EXCLUSIVE: Eriksson ready to walk out on Notts County over cash row

04 December 2009 11:26
Former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson is on the brink ofquitting as director of football at Notts County because he is notbeing paid the full amount of his seven-figure contract.[LNB]His dispute with the owners of the financially-stricken League Twoclub is due to come to a head over the next week. Unless Eriksson ispersuaded that the money owed to him will eventually appear, he willwalk out of Meadow Lane.[LNB]The Swede, who signed a five-year deal worth £2million a season inJuly, has a two-tier agreement with Notts under which the club pay aproportion of his salary in keeping with their lowly status.[LNB]Goodbye to all that? Svennis is set to walk out of Meadow Lane[LNB]The vast majority of Eriksson's wages comes from County's mysteriousMiddle East-backed holding company Qadbak, whose financial credentialshave yet to satisfy the Football League. [LNB]   More from Charles Sale... Charles Sale: David Davies joins the 2018 World Cup brain drain02/12/09 Charles Sale: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich bankrolls Russia's 2018 World Cup bid01/12/09 CHARLES SALE: Bafokeng is pitch perfect for England boss Fabio Capello 30/11/09 FIFA chief Blatter reveals angry Ireland want to be 33rd team at the World Cup30/11/09 CHARLES SALE: Kick-off still looms for the 39th Game29/11/09 CHARLES SALE: Aussies upset by World Cup Willie!27/11/09 CHARLES SALE: David Beckham's brand goes on the road26/11/09 Triesman on brink as Premier League chief quits 2018 World Cup bid board25/11/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE The League are understood tohave asked Notts a number of questions some time ago about theirfinancial situation and have yet to receive answers.[LNB]A lot of Eriksson's proposed remuneration from Qadbak, who are basedin the British Virgin Islands, is in the form of shares. But theprospect of a Stock Exchange flotation, which would have made themextremely valuable, looks highly unlikely. Instead the club are beingchased by creditors.[LNB]County's football club department have kept up with all theirpayments and hope the shortfall can be resolved in the next few days.But the speed with which Qadbak's funding is unravelling makes hisfuture at Notts highly doubtful.[LNB]Eriksson had been due to speak about future trends in world footballat the Soccerex conference in Johannesburg this week but pulled out atthe last moment to concentrate on sorting out his future at Meadow Lane.[LNB] Campbell free to play football after concluding Notts County contract spatNotts County reportedly pay tax debt to avoid winding-up orderSven Goran Eriksson job share - Notts County chief tipped for role at Spanish club Cadiz[LNB] The admirable concept of holding yesterday's FIFA ExCo meeting in a prison block on Robben Island, with nearly 300 media making the 35-minute ferry journey from Cape Town, unfortunately turned into nothing much more than a PR exercise for world football's ruling body. [LNB]This was summed up when a FIFA flunkey cut short a museum guide, one of the former inmates explaining in harrowing detail what life was like on the island, because he didn't want the media to be late for Sepp Blatter's press conference. [LNB]Blatter finally turned up over an hour late. [LNB]The 24 ExCo members didn't sample the boat trip to hell experienced by Nelson Mandela and all the other freedom fighters. They travelled both ways by helicopter.[LNB] The late Dennis Howell, the Minister for Sport who was an active member of Labour's anti-apartheid group, would have been proud that his manual on refereeing was one of the two most popular books (along with Karl Marx's Das Kapital) in the library on Robben Island, where the inmates ran their Makana FA to strict FIFA refereeing standards. [LNB]South African government powerbroker Tokyo Sexwale, who played football on the island, made reference to the infamous Thierry Henry handball before announcing yesterday: 'We were here to defy apartheid, but you don't defy FIFA rules.'[LNB] What's in a name? Blatter and Sexwale on Robben Island[LNB]Meanwhile, More Than Just a Game, a film made for TV about the remarkable Makana FA, has been bought by the BBC and is scheduled to be broadcast before the World Cup.[LNB] Efforts by England's 2018 bid to attract sponsors aren't being helped by FIFA's stringent intellectual property rights. [LNB]These demand any prospective bid backer signs a detailed letter of understanding that they won't infringe FIFA's raft of sponsors' rights all the way through to the 2018 World Cup. [LNB]The length of the restrictions is causing concern to all 2018 and World Cup 2022 bidders and may explain why Mars did a U-turn over their proposed endorsement of England's campaign.[LNB] Complications: Abramovich[LNB]Will Roman pull plug?Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's bankrolling of Russia's 2018 World Cup campaign is no longer as straightforward as expected.[LNB]Abramovich is strongly supporting vice-president Sergei Kapkov against Sergey Fursenko, former manager of Zenit St Petersburg, to succeed Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko as boss of the Russian Football Federation.[LNB]And if Roman doesn't get his way in the election that has been put back to next February, the money for 2018 might not be forthcoming.[LNB]Abramovich pays Russia manager Guus Hiddink's wages but the opposition are not convinced they need a big-name manager after their shock World Cup exit against Slovenia.[LNB] Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti can be expected to co-operate fully with Sky Sports News following the recruitment of his daughter Katia as a staff researcher. Media graduate Katia, who starts her job in the New Year, is currently working in the communications department at Chelsea.[LNB] [LNB]  Explore more:People:Carlo Ancelotti, Sven Goran Eriksson, Roman Abramovich, Thierry Henry, Nelson MandelaPlaces:Cape Town, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Russia, Middle EastOrganisations:Football League

Source: Daily_Mail