Sven still under fire

His record in competitive matches - just two defeats against Brazil and France in four years - compares favourably with his predecessors but the fact remains that his team failed to progress beyond the last eight in the World Cup and the European Championship.

More than that, he has demonstrated an inability to respond to the unexpected when his tactics fail. Some of his decisions from the bench in Portugal in June robbed England of momentum, turning offensive strategies into salvage operations. To his credit, Eriksson has never lost a qualifying tie in nearly four years as England coach - 11 wins and three draws from 14 games - and now is not the time to start.

England have a friendly match against Ukraine on 18 August and then face four critical World Cup qualifying ties in the space of five weeks - Austria (away), Poland (away), Wales (home) and Azerbaijan (away). Until recently Eriksson would have been forgiven one or two slip-ups. Not any longer. His credibility is already compromised and there is now no room for manoeuvre.

Cock-ups are one thing, but World Cup cock-ups won't be tolerated.

Poor results will lead to more calls for Eriksson's removal, an inevitable consequence of the last few weeks of squalid turmoil at the FA. The reputation of football's governing body is in tatters and Sven's bedhopping habits, and the subsequent headlines, have not helped.

What he does with his private life is his business, as we are constantly being reminded by the human rights people, but whoever succeeds Mark Palios as chief executive might like to remind the England coach of the responsibilities that go with such a high-profile job.

The search for a successor to Palios has already begun. The FA board's intention to review their management and its procedures means that the new man may have a role to play in restructuring certain elements within the FA.

The need to represent vastly differing levels of the sport presents unique problems and it is especially important that the FA attract a figure who would be sympathetic to all of football's various bodies.

Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, would be the ideal choice but is unlikely to find an invitation to join the FA particularly appealing at this time.

There is a view, of course, that the entire structure of the game needs modernising with the FA, the Premier League and the Football League operating as one body. It's hard to envisage such a radical move happening.

It was the big clubs, remember, who broke away from the smaller clubs to form the Premier League because they wanted to run their own affairs.

Whatever the future holds for the FA, one of their priorities must be to address their public image.

Once clean cut, ultra-conservative and globally respected, they are now low-rent.

World Cup hosts? Thank God that idea never took off.

The wife of John Lyall, the former manager of West Ham, called yesterday to ask what had become of the game to which her husband had devoted his working life.

For an entire generation of football people the collapse of behavioural standards is the saddest development in the modern professional game. "What happened to class?" asked Yvonne Lyall.

"People like Sir Stanley Rous will be turning in their graves."