Campbell walked out over County's 'broken promises'

Former England defender Sol Campbell said he left Notts County after one game of a five-year contract because the League Two (fourth division) club failed to deliver the big-name signings he had been promised when he joined.

Campbell joined the Midlands club, where former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has been installed as director of football this season but after playing in the 2-1 defeat by Morecambe, left "by mutual consent".

"I knew I would be the club's first big signing but was told I would be the first of many. Names like Roberto Carlos and Benjani were mentioned. But nothing materialised," Campbell told yesterday's News of the World.

"The only thing I'm guilty of is taking people at their word. So I'm not embarrassed, not hurt or humbled - I am just disappointed.

"I bought into a dream and I wanted to make that dream a reality. But it took me less than a month to realise that it was all heading to a different conclusion," added Campbell, who once walked out on Arsenal at half-time during a game.

However, Notts County chief executive Peter Trembling said that the club had made quick progress and denied touting the names Campbell brought up.

"I'm a bit surprised by Sol's comments," he told BBC Radio 5-Live.

"Signing nine players in three months is unheard of at our level and we've started work on a new training ground.

"We've been linked with about 88 players but I've never talked about Benjani to anybody at all. Roberto Carlos - Sven, I understand, did talk about but it never went beyond a conversation.

Club buyers

Meanwhile, Notts County have revealed for the first time the identities of two key members of the independent trust which bought the club in the wake of a Football League probe into the takeover.

The Football League has been investigating the ownership of the club, which remained cloudy, with even Trembling, the Notts County chief executive, saying he did not know the identity of all the investors.

County yesterday said that the Middle-East based Shafi family and the Hyat family, "both highly respected and very successful members of the business world in the Middle East, Asia, North America and Europe" were key members of the trust that owns the club.