Neil made his professional debut for the Scottish club Morton at age 15, youngest ever.  He was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur in 1975 for $200,000 and became their youngest ever first team player at age 16.  He went on to play for Bolton, Brighton, Tranmere, and Manchester City in a total of 700 league and cup games.  He played for the Scottish National team at the U15, U18 and U21 levels. Neil coached at Manchester City and Portsmouth in their youth development programs where 30 of his players went on to play 1st team soccer.