Eriksson offered West Ham job by
Kia's men
tribalfooball.com - October 26, 2006
Former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson has been offered the West
Ham job.
The Mirror says the money-men who aim to take charge of the Upton
Park club by the end of next week held secret talks with Eriksson
last Sunday about replacing Alan Pardew.
Israeli hotels billionaire Eli Papouchado, who will supply the bulk
of the £100 million to underwrite the consortium headed by
Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian, sounded out Eriksson in Tel Aviv. The
pair had a long meeting at an exclusive restaurant in a meeting
brokered by Israeli superagent Pini Zahavi.
It is understood that Eriksson is ready to agree to come in as the
new manager of the East End club if Papouchado's bid to buy out the
existing board goes through.
A source said: "The meeting was set up in advance and was the real
reason Eriksson went to Israel. All the talk about him having a
consulting role at Maccabi was window dressing."
The current Upton Park board are keen to do business with the
Joorabchian-led group now that Papouchado has appointed Rothschilds
as his bankers on the deal.
Eriksson is likely to bring his long-time assistant Tord Grip with
him to Upton Park.
The former England No.2 admitted earlier this week: "We would both
love to be back working in London."
