No Surprise: Sven and Notts County

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.

Ripe For Investment

On the way back from some temporary work, work that has been shortened in length by swine flu (do not ask), but work for two more weeks, two fellow YNWAWK contributors (Robbie and Josh) and myself began to discuss the ripeness of teams for foreign investment. This is to say, how well the nucleus of a team could adapt to an influx of new, expensive players. The nucleus was important, because we were judging the ripeness with regard to the potential for immediate, staggering success. The conversation fell to the difference between a team who have received the overwhelming foreign investment post-Abramovich (Manchester City) and a team who have not (Everton).

Both teams have a large, loyal fanbase and exist within the contemporary heartland of Premier League football, the northwest. But, when you scroll through the Everton team and their yearly successes under David Moyes, you begin to realise that this is a team that could provide instant results (more instant that City, whose overhaul seems to cover nearly every position) if provided with instant money for the right signings. In the car, we imagined that Lescott could move to left back, with a big arrival joining Jagielka in central defence and that Howard would be more than capable of providing a Premier League winning standard of keeping. You can imagine Arteta thriving with a selection of world-class grinders/deep playmakers around him. Fellaini/Cahill would become the spark of the bench, with Yakubu working hard (if fit) with £30m wingers either side of him and a new mystery arrival from Barcelona in behind.

Imaginary/speculative teams – always worth a discussion.

But, after these suppositions, and the realisation that if the money that went to City had arrived at Goodison Park, Everton could’ve challenged quickly and strongly, it became clear that this would butcher an element of Everton’s presence in the league. To move from silky dogfighters to the silky expectations of big investment would deny Everton fans and David Moyes, the rewards that the nature of their achievements provides. After several years on the fringe of The Big Four, Everton fans may wish for the investment that would push them over the edge, and if spent well, it definitely could. But maybe, the style of play that they love (and others despise) in Cahill, Fellaini and even their manager, would go.

Here, I came to the conclusion that a team’s current nucleus and mentality is irrelevant, and that in reality, every team is ripe for large (whether foreign or domestic) investment. There is no turning down investment on this scale.

Outside of the boardroom, we are left to consider whether the Abu Dhabi Group were looking at The City of Manchester Stadium and shirt sales, or Stephen Ireland and Michael Johnson. And what do you think Everton fans, should they have been looking a bit further west?


Thanks to Josh and Robbie for their role in the original discussion.


Jack Burston


GoonerDale had this to add:

'Very interesting, the stadium part is the most valid point, because this is why Roman opted for Chelsea. Initially, he was buying Spurs, but his helicopter journey over London passed by Stamford Bridge and he decided that he wanted Chelsea because the hotel and the Chelsea village complex attached to it looked like 'a more attractive prospect'. He didn't care that they had Champions League football, he didn't consider the huge debt, the stadium was the deciding factor!'