Gary Neville has criticised the BBC for the way they handled his brother Phil’s transition into broadcasting, claiming the corporation set him up to fail by giving him one of the biggest games of the 2014 World Cup as his very first co-commentary assignment.
Phil Neville, who retired from playing in 2013 after a career with Manchester United and Everton, had been building his punditry credentials with Match of the Day before being asked to work as co-commentator alongside Guy Mowbray for England’s World Cup opener against Italy in Manaus.
The match drew a peak audience of around 20 million viewers, but Phil’s debut was widely panned, with critics calling his delivery “monotone” and “dull.”
Speaking on Stick to Football, Gary Neville used his brother’s experience as an example while discussing Michael Owen’s early struggles in the media.
Gary Neville has criticised the BBC for the way they handled his brother Phil’s transition into broadcasting, claiming the corporation set him up to fail by giving him one of the biggest games of the 2014 World Cup as his very first co-commentary assignment
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“I thought it was scandalous the way he was treated in his early media career. The way people commented on it,” Neville said.
Ian Wright, part of the discussion panel, interjected: “They hung him out.”
“Absolutely,” Neville replied. “Co-commentary is the hardest thing to do. This happened with my brother.
"The BBC put him in his first game at a World Cup, England v Italy, with 20 million people watching.
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“Sky, with me, when I first joined… it’s still the worst thing I do now, co-commentary, it’s the toughest thing I do.
"They put me on eight or 10 games that were like Fulham v Blackburn — not a lot of people are watching but it beds you in. It eases you in.
“I did loads of games on MUTV, then Villa v City, which wasn’t a big game back then.
"It took them eight or nine months of trialling me, testing me, feeding back to me and being harsh by the way.
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England lost to Italy at the 2014 World Cup
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"I remember saying ‘this is not for me’ and they told me to stick with it, to be more conversational, more myself.”
Neville said giving Owen top-flight commentary duties on TNT Sports from day one, and his brother a World Cup blockbuster, was “like throwing a lamb into the lions’ den.”
Phil himself admitted at the time that his performance wasn’t good enough, writing in a BBC Sport column: “Sixty per cent of your job is to get your content right, to see what is happening in the game and the little patterns that are developing.
"The other 40 per cent is in your delivery, which is something I obviously learned the hard way.”
He added that while his analysis was accurate, his delivery “did not sound like me commentating. I was trying to be somebody I wasn’t, and I knew I could do better.”
The BBC kept faith with him, giving him three more commentary assignments during the tournament, albeit on lower-profile matches.
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Phil later turned his focus to coaching, managing the England Women’s national team and MLS side Inter Miami, and is now head coach of the Portland Timbers.
Owen, meanwhile, was eventually replaced as BT Sport’s lead co-commentator by former Liverpool team-mate Steve McManaman and is now a regular pundit for Premier League Productions.