Eriksson faces decisions for defining fixtures
Sven-Goran Eriksson shouldered the responsibility for England being left with a ‘knife to their throat’ in terms of qualifying for the World Cup finals after their collapse against Northern Ireland.
His own position is little better. While he urged the nation not to panic, the fans have started to turn on him and he admitted the players had lost their “spirit” after just 35 minutes in Belfast.
Eriksson has vowed not to resign, he is not about to be sacked with a potential pay-off of more than £5m (€7.4m), and victories against Austria and Poland would still ensure a World Cup place.
He admitted: “Something has happened which shouldn’t have happened and it’s up to us to turn it right. But if you want to know who is responsible, then it’s always me. I have to turn it right.
“It’s about working, talking and not panicking. If we panic and switch 11 players, then it will never work. I should like to see all the big players we have fit 100%.”
Having set his sights on matching Brazil before kick-off, he was still even talking in terms of winning the World Cup after a 1-0 defeat.
When asked if he truly believed he could still turn it around and win the tournament, he stated “yes“, even if it did not sound too convincing.
“If we want to play at the World Cup, we all have the knives here,” he admitted, indicating his throat.
“But I’m sure we will respond in a very positive way.
“I could not even dream of not qualifying for the World Cup. We have to win the next two games. Will I quit if we don’t? We’re going to win them and that’s it.
More realistically, this defeat may be the beginning of the end for Eriksson - the moment the emperor as revealed without his clothes.
Not only were his tactics exposed in Belfast, so too was the form of his leading players, with the Swede having depended for too long on reputation rather than current form.
He nevertheless insisted he would be keeping faith in the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand for next month’s final two qualifiers.
“I took Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard off as I thought they were tired in the second half. But they will be better in October, both of them,” declared Eriksson, as if saying it aloud would make it true.
Wayne Rooney is, however, unavailable against Austria, having earned a one-game ban as his indiscipline returned to haunt a coach who must still find the striker’s best position amid England’s tactical confusion.
The answer in Eriksson’s mind against Austria could be Peter Crouch, who was ruled out of these two games through injury, although the Swede still seemed too shell-shocked to have fully considered his options.
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about that yet. Of course, we have other strikers. We will see Peter Crouch if he starts to play,” he said.
It is hard to imagine Brazil, whom Eriksson had set his sights on matching before kick-off in Belfast, turning to a player of Crouch’s style to solve any attacking problems.
But when asked if he still remained convinced his players were good enough, the England coach insisted: “I’ve no doubts about that.”
Whether they are still playing for him remains to be seen. Eriksson insists they are, but their performances indicate they may not be.
Criticising his squad is, however, a last-ditch and highly dangerous manoeuvre for any coach and Eriksson’s weakness is also his strength in having the backing of his players because they are assured of his support.
His first priority should be ditching the 4-3-3 system that has caused such confusion and returning, when Rooney is available again, to 4-4-2 with the other striker playing in behind Michael Owen.
Gerrard must be ordered to stay in the holding role or moved out to the left flank, with Owen Hargreaves or Scott Parker brought in to play that specialist role – unless Lampard’s form fails to improve and he is dropped instead, that is.
In defence, he must hope Gary Neville, John Terry and Sol Campbell recover from injury in time for next month’s games.
Most importantly of all, however, Eriksson himself faces a test that, for all his other faults, Kevin Keegan would not have failed – managing to inspire his players.
“We played well for 35 minutes but then we lost our patience and spirit,” confessed the Swede. “I would say we have never lost it before in a qualification game.
“It’s been a bad start to the season, I agree with that. But I think the players are intelligent people, almost all of them in the squad, and they want to work very hard.”
They should start doing that during matches. Otherwise, England will be out of the World Cup – and Eriksson could be out of a job.
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