Sven agrees to City job

[jonesie]

Sky News now. Three year contract.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/manchester_city/article1988047.ece

Eriksson signs three-year deal at City

Sven-Goran Eriksson has been announced as the new manager of Manchester City on a three-year contract.

The former England head coach returns to management almost 12 months after he parted company with England following the World Cup finals.

He has accepted an offer from Manchester City despite reported interest from a Spanish club. City have already have made an approach to the man that Eriksson wants as his assistant, Roland Andersson, the assistant coach of the Sweden team.

An announcement was expected yesterday regarding Eriksson’s appointment but it never materialised, as the 59-year-old mulled over the offer from Thaksin Shinawatra, City’s new majority shareholder.

Andersson, whom Eriksson hired as a scout for England before Euro 2004, admitted yesterday that he has been approached about the assistant manager’s job and is awaiting the nod from his friend.

“I talked to Sven last week and he said he’d had an offer from Manchester City that he was thinking about and that he was interested in working with me,” Andersson, 57, said. “From what I know, Sven has not signed the contract, so I am still waiting for an official offer.”

The possibility of Eriksson’s appointment had provoked mirth among some and disapproval among others, not least Neil Warnock, the former Sheffield United manager, who suggested yesterday that he “could do better than” him, but City have reported a burst in season--ticket sales since Thaksin secured a 55.9 per cent stake in the club on Thursday.

That may have more to do with the pledge to invest £50 million on players than on Eriksson’s possible arrival, but the club, after their misgivings about the former England head coach, are optimistic that he will attract exciting names to a squad in need of reinforcement, with Fredrik Ljungberg, the Arsenal and Sweden mid-field player, a possible target.

Thaksin offered Eriksson a package worth £2.5 million a year, including bonuses, about half what he earned with England. Thaksin indicated that he would not pay any commission to Athole Still, the agent, who belatedly arrived at the negotiating table, having been excluded from the first two rounds of talks.

[Parm]

a waste of money? may just be, dunno if Sven can pull citeh out of the mire? dunno, been a while since hewas a club manager

[Howard_lfc]

a waste of money? may just be, dunno if Sven can pull citeh out of the mire? dunno, been a while since hewas a club manager

I think his lack of passion will agitate the fans - especially when they are behind and in need of inspiration. I simply can't see him being a success here; his reputation is in tatters and he wont be able to attract the calibre of players necessary to drag them up the table.

[machiavelli]

Sky News now. Three year contract.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/manchester_city/article1988047.ece

Eriksson signs three-year deal at City

Sven-Goran Eriksson has been announced as the new manager of Manchester City on a three-year contract.

The former England head coach returns to management almost 12 months after he parted company with England following the World Cup finals.

He has accepted an offer from Manchester City despite reported interest from a Spanish club. City have already have made an approach to the man that Eriksson wants as his assistant, Roland Andersson, the assistant coach of the Sweden team.

An announcement was expected yesterday regarding Eriksson’s appointment but it never materialised, as the 59-year-old mulled over the offer from Thaksin Shinawatra, City’s new majority shareholder.

Andersson, whom Eriksson hired as a scout for England before Euro 2004, admitted yesterday that he has been approached about the assistant manager’s job and is awaiting the nod from his friend.

“I talked to Sven last week and he said he’d had an offer from Manchester City that he was thinking about and that he was interested in working with me,” Andersson, 57, said. “From what I know, Sven has not signed the contract, so I am still waiting for an official offer.”

The possibility of Eriksson’s appointment had provoked mirth among some and disapproval among others, not least Neil Warnock, the former Sheffield United manager, who suggested yesterday that he “could do better than” him, but City have reported a burst in season--ticket sales since Thaksin secured a 55.9 per cent stake in the club on Thursday.

That may have more to do with the pledge to invest £50 million on players than on Eriksson’s possible arrival, but the club, after their misgivings about the former England head coach, are optimistic that he will attract exciting names to a squad in need of reinforcement, with Fredrik Ljungberg, the Arsenal and Sweden mid-field player, a possible target.

Thaksin offered Eriksson a package worth £2.5 million a year, including bonuses, about half what he earned with England. Thaksin indicated that he would not pay any commission to Athole Still, the agent, who belatedly arrived at the negotiating table, having been excluded from the first two rounds of talks.

Neil Warnock is such a cock!

[desertscouser]

What a truly terrible appointment. I can't stand the ****....absolute 100% guaranteed failure at Citeh.

[Shaggy]

I think his lack of passion will agitate the fans - especially when they are behind and in need of inspiration. I simply can't see him being a success here; his reputation is in tatters and he wont be able to attract the calibre of players necessary to drag them up the table.

Totally disagree Les.

I might seem like a contrary **** here - I was on Sven's back for a long time when he was England boss - but I don't think he's damaged goods on the continent...or anywhere else in the world, in fact, other than here.

His club record is fantastic and he will, without question IMO, be able to attract a high calibre of player. Remember, despite his perceived failure as England manager, the players always spoke very highly of him. Also, if you scrutinise his record it's actually ****ing good. Cruised through almost every qualifying campaign, with very few defeats, and nearly always reached the last 8 of major tournaments. Only at the business end of tournaments was he found out to be tactically lacking, and it was only ever very small details that prevented him from progressing further.

He represents a fantastic coup for City and he will do a much, much better job than Pearce. If he has a similar win percentage with City as he had for England, they'll be in the top 5.

[AFII]

With the backing of Shinawatra then I can see them fighting for a UEFA Cup place next season. Sven is very good to get the team to play as a team.

His club football record is very good.

[Shaggy]

With the backing of Shinawatra then I can see them fighting for a UEFA Cup place next season. Sven is very good to get the team to play as a team.

His club football record is very good.

He's a good manager. To suggest anything else is ludicrous and laughable. He wasn't the right man for England, ultimately, but he is a good manager.

[Neil Young]

He's a good manager. To suggest anything else is ludicrous and laughable. He wasn't the right man for England, ultimately, but he is a good manager.

He was an improvement on his predecessor for England and I think he'll prove to be the same for Man City.

[Shaggy]

He was an improvement on his predecessor for England and I think he'll prove to be the same for Man City.

[AFII]

He had the best record for England since 66 so he didn't do such a bad job as some would suggest. They almost never lost a competetive game in normal time.

Just look at SM now for example. He has more or less the same team as Sven had and isn't even close when it comes down to points and wins.

[Shaggy]

He had the best record for England since 66 so he didn't do such a bad job as some would suggest. They almost never lost a competetive game in normal time.

Just look at SM now for example. He has more or less the same team as Sven had and isn't even close when it comes down to points and wins.

It's crystal clear that he's not a bad manager. The tabloid perception of Eriksson seems to have rubbed off on everyone. Most of the City fans I know here in Manchester are rather unhappy about his appointment. It's ridiculous.

[Joe Le Toff]

Totally disagree Les.

I might seem like a contrary **** here - I was on Sven's back for a long time when he was England boss - but I don't think he's damaged goods on the continent...or anywhere else in the world, in fact, other than here.

His club record is fantastic and he will, without question IMO, be able to attract a high calibre of player. Remember, despite his perceived failure as England manager, the players always spoke very highly of him. Also, if you scrutinise his record it's actually ****ing good. Cruised through almost every qualifying campaign, with very few defeats, and nearly always reached the last 8 of major tournaments. Only at the business end of tournaments was he found out to be tactically lacking, and it was only ever very small details that prevented him from progressing further.

He represents a fantastic coup for City and he will do a much, much better job than Pearce. If he has a similar win percentage with City as he had for England, they'll be in the top 5.

I agree.
I think he'll do rather well there, and if they back him with sufficient money then i dont think he'll have much trouble attracting good players.
I dont think his reputation was that tarnished from the England period and certainly not at club level. His style of football might not be the most pleasing to the eye but i cant imagine Citeh fans giving a **** if he drags them up the table next season which i think he will do.

[dww]

I'm caught in the middle here. It is fairly obvious that he is going to have a better experience and pulling power in terms of players than Pearce (as well as more funds) and I think he will do well. However I think that he will struggle to do better than more PL established teams of a similar size and with Newcastle also recieving investment I think he will have a hard time doing much better than 8th next season.

He is a good manager but City have the second or third worst squad of any of the teams which stayed up, level with Fulham and Wigan. They are all terrible squads, both in terms of quality and depth. It will be a massive job to turn them around.

[Shaggy]

I'm caught in the middle here. It is fairly obvious that he is going to have a better experience and pulling power in terms of players than Pearce (as well as more funds) and I think he will do well. However I think that he will struggle to do better than more PL established teams of a similar size and with Newcastle also recieving investment I think he will have a hard time doing much better than 8th next season.

He is a good manager but City have the second or third worst squad of any of the teams which stayed up, level with Fulham and Wigan. They are all terrible squads, both in terms of quality and depth. It will be a massive job to turn them around.

Agreed, they have a very poor squad with precisely no goalscorers - but, let's be honest, all Sven has to do is get City to score a ****ing goal at their own ground and it'll be a step forward.

I don't think City fans expect him to get them in the UEFA Cup this coming season, but he'll keep them well away from relegation and ought to be able to steadily build towards a top 8 finish in a year or two's time.