From the BBC, an update to this sorry mess…
Eriksson to quit after World Cup
Oh yeah, that’s really going to help, isn’t it? The gutter press have sowed the seeds of doubt and dysfunction, so the FA put the boot in, just to make sure.
Let me clarify something. I’m not an idealistic Sven fanboy. I had my doubts right from the start, when I thought a more aggressive coach with a more attacking football style would have been a better choice than the notoriously cautious Eriksson. Legend has it that Fabio Capello, then working his charm at Roma, rang the FA and made known his interest in the England job. Instead, they went for the man from the other Rome club… easy mistake to make. However, I digress. Despite my initial misgivings, which have returned a number of times only to be quashed again by some excellent team performances, Sven-Göran Eriksson is the England manager now and for at least the duration of the Most Important Football Competition in the World. Any distraction from that train of thought is to be avoided. There is a job to do.
Should further persuasion be necessary, consider what happened when Eriksson originally signed up for the England job. Having led Lazio to the Italian championship (for only the second time in the club’s history) the previous season, he agreed to serve out the final months of his contract only to see the team’s form take a distinct turn for the worst. Consistency and security are important to footballers, as they are to people in all walks of life.