He transferred to Plymouth Argyle in March 1949 for a fee of £13,000, was converted to wing half,[2] and spent the remainder of his playing career at the club, making nearly 300 appearances in all competitions, before he retired in March 1959.[6] With Plymouth he won a Third Division South championship medal in 1952 and a Third Division championship medal in 1959. He was awarded a testimonial match against Burnley, the club where he started his career and where his father Billy had been both player and manager (his uncles Peter and Jimmy also played in the 1930s, mainly for Southampton and Preston North End).[2] Neil also qualified as a coach and became player-coach to Plymouth's reserve team, succeeded Jack Rowley as team manager for an eight-month spell,[7] and performed various coaching roles at the club until 1969.
After retiring from football he ran a fitness club in Plymouth from which he retired in 1986. He had Alzheimer's disease[7][8] and died in Plymouth on 1 December 2009 after a long illness.[9]
