The name Sven-Goran Eriksson is a name you would associate with Lazio, England, Manchester City, and to a lesser extent Mexico. Therefore one would be forgiven for thinking they had misheard the latest chapter in Sven's illustrious career. But no, it is true - he will be taking the role of Director of Football at League 2 side Notts County. Take a moment to digest that.
After less than a year in charge of the Mexico National side, Eriksson has returned to England for what he describes as the biggest challenge of his career. "I am not here because of money. If I wanted lots of money I could have gone to anywhere in Europe, like Italy, where the weather is nice". The temptation of joining a club that finished 19th in League 2 last year was clearly too much for Eriksson to resist, and he believes that the club's target of reaching the Championship within 5 years is a realistic one. However, from a neutrals perspective it seems hard to comprehend just how that can be done.
Eriksson signed the contract without even viewing the team's training ground, underlining how passionate and decisive he was in taking on such a task. Notts County don't have a scouting system, but Eriksson states that installing a decent scouting system is high on his list of priorities, along with bringing in 'big-name' players, and reviewing the club's training ground standards. With Notts County having already brought in 4 players, described by manager Ian McParland as "high quality", including striker Lee Hughes, perhaps those changes are occurring quicker than you may expect.
County fans are understandably delighted with the installment of Eriksson. "It's not every day that a club like Notts County get involved with such high-calibre names. Who next, David Beckham?" one fan remarked. The cynics out there will be questioning exactly why Eriksson has joined such a club, as surely he has high-class European clubs queueing up for his signature. Notts County have recently received backing from a Middle Eastern consortium but Eriksson remains in denial over joining on a purely financial basis. Time will tell as to whether it was a wise decision from the former England boss, who will be based in Nottingham throughout his involvement in the club.
In my opinion, it's a disaster waiting to happen. Eriksson's hunger for the game is evident, but it's just a matter of time before a big club comes on the hunt for his managerial expertise and prizes him away from the grime and dirt of lower league football.
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