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Though he's set to continue in his coaching role at Valencia, today is a melancholy day for Phil Neville. As he awoke this morning, the Iberian sun beaming through his shutters and illuminating his gleaming blonde coiffure, his first thought must have been of his brother's misfortune. Gary Neville has, of course, just been sacked as Valencia manager after a disastrous four months in charge of the club. In Gary's absence, you might think that Phil would be a lost soul, a broken man.You couldn't be more wrong.Phil is often dismissed as the lesser Neville, seemingly less steely (and considerably less successful) than his elder sibling. However, in this time of adversity, he's come out fighting in defence of his fallen brother. As he always does when the going gets tough, Phil has turned to the words of the 26th President of the United States to give him strength.Okay, so we can't actually say for sure whether Phil is a lifelong admirer of Theodore Roosevelt. But we want it to be true.Reacting to widespread criticism of his brother's time as Valencia boss, Phil has summoned up the enduring dignity of the human spirit by taking a small excerpt of Roosevelt's "Citizenship in the Republic" address and posting it on Instagram. He hasn't even added an explanatory caption. He's just going to let Roosevelt do the talking, his majestic oratory distilled into a highly relevant social media soundbite.This snippet, often referred to as "The Man in the Arena" speech, praises the doers of deeds. It castigates the critics, derides the "cold and timid souls" whose words speak louder than their actions. Roosevelt is basically saying: "Fuck the haters, man". Phil Neville clearly agrees with that lofty sentiment.Likewise, Phil clearly feels that Gary is the eponymous man in the arena. In taking the Valencia job, Gary strived valiantly to achieve his dreams. Gary has tasted bitter hardship, his face has been marred by dust, sweat and blood, but he is noble in defeat. Gary is the Dying Gaul, draped in a late '90s Manchester United shirt sponsored by Sharp Electronics.As such, this is the great apologia for his vanquished manager. Phil Neville is Mark Anthony, Gary Neville is Julius Caesar, and this is the great funeral oration that moves the people to copious tears. It's quite possible that, at this very moment, Phil is standing on a podium at Valencia's training ground and delivering a stirring rendition of "The Man in the Arena" in rich and nasal Mancunian dialect. Before him stand an entire squad of bemused Spanish footballers, struggling to overcome the language barrier and understand even a single, solitary word he is saying.Thankfully, there's no barrier that can contain the human spirit. The man in the arena fights on.
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