Still without a single league win since he turned up at the start of December, it’s getting increasingly difficult to put any kind of positive slant on Gary Neville’s tenure at Valencia.
The tide really began to turn in the aftermath of the spectacular 7-0 flagellation that Neville’s beleaguered troupe received from Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Copa Del Rey last Wednesday evening.
The following Sunday, scores of vitriolic fans lined up to ‘salute’ the Valencia team bus as the squad slouched out of the Real Betis stadium following yet another doleful defeat – thus providing what is almost certain to become the defining image of Neville’s ill-fated stint in charge at Los Che…
However, there is one person who is nigh-on revelling in Neville’s misery and that man is Hernan Crespo.
Indeed, the former Chelsea and Milan striker has gone on record as stating that he’s “almost happy” that Neville’s maiden foray into management is proving to be such a monumental bust.
After retiring from football in 2012, Crespo first worked as a youth coach with Parma before taking over at the helm of Serie B side Modena last summer.
He believes the hardship Neville is facing is a fine example of just how difficult coaching on the front line can be in comparison to simply picking teams apart on television for a living.
“To watch a game from the TV, it’s very different than from on the bench,” Crespo told FOX Sports.
“I’m almost happy for Gary Neville’s troubles at Valencia. I remember he was too harsh as a TV pundit.”
Yep, agreed. If talk is cheap, then football punditry is right at the bottom of the bargain bin under the Macy Gray CDs.