Sven-Göran Eriksson doubted so much whether England could ever have a foreign manager that he considered an initial approach a joke.
Intrigued eventually by the ground-breaking opportunity, rather than being deterred by the indignation, the Swede would launch the Three Lions into five of the most frenzied years in their history.
Everything belied his suave demeanour – from allowing a celebrity culture to consume the team to being an unlikely headline-making lothario himself and, even, showing passion while delivering results for his adopted country.
It was a blessing and burden to inherit a Golden Generation of talent of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and co – captivating the country with dazzling one-off displays but unable to deliver when it mattered most under the weight of expectation and pressure.
It is the failure to overcome the constant quarter-final barrier and lift a trophy that shaped Eriksson’s England legacy where football too often seemed secondary.
But the Eriksson era did provide a mirror to the nation at the start of the new millennium.
How the public’s ravenous appetite to gaze into the private lives of the stars – and the legalities of intrusive tabloid reporting – was stretched to extremes, and only unearthed years later.
How patriotism could seem parochial or xenophobic – just as the Premier League was the platform for England opening up to the world.
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Image: Eriksson and striker Michael Owen in 2002. Pic: PA
For a coach arriving after league and cup wins with Lazio, it proved perplexing that his suitability focused on his nationality over coaching credentials.
“We’ve sold our birthright down the fjord to a nation of seven million skiers and hammer throwers who spend half their lives in darkness.”
The Daily Mail headline set the tone for his introductory news conference.
Image: Eriksson is thrown up into the air by his team during the official party to celebrate Lazio winning Italy’s football championship. Pic: Reuters
Image: Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2019. Pic: Reuters
He did try to sing God Save The Queen, feeling emotional as he realised the national standing he quickly assumed from 2001.
And doubters – some at least – were won over spectacularly on the turf of England’s greatest rival.
A 5-1 humiliation of Germany in Munich was followed a month later by another iconic moment of Eriksson’s reign – Beckham’s free kick that sealed a spot at the 2002 World Cup.
Image: Queen Elizabeth II meeting Eriksson. Pic: PA
But the highs came in qualifying, falling short – always at the quarter-finals stage – in his three tournaments.
Too often it seemed more about fame than football around this England generation.
The high – or low – point of that came at his second and final World Cup in 2006.
Image: Sven-Goran Eriksson at the 2006 World Cup with England. Pic: PA
As if managing Beckham, Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard wasn’t challenging enough, this was the era of the WAGs.
The celebrity circus around the Baden-Baden team base in Germany saw the players’ wives and girlfriends indulging in the media attention.
The insatiable appetite for a trophy matched the front page fodder the team – and their manager – provided.
Image: England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and his then partner Nancy Dell’Olio in 2006. Pic: PA
Eriksson wanted to enjoy life but his privacy was exploited by the dark arts of tabloids.
Intimate details of affairs that the papers had a role in playing matchmaker to.
“I met Ulrika Jonsson on 8 December 2001, at some party hosted by the Daily Express, or maybe it was the Daily Star,” he recalled.
“The FA wanted me to travel around to various newspapers to be courteous and meet the editors. I visited the News Of The World too.”
Image: David Beckham and Eriksson. Pic: PA
It was the paper – closed in scandal by Rupert Murdoch in 2011 – he would blame for ending his England reign.
The notorious ‘fake sheikh’ had been used to trap him in a fictitious approach by Aston Villa ahead of the 2006 World Cup.
“I was extremely disappointed because I was sacked because of that,” Eriksson said. “I never accepted or understood that the News Of The World is so important… because I told the people at the FA – you believe in them or me.”
Image: Pic: AP
Who he could believe and trust was called into question by what he only later discovered was phone hacking.
Voicemail interceptions were linked to being behind the Daily Mirror’s revelation of his relationship with TV presenter Jonsson – another Swede who made it big in Britain.
“I think the football media was rather good. Sometimes they tried to kill me,” he said. “The other part of the media, that was a little bit of a surprise for me, because I wasn’t used to that.”
But he was never bitter – returning to English football to manage Manchester City just before the influx of Abu Dhabi wealth, dropping into the fourth division during a bizarre, brief spell as Notts County’s director of football and taking on a second-tier job at Leicester.
Image: Eriksson in 2007 as Man City boss. Pic: PA
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The breadth of managerial roles after England – at three Chinese clubs, and the Mexico, Ivory Coast and Philippines national teams – showed Eriksson was happiest in the dugout.
“As a player I was not good at all,” he recalled. “I was not good enough to play first division in Sweden well, so the best decision I ever took in my professional career was when Tord Grip came to me and said, ‘It’s better you stop playing and be my assistant coach.’
“And that was when I was 27. So I had much better luck as a coach than a player for sure.”
Image: Eriksson poses for photos during his first training session for Chinese Super League club Guangzhou in 2013. Pic: AP
The affection following Eriksson revealing his cancer diagnosis in January 2024 even allowed an emotional farewell to English football at Anfield by fulfilling a wish to manage Liverpool, as revealed on Sky News.
And assessments of his England reign seem more dispassionate as the trophy drought has gone on.
His immediate successor – Steve McClaren – didn’t qualify for Euro 2008 – and it took 12 years for an England men’s manager to win a knockout game.
Image: Eriksson after defeat at the 2006 World Cup. Pic: PA
But in his dying days, Eriksson was still thinking back to the 2006 World Cup.
“We should have done better,” he said. “So the criticism I and the team took after that tournament I think was fair.”
But what he could still never accept was why some questioned his right to ever have the job.
Image: England’s Wayne Rooney (R) talks to manager Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2006. Pic: Reuters
And while breaking new ground by becoming England’s first foreign manager, the nationality debate endures whenever an FA appointment is needed.
“There were people who did not like I was not English,” he lamented in retirement.
A current senior member of the King’s household was the head of royal protection at the time Prince Andrew allegedly asked one of his police officers to dig up dirt on Virginia Guiffre, Sky News has discovered.
Lord Peter Rosslyn, who is now Lord Steward and Personal Secretary to the King and Queen, was head of Royalty and Diplomatic Protection between 2003-2014.
It is not clear if Lord Rosslyn – known at the time as Commander Peter Loughborough – was made aware of Prince Andrew’s request. However, it reportedly happened in 2011 when it’s claimed Andrew wrote in an email that he passed the date of birth and confidential social security number of his accuser, Virginia Guiffre, to one of his close protection team to find out information about her.
Image: Lord Peter Rosslyn arriving at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral. Pic: PA
Sky News approached Lord Rosslyn for comment, which was passed to Buckingham Palace.
A palace spokesperson said: “As you may or may not be aware, Lord Rosslyn works for The Royal Household and thus this issue has been referred to me. However, since this matter relates to his time in service with the Metropolitan Police, they would be the appropriate body to approach with media enquiries of this nature.”
The Met Police had nothing further to add.
Police sources have told Sky News the officer (CPO) involved would have been expected to escalate this request from Andrew to his superiors.
While there may have been other members of senior staff between the CPO and Lord Rosslyn, the request should have been considered serious enough to be referred to the top of the Royalty and Diplomatic Service.
Those with knowledge of the royal household tell us Lord Rosslyn is one of the King’s closest and most trusted members of staff.
His role as Lord Steward involves managing all aspects of the King’s personal affairs, and the non-state business of the monarch.
Who is Lord Peter Rosslyn?
As well as being much respected by Queen Elizabeth II, and affectionately known as her “favourite policeman”, in 2014 Lord Rosslyn was appointed as Master of the Household of the then Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House.
In February 2003, he was made Lord Steward by the King, thereby becoming the “first dignitary of the King’s court” – a sign that the monarch wanted to keep him around.
While Andrew’s alleged attempts to smear Virginia Guiffre would have been morally wrong, he also would have been asking his police officer to put his career on the line.
Any attempt to use police databases to find information on an innocent individual not connected to a crime would have been a sackable offence, and unlawful.
In his statement on Friday, Prince Andrew again stressed that he vehemently denies the allegations against him.
A Buckingham Palace source told Sky News that the recent claims that have emerged are being viewed by the Royal Family with “very serious and grave concern” and “should be examined in the proper and fullest ways”.
Image: Prince Andrew’s signature
Andrew should give evidence to US authorities – minister
The revelation comes as a government minister said Andrew should give evidence to US authorities – and anger grows after it emerged he had been paying “peppercorn rent” for two decades.
Passages from the memoir released on Tuesday of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her, provide further details of their alleged encounters.
Prince Andrew has always strenuously denied the allegations.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday he would “support” Prince Andrew giving evidence to US prosecutors.
He added he would also support any decision by the Met Police to investigate allegations that Prince Andrew used a Met bodyguard to gain information on Giuffre.
It comes as anger continues to grow over Prince Andrew’s housing arrangements.
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16:52
‘Victims should be in driver’s seat’
‘Peppercorn rent’
The royal has only paid “peppercorn rent” for more than two decades at his Windsor mansion, according to a National Audit Office report published in 2005.
“Peppercorn rent” is a legal term used in leases to show that rent technically exists, so the lease is valid, but it’s nominal, often literally £1 a year or just a symbolic amount.
In practice, it means the tenant pays no rent.
It also shows he was required to pay a further £7.5m for refurbishments.
A document from the Crown Estate also shows he signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003.
It reveals he paid £1m for the lease and that since then he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year.
The agreement also contains a clause which states the Crown Estate would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he gave up the lease.
Pressure is mounting on him to give up the 30-bedroom mansion.
Senior Tory Robert Jenrick called for Prince Andrew to live privately.
‘He has disgraced himself’
He said: “It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life.
“He has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal family time and again. I don’t see why the taxpayer, frankly, should continue to foot the bill at all. The public are sick of him.”
Image: Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir was released today. Pic: Reuters
Mr Kyle, however, said that would be a question for King Charles.
But he did say MPs could bring forward a motion to strip Prince Andrew of his remaining titles, adding it would be up to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to choose one of these motions for debate.
The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has warned that a tax raid on the banks could harm lending to households and businesses.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News at the government’s regional investment summit, Charlie Nunn urged the chancellor to ignore calls for a windfall tax on commercial banks even though the sector is enjoying record profits.
“If we are going to have the ability and the confidence to continue to lend into the real economy, to help households and businesses invest, we need to make sure that the financial services system and Lloyds Banking Group really remains healthy in that context,” he said.
Image: Charlie Nunn was appointed Lloyds boss in November 2020. Pic: PA
Britain’s four largest banks – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest – posted record profits of £45.9bn last year and are on course for another bumper performance this year, thanks to higher interest rates.
Their financial success has raised speculation that the sector could be in the chancellor’s firing line at next month’s budget.
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Rachel Reeves could raise the bank surcharge – a levy on bank profits in addition to corporation tax.
The Conservative government cut the levy from 8% to 3% in 2023. Returning it to 8% could raise £2bn for a chancellor who needs to find anywhere up to £50bn to meet her fiscal rules.
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4:17
Chancellor faces tough budget choices
Some have suggested a separate windfall tax, which could raise closer to £8bn.
Mr Nunn said such a move risked undermining the health of a sector which underpins the country’s economic prosperity.
“Obviously, taxes are a matter for the government to look at. But it’s definitely one of the factors that impact our ability to support the real economy in the UK,” he said.
A raid on the banks would cause pain to a sector that is already facing substantial costs because of the car finance scandal.
Lloyds, one of the most exposed lenders, has set aside nearly £2bn to cover potential compensation arising from the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) redress scheme.
The FCA established the scheme to draw a line under the long-running mis-selling scandal, in which lenders failed to disclose commission paid to brokers, meaning many customers ended up paying more than they should have for their car finance.
Under the FCA’s scheme, eligible customers – as many as 14.2 million – could receive an average of £700 each.
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4:21
Payouts due after motor finance scandal
There is mounting anger within the industry at the way the scheme, which is going out to consultation, has been set up. Mr Nunn said the proposal was too generous to customers and not proportionate to the harms actually caused to customers.
He did not rule out the possibility of a judicial review but, in the first instance, called for a rethink, warning that the current scheme risks scaring away investors, causing an exodus from the market and driving up the cost and availability of credit.
“When you look at the implication of what’s being proposed by the FCA, it’s going to potentially take 20 years of profitability of the car finance industry. And, what does that mean for invest ability in that industry and for other investors and businesses looking to invest in the UK? There’s real concern that this is going to create an invest ability issue,” he said.
“Our concern is will the industry continue to function? Will it support all customers across the whole of the UK that need finance? Will other investors be looking at this and wondering whether the UK is a place they should invest, if retrospectively we can take away 20 years of profits?”
Prince Andrew should give evidence to US authorities, a government minister has said, as anger grows after it emerged he had been paying “peppercorn rent” for two decades.
Passages from the memoir released on Tuesday of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her, provide further details of their alleged encounters.
Prince Andrew has always strenuously denied the allegations.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday he would “support” Prince Andrew giving evidence to US prosecutors.
He added he would also support any decision by the Met Police to investigate allegations that Prince Andrew used a Met bodyguard to gain information on Giuffre.
It comes as anger continues to grow over Prince Andrew’s housing arrangements.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
16:52
‘Victims should be in driver’s seat’
‘Peppercorn rent’
The royal has only paid “peppercorn rent” for more than two decades at his Windsor mansion, according to a National Audit Office report published in 2005.
“Peppercorn rent” is a legal term used in leases to show that rent technically exists, so the lease is valid, but it’s nominal, often literally £1 a year or just a symbolic amount.
In practice, it means the tenant pays no rent.
It also shows he was required to pay a further £7.5m for refurbishments.
A document from the Crown Estate also shows he signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003.
It reveals he paid £1m for the lease and that since then he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year.
The agreement also contains a clause which states the Crown Estate would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he gave up the lease.
Pressure is mounting on him to give up the 30-bedroom mansion.
Senior Tory Robert Jenrick called for Prince Andrew to live privately.
‘He has disgraced himself’
He said: “It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life.
“He has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal family time and again. I don’t see why the taxpayer, frankly, should continue to foot the bill at all. The public are sick of him.”
Image: Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir was released today. Pic: Reuters
Mr Kyle, however, said that would be a question for King Charles.
But he did say MPs could bring forward a motion to strip Prince Andrew of his remaining titles, adding it would be up to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to choose one of these motions for debate.