Whatever his popularity with Manchester City fans, the sight of Sven-Goran Eriksson being driven into their Carrington training ground on Wednesday will have warmed the cockles of many journalists’ hearts.
The Swede has been good for business in the newspaper trade ever since the Football Association made the historic decision in late 2000 to appoint him as England’s first foreign coach.
His affairs with Swedish celebrity Ulrika Jonsson and former FA secretary Faria Alam kept the printing presses busy, as did pictures of a meeting with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and the ‘Fake Sheikh’ newspaper sting which ultimately cost him his England job.
Reporters got used to him and accustomed to some of his trademark forms of speech. Beginning answers with a very long “Welllllllllllllllllllllllllll” is one, and the occasional odd pronunciation for such a fluent English speaker, like ‘young’ becoming ‘jung’.
Deep down, Eriksson might feel he has a point to prove in English football. He was blamed for failing to get England past the quarter-finals in three tournaments, though it’s debatable whether his team had the ability and the self-belief to do any better.
Eriksson deserves a chance to convince the City fans. Will he get the same from the British media?
Trevor Huggins, London
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7 comments so far
I think City fans will give him a decent chance. He’s a top class manager, probably better than the club deserves, and his record with England (and everyone else, nearly) was excellent.
- Posted by RafaLove this new blog, pulling in all the different Reuters voices. I would, however, love to see them give some thought to the American game from time to time. It would be nice to see some outside views on our version of the world’s game.
- Posted by Adam SpanglerHi Adam and thanks for that. It’s true, we haven’t had much from the U.S. yet but I’m glad to say Simon Evans, who used to report for Reuters from Milan, is now based in the U.S. and we should be hearing a lot more form him over the coming months. Watch this space!
- Posted by Kevin FylanKevin, what Adam says is true. I would like to see how the MLS has helped changed US perceptions on football (soccer) from being a ‘girls’ sport to being a real sport and getting the US back in touch with the rest of the world.
Back on the topic, I would say a UEFA cup placing for Man City and Eriksson should pat his back and say job well done hehe
And for sure he makes football interesting but he still pales in comparison to the great Mourinho!
- Posted by Five TimesDuly noted, Five Times. Will see what we can do…
- Posted by Kevin FylanBeing a City fan and a forever optimist, I would like to think that this will be again a ‘new era’. Eriksson has a big job, I just hope that he knows what he is letting himself in for.
City also has an image problem and attracting players is only half the battle, getting them to play together has always been a problem at City.
I just hope Sven can attached the younger players who want to play for the club rather than the ‘average joe’s’ we have had recently.
- Posted by Adrian WilliamsonIt’s a wise signing. If he really does have the money to spend i’m sure he’s capable of doing a great rebuilding job. He inspires real confidence in his players. The media will have a bit of fun following him around for a few weeks but he won’t be such a story off the field now he not the england manager. there are privacy issues, too now he’s not such an important national figure.
- Posted by redderthanever