Sven: From the Magpies to the Elephants

During this summer’s World Cup an enclave of Nottingham shall be showing its allegiance for the Côte d’Ivoire national football team. The reason for this support is nothing to do with cultural identity, but can be traced back to a bizarre sequence of events last June which saw Sven-Goran Eriksson unveiled as Director of Football at struggling League Two side Notts County.

Beguiled by two former Jersey-based financiers claiming to represent wealthy investors from the Middle East and Europe, Eriksson arrived at Meadow Lane with the public aspiration of transforming a club in English football’s fourth tier into one challenging for the Premiership. Unsurprisingly the move raised eyebrows – Fantasy Football come real – with even the most diehard Notts County supporter looking on in disbelief.

As we now know, the promises of a multi-million pound revolution turned out to be a mirage, validating the old adage that if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. What is interesting however is the status of the former England manager given that the Munto ‘project’ left the Football League’s oldest club on the brink of administration. In spite of a growing list of broken promises and overflowing drawers of unpaid bills, Sven-Goran Eriksson stuck around rather admirably for longer than most people thought. Indeed, during his chaotic seven months in Nottingham it was clear that Eriksson had developed a strong bond with the city, charmed by the club and its supporters. It is for this reason, and the much reported waiving of a £2.4 million pay-off, that the Swede has won a place in the hearts of the Notts County faithful.

And so when the Côte d’Ivoire national football team (written as ‘Ivory Coast’ in English) kick-off against Portugal in Port Elizabeth, there will be more than a few people in Nottingham demonstrating a keen interest in the fortunes of Notts County’s Life President. Eriksson has been in post a relatively short period of time, replacing Vahid Halihodzic, who was sacked in January following a premature exit from the African Cup of Nations. The Swede brings an impressive experience of international football to the Ivorian team, but in all honesty the scale of the task is not too dissimilar from that whilst at the Lane.

The Ivory Coast has been drawn in the clichéd ‘group of death’ alongside football heavyweights Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea in Group G. If that weren’t enough, they have never progressed beyond the group stages of the World Cup, whilst until 2005 their greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 African Cup of Nations, defeating Ghana on penalties. Nevertheless, with some notable players from European clubs to call upon (even if he is missing Didier Drogba)  – Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue, and Barcelona’s Yaya Toure – Sven-Goran Eriksson will be hopeful of defying all the odds.

Indeed if Les Elephants do manage to advance to the quarter final stages, then it is likely that Eriksson would be considered a hero in the Ivory Coast, adding to his legendary status around Meadow Lane.

Dr David Hindley, Nottingham Trent University

To speak to Dr Hindley, call the University Press Office directly on 0115 848 8782 or email worldcup@ntu.ac.uk

[To view Nottingham Trent University’s team of World Cup experts go to www.ntu.ac.uk/worldcup]

Touched by the hand of Fat Les! World Cup songs – part 2 – by Jared Wilson

Since my last blog on World Cup songs, several readers have been kind enough to point out that there are plenty more terrible anthems to get worked up about other than the mediocrity of Embrace and the constant annoying re-jigging of Three Lions. Frankly it’s all been educational as these people have helped me realise how deep this rabbit hole of football-related music actually goes. So here I present you with thoughts on another five songs suggested by readers, which were written to inspire our country to sporting greatness.

World Cup Willie – Lonnie Donegan (1966)
The granddaddy of all World Cup songs. Recorded by skiffle musician Lonnie Donegan, it can proudly claim to be the only soundtrack thus far to a winning England World Cup side. This is even more surprising when you consider that it’s actually just a song about a cartoon lion, with thinly veiled euphemisms all over the place. Maybe we’ve unwittingly stumbled across a formula for a successful, ultimate England team-inspiring song here? Anyone got numbers for the agents of Lady Gaga and Tony the Tiger?

This Time (We’ll Get It Right) – England World Cup Squad and Crispy Productions (1982)

I was only three years old when this record came out, but I’m assured by older friends that it was seminal for its era. I’m guessing it’s because the nation had spent the last dozen years in the football wilderness having not even qualified for the tournament since 1970. Did the songwriters get it right? Well, it’s an easy one for people to sing along to with its rather basic lyrical content. But you can’t escape the fact that it sounds a bit like a Tetley Tea commercial. Did the England team get it right? No; they were eliminated at the second round stage despite not actually losing a match. Doh!

Pop Will Eat Itself – Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina (1990)
Why should a band bother with getting official FA permission if they want to release a World Cup song? Or indeed with writing lyrics? In a perfect world all bands could just do it the PWEI way and put together a jazzy dancy loop of sound and name it in honour of a Italian politician who decided it was a good idea to make and release hardcore pornography whilst still in office. Then pass it off as a football song during World Cup season to shift a few more units. Great stuff!

World In Motion – New Order (1990)

If you asked a group of random group of football fans “What’s the best England World Cup song ever,” then those with functioning senses of taste and hearing would undoubtedly say this. Originally titled ‘E is For England’ on the back of the house music boom, the FA unsurprisingly decided that drug references in official FA songs were not quite the done thing.
Co-penned by Keith Allen (whose entire musical career amounts to writing football songs and spawning Lily) and featuring the second outing of John Barnes’ lyrical flow (two years after The Anfield Rap) this song is the all-round giant of England anthems. New Order were flying high at the time on the back of the Madchester boom and it tuned into the sound of the era.   It was also the first single I ever bought with my pocket money (well, joint first alongside Turtle Power by Partners In Kryme) so I admit I may be a bit biased. Subsequent attempts to remix and re-release it have thankfully either flopped (1996 – it didn’t even make the Top 40) or been aborted (2002 – vetoed by the FA after David Beckham was mooted for the rapping). So it still sounds as fresh and untainted as ever.

Vindaloo – Fat Les (1998)

Originally recorded as a parody of football chants, Fat Les was a joint effort between Blur bassist Alex James (music), serial World Cup song releaser Keith Allen (lyrics) and cow-bothering artist Damian Hurst (no, we’re not sure what his part in it was either). Despite the fact that it was just a simple ode to the British curry, it worked as a football anthem – not least because most of the lyrics are slightly muffled and lend themselves to half-arsed crowd renditions well. The accompanying video, a parody of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony, still amuses me to this day.

Jared Wilson, Nottingham Trent University

To speak to Jared, call the University Press Office directly on 0115 848 8785 or email worldcup@ntu.ac.uk