Swede for hire. Highest offer always accepted
I’m beginning to think that Sven is sexually attracted or addicted to job interviews. After all, how can one man bounce around from gig to gig so much and still get calls from possible future employers? He’s had more jobs than Ron Jeremy’s had sexual partners!
I’m not quite sure why I get this gut feeling about the Swedish nomad. Maybe it has something to do with him getting permission from Notts County, aka the club that paid him a fortune to saunter in and work his magic, to meet with the Swedish FA and discuss the possibility of coaching the motherland.
That’s right folks; SGE is probably going to interview for yet another job. The Swedish FA has been sniffing around, looking for the right blend of experience, innovation and glamor, but ultimately, they want the homegrown pragmatist that made England a quarter-final team in 2002.
His current boss, Notts County chairman Peter Trembling, must have swallowed a fair bit of pride when he let his golden goose loose to Stockholm for a cup of coffee and a chat, having already watched his other prized summer signing, Sol Campbell, vanish from the club after just one game of actual work.
Quoth Trembling: “They [the Swedish FA] are looking for a manager and Sven is always going to be linked,” Trembling said, before playing down the prospect of him taking the job. “I’d be extremely surprised. We had dinner on Saturday night and all the talk was about who would be the new manager. Sven is committed [though] we’ve said all along Sven is free to talk to any clubs.”
Subtext: Sven can do what he wants, because at the end of the day, he’s managed England and Fiorentina before while we’re just a League Two team looking for a leader. He’s also been burned enough in the past that his wandering ways can apparently be excused, at least according to one such editorial.
What made the quotes from Trembling more interesting was the follow-up soundbite, explaining why County were so willing to let their Director of Not-Very-Much head home for talks: “We might get a huge transfer fee. We’ve said all along we wouldn’t stop Sven taking the dream job, whatever the dream job may be.” It’s a shame his dream job wasn’t Notts County, but these are the breaks. Furthermore, you wonder why they hired a guy who could so freely leave them in the lurch for something better, but that’s surely a question for another time.
The article states that Sweden’s most recent manager, Lars Lagerback, earned somewhere in the region of 2m, while Sven likely makes half of that currently at Meadow Lane. Double the salary… not bad for ol’ Sven. Notts County are no mugs, either; the Swedish FA would have to cough up a seven-figure release clause in SGE’s contract in order to bag their man, but I’m sure that’s of little concern. After all, money comes and goes, but a Sven is forever, right? RIGHT?
UPDATE: This is what happens when you write your posts in the dead of night and schedule them in advance… word has it that Sven has improbably, remarkably, incredibly turned down the very generous offer from the Swedish FA and will stick to Notts County. My guess is it had something to do with Sweden not being at the 2010 World Cup. Imagine if they’d qualified… we’d be wishing SGE farewell as I write this.
