chronicle
'I told them to buy Newcastle' - Sven-Goran Eriksson explains takeover message to 'rich' associates
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley came close to selling the club last summer and Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he has encouraged wealthy associates to buy the Magpies over the years
Sven-Goran Eriksson is one of the few managers to have sat in the home dugout at St James' Park without ever taking charge of Newcastle United.
The 72-year-old, of course, was England boss when his side toured the country while Wembley was being redeveloped.
Eriksson's first experience of managing the Three Lions at St James' came against Albania in 2001, when the stadium staged a full England international for the first time since the Second World War broke out.
Although Eriksson had only been in the job for eight months at the time, the England manager already had an idea of what to expect from a football-obsessed city.
Whether it was 'men, women, children or older people', Eriksson was always struck by how so many Geordies were wearing a Newcastle shirt when he travelled up north to monitor his internationals.
"Newcastle is very special because it's the only team in the city and they have a huge amount of supporters," he told ChronicleLive.
"I think for many it's a dream to play there because you have the support of so many people and it seems like they don't demand to win the Champions League. They are happy as long as the team is doing its best and that's fantastic. It's not common at all.
"Sometimes, over the years, people I know or agents have said they have a rich friend, 'Which club in England should they buy?' I always say: 'Buy Newcastle if you can because that's a fantastic club'.
"It's probably not the best in England but they have everything: the stadium; the fans, which is extremely important; and they are alone in the city."
Eriksson took his seat in the directors' box at St James' when Kieron Dyer, Jermaine Jenas, Jonathan Woodgate, Nicky Butt, Michael Owen and Scott Parker were all on the former England manager's radar at various points.
Eriksson looks back fondly on his pre-match lunches with Freddy Shepherd, the club's former chairman, and while the Swede never personally held discussions about one day taking charge of Newcastle, they did have a long-running, tongue-in-cheek exchange.
"Freddy always told me: 'Sven, when you're finished with England, you take over Newcastle,'" Eriksson recalled. "I said: 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will. I will'.
"Every time we saw each other, he would say: 'Do you remember?' I would say: 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember!'
"I liked to go there when I was England manager because there were always some impressive players but, also, the ambience was fantastic there.
"Whether they were doing well or not so well, it didn't matter - the stadium was always fully packed and the crowd were always so positive."
Eriksson and assistant Tord Grip normally divided up their scouting duties so if the former was watching a game in, say, London, the latter would travel up to Manchester or another hotspot at the time.
But, on one occasion, the pair flew up to Tyneside together for a match and let's just say that it did not end well.
"I remember once Tord and I took an early flight on a Sunday morning to go to Newcastle because there were not many other games on," Eriksson said.
"We were sitting there having breakfast before they said the game had been cancelled. I think it was snowing.
"It was one of the few times we went together and Tord and I were sitting there saying, 'Bloody hell! No game!'"
Alan Shearer inevitably caught the eye whenever Eriksson watched Newcastle play but the Magpies' legend retired from international football seven months before the Swede's appointment in 2001.
Newcastle certainly benefited from having a fresher Shearer leading the line and the No 9 went on to plunder 120 goals in his final six seasons at the club.
Eriksson even watched Shearer score twice for the black-and-whites against Inter Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League in 2003.
A few days later, before Eriksson was due to name his squad for the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Turkey, Shearer said he 'knew' he could still do a job for England at 32 years of age.
Perhaps, for the first time since he retired from international football, Shearer seriously considered playing for the Three Lions again but the veteran later made it clear that he did not wish to be considered for selection.
"People around him said: 'No, Sven. It's not ideal that you go that way because If he says something, it's like that'. I think I tried but it was a no," Eriksson added.
"It was like when Paul Scholes said no thank you to the national team. I think that was in 2004. I tried because I knew him much better than Alan Shearer so, in my head, it was easier but it was no.
"When those big players make a decision, and Scholes and Shearer are the top of the top, they don't mess around.
"If they say no, it's finished. They have thought about it a lot and made their decision and it's difficult to change their mind."
