Eriksson could take over at Manchester City
LONDON: Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson could be appointed as Manchester City manager this week following a takeover bid by the ousted Thailand Premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Shinawatra has tabled an 81.6 million-pound ($163.1 million) takeover bid for the Premier League club with the backing of its board.
Seymour Pierce Investment Bank executive chairman Keith Harris, who is brokering the deal for Thaksin, told BBC radio on Sunday the Premier League club was anxious to attract a high-quality replacement for Stuart Pearce, who was sacked last month.
"As we have said Sven-Goran Eriksson is on that list," he said. "There are talks going on with others as well.
"But the important thing, frankly, is that a good quality manager is chosen and that a manager who wants the job takes the job in the next couple of days."
Asked if he thought Eriksson would be that manager, Harris replied: "There's a fair chance.
"There's been a huge amount of publicity surrounding him, some good some not so good. I think the important thing is in the research that I've done and people that I have talked to... what they all say absolutely to a man is that his respect among English players is very high. They all hold him in high regard."
Swede Eriksson, 59, resigned as England coach after his team lost to Portugal in the World Cup quarter-finals last year.
Although it was the third successive time that England had reached the quarterfinals of a major tournament under Eriksson he had come under increasing fire from his critics who labelled him inflexible and tactically limited.
His record at club level, though, is impressive and he is the only coach to claim league and Cup doubles in three countries - Italy, Portugal and Sweden.
Agencies
(China Daily 06/26/2007 page23)
