Sunday Mirror:
When he was captain of Manchester City, Mike Doyle was famous for being a born-and-bred Blue who hated everything from Old Trafford.
But it speaks volumes that when the former England star looks at the managerial options for new City owner Thaksin Shinawatra, he'd rather have a Red than Sven Goran Eriksson.
Doyle, 59, the last player to lift a trophy for City - the League Cup 31 years ago - has urged the former Thai Prime Minister and his advisers to rethink their most important decision.
Doyle said: "If Eriksson turns the job down then I think City will have had a lucky escape.
"I don't hold any prejudices against Sven. I know people criticise him for his record with England, but perhaps international football was a step too far for him because he proved previously that he is a very capable club manager.
"But if you're asking who I'd choose between Sven and Gordon Strachan, I'd take Strachan every time. If it was a question of Sven or Mark Hughes, I'd take Hughesy every time.
"If it came down to a choice between Strachan and Hughes that would be very difficult, because I rate both of them very highly. I could only separate those two on the toss of a coin.
"City need a young manager with the energy and enthusiasm to completely transform the club and I worry whether Eriksson has still got the drive to do that after the career he's had."
Doyle added: "People might be a bit surprised to hear me singing the praises of two men who played for United.
"But I want what's best for City and, for me, that means getting the right man. I don't care where they come from and I think every Blue will feel the same.
Observer:
Sven-Goran Eriksson is so keen to repair his image and reputation in England that he agreed to keep his agent, Athole Still, out of negotiations with potential new owner Thaksin Shinawatra for the vacant manager's job at Manchester City. The former England coach will decide whether to take the offer this week but a major reservation is the reception he could receive from fans at Premier League stadiums.
'Mr Eriksson will probably take the job but he is not sure if it is too soon for him to return and work in England after managing the international team,' an executive at Manchester City told Observer Sport last night. 'We think he will take the job and inform us early this week,' said the source who also confirmed that, 'we have been dealing directly with Mr Eriksson.'
Sunday Times:
Sven-Göran Eriksson does not have much left up top, but he knows only too well where to find a turbo hairdryer. Last June the hot gust of Sir Alex Ferguson's indignation blew across national boundaries to singe the Swede. Eriksson's decision to field Wayne Rooney in the World Cup provoked Ferguson to interrupt a holiday in the south of France and call him in Germany. Having vented his anger, Ferguson hung up as Eriksson tried to make peace. A relationship once based on admiration had reached an antipathetic endgame.
Now Eriksson looks like he is moving in next door to Ferguson at Manchester City. It is unlikely to be like Ramsay Street, where "good neighbours become good friends". There might be soap opera, though. We only have to wait until the second weekend of the season before Manchester United meet City in the first derby of 2007-8. The chance to lay down an early marker against a new rival would inspire Ferguson whoever was City's new manager, but if it is Eriksson, then doubly, trebly so. Rooney - rushed back from a broken metatarsal to appear in the World Cup - is just one grievance lodged in Ferguson's elephantine memory.
They started off so well together, Alex and Sven. In 1978 Ferguson arrived at Aberdeen. Not long afterwards Eriksson became manager of IFK Gothen-burg. For a while they were mirror images. Ferguson took a provincial club on Scotland's North Sea coast to victory in a European final. Eriksson took a provincial club on Sweden's North Sea coast to victory in a European final. Later they got acquainted at Uefa elite coaching forums, run by Andy Roxburgh, a mutual friend. In late 2000, when the Football Association asked who should succeed Kevin Keegan as England manager, Ferguson was a persuasive advocate of Eriksson's. Adam Crozier, the former FA chief executive, recalls: "Having listened to what expert witnesses like Alex had to say, I became absolutely convinced Sven was our man."
The Express:
Newcastle are hopeful of fighting off any approach from Manchester City for England striker Michael Owen.
Uncertainty has mounted over the 27-year-old forward's future on Tyneside since it emerged he has a get-out clause in his contract, which would allow him to leave St James' Park for as little as £9million.