So Sven-Goran Eriksson was thinking of Meadow Lane when his
agent revealed a couple of months ago that the Swede "would love to
work in England again". Anyone predicting such a return before
these remarkable developments would have risked being carted off to
the nearest psychiatric ward but put a consortium from the Middle
East and Eriksson's name in the same sentence and you start to
believe that anything is possible.
This time, however, the investors offering to line Eriksson's
pocket are not fake sheikhs seeking to bring down the England
manager but Notts County
board members who have pulled off one of the more staggering
football appointments in recent times.
Eriksson is expected to be unveiled as the League Two
club's director of football on Wednesday after agreeing to take the
director of football role at Meadow Lane following talks which
presumably did not dwell too much on the 61-year-old's knowledge of
County's promotion rivals next season.
Quite what was going through Ian McParland's mind when he
learned of the bid to lure Eriksson is anyone's guess, though the
current Notts County manager has been assured that his job is safe
despite the arrival of someone who spent five years in charge of
England. That period should have prepared Eriksson for most things
but there could still be a few shocks in store if he makes his way
around the League Two circuit next season.
Whether he will be required to negotiate those kind of trips
remains to be seen. Either way those close to Munto Finance, the
ambitious Middle-East backed consortium that took control at Meadow
Lane last week with plans to establish the club in the Championship
within five years, say Eriksson will not be here today and gone
tomorrow.
Eriksson does have experience of working at a lower level before
when he started out on his managerial career with Degerfors in
Sweden but 30 years have since passed and the majority of those
have been spent at some of the most glamorous clubs in Europe such
as Benfica, Roma and Lazio. Portsmouth seemed likely to be the next
port of call after he was sacked by Mexico in April but instead
Eriksson has checked in at a club that finished 87th on the
football ladder in May.
His financial package will be the subject of much conjecture but
it is thought to be strongly linked to the club's progress,
although it would be naive to believe that there is not a hefty
basic wage. Eriksson, after all, does not work for pennies, even if
he has received three seven-figure pay-offs in as many years, and
there were suggestions last night, albeit unconfirmed, that he
might pick up as much as £40,000 a week at Meadow Lane.
What a turnaround from 5½ years ago when County, mired in
financial trouble, narrowly escaped the threat of expulsion from
the Football League. There have been more tough times since,
including the last five seasons finishing in the bottom half of
League Two, but the loyal supporters that have remained faithful to
the club that will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2012 can be
forgiven for waking up with a smile this morning.
"We have a vision of success now," said Glenn Rolley, the
chairman of the supporters' trust. "We stand in the shadow of our
neighbours. Appointing Sven will reverberate around the football
world. I can only compare it to when Notts County signed Tommy
Lawton from Chelsea in the late '40s.
"He was England's No 1 centre-forward. This is comparable. I've
been a supporter for 45 years and this is proud day. It's quite
romantic really."