You, as i did, should have every right to be suspicious of this move. But as the press conferance moved on, this move had the makings of a well thought out plan as apposed to a desprate grasp of 60 seconds of fame by the little know Notts County FC. 

Sven signed on a 5 year deal, stating his main reason for joining the club to be that “the challenge was irresistable”. His role is to work with the first team coach, not to replace him and Sven’s main aims were stated as, firstly to introduce an effective scouting network, to bring contacts in which to utilise the funds that Notts posses, and to use his wider knowledge of the game and the European circuit to benefit the club as they move up the leagues in England.

Their targets were to be a Championship side in 5 year time, and a Premier league Club in 7 ot 8 years time. These are certainly ambitious, but i cant help thinking that Notts are going about it the right way, focusing on training facilities, young players,  and scouting, rather then Manchester City’s policies of Branding, Merchandising, and buying whoever the hell we like-ing. At least the little club from Nottingham are keeping the spirit of the game relatively in the for-front of their minds as they begin their quest to become a Premier League Club.

And then of course their’s just the small matter of the derby game against Forest at the weekend.

Yes, it looks like returning Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, will have to cut down on the fake tan and the Big Macs in order to pay for his greasy, unhealthy (but nevertheless gurkin-less) luxury, which is the 24 year-old, Portugese winger, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now, i do realise Ronaldo is undisputeably either the best (hmm..) or second best (more likely) player in the world. However, i do feel Manchester United (and in particular Alex Ferguson) have got ‘the Real deal’ rather then their spanish pals. Cristiano is now 24, and i think Madrid will get a maximum of 4 or 5 seasons out of him, and how many of those will he be challenging Messi, almost 3 years his junior, for the title of the world’s best player? I think not many. I think Ronaldo may just fade out as just one of those ‘Galacticos’ who arrived at the Bernabeu more to keep the shirt printers busy, then to re-write the record books. Let’s face it, their have been a few of them, Micheal Owen, David Beckham, Johnathen Woodgate all made little impact at Madrid, and although Ronaldo may be slightly better suited to the Spanish way of the game then the likes of Owen, but i feel in a side briming with talent, (especially with the recent introduction of brazilian Kaka, and the likely signing of Valencia striker David Villa), the competition for places and weight of expectation that comes with a 80 million pound price tag may prove too much for former Man Utd man.

But i guess, if all else fails, Perez will get back enough money from shirt sales to repay the 80 million pound price tag, and can start setting his sights on a much more exciting project; fattening up the population of Canada. Good Luck Florentino!

Thanks, Will