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One thing that has always amazed me is how fickle football fans are. One minute the players is a hero, a god or even a saviour, and the next they are the most hated person in the ground. On the international scene these feelings tend to magnify ten fold.

No doubt the most recent events that spring to mind are the last three games that England played. The friendly against Denmark and the last two World Cup qualifying games. Previous to these two games Sven was a hero and well thought of within the country albeit his private life had taken a bit of a battering. But I personally think what someone does with their private life is no one else’s business but theirs as long as its within the law. But the British media like nothing better to do then to take a high profile figure, invade their personal life, and bring them down to the gutter. After these 3 games Sven’s popularity took a beating and most people especially the fans wanted him to resign.

The Denmark game was, in many eyes, a pointless exercise. It came just as the new football season got underway and with the qualifiers round the corner it wasn’t, as some say, the ideal preparation. To me it is no surprise that they lost the game. Denmark are no mugs when it comes to international football. In the World Cup 2002 they managed to beat a full strength French side 2-0. In Euro 2004 they held the Italians to a draw in the group stages and lost out in the quarter finals just like England did. Ericsson seems to change his team at half times as often as NFL teams do! Then for James to admit what he did was in my eyes plainly absurd. Why admit to the whole nation what they are already suspicious of?? That you just can’t make the grade at international level.

Then came the World Cup qualifiers. Two must win games for England to take the coveted ticket to Germany next June. The Welsh game was an extremely dull affair with a goal which came courtesy off a defenders head giving England a solitary one goal win. The next qualifier against Northern Ireland was, as one fleet street headline suggested, a game of Prince against the Paupers. The amount of money the England players were earning compared to their NI compatriots was astonishing. But yet England were to made to look very ordinary. They had no flow to the game and it was quite evident that when they went one nil down they just ran out of ideas.

So Ericsson no doubt has a dilemma. How can he accommodate Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham in the same midfield line up? Surely one must be dropped to accommodate the 4-4-2 formation that has been so successful for him in the past. It seems that the formation played against NI was primarily built around Beckham, which Ericsson surprisingly denies. Much of the talk is that Ericsson has lost the plot and many are calling for him to resign. But think of Brazil. They just managed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup and many said there time had passed and were by no means the favourites to win the tournament. But they proved everyone wrong and went onto win the World Cup.

Ericsson resigning now would not be a wise move. After all if the FA were to terminate his contract then it would cost them a hefty sum which begs the question as to whether Sven is worth being paid that amount of money. However Sven is still in with a chance of topping the group and if he succeeds in doing this then he must be given the chance to take the team to the World Cup. But he really should think long and hard about his formation and the players that he is using. Why only play one up front when we can use the likes of Owen & Rooney. When we have players like J Cole and Wright-Phillips that can quite easily operate down the flanks. Ericsson has got to play his players to their strengths. It seems that the so called ‘Player Power’ has got the better of him, with maybe Beckham calling the shots rather then Sven himself. If Sven reverts back to a 4-4-2 formation then the midfield trio of Beckham, Lampard & Gerrard must be given roles that they must stick to. It seems Beckham wonders aimlessly around the pitch until he feels comfortable in a certain position.

Well Sven has two games left to rectify the debacle that was witnessed during the NI game. If he fails to rectify them and England fail to qualify for the World Cup then he should leave, probably much to the disappointment of the FA accountant! But in my mind he will qualify and no doubt the media will hail him a hero once more. After all football fans, they are a fickle lot.