Lineker broadside on friendly farce

Sven-Goran Eriksson was yesterday accused of playing into the hands of Premiership club managers by his insistence on turning friendly internationals into a farce.

Managers calling for meaningless matches to be scrapped were given more ammunition at Villa Park in a match against Portugal in which 40 players were used.

The patience of the England fans is also being tested. They voiced their disapproval of a shambolic second-half display by Eriksson's much-changed side and, by the end there were rows of empty seats vacated by disillusioned supporters.

The England coach has used 46 players in 21 games but has made 86 substitutions in 10 friendlies, including the seven who took part in the second half this weekend.

Yet he vigorously defended his decision to use all of his players with the exception of goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

An unrepentant Eriksson said: 'When it is a friendly, why shouldn't you do that? We did not change 11 after 45 minutes as we normally do. We changed only four.

'It was good to see Wayne Bridge and I wanted to play Jonathan Woodgate and David Dunn for 45 minutes, and I also wanted to see Owen Hargreaves at right back.'

But it is a policy that has also seriously upset former England captain Gary Lineker, who accused England of treating the match with 'contempt'.