Eriksson may be building a winner at Manchester City

Sven-Göran Eriksson (center) may not be signing English talent, but he has brought big-game, experienced players to Man City. AP

MAILBAG Gabriele Marcotti will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

How about a quick straw poll? How many of you have seen Kaká play in the flesh? How about Ronaldinho? Alexandre Pato? Wayne Rooney?

I would guess that the vast majority of readers have never seen these people in person. Yet you probably know that these are all pretty good players. And if you were put in charge of a club and given the funds to buy them, you probably would. Particularly if you had access to trusted scouts and colleagues in the game who could vouch for them.

Any rational person would, one assumes, accept that a manager does not necessarily need to have seen every player he signs in person. If that were a prerequisite, he would be constantly flying around the world, going from game to game, rather than doing what he's paid for -- coaching the team.

Of course, if you're Sven-Göran Eriksson, Manchester City's new manager, and you're dealing with the English press (tabloid or otherwise) the rules are a bit different. If you admit that you only saw your signings on video and, if on top of that -- gasp! -- they're all foreigners, then you, sir, are a moron.

"[Eriksson] has swooped for a series of little-known foreign players who he has seen only on video!" was how one of the more charitable English papers put it.

And who are these "little-known" foreign players?

• A guy with 62 Bulgarian caps who spent the last two years at that tiny, obscure club that is Atlético Madrid? (Martin Petrov)

• A center forward who scored 19 league goals last year in Serie A, which is more league goals than any English striker managed last season? (Rolando Bianchi)

• A midfielder who has been a regular for his national team, that perennial cellar-dweller, Brazil? (Elano)

• A forward who, at the tender age of 21, already has 19 caps and has played for the likes of Fiorentina and Junventus? (Valeri Bojinov)

• A left back who has been a week-in, week-out starter in La Liga since the age of 19? (Javi Garrido)

• A forward who has played for such "little-known" teams as Barcelona, Benfica and -- ahem -- Brazil? (Geovanni)

The other big accusation leveled at Eriksson was that he didn't buy English players, presumably because "he doesn't know them." That, of course, is another piece of idiocy. Eriksson spent the last six years watching the English game. If anything, you might conclude that it's precisely because he does know English players that he didn't sign any.

This isn't because English players are bad, but because domestic players are simply more expensive. It's a function of economics. Everybody knows them. You don't have to worry as much about language and cultural barriers and so their price goes up.

1 of 2