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Ericsson? Leicester? Can't say I believe this will last long. Unfortunately his spell at both Notts County and Mexico has to prove he is no longer the adept manager he used to be. I wish him good luck, but I can't see hi hanging round at Leicester unless he takes them to the Premiership by 2012, but judging by the level of competition in the Championship at the moment, that is a VERY tall order.

Having watched Leicester for 30 years, I tend not to get too carried away with every drama at our club. This latest development is very typical of the way Milan Mandaric has run the ship. I do wonder how he succeeded in the world of business, which usually requires a cool head, when I look at some of the decisions he's made.

We may have had an awful lot of managers in the recent past but the stark reality is they were awful choices in the first place and should never had been appointed. The one notable exception in that litany of failures was Nigel Pearson. Apart from Martin O'Neill, whom we were truly blessed to have for as long as we did, he was probably the best manager since Jock Wallace. The club were disgracefully negligent in letting him go. Having just listened to his version of events, particularly the underhand tactics he alludes to, I'm not in the least surprised.

No-one is quite sure how this new twist will play out, but it will not be dull. Good luck Sven - you'll need it!

I'm quite optimistic about this, but then I was optimistic with Sousa being appointed to given the job he did at Swansea.

Obviously though I'll support whatever Sven does as I'm sure he has the best interests of the club at heart with decisions that he will make.

A little stability can go a long way, so I hope Sven can last at least the 2 years.

I never thought Sven's management style was suited to international football but at club level, he has a proven track record. If Mandaric can cool his jets and give Eriksson an honest chance (the type of chance that Sousa deserved)he could probably turn Leicester's fortunes around. Good luck to him and best wishes to Fox fans (it's been a rough ride).

Leicester can only play 442 and Sven only knows 442 so I guess this is a good match.

Agree with the lack of stability comments, problem is that Miln Mandaric is not good at choosing managers. When he gets it right, he lets pearson go. Pearson sais he wanted to stay but Leicester did not do enough to keep him, Mandaric saud he did. I believe Pearson. No disrespect to Hull but why leave leicester and go to a club that has a much smaller fan base.

As for Sousa - sorry glad he was sacked. He did not know what he was doing, the team had no unity. He kept a leading scorer on the bency Fryatt - why? Kept rotating the team when we were losing left right and centre - why? Was reported to saying he was under no pressure after was it 8th loss I think - why?

To Managers Assoc - its all well talking about giving a manager time, but when you support a club abd clearly see the decisions being made are not positive - what do you do. If we were lik Ipswich last year would have been a different story. It was clear it was a matter of time when their luck would change they had fire in their belly despite their plight. The opposite for us. Squad rotation when you bottom of the league madness. And Milan has a point, Holloway relegated us and he kept faith with him despite the slump. We have too many managers simply because he chooses crap managers - simple as that.

The soap opera continues at LCFC lets see what Sven brings to the club

"Unfortunately his spell at both Notts County and Mexico has to prove he is no longer the adept manager he used to be."

@1

Didn't Notts County get promoted as champions the season Eriksson was there?

Before I'd start writing off Eriksson as a club manager, I'd judge him by his achievements with clubs rather than international teams.

Champions with Notts County and a respectable 10th place finish with Man City (before all the cash) suggest he isn't quite done.

Sven and Mandaric? Well, Leicester won't be lacking in the Ego department

Foxes fan here. I went to yesterday's game and can say firstly it was a much needed 3 points. The style and manor of the victory was a secondary concern, as the points were all that mattered. That said, with a large dollop of irony, it was easily our worst home performance this season. Miss-placed passes, long ball tactics, playing at times very narrow considering the 4-4-2 line up and lacking any zip or even urgency. Before Moussa scored we were desperately hanging on clearing one off the line with 10 mins to go.

The irony being that the previous 4 games we (mostly) outplayed the opposition with very good football, had a plethora of chances, 2 goals dissalowed and a stonewall penalty not given. Sousa tried. He tried and with a little more luck could and probably should be still at the club.

I understand to (certain) fans its about results, but many city fans were prepared to give Sousa a chance. Why? The style. Best football I've seen at the Walkers stadium since it was built. Yesterdays performance got the 3 points needed, but lets not kid ourselves. It was against a club with a very modest playing budget compared with ours and missing their best defender. We played long ball, still missed some sitters, had plenty of corners and ended up very nearly drawing.

Sven must have looked on and thought, my god, what am I getting into here? Oh yes, another huge salary not doubt and owners prepared to "make" it work for him. Reputations are stake here. Can you see Milan sacking Sven in 9 games time if we remain in the bottom 3? Actually sacking Sven? The ex-England manger with very good pedigree. Sacked by Leicester. Milan's backed into a corner, appointing a "name" for his joint owners and not going for a talented British manager instead. Sven will expect money and will walk away at the first sign of empty wallets. I see the bumpy road we travel at the Walkers fraught with many more pot holes into the distance.

Exactly 10 years ago Peter Taylor's Leicester headed into an international break sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League.

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How do you know that? I like stats so I'd be glad to know where such information is available...

Actually 10 years ago Peter Taylor got lucky sitting at the top of the Premier with Martin O'Neills team. He then destroyed it and took us to FA Cup humiliation and inevitable relegation afer spending all our money. It got him a game as England Manager and his only real success of running England U21. Nice guy but why do these people keep getting jobs.There are many more talented managers in non league football available so why go for failures every time. It is the only profession where you can screw up and get another job. So shut up PMA and sort your own poblems out.

I think it's a good appointment by Leicester. There's no doubt Sven is a talented coach. I think what Leicester, and indeed Sven need, is for this to be a five year relationship. Sven's career to a knock when he failed to get England past the quarter finals of a major tournemount. But I think we can all look back now and admit Capello didn't fair any better and perhaps it's unfair to blame Sven for the pressure and media circus our national team have to play under. For me, he was then very unlucky at Man City. He had a decent season with them and bought on the youngsters Pearce had introduced (Hart, Richards, Johnson, Onouha etc) doing the double over United. He did spend a bit of money under the previous owners but nothing like the money spent at City since the Sheik and got some good value in Petrov, Garrido, Corluka.
Sven's career has been something of a joke since. Brief stints at Mexico, Notts County and the Ivory Coast. He does seem to chase the money a bit.
I think if he stays at Leicerster for a while, I think you'll have success. It's just a question of both sides comitment to a long term relationship. If he does do well, big clubs at home and abraod may start being interested again if he rebuilds his reputation and I'm convinced he would probably go.

The Midland 20 (post 10) - I think that if you look at any report of Leicester's final game before the international break in question it will point out that Leicester had moved top of the top division for the first time since the 1963-64 season.

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Thanks for that. But I wasn't doubting you!

Just wondered if there was some site on the internet which had all that sort of info on?

I used to have a link to a good football stats site but I've long since lost it.

I think this will be good for Leicester. They were on the brink of the Premier League last season, and Sousa has left them right in it. They won 3-1, showing what they can do, I wouldn't be surprised if they make the play offs. It's only 10 games in.

Paul - I wonder how many column inches (are they still measured in inches by the way?) in the British press have been dedicated to Sven, his managerial jobs (successes and failures); his private life 'escapades' and his other encounters i.e. with 'Arab sheikhs' etc, since his arrival on the scene as England's first foreign manager?.
You guys must be highly delighted to have him back in a job in the UK, more column inches...guaranteed, this time it's the poor long suffering fans of Leicester City who will provide the backdrop. Lets hope that they and their club get some benefit from the 'media circus' which will surely follow.

I've got nothing personal against Sven, but he's such a mercenary and I think he's totally lost the reputation which helped him acquire the England managers position. Hope to see him do well, if only for Leicesters sake.. but I really can't see this ending very sweetly.

I believe this doesn't really deserve a blog written on it, because I am sick of the media following him everywhere? So, he was England manager once? BIG DEAL, that was four years ago, just let him get on with the job. Personally though, I don't see Sven lasting very long, he never has anywhere in recent years, because people expect so much success, and there is that inevitable pressure which usually means he's out the door with his extra cash by the end of the season. Not trying to be cynical but hey, there you go.

I believe that Sven was turn the doubters.
I was one of many fans willing to give Sousa a chance, as it has been shown, the referees in the games under Sousa were very rubbish and pathetic.
Still, I will told Manfaric responsible for anything that goes wrong but he seems to be helping the Club and relegation to League 1 was the good tonic that Leicester needed.
Now, we have to show that we are favourites for the Prem League and I hope that Sven stays the course, he is a good Manager, the Money is there (Sousa got £3m), a good team (Top Scorer in Fryatt, Waggy and co) and a loyal fanbase.
Martin O'Neill was the favourite but I believe that Sven will play the team that will win matches and having Sven in the dugout will scare a few teams but bring the fans out!

Mr Erikson a mercenary?
He came to Meadow Lane with the promise of big money and left with nothing. He became aware that the promised millions were ficticious and continued to do his job ultimately ushering in new owners and forgoing millions in wages and bonuses.
Oh..and we walked the L2 Championhip with his guidance, also.

Sven's time at Notts County is now part of the Club's folklore and legend.

The leicester circus continues to roll into town but the only act on the programme are the clowns. What a joke our club has been turned into. We must be the laughing stock of professional football. Personally, I totally agreed with the sacking of Sousa. The "Portugese-saviour" brought in far too many changes to quickly and ripped the heart out of what was a promotion challenging side. He showed a lack of respect for the players that achieved so much last season and never knew what side side to field; constantly changing and meddling with the things. The problem is, that general Mandy should never have forced out Pearson, let alone in the under handed and devious manner that he did. The golden goose was truly slaughtered by a knife in it's back in the dead of night. The second culling (of Sousa) although Mandy was once again the executioner, it was pretty evident that the judge and jury were "Thai & Son" following thursday's meeting. What happens next? Well Sven gets courted as the new Thai owners opt for thh big PR name, you see, it's all in the marketing. What worries us Leicester fans is this; is Sven the man to roll his sleeves up and order training at 9am on a cold Sunday morning after the lads have lost to Barnsley away the previous day? Is Sven prepared for the rigours of battling and grinding out victories in this competitive but kick and rush league? Only time will tell but I don't think so. Sousa tried to get our lads to "play" football but the problem was that we didnt have a team of playmakers" we a team of battlers - a good manager adapts the tactics to suit the players, after all you can't turn Steve Howard into Jermain Defoe. The three best managers I have ever seen in charge at City are Jock Wallace, Martin O'Neill, and Nigel Pearson. What do they have in common? hard working, no nonsense, opinionated, solid, unfanciful, level headed, unglamouress, but achievers. I would love to see Pearson back at the Walkers but sadly that will only be when Hull play us in two weeks time.

As a Fox, I'm delighted. Okay, Martin O'Neill is the stuff of legend, and always first choice. But when I read that Sven was a possible on Friday I chuckled to myself thinking "yeah, right!". And here he is...

Let's be honest, we all sa what Paulo was trying to do, but the Championship is what it is. The hardest league to get out of (the right way that is, the wrong way is easy!). Pretty passing may look good but in the brutality of the Championship it doesn't cut the mustard.

Yesterdays game wasn't pretty; 3 points was though. I don't care how we win, we can play pretty football in the top league when Sven guides us there. For now thoughh, grind out the results and take the 3 points every match.

Milan may have got this decision right, after so many wrong-un's it may just be that chance said there must be a right decision soon! Sven could easily become as much a Legend at Leicester as Linekar and O'Neill. I for one hope he does....

It's obvious that Sven's appointment has really split the fans of LCFC. I don't think there's any denying that the pedigree and potential for success is there, as his CV is pretty impressive. However, the worry is that wherever he has been, he has spent a lot of money, and it's doubtful whether he'll get that kind of money in the Championship, with Leicester at least.

Still he seems committed and ready for the challenge, and I think will show a little more compassion than Sousa. Hopefully a little more tactical nuance too. Unfrotunately, I think Sven does have something of a widespread reputation amongst football fans, with may seeing him as something of a comedy character.

Personally... I'm really not sure what to think. I didn't have much faith in Sousa, but I still think he needed and deserved more time. Sven's appointment reeks of 'publicity stunt' by the new owner and Mandaric, but if he delivers with results, that'll all be quickly forgotten. It should be interesting, if nothing else...

i wish seven all the best as he capable of doing a good job and since the peter taylor era it would be nice to have a manger who is comitted to the job if maderic had got rid of nigel person before the end of the season we could be in the preimership now and with the new backing we could of held a place in the preimership maybe the mangers union should have look at the way person was outed.
come on the foxes as foxes never die

Nothing like a high profile manager to keep the foreign investors excited and engaged.

"he failed to get England past the quarter finals of a major tournemount"

A frequently expressed criticism, but a failure compared to what? We have only twice reached a major tournament semi-final outside of England (Ramsey 68; Robson 90), losing both times. Eriksson's three quarter-finals on foreign soil is, I'm pretty sure, unmatched – Ramsey and Robson each managed it only twice. But the yardstick by which Eriksson is continually judged is the feverish insistence of the tabloids that England produces world class footballers, a delusion that not even the unedifying display in South Africa seems able to dispel.

Sorry Leicester fans but SGE is not the manager for you. He has had no real club success since Lazio and he has admitted himself that he is a lucky manager. I don't know how he keeps managing to walk into these jobs. England (failure) Man City (failure) Mexico (abject failure) Notts County (not even sure why he was there) Ivory Coast (failure).

The one saving grace is that he likes 4-4-2 and that seems to be when you play at your best, but time will tell

Another good read...
Sven and Milan eh, a few years ago you would've seen that an thought he'd joined AC or Inter. Not a major fan of SGE but he seems to keep things very simple on the pitch and generate lots of interest off it so he could well be a good fit for Leicester.
Sousa should have been given more time but that's 21st century football.

« Previous | Main
Leicester turn to Eriksson
Post categories: Football

Paul Fletcher | 12:40 UK time, Wednesday, 29 September 2010

At the Walkers Stadium.

Exactly 10 years ago Peter Taylor's Leicester headed into an international break sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League.

A week later a sodden Kevin Keegan quit as coach of England after his team lost to Germany in the final game at the old Wembley - and within months Sven-Goran Eriksson had left his job with Italian side Lazio to replace him.

A lot has happened over the intervening decade but it is fair to say that both Leicester and Eriksson find themselves in greatly reduced circumstances. Unlikely as it might seem, they have now turned to each other to attempt to restore their reputation and standing.

The 62-year-old Swede is poised to sign a two-year deal to succeed Paulo Sousa at the struggling Championship club, with an official announcement expected on Sunday.

Eriksson arrived at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday to watch Leicester's match against Scunthorpe and was given a warm round of applause, even the odd cheer from the crowd that had eagerly gathered to await his arrival. There was a definite sense that they would not believe the rumours about him until they saw him with their own eyes.

A number of the Tweets that I received on Saturday told me that not every Foxes fan has been immediately sold on the Swede, whose previous coaching role had been a short-term position with the Ivory Coast.

Eriksson has managed clubs in his native Sweden, Portugal, Italy and England. And in addition to his five-year spell as coach of England and his brief role with the Ivory Coast, he also had a short-lived and unsuccessful period in charge of Mexico.

The last time I saw Eriksson was in Port Elizabeth in mid-June as he prepared Ivory Coast for their World Cup group match against Portugal.


Eriksson is back in club football after a short spell coaching the Ivory Coast - photo: Getty
It was textbook Sven; composed, articulate and unflappable as he answered questions from the media in several different languages. He cracked the odd joke and gave an affirmative thumbs-up to several journalists.

The script was the same on Saturday. In the few minutes between climbing out of his car and disappearing inside the directors entrance, he shook the hand of the nearest steward, waved at the crowd and answered a few questions from the media. All was done with a smile and an earnest look.

His previous job at club level in England had been as director of football at Notts County, a role that he held for most of last season.

His stock might have fallen since he left the England national side at the end of the 2006 World Cup but it was nonetheless almost beyond belief when he turned up at a club that was then in the fourth tier of English football. It gave the impression that there was no job in football that Eriksson would not consider.

The finance that was supposed to transform County did not materialise but Eriksson stuck around long enough to suggest that he was serious about the role.

And with Leicester the next stop on his increasingly eclectic CV, he has clearly developed a liking for the East Midlands.

Then there is the Thailand connection. Eriksson was employed by Thaksin Shinawatra when he took over as Manchester City boss in July 2007, while Leicester are now owned by a Thai consortium.

Whether any of this means that he is the right appointment for the Foxes remains a matter of opinion. He is obviously an experienced manager at club level who can boast success in several different countries. But Eriksson has not managed in the Championship before and, in joining a club two months into the season, will have to quickly familiarise himself with his new surroundings.

The victory he saw on Saturday, the last Leicester match before a two-week international break, lifted the Foxes off the bottom of the table. And with 36 fixtures left there is plenty of time for Eriksson to haul the club towards a repeat of last season when the club reached the play-offs.

The win against Scunthorpe was built on grit and determination and came after the temporary management team of Chris Powell and Mike Stowell picked a 4-4-2 formation. In many ways it was a typical up-and-at em Championship performance and it will be fascinating to see what approach Eriksson adopts.

His mission will undoubtedly be to take the club back into the Premier League. Then again, that was the stated aim of predecessor Sousa, who was sacked on Friday after just nine league games in charge.


Sousa has now managed three Championship clubs - photo: Getty
"I see only positive things in bringing a former England manager to the club," said Leicester defender Bruno Berner after his team's 3-1 win over the Iron. "But we all thought the appointment of Paulo Sousa was a positive step."

Sousa had been given the dreaded vote of confidence by chairman Milan Mandaric after Tuesday's 4-3 defeat at Norwich and was duly sacked before the weekend.

The former Portugal international was in charge at Swansea last season. The Welsh club boasted one of the tightest defences in the Championship under his leadership, conceding just 37 goals as they missed out on a play-off place by one position. However, Sousa's Leicester had conceded 22 goals in their nine league fixtures and 10 in their previous two games. Mandaric told Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 5 live on Friday that you did not need to be a brain surgeon to work out why Sousa had been sacked.

This is the same Mandaric that argued the club was very fortunate to have acquired someone of "such high calibre" as Sousa after appointing him in July. Earlier this week the chairman claimed that "now is the time to show how strong we are together and how united we are behind our manager" before obviously experiencing a complete change of heart.

It is perhaps no wonder that the League Managers' Association chief Richard Bevan has been very critical of the decision - arguing that it helps to explain why Leicester have failed to return to the Premier League since their relegation in 2004.

"Leicester City have had 14 managers since 2004 and six while the current chairman has been at the club," said Bevan.

The LMA boss also described the dismissal of Sousa as knee-jerk and destabilising, arguing that changing your manager so early in the season is not the behaviour of a successful club.


Norwich 4-3 Leicester (UK users only)

Sousa had tried to instill in his players a slick passing style and altered the formation, favouring a 4-3-3 line-up instead of the 4-4-2 that brought Nigel Pearson success for most of last season.

"We did not win enough games and we were not effective enough," added Berner of Sousa's time in charge.

"I learnt a lot from him and think he is a fantastic person and manager but maybe the style did not suit us in the Championship, maybe there was too much passing. At the end we conceded too many goals and although we were all surprised by the timing of the decision you could see it coming."

Quotes attributed to Sousa suggest that he personally did not see it coming. He has now managed three Championship clubs in QPR, Swansea and Leicester and has arguably been unfortunate at all three.

Instead of taking the Leicester squad to Thailand during the international break, Sousa is left to consider the fragile nature of football management.

Many Leicester fans spent the week wildly dreaming about the possible return of Martin O'Neill. They are now left to debate whether Eriksson can succeed where so many others have failed in taking the club back to the Premier League.

Or whether he will get a fair chance to do so.

You can follow me throughout the season at twitter.com/Paul__Fletcher

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PreviousNext1. At 11:42pm on 02 Oct 2010, VettelManUtd90 wrote:
Ericsson? Leicester? Can't say I believe this will last long. Unfortunately his spell at both Notts County and Mexico has to prove he is no longer the adept manager he used to be. I wish him good luck, but I can't see hi hanging round at Leicester unless he takes them to the Premiership by 2012, but judging by the level of competition in the Championship at the moment, that is a VERY tall order.

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2. At 00:22am on 03 Oct 2010, Canadupe wrote:
Having watched Leicester for 30 years, I tend not to get too carried away with every drama at our club. This latest development is very typical of the way Milan Mandaric has run the ship. I do wonder how he succeeded in the world of business, which usually requires a cool head, when I look at some of the decisions he's made.

We may have had an awful lot of managers in the recent past but the stark reality is they were awful choices in the first place and should never had been appointed. The one notable exception in that litany of failures was Nigel Pearson. Apart from Martin O'Neill, whom we were truly blessed to have for as long as we did, he was probably the best manager since Jock Wallace. The club were disgracefully negligent in letting him go. Having just listened to his version of events, particularly the underhand tactics he alludes to, I'm not in the least surprised.

No-one is quite sure how this new twist will play out, but it will not be dull. Good luck Sven - you'll need it!

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3. At 02:07am on 03 Oct 2010, FoxForever - Reality continues to ruin my life wrote:
I'm quite optimistic about this, but then I was optimistic with Sousa being appointed to given the job he did at Swansea.

Obviously though I'll support whatever Sven does as I'm sure he has the best interests of the club at heart with decisions that he will make.

A little stability can go a long way, so I hope Sven can last at least the 2 years.

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4. At 03:37am on 03 Oct 2010, LawrieA wrote:
I never thought Sven's management style was suited to international football but at club level, he has a proven track record. If Mandaric can cool his jets and give Eriksson an honest chance (the type of chance that Sousa deserved)he could probably turn Leicester's fortunes around. Good luck to him and best wishes to Fox fans (it's been a rough ride).

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5. At 04:31am on 03 Oct 2010, anandmann wrote:
Leicester can only play 442 and Sven only knows 442 so I guess this is a good match.

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6. At 07:20am on 03 Oct 2010, moseskdm wrote:
Agree with the lack of stability comments, problem is that Miln Mandaric is not good at choosing managers. When he gets it right, he lets pearson go. Pearson sais he wanted to stay but Leicester did not do enough to keep him, Mandaric saud he did. I believe Pearson. No disrespect to Hull but why leave leicester and go to a club that has a much smaller fan base.

As for Sousa - sorry glad he was sacked. He did not know what he was doing, the team had no unity. He kept a leading scorer on the bency Fryatt - why? Kept rotating the team when we were losing left right and centre - why? Was reported to saying he was under no pressure after was it 8th loss I think - why?

To Managers Assoc - its all well talking about giving a manager time, but when you support a club abd clearly see the decisions being made are not positive - what do you do. If we were lik Ipswich last year would have been a different story. It was clear it was a matter of time when their luck would change they had fire in their belly despite their plight. The opposite for us. Squad rotation when you bottom of the league madness. And Milan has a point, Holloway relegated us and he kept faith with him despite the slump. We have too many managers simply because he chooses crap managers - simple as that.

The soap opera continues at LCFC lets see what Sven brings to the club



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7. At 08:21am on 03 Oct 2010, der verlorene Sohn wrote:
"Unfortunately his spell at both Notts County and Mexico has to prove he is no longer the adept manager he used to be."

@1

Didn't Notts County get promoted as champions the season Eriksson was there?

Before I'd start writing off Eriksson as a club manager, I'd judge him by his achievements with clubs rather than international teams.

Champions with Notts County and a respectable 10th place finish with Man City (before all the cash) suggest he isn't quite done.


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8. At 10:29am on 03 Oct 2010, ChocolateBoxKid wrote:
Sven and Mandaric? Well, Leicester won't be lacking in the Ego department

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9. At 10:56am on 03 Oct 2010, DIRKSTER wrote:
Foxes fan here. I went to yesterday's game and can say firstly it was a much needed 3 points. The style and manor of the victory was a secondary concern, as the points were all that mattered. That said, with a large dollop of irony, it was easily our worst home performance this season. Miss-placed passes, long ball tactics, playing at times very narrow considering the 4-4-2 line up and lacking any zip or even urgency. Before Moussa scored we were desperately hanging on clearing one off the line with 10 mins to go.

The irony being that the previous 4 games we (mostly) outplayed the opposition with very good football, had a plethora of chances, 2 goals dissalowed and a stonewall penalty not given. Sousa tried. He tried and with a little more luck could and probably should be still at the club.

I understand to (certain) fans its about results, but many city fans were prepared to give Sousa a chance. Why? The style. Best football I've seen at the Walkers stadium since it was built. Yesterdays performance got the 3 points needed, but lets not kid ourselves. It was against a club with a very modest playing budget compared with ours and missing their best defender. We played long ball, still missed some sitters, had plenty of corners and ended up very nearly drawing.

Sven must have looked on and thought, my god, what am I getting into here? Oh yes, another huge salary not doubt and owners prepared to "make" it work for him. Reputations are stake here. Can you see Milan sacking Sven in 9 games time if we remain in the bottom 3? Actually sacking Sven? The ex-England manger with very good pedigree. Sacked by Leicester. Milan's backed into a corner, appointing a "name" for his joint owners and not going for a talented British manager instead. Sven will expect money and will walk away at the first sign of empty wallets. I see the bumpy road we travel at the Walkers fraught with many more pot holes into the distance.

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10. At 11:10am on 03 Oct 2010, The Midland 20 wrote:
Exactly 10 years ago Peter Taylor's Leicester headed into an international break sitting proudly at the top of the Premier League.

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How do you know that? I like stats so I'd be glad to know where such information is available...







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11. At 11:22am on 03 Oct 2010, Paul Fletcher wrote:
*UPDATE* Sven-Goran Eriksson is the new manager of Leicester - its official. He has signed a two-year deal with the club.

Asked why he has joined, Eriksson said: "The ambition. The owners explained what they wanted to do with the club.

"I want to manage in the Premier League again. I have signed a two-year deal and I hope it will be longer."

The Midland 20 (post 10) - I think that if you look at any report of Leicester's final game before the international break in question it will point out that Leicester had moved top of the top division for the first time since the 1963-64 season.

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12. At 11:25am on 03 Oct 2010, Dave Smith wrote:
Actually 10 years ago Peter Taylor got lucky sitting at the top of the Premier with Martin O'Neills team. He then destroyed it and took us to FA Cup humiliation and inevitable relegation afer spending all our money. It got him a game as England Manager and his only real success of running England U21. Nice guy but why do these people keep getting jobs.There are many more talented managers in non league football available so why go for failures every time. It is the only profession where you can screw up and get another job. So shut up PMA and sort your own poblems out.

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13. At 12:02pm on 03 Oct 2010, Jonathan Warren wrote:
I think it's a good appointment by Leicester. There's no doubt Sven is a talented coach. I think what Leicester, and indeed Sven need, is for this to be a five year relationship. Sven's career to a knock when he failed to get England past the quarter finals of a major tournemount. But I think we can all look back now and admit Capello didn't fair any better and perhaps it's unfair to blame Sven for the pressure and media circus our national team have to play under. For me, he was then very unlucky at Man City. He had a decent season with them and bought on the youngsters Pearce had introduced (Hart, Richards, Johnson, Onouha etc) doing the double over United. He did spend a bit of money under the previous owners but nothing like the money spent at City since the Sheik and got some good value in Petrov, Garrido, Corluka.
Sven's career has been something of a joke since. Brief stints at Mexico, Notts County and the Ivory Coast. He does seem to chase the money a bit.
I think if he stays at Leicerster for a while, I think you'll have success. It's just a question of both sides comitment to a long term relationship. If he does do well, big clubs at home and abraod may start being interested again if he rebuilds his reputation and I'm convinced he would probably go.

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14. At 2:07pm on 03 Oct 2010, The Midland 20 wrote:
The Midland 20 (post 10) - I think that if you look at any report of Leicester's final game before the international break in question it will point out that Leicester had moved top of the top division for the first time since the 1963-64 season.

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Thanks for that. But I wasn't doubting you!

Just wondered if there was some site on the internet which had all that sort of info on?

I used to have a link to a good football stats site but I've long since lost it.






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15. At 2:10pm on 03 Oct 2010, ShivMufc007 wrote:
I think this will be good for Leicester. They were on the brink of the Premier League last season, and Sousa has left them right in it. They won 3-1, showing what they can do, I wouldn't be surprised if they make the play offs. It's only 10 games in.

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16. At 3:08pm on 03 Oct 2010, georgiesthebest7 wrote:
Paul - I wonder how many column inches (are they still measured in inches by the way?) in the British press have been dedicated to Sven, his managerial jobs (successes and failures); his private life 'escapades' and his other encounters i.e. with 'Arab sheikhs' etc, since his arrival on the scene as England's first foreign manager?.
You guys must be highly delighted to have him back in a job in the UK, more column inches...guaranteed, this time it's the poor long suffering fans of Leicester City who will provide the backdrop. Lets hope that they and their club get some benefit from the 'media circus' which will surely follow.

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17. At 3:24pm on 03 Oct 2010, Paul Fletcher wrote:
georgiesthebest7 - I imagine that a lot of journalists will be very happy because, as you say, he is high profile and provides column inches.

I personally think it is a great appointment for the Championship in general - it will bring plenty of attention to the league and, lets face it, if you support a team like Scunny or Donny or plenty of other sides, it will provide an extra dimension to matchday when Sven rocks up at your ground.

Before and after in the pub you will be able to say 'wwweeeeeeeeeeeelllllllll' over and over again with your mates, as wellllll as all our other favourite Svenisms.

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18. At 3:39pm on 03 Oct 2010, fraise wrote:
I've got nothing personal against Sven, but he's such a mercenary and I think he's totally lost the reputation which helped him acquire the England managers position. Hope to see him do well, if only for Leicesters sake.. but I really can't see this ending very sweetly.

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19. At 4:04pm on 03 Oct 2010, cornwallwhite22 wrote:
I believe this doesn't really deserve a blog written on it, because I am sick of the media following him everywhere? So, he was England manager once? BIG DEAL, that was four years ago, just let him get on with the job. Personally though, I don't see Sven lasting very long, he never has anywhere in recent years, because people expect so much success, and there is that inevitable pressure which usually means he's out the door with his extra cash by the end of the season. Not trying to be cynical but hey, there you go.

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20. At 4:24pm on 03 Oct 2010, Paul Fletcher wrote:
cornwallwhite22 - sometimes it is funny how things work out. Earlier in the week I decided to cover the match at Leicester with the intention of writing a piece about Paulo Sousa - and how he really ought to be given more time.

As it turned out, I spent the best part of an hour stood outside the directors entrance waiting to see whether or not Sven would turn up. Funny old game, but not for poor old Paulo.

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21. At 4:37pm on 03 Oct 2010, FoxesofNuneaton wrote:
I believe that Sven was turn the doubters.
I was one of many fans willing to give Sousa a chance, as it has been shown, the referees in the games under Sousa were very rubbish and pathetic.
Still, I will told Manfaric responsible for anything that goes wrong but he seems to be helping the Club and relegation to League 1 was the good tonic that Leicester needed.
Now, we have to show that we are favourites for the Prem League and I hope that Sven stays the course, he is a good Manager, the Money is there (Sousa got £3m), a good team (Top Scorer in Fryatt, Waggy and co) and a loyal fanbase.
Martin O'Neill was the favourite but I believe that Sven will play the team that will win matches and having Sven in the dugout will scare a few teams but bring the fans out!

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22. At 6:00pm on 03 Oct 2010, Mik wrote:
Mr Erikson a mercenary?
He came to Meadow Lane with the promise of big money and left with nothing. He became aware that the promised millions were ficticious and continued to do his job ultimately ushering in new owners and forgoing millions in wages and bonuses.
Oh..and we walked the L2 Championhip with his guidance, also.

Sven's time at Notts County is now part of the Club's folklore and legend.

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23. At 6:25pm on 03 Oct 2010, Burmesefox - sponsored by Grandpas trout wrote:
The leicester circus continues to roll into town but the only act on the programme are the clowns. What a joke our club has been turned into. We must be the laughing stock of professional football. Personally, I totally agreed with the sacking of Sousa. The "Portugese-saviour" brought in far too many changes to quickly and ripped the heart out of what was a promotion challenging side. He showed a lack of respect for the players that achieved so much last season and never knew what side side to field; constantly changing and meddling with the things. The problem is, that general Mandy should never have forced out Pearson, let alone in the under handed and devious manner that he did. The golden goose was truly slaughtered by a knife in it's back in the dead of night. The second culling (of Sousa) although Mandy was once again the executioner, it was pretty evident that the judge and jury were "Thai & Son" following thursday's meeting. What happens next? Well Sven gets courted as the new Thai owners opt for thh big PR name, you see, it's all in the marketing. What worries us Leicester fans is this; is Sven the man to roll his sleeves up and order training at 9am on a cold Sunday morning after the lads have lost to Barnsley away the previous day? Is Sven prepared for the rigours of battling and grinding out victories in this competitive but kick and rush league? Only time will tell but I don't think so. Sousa tried to get our lads to "play" football but the problem was that we didnt have a team of playmakers" we a team of battlers - a good manager adapts the tactics to suit the players, after all you can't turn Steve Howard into Jermain Defoe. The three best managers I have ever seen in charge at City are Jock Wallace, Martin O'Neill, and Nigel Pearson. What do they have in common? hard working, no nonsense, opinionated, solid, unfanciful, level headed, unglamouress, but achievers. I would love to see Pearson back at the Walkers but sadly that will only be when Hull play us in two weeks time.

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24. At 6:39pm on 03 Oct 2010, Bryn The Cat wrote:
As a Fox, I'm delighted. Okay, Martin O'Neill is the stuff of legend, and always first choice. But when I read that Sven was a possible on Friday I chuckled to myself thinking "yeah, right!". And here he is...

Let's be honest, we all sa what Paulo was trying to do, but the Championship is what it is. The hardest league to get out of (the right way that is, the wrong way is easy!). Pretty passing may look good but in the brutality of the Championship it doesn't cut the mustard.

Yesterdays game wasn't pretty; 3 points was though. I don't care how we win, we can play pretty football in the top league when Sven guides us there. For now thoughh, grind out the results and take the 3 points every match.

Milan may have got this decision right, after so many wrong-un's it may just be that chance said there must be a right decision soon! Sven could easily become as much a Legend at Leicester as Linekar and O'Neill. I for one hope he does....

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25. At 7:29pm on 03 Oct 2010, mitchlcfc wrote:
It's obvious that Sven's appointment has really split the fans of LCFC. I don't think there's any denying that the pedigree and potential for success is there, as his CV is pretty impressive. However, the worry is that wherever he has been, he has spent a lot of money, and it's doubtful whether he'll get that kind of money in the Championship, with Leicester at least.

Still he seems committed and ready for the challenge, and I think will show a little more compassion than Sousa. Hopefully a little more tactical nuance too. Unfrotunately, I think Sven does have something of a widespread reputation amongst football fans, with may seeing him as something of a comedy character.

Personally... I'm really not sure what to think. I didn't have much faith in Sousa, but I still think he needed and deserved more time. Sven's appointment reeks of 'publicity stunt' by the new owner and Mandaric, but if he delivers with results, that'll all be quickly forgotten. It should be interesting, if nothing else...


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26. At 10:37pm on 03 Oct 2010, SPEEDWAYSON wrote:
i wish seven all the best as he capable of doing a good job and since the peter taylor era it would be nice to have a manger who is comitted to the job if maderic had got rid of nigel person before the end of the season we could be in the preimership now and with the new backing we could of held a place in the preimership maybe the mangers union should have look at the way person was outed.
come on the foxes as foxes never die

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27. At 01:44am on 04 Oct 2010, R Nair wrote:


Nothing like a high profile manager to keep the foreign investors excited and engaged.



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28. At 02:10am on 04 Oct 2010, fatfox wrote:
"he failed to get England past the quarter finals of a major tournemount"

A frequently expressed criticism, but a failure compared to what? We have only twice reached a major tournament semi-final outside of England (Ramsey 68; Robson 90), losing both times. Eriksson's three quarter-finals on foreign soil is, I'm pretty sure, unmatched – Ramsey and Robson each managed it only twice. But the yardstick by which Eriksson is continually judged is the feverish insistence of the tabloids that England produces world class footballers, a delusion that not even the unedifying display in South Africa seems able to dispel.

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29. At 05:33am on 04 Oct 2010, Garry wrote:
Sorry Leicester fans but SGE is not the manager for you. He has had no real club success since Lazio and he has admitted himself that he is a lucky manager. I don't know how he keeps managing to walk into these jobs. England (failure) Man City (failure) Mexico (abject failure) Notts County (not even sure why he was there) Ivory Coast (failure).

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Can you explain to me how he failed at city. He did the double over utd. Took them to a decent league position compared to where they where, and brought on the youngsters. All without the money that has since materialised. How is that a failure?

Why would anyone hire Sven "I hate long contracts" Goran Eriksson?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I can't for a second believe that Sven will begin next season as Leicester manager. Why managers agree to take charge at clubs like this is beyond me. Any other club, and I think it would be a great appointment. At Leicester, it's just another name in a long, long list...

It's a sad day for the club. Sven had no success over the last years !! He refused at ManCi,Chelsea and Notts - no success as a headcoach from England and Mexico. I feel so sorry for the supporters of the Foxes. To give Sven a job is like throwing money out of the window. The best thing Sven can do is leaving England !!

'It was textbook Sven; composed, articulate and unflappable as he answered questions from the media in several different languages. He cracked the odd joke and gave an affirmative thumbs-up to several journalists....The script was the same on Saturday'

Paul, this is the best summing up of the man I've ever read. It's almost hypnotic how he's able to ghost from team to team with his Scandanavian 'Terry Wogan'esque' gift of the gab. Seriously, do you think he pocesses some Paul McKenna type powers? I can't work out if his methodology is based on Gary Oldman's 'come hither Mina' Count Dracula or Mr.'Watch as Sprinfield' Burns from 'The Simpsons'. He never has his own clearly defined vision but always likes the owners' plans and dreams like them of the Premier League...well doesn't everyone at that level? ;)

For me, letting Pearson go was a huge mistake. I think that history will show that Manderic wanted a manager with a bit more "glamour" especialy with the courting of new owners. Sousa was a big mistake. I groaned when he was appointed. His style of play is not suited to the Championship and especially not Leicester...remember how McGhee tried the pretty passing game? I actually predicted the Sousa departure if we lost to Norwich, it wasn't just the losing it was leaking of so many goals. So onto Ericsson. I think he will have what it takes to get Leicester up the table especially as he now has Derek Fazackerley as his No2. Their combined experiences should pay off. I assume that they will keep it simple with a bit of added experience and polish in a few key areas on the pitch and we will then be pushing for the play offs by Christmas!

Coventry fan here - I'd just like to say that when Leicester came to the Ricoh last month, they produced some of the best football I have ever seen in the Championship for some time. Now whether that was down to a lethargic Coventry side giving them too much room or Leicester having a sixth sense of where their team mates were going to be, I'm not so sure, but I admit even as a Coventry fan it was brilliant to watch. You could see that they were definitely a play-off team. We were dead jammy to nick a goal just before half time and Leicester deservedly got an equaliser before the end.
Sousa seemed to have implemented a great style of play in such little time, and I believe he has been hard done by. Maybe they weren't able to perform like that on a consistent basis - but surely Sven will only do anything brilliant at Leicester if he's given money to spend?? History proves that he doesn't go to a club unless there's money to spend: Manchester City, Notts County, Lazio. He's still unproven when it comes to working on a tight budget. Good luck on that one!

As a Foxes fan for over 30 years I might be alone in experiencing some cautious optimism over Sven's appointment.

To be honest his reputation is tarnished by an over zealous media rather than actual hard facts. His record as England Manager is good (spectacular if you compare to Capello's recent exploits). He did a solid job at Man City and left them in a far better place and without the resources now being afforded to Mancini. A double over United did his CV no harm.

He has the experience and pedigree to take Leicester forward without a doubt. My caution is actually more to do with whether the club and new owners actually support him in his goals. Whilst he is not going to be given a blank cheque book, he will want to strengthen in January and will want to push for the play offs if it is at all realistic. Based on the histrionics of the club, there is no guarantee this will happen.

I would urge Foxes fans to forget about the media hype surrounding Erickson and just look at what he can do in managerial terms. He has contacts and scouts and he will quickly put his mark on the team and instil a winning mentaility. If he can muster a home and away league win over Utd with an average Man City side he is more than capable of taking us the top of the Championship. Over to you Mr Mandaric and the Thai owners. I personally am looking forward to the ride this time.