Neville Neville

Neville Neville (26 September 1949 – 7 August 2015) was a British league cricketer, football agent and director. His sons are the former professional association football players Gary Neville and Phil Neville and his daughter is the netball player and coach Tracey Neville.

Neville Neville
Born(1949-09-26)26 September 1949
Died7 August 2015(2015-08-07) (aged 65)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityEnglish
OccupationCricketer, football agent, director
Spouse(s)Jill Harper
Children

Cricket career

Neville played cricket for Greenmount Cricket Club in the Bolton Cricket League during the 1980s.[1] His daughter Tracey cites this as her earliest sporting memory.[2]

Family

Neville and his wife, Jill, the one-time general manager and Club Secretary of English Football League club Bury, had three children: Gary and twins Tracey and Phil.[2][3][4]

Neville was the agent for his two sons. The elder Neville represented the two younger Nevilles during contract talks with their respective clubs.[5]

When his eldest son Gary decided to postpone any testimonial match until his playing career was over, Neville stated that "In this day and age when players earn such fantastic amounts of money we think it would be better to create some kind of facility for the supporters."[6]

Football and charity work

Neville was a director of club Bury of the English Football League.[7][8] He was the spearhead and vice-chairman of the "Save our Shakers" appeal which was a bid to give financial assistance to the struggling football club after it had gone into administration.[8][9]

The campaign was "brilliantly orchestrated"[8] by Neville and he was praised for tirelessly organising supporters groups, giving media interviews and working closely with the administrators to arrange a deal to secure the club's safety.[8] In November 2015, the main stand at Gigg Lane was posthumously named after him as a tribute to his contributions as club director.[10]

Name

Neville achieved somewhat of a cult status among football fans because of his unusual name. His name is part of what has been called "one of the best chants in football":[11][12]

(Sung to the tune of David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel")

Arrest

On 26 March 2013, Neville was arrested by Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of indecent assault. He was released on bail until May of that year, pending further inquiries. He was found not guilty on 19 December 2013.[13][14]

Death

Neville died on 7 August 2015 in Sydney at the age of 65,[15] following a heart attack. He took ill while in Australia to support his daughter Tracey, England's netball coach, during the World Cup. Manchester United players wore black armbands during their game against Tottenham Hotspur on 8 August 2015 while the England netball team observed a minute's silence prior to their Third Place match, which they won. Neville's funeral took place on 27 August 2015 in Bury.[16]

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References
  1. Peter Stafford (March 1989). Profile, Bolton Cricket League Review]; accessed 7 August 2015.
  2. Gareth A Davies (12 June 2006). My sport: Tracey Neville, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 7 August 2015.
  3. Andy Hunter (12 December 2005). "Barely a glance as Neville boys are brothers in arms no", The Independent]; accessed 18 December 2007.
  4. George, Thomas (23 August 2019). "Bury FC face D-day on league expulsion: everything you need to know". The Bury Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. Tom Lutz and Barry Glendenning (16 February 2007). Not So Secret Agent "The Guardian"; accessed 18 December 2007.
  6. "Neville puts benefit on hold", bbc.co.uk, 21 August 2002; accessed 18 December 2007.
  7. "Extra Time", bbc.co.uk, 11 March 2002; accessed 7 August 2015.
  8. Forever Bury Archived 24 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Bury Football Club website, 1 June 2007; accessed 7 August 2015.
  9. Neville Comes To Shakers' Aid, bbc.co.uk, 11 March 2002; accessed 7 August 2015.
  10. "The Neville Neville Stand". buryfc.co.uk. 20 November 2015.
  11. Anything you can do..., observer.guardian.co.uk, 12 January 2003; accessed 7 August 2015.
  12. Paul Atherton (20 August 2002). Sport's family fortunes, bbc.co.uk; accessed 7 August 2015.
  13. "Neville brothers' father arrested over indecent assault". BBC News. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  14. "Neville Neville not guilty of sex attack". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  15. Neville Neville dead, bbc.co.uk; accessed 7 August 2015.
  16. "Neville Neville's funeral takes place in Bury". BBC News. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
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