Sunday, May 4, 2008

So Long Sven?

Visiting Manchester City fans delivered an impressive show of support at Anfield today for head coach Seven-Goran Eriksson, who is likely on his way out after only one season. You'd be hard pressed to find more than one person who thinks Eriksson should be dismissed, but that appears to be the opinion of the club's owner, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Eriksson took over a squad that had finished in the bottom half of the table in three of the past four seasons. Pending next week's result, Man City will finish eighth or ninth this year. But of greater delight to the fans who showed their appreciation today was City's sweep of the Manchester derby this season, their first pair of wins over Manchester United since 1970. Apparently the lagging fortunes of City's bid for a UEFA Cup spot has been Eriksson's biggest sin.

One rumor has Portguese National Team head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari on the short list of potential replacements. The former World Cup winning coach has indicated Euro 2008 will be his last go round with Portugal, but it's hard to imagine "Big Phil" would be interested after seeing another distinguished coach receive such a brief opportunity. And of course it wouldn't be a potential job opening in Europe if Jose Mourinho's name hadn't been thrown around as well.

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