VERY SPECIFIC QUESTION No.18: Why do Valencia love Nevilles so much?

If Phil Neville’s appointment as Valencia’s assistant manager in July prompted a few raised eyebrows, the Spanish club’s decision to make Gary Neville their actual proper manager has caused a legion of dropped jaws and widespread involuntary cackles. One of English football’s sharpest minds and brightest coaching talents Gary may be, but his sudden accession to lead the La Liga heavyweights still seems as wild as that tackle Phil made against Romania in Euro 2000.

So why have Britain’s most beloved brothers since the Chuckles been put in charge of a major club in a league which they know only in passing?

It’s unlikely to be the recent track record of British managers in Spain that got them there. The ink was barely dry on David Moyes’s P45 after his firing by Real Sociedad when Valencia took the plunge on GNev2.

And it’s also not because PNev12 has pulled up any orange trees in the south of Spain. Valencia’s form has not been good since Phillip arrived in the summer, although the man taking the blame for that is Nuno Espirito Santo, the manager sacked this week after 18 months at the helm.

It’s equally hard to believe that the Nevilles have been chosen for their cosmopolitanism. Brits abroad are not known for their ease in adjusting to foreign cultures or mastering unfamiliar tongues. Moyes, for example, didn’t get much beyond learning how to ask for a plate of chips and a short back and sides (not at the same time) during his year at Sociedad. Phil also got off to a sticky start in Spanish, mistakenly tweeting in the summer that he likes to start his day by ejaculating on a beach (he meant to say he liked a morning run on the beach). But intensive language lessons since then have brought impressive progress in the former left-back’s Castilian skills. Nowadays if he tells you in Spanish that he likes ejaculating, you know he means it.

Yet even despite Phil’s willingness to adapt, and Gary’s obvious eagerness to prove his management prowess, the two lads from Bury are hardly a natural fit to take up two of the most prestigious jobs in Spain’s hottest region. Which means there must be something else going on. And there is.

Valencia’s owner, Peter Lim, is not from the city either. The Singaporean businessman completed his takeover of Los Che in the summer, having previously made unsuccessful attempts to buy Milan, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Liverpool.

It’s possible that Lim has lured Gary to Spain simply to deprive Jamie Carragher of his Sky Sports wingman in some kind of twisted retaliation for his failure to buy the Reds back in 2010. But a more likely ownership connection concerns that of Salford City, otherwise known as the pet project of Manchester United’s Class of ‘92 - Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil.

Lim purchased a 50 per cent stake in the Evo-Stick League club in September 2014, which means he now co-owns the blossoming franchise with the five United legends (well, three legends). Two of United’s famous five, Gary and Phil, are now also Lim’s employees in Spain.

The question Valencia fans might now be asking is what on earth the Evo-Stick League has to do with La Liga, and the answer is not a lot. Yet Lim’s existing links to the Nevilles have plainly landed the brothers in coaching positions that would have been inconceivable under any other circumstances.

With the possible exception of Liverpool supporters, the majority of English football fans would like to see the Nevilles succeed in Spain. They have emerged as likeable characters in retirement (well, Phil has) and the England national team could also benefit in the long-run. One simply hopes that the Valencia board’s faith in the duo’s coaching abilities is based on more than shared business interests.

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