Sven not for turning

Michael Hart|Evening Standard|Chief Football Correspondent

14 April 2012

Rather like Arsene Wenger, England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson believes dressing-room harmony is a vital ingredient in establishing a winning team. The mild-mannered Eriksson avoids confrontation and feels that by regularly demonstrating loyalty and faith in his players he reinforces the bonding process.

In nearly four years in charge of the England side he has carefully avoided the high-profile axing of underachieving players. The long-serving Gareth Southgate was quietly ushered out of the squad, for instance, and even the recent absence of 43-cap Emile Heskey has created few ripples.

But there is a growing feeling that some of the 'untouchables' in Eriksson's squad need to be reminded of the consequences of performing way below their potential.

Goalkeeper David James was clearly at fault as England threw away a two-goal lead in the 2-2 draw with Austria and two of Eriksson's biggest names, David Beckham and Michael Owen, failed to live up to their own high standards in Vienna.

Would Eriksson ever drop such key figures from the team? He has already stated there will be no major shake-up of the side for tomorrow's qualifier with Poland.

But if England falter again the Swedish coach will be under increasing pressure to examine the options presented by players such as Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe.

Although Defoe had only 16 minutes on the pitch in Vienna, replacing Alan Smith, it was time enough for him to strike a post, provide a text-book example of pace and positioning and seriously unsettle the Austrian defence.

Wright-Phillips, who scored on his debut in the 3-0 win over Ukraine last month, didn't get a chance against the Austrians but would arguably have made more happen on England's right flank than Beckham.

This doesn't mean Defoe and Wright-Phillips are better players than Owen and Beckham but that they would have contributed more to England's cause in the circumstances existing last Saturday.

Knowing when to make a change is part of the art of management, though there are no guarantees - even for the greatest coaches.

England's most successful manager, Sir Alf Ramsey, demonstrated touching, and understandable, loyalty to his World Cup-winning team of 1966 but one day even he came to realise he had to sacrifice his captain for the good of the team.

The late Bobby Moore, who lifted the World Cup for England, made an uncharacteristic error in losing possession against the Poles in a World Cup qualifier there in 1973.

England lost 2-0 and Moore was axed from the side - the first time he had been dropped - when Poland came to Wembley for the return match. Ramsey gave Moore's place to Norman Hunter but it was his mistake that enabled the Poles to open the scoring that night.

The 1-1 draw sent Poland to the 1974 World Cup ahead of England and cost Ramsey his job.

In 1981, in another World Cup qualifying tie, England manager Ron Greenwood, dramatically axed Trevor Francis, Ray Wilkins and Kenny Sansom from the team after a 2-1 defeat in Switzerland.

England's hopes of qualifying for the 1982 finals looked slim but a week later Greenwood's new-look team won 3-1 in an epic clash in Hungary with the recalled Trevor Brooking scoring twice.

Five years later Bobby Robson sensationally dropped two of his big stars, Chris Waddle and Mark Hateley after a disastrous start to the World Cup in Mexico.

This shake-up had the desired effect with England securing their progress in the tournament by beating Poland 3-0 with Gary Lineker scoring a hat-trick.

At Italia 90 Robson dropped one of his favourite players, Terry Butcher, who he had developed at Ipswich and turned into an England captain. The centre-half was left out after two draws with the Republic of Ireland and Holland. Although England won the next match 1-0, beating Egypt with Butcher on the bench, Robson realised he needed the big defender and recalled him against Belgium for the second-round match.

But perhaps the most high-profile axing of a star player in recent years came just before Glenn Hoddle took the England team to France for the World Cup in 1998.

Paul Gascoigne had been involved in the build-up matches but when Hoddle told him he would not be in his World Cup squad he trashed his hotel room in La Manga and flew home in tears.