The defender still had a lot to offer in the top-flight, but he snubbed it for League Two, though the bubble burst immediately
In the list of 'transfers you can't believe actually happened', Sol Campbell's to Notts County in 2009 should always be near the top. So much time – 15 years – has passed since the move went through that it is easy to forget just how perplexing it was.
The towering defender had been playing regularly in the Premier League for 16 years across spells at Tottenham, Arsenal and Portsmouth. He had won league titles, FA Cups, a League Cup and reached a Champions League final. He had hopes of making the England squad for the next World Cup, having already played in three and as many European Championships in a respectable international career.
Notts County, meanwhile, were stuck in League Two and had just finished 19th the previous season. Having avoided going out of business just six years prior, they had endured a long, tumultuous period.
Why, then, would Campbell leave the Premier League to sign a contract with the Magpies? It's a story of a dodgy takeover, false promises, unpaid wages, and Sven-Goran Eriksson. And, for Campbell, it was over as quickly as it began.
AFPSven & the takeover
The 2000s were an insane time for Notts County. The 1990s had been chaotic enough as they yo-yoed between the third and fourth tiers of English football over the closing years of the decade, but if the Magpies thought the new millennium would be kind to them, they were sorely mistaken.
By 2003, they had racked up such extreme debts that they were in danger of being liquidated. It was only thanks to cooperation between the club’s supporters and local businessmen that they were able to avoid such a horrible fate. That late rescue may have kept the club alive, but it could not stave off relegation as they plummeted to the fourth tier, where they stayed for several years.
For all the suffering they had been put through, it appeared County fans may finally be led to the promised land when talks of a massive takeover emerged in 2009. Munto Finance, an unknown group, was backed by Qadbak Investments, another mysterious conglomerate, and claimed to be owned by prominent Middle Eastern families. They convinced the supporters’ trust to sell up for as little as £1, and completed the takeover that summer.
In came ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as the club’s new technical director, kickstarting a ridiculous few months which promised a great deal but came crumbling down almost immediately.
AdvertisementAFPBig moves
The 2008-09 season had just come to an end when County’s takeover by Munto Finance was completed. Eriksson was in as the technical director and it was time for the new administration to start putting into action their plan to turn the Meadow Lane mob into one capable of clawing their way up the ranks to the Premier League.
Intriguingly, the new owners decided against spending huge sums of money. Besides splashing out on the signing of Karl Hawley from the Championship, they convinced players from a higher level to join in free transfers. A flurry of Championship and League One players made the step down, while they managed to bring in Premier League players such as goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who joined from Manchester City, as well as loan signings Dan Jones, fresh from a Championship-winning campaign with Wolves, and Campbell’s Portsmouth team-mate Matt Ritchie.
Of course, the main attraction was the capture of Campbell. A two-time Premier League winner as part of Arsenal's famous Invincibles team, the defender was a household name in English football. He also won the FA Cup on two occasions and reached the Champions League final with the Gunners. When his spell in north London ended, the powerful centre-back joined Portsmouth and enjoyed a bright three seasons there.
But just 12 months after he played a key role in Portsmouth’s magnificent FA Cup trophy win and fresh off of a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League, the 73-time England international agreed to drop down to League Two to reunite with Eriksson at County. He signed a five-year contract with the club worth a reported £40,000-per-week – an incomprehensible figure for a player at that level.
His signing was a true statement of intent from the club’s owners and a hint that something magical could truly be brewing at Meadow Lane.
Getty Images Sport'Something special'
Campbell could have stayed in the Premier League if he had wanted to. After all, he still had hopes of making Fabio Capello’s squad for the World Cup in South Africa the following year.
Aston Villa, Hull City and Everton were said to be interested in snapping up the experienced and proven winner, and he admitted that he had offers from the top division, but he turned them away because the deals were short-term. The promise of a long stay at Notts County and the prospect of being part of a historic journey tipped the scales as he weighed up his future.
“I know this will probably mean the end of my England career, but that is something I have to get on with. There was a chance of England if I had gone to a Premier League side and had a good season, but I have to look to the long-term future,” he said.
“When Sven first contacted me, I thought I was the victim of a prank, but the length of contract at Notts County was a big trade-off. The other stuff was short and prestigious, but I am looking to the future and for my career.”
He added: “Sven was a big influence in my decision and he had to give me the hard sell. He was on the phone every three or four days.”
When his move was confirmed, Campbell said: “I am confident that something special is being created at the club. It’s a challenge, but I think everyone connected with the club is prepared for that. And what a fantastic dream to have to keep winning promotions and get Notts County back into the Premier League. I want to be a part of that and I am genuinely excited by what the club is trying to achieve. I have been guaranteed that the club is going to move forward and I believe that all the people behind this, from the manager to the hierarchy, will make that an achievable aim.”
Short and not so sweet
Something “special” certainly did happen to County, but not in the way Campbell and Co. had hoped. It took some time for the defender, then 34, to make his hotly-anticipated debut as he missed their opening games of the season, which showed much promise from a club buoyed by the presence of new owners. They scored nine goals in their first two League Two matches, trouncing Bradford City and Macclesfield Town, and beat Dagenham & Redbridge to offset defeats against Chesterfield and Barnet. A week before Campbell finally took to the field in matchday eight, they beat Northampton Town 5-2 to further heighten the excitement.
So when Campbell did finally march out of the tunnel with his team-mates against Morecambe, there was much buzz around County. Sadly, it all came crashing down as they were overpowered, conceding two goals via set-pieces and losing 2-1.
It was a poor start for Campbell, but it would also be the end. Less than a week later – and around a month after he joined the club – County confirmed that his contract had been terminated “by mutual consent”.
“It’s one of those things, he joined on a five-year contract as part of the long-term project, but ultimately he’s come to the point, having been here five weeks, where he has decided it’s not for him,” chairman Peter Trembling. “Sometimes decisions are made, people make wrong decisions and Sol has decided this is not where he wants to be now. We’re not going to kick up a fuss about it. If he wants to go, he needs to go and we genuinely wish him all the best.”
Many hoped that the short-lived Campbell saga was merely an anomaly, a small speedbump that would have little impact on the club’s journey to the top of the game. Instead, it was the beginning of the end of a short but calamitous period for Notts County.