target, According to Neville
On paper, following in the footsteps of Amorim may be a rather simple task – but the Old Trafford outfit have still been unable to find a worthy successor for Sir Alex Ferguson, a man who led a dynasty to ample silverware between when he was appointed in 1986 and when he finally called time on his managerial career in 2013. Neville, writing on The Overlap newsletter on Substack, has named the only three managers who should be considered in the summer.
Carlo Ancelotti, the current manager of the Brazilian national team, is his ‘outstanding candidate’. “No-one comes as close to fulfilling everything laid out above than he does,” he said. “Ironically, the club met with Carlo shortly before his retirement in 2013, and we could have short-circuited this entire process and started with him at the beginning of the cycle.”
“But by that stage he was close to agreeing to joining Real Madrid for his first spell in charge and so what might have been a perfect appointment never happened,” Neville continued. Ancelotti would bring ample know-how and expertise to a thankless job, of course, but his lack of experience in the English top flight is not a deterrent for Neville.
In terms of Neville’s two other choices, both have managed in the Premier League. Continuing, he wrote: “After Ancelotti, the next two on my short list would be Thomas Tuchel and Eddie Howe, Roy Keane’s suggestion and one of the names suggested by Ashworth in 2024.”
Neville would be right: Roy Keane, a man with a loud voice and loyal following, stated that Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe would be the perfect man for the job. Neville noted his experience in the Champions League, too, before pointing out that he beat Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup to guide the club to its first-ever major trophy since 1955.
Back to Thomas Tuchel, who is widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football, and Neville believes the German – just the third non-Englishman to take on the Three Lions role – edges Howe in terms of his experience and his overly-bloated trophy cabinet.
“Obviously Tuchel edges it in terms of experience and the quality of the trophies he has won, with Champions League, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 his biggest achievements. He also reached a Champions League final with PSG.
“He might have played a back three at times, but he is sufficiently adaptable to fit the United DNA and plays with a back four with England,” Neville said as he continued to wax poetic about Tuchel, who has claimed that he will leave his current role beyond the 2026 World Cup if the tournament is deemed a “failure”.
Neville: Next Man Utd Manager Must Tick Four Boxes
“With the last 12 years being a period of massive underperformance for Manchester United managers, there are certain boxes the next candidate now needs to tick,” wrote Neville before diving deeper into a quartet of qualities a Manchester United manager must possess.
Firstly, the defender-turned-pundit claimed it’s imperative that whoever becomes Amorim’s permanent successor must be able to handle outside noise by fans and pundits alike. “It’s why you’re getting paid the big bucks,” he wrote before insisting that an Old Trafford boss must show a willingness to get into the top four, which provides the Champions League football for the following season.
On the latter point, Neville also insisted that ‘getting the best out of a group of players that will include egos and superstars’ is key; as is understanding the Premier League and English football culture because of how much it differs from many of the other European leagues.
Man United Managers Since Sir Alex Ferguson Ranked on Points per Game
Despite his woes, Erik ten Hag remains surprisingly high up on the list, but it’s not such a pretty picture for Ruben Amorim.
Lastly, as Neville will know himself, a manager at Manchester United must understand what is expected of a manager at Manchester United. As mundane as it sounds, the 50-year-old wrote: “Be positive and prepared to take risks and play with pace and excitement. In all likelihood, that is going to be a variation of 4-4-1-1/ 4-2-3-1.”
