A lot of the talk surrounding the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson as Director of Football at Notts County has been focused upon the oddness of the situation. A languishing League 2 club, who've been stuck in the bottom tier of the Football League for five years, have attracted large foreign investment and have brought a former Mexico, England and Lazio manager into a senior role. However, when you analyse the two aspects of English football represented by this event, you begin to realise that it really isn't that shocking.
Firstly, it is the sort of strangeness that we are accustomed to in England. Whether it be Wimbledon moving to Milton Keynes, or Frank Lampard phoning up a radio show, English football is full of weirdness. The eccentric enigma of Sven is based in equal measure on his managing ability and his (unexplainable) womanising/inexplicably interesting appearance. It follows that Sven's post-Mexico return to English football would be unusual. The two can't help but act strangely in one another's company.
Secondly, these events display the role of tradition in English football. Notts County are an attractive prospect because of their history (they've been at it since 1862). They have had spells in the top flight but they've been in decline since their last departure from the old Division One in 1992, but, the tradition remains. As one of our writers Josh likes to remind me, Juventus' strip is derived from Notts County's. You can imagine the new owners celebrating their return to Premier League in several years time with a friendly match in Turin -- the storied, lengthy heritage of The Magpies must have been a crucial catalyst for the investment from the Middle East.
So, the logic of the interest in Notts County is clear, and when combined with the traditional peculiarity of English football, it really is no surprise that Sven Goran Erikkson is now Director of Football for a League 2 club.
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