You're right, Mezz - I'd taken his get-out clause (leave after WC2006) as being the end of his contract. If they sack him, they have to pay between £4M and £5M for each year left on
the contract.

It seems like that whoever negotiated the contract on behalf of Sven did a very good job - whoever negotiated on behalf of the FA ought never to negotiate another contract, unless it's for me!

Didn't the FA offer this contract in something of a panic? The press were full of 'Sven to take over at Chelsea' stories at the time, and he refused to comment on why he was visiting Abramovich.

Depending upon who you believe, he was either on the verge of quitting, or simply having a conversation along the lines of 'Well, Roman, I err.. would...ahhh.... in your pos -i -tion, be asking Jose Mourinho to ah... take over from Claudio. He is...ahh...good manager (etc, etc)'.

There were observations at the time that the new contract was a massive over-reaction, and that if Sven wanted to leave, then fair enough - get compensation out of Abramovich and try and get (for instance) Capello to succeed him (after all, the FA had thought about appointing him just before SGE was hired). I can't help wondering what an England team managed by Capello would have turned out like...

Similarly, I can't help thinking what a Chelsea team would have been like had Sven taken over. I seem to recall that the press was full of stories that Capello had been taking English lessons, but at that time he was being linked with the Man United job (this coming at the time that Sir Alex was due to step down)

Capello did later suggest that the FA had asked him about the England job, but I don't know whether that was as a preliminary enquirty ('Would you be interested in applying?') or whether they wanted to give him the job ('Can we meet to see whether we can agree terms?') It wasn't clear whether or not Capello had given them the brush off, or whether the FA had decided that SGE was a more acceptable choice(e.g. less likely to cause trouble if not getting what he wanted).

Has Capello not stated that he does not want to manage at international level? Is this not why he hasn't had a go at the Azzurri job?

That might be it, mikey - I'd not seen that he'd made those remarks, but it would certainly explain it. And who could blame him?

Mourinho definitely said he would only ever manage Portugal on the International stage.

I have a horrible feeling Man United will appoint SGE when Fergie goes, which may very well be at the end of this season...

D'you know, Mezz - I think you may have a point there... Unless England win (and perhaps even then) SGE will probably exercise the get out clause so as to avoid the fun and games of the tabloids prying into his love life.

SGE is likely, I'd wager, to take the view that Man Utd is more likely to be able to warn the press off than the buch of incompetents at Soho square; he'd have a decent squad to work with; several of the players would like him already from working with him with England and he's probably the sort of manager who could work within your transfer budget....

You would, of course, thrill to the arrival of Owen Hargreaves (as opposed to Ballack) and possibly an attempt to procure a very tall target man; Scholes, Ferdinand and GNeville would have a place in the starting XI for life; Keane would be shipped off to Celtic to remove the voice of dissent; Beckham might be brought back as club captain (he might welcome a return to the UK to be nearer family if Romeo is as ill as it sounds he might be?) and Richardson would probably get a run out on the left wing. It might not be a bed of roses, but it might not work out too badly.

Apart from the fact you'd be very dull to watch, the substitutions would baffle you all and you'd probably not win anything...

quote:

Originally posted by .Dave.:
Apart from the fact you'd be very dull to watch, the substitutions would baffle you all and you'd probably not win anything...

Just like the last couple of season's then?

The more I think about it, the more it seems likely. The only reason Sven isn't our manager now is because Fergie decided to stay on: as soon as he bails, the installation of Sven as manager could easily proceed as previously planned.

I've been saying to anyone who'll listen for the last 6 months that, World Cup win or Group Stage exit, Sven wont be England manager after Deutschland 2006. He's been yearning to return to club management for a long time now, and this could all fall nicely in to place.

Well, for him anyway...

Well, I didn't want to be quite so blunt, but... yes.

I agree that Svennis is extremely unlikely to want to stay on after the World Cup. There is just one scenario that might stop him from leaving though - England actually winning the thing...

At this point, the Tabloids castigate the FA for giving the best manager in the world ever!(TM) a get-out clause.

We get the following headlines

'We've never doubted you, Sven!'(The Mirror)

'Please stay, Sven!' (The Sun)/

'Ignore the Xenophoes', Blair tells Sir Sven' (Torygraph)

'Nancy Del Ollio is Alien Love Goddess/ Owen Hargreaves Found on Moon' (The Sport)

The FA, with their usual brand of vision and skill, offer Sven a massive amount to stay on until 2010. Sven decides that the guaranteed £10 Million pay off if sacked is worth the hassle...

Meanwhile, in an attempt to cash in on the succes, Blair announces honours for all the squad:

Lord David of Hoxton & Madrid, Sir Sven, Sir Wayne, Rio Ferdinand DBE [sic]....

It would be rather fun. And it would save your team from the fate that seems more and more likely the more you think about it.

Capello rejected the England call after Keegan resigned.

What ever England fans want/think, Sven will be manager in Germany next summer. After that, who knows?

Can't help but think that England have missed the point with their Ridsdale-esque handling of Eriksson's grossly stupid contract. Guus Hiddink should have been offered the job many moons ago, his sides play innovative, watchable football and he gets great results from his players. Just the man to lead England's "talented" crop.

I also seem to recall Eriksson once saying he'd love to manage Sweden. Sven, do you think you have more tactical knowledge than our current boss? And do you think you could work for £125,000-a-year? Answers on a postcard please.

I imagine the answer would look like this:

"Dear Mr Bracey,

My client, Mr S-G Eriksson, has asked me to reply to your query.

Mr Eriksson says that of course he thinks he has more tactical knowledge than the current manager of Sweden. It may be that events suggest the opposite to be true, but he certainly thinks that he has more tactical knowledge.

With regard to your second question, Mr Eriksson says that the sum of money will be 'most nice' and more than adequate when combined with the enormous severance package negotiated with the Football Association. Mr Eriksson believes that the combination of Swedish FA salary and English FA severance package will keep him in Volvos, rimless glasses and fur coats, jewels and other baubles for Ms Del Ollio and any blondes/secretaries/etc who he happens to take a liking to for years to come.

I trust this answers your queries.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Janus

Senior Partner
Wright, Hassel and Company
Solicitors"

All the hallmarks of a professional response! I like it! And credit to Mr. Janus for his time and effort in fitting it all on a postcard. Sven, you're hired!

I'll be mightily cheesed-off if SGE takes the hotseat at the Nike Trafford Ballpark. I've always thought it was simply taken for granted that Martin O'Neill is gonna take over from Sir Fergie. Is O'Neill even employed right now? Can't remember. If not, he seems to be simply waiting for the United job. I like O'Neill - his sides work their bo11ocks off for him and that's cool. Failing that, we should get Marco Van Basten who's revitalized the Dutch national side (you'll recall that previously having the best squad of players in the world wasn't sufficient in qualifying for the WC, never mind winning tournaments). Van Basten's doing an amazing job considering he's never played the game before.

O'Neill isn't employed at the moment. His wife is ill so he is tending to her needs.

Excellent post there, Dave.

quote:

Originally posted by .Dave.:
I imagine the answer would look like this:

"Dear Mr Bracey,

My client, Mr S-G Eriksson, has asked me to reply to your query.

Mr Eriksson says that of course he thinks he has more tactical knowledge than the current manager of Sweden. It may be that events suggest the opposite to be true, but he certainly thinks that he has more tactical knowledge.

With regard to your second question, Mr Eriksson says that the sum of money will be 'most nice' and more than adequate when combined with the enormous severance package negotiated with the Football Association. Mr Eriksson believes that the combination of Swedish FA salary and English FA severance package will keep him in Volvos, rimless glasses and fur coats, jewels and other baubles for Ms Del Ollio and any blondes/secretaries/etc who he happens to take a liking to for years to come.

I trust this answers your queries.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Janus

Senior Partner
Wright, Hassel and Company
Solicitors"

Haha.

Quality posting as usual, Dave.

Finland 0 Czech Republic 1 at half time. Baros on the bench, Koller injured.

0-2 now, Czechs to secure second place.

Group 2 is great with Denmark, Turkey and Greece all in contention.

Can't wait for France, Eire, Sui and Israel's group to start.

Made it! See you in Germany!

Tala du en Tyskland!!!