FA can't afford Sven replacement

If Sven Goran Eriksson's latest gaffe does force him to leave the England job, the FA will never again be able to make such a high-powered appointment.

Such is the parlous state of the FA's finances that the kind of incredibly inflated salary afforded to the Swede would not be remotely possible for any future candidate - so dramatically reducing the quality of the next England manager.

When Eriksson was appointed in the PR-charged era of former FA chief executive Adam Crozier, such heady days seemed to demand a deal that is now looking way over the top.

A five-year contract at £3milliona-year is geared to take him past the 2006 World Cup. And just in case a club like Chelsea do fancy their chances of getting him back to club level, they should be warned that when Barcelona made enquiries following the sacking of Louis van Gaal, they were quoted a cool £9m in respect of compensation by the FA.

But once Eriksson does go, such figures will be but a distant memory as the FA find themselves weighed down by massive financial problems - not helped by having to fund the new Wembley Stadium project - which they are already addressing by scything through their top-heavy staff with a mass of redundancies.

Then there's the fast diminishing TV deal they are trying to strike with the BBC and Sky for FA Cup and England matches.