Normally I would be the first to jump on any anti-Eriksson bandwagon. Heck, I would probably be driving it. But the Swede’s latest brush with controversy is not nearly as bad as it first looks.

Admittedly he should not have said the things he did to the people he did but, knowing he had been done up like a kipper by the News of the World tends to reduce the credibility of the story.

It’s poor journalism when a newspaper feels compelled to set somebody up they way they did Sven. Entertaining, true, but poor nevertheless. And on that basis alone it is not hard to see why the FA have insisted his job is safe.

However, there is one particular element of the expose that does leave a bad taste in the mouth. It’s not that Sven said he would be willing to leave the England job for money – that’s never really been in doubt. And it’s not that he would be willing to ‘tap up’ Beckham and persuade him to leave Real Madrid. We all know Becks thinks the sun shines out of Sven’s behind.

No, neither of those are particularly surprising or worrying.

But the fact that Sven was happy and willing to share personal thoughts on members of his own squad with complete strangers is very, very worrying indeed, especially in the run up to the World Cup.

Eriksson told the reporter – posing as an Arab Sheikh – that Rooney has a temper problem, Shaun Wright Philips was over-priced and Rio Ferdinand was lazy. All very damaging views that should have been kept within the confines of his inner circle.

But the most damaging of the lot was his comments on Michael Owen who, he told the reporters, only signed for Newcastle because of the money. Now if that doesn’t put Owen in a very difficult position with the Newcastle fans, I don’t know what will.

All of these comments by Sven were absolutely out of order, a complete betrayal of the trust the lads had put in him.

Since the revelations came out on Sunday, Sven has been trying damage limitation by phoning the players in question and apologising. On Monday he insisted he still has the support of the team.

Personally I doubt it. There is no way I would be able to trust somebody who went around saying in public something I had told him in private. It’s just not right.

Will the whole episode have any effect on England’s chances of winning the World Cup? Probably not. The players realise the tournament is far too important to let another indiscretion by their manager get in the way.

And you could argue, of course, that if it does affect the World Cup chances then the News of the World would have to take a portion of the blame for releasing the story when they did.

Whatever your view, one thing is not in doubt any more. Win or lose this summer, Sven needs to be removed from his position. If not for football reasons then for his own sake…

Tim Henman

A fully fit, mentally-prepared, raring-to-go and extremely confident Tim Henman played his first round match in the Australian Open on Monday.

Two hours later he was on his way home, proving once and for all that the former darling of British tennis is past his sell-by date.

Despite insisting before the match that he was back to his best, Henman showed by losing in four sets to Tursonov that his best is no longer good enough to cut it at the highest level.

It’s sad when fading sports stars won’t admit it’s time to call it a day.

Then again, as the only Englishman who is anyway half decent at tennis, it is not hard to see why he is milking his career for all it is worth.

Added to that is the fact that to retire now would make him the biggest also-ran in the history of the game, never having won a single grand slam despite having been on the circuit for nearly a decade and a half and spending much of that time in the top ten.

This combination of not wanting to be known as a failure and wanting to squeeze as much money out of the sport as possible is making Tim look like a bit of a fool.

Maybe I am wrong and maybe Tim will bounce back to the sort of form which got the crowds cheering and the flags waving. But somehow I doubt it. And, in his heart of hearts, I reckon Tim doubts it too…

Jose Mourinho

If there is one thing you can guarantee with Jose Mourinho, it’s that he always manages to surprise.

The Chelsea boss, normally so quick to defend his players no matter what they have done, has instead agreed with the referee who sent off Robben in Sunday’s game with Sunderland.

The Dutch winger celebrated his goal in the match by jumping over the advertising hoardings to hug fans, earning himself a second yellow card for leaving the pitch in the process.

Although the ‘special one’ thinks the current law is harsh and should be changed, he couldn’t fault Chris Foy for the dismissal.

“Under the rule, the referee had no option. I don’t like the rule because part of the show is the players’ relationship with the crowd. Arjen has to learn when he already has a yellow card he has to control himself,” he said.

And, for once, Jose’s solution to the problem is also sensible. He believes instead of booking players for celebrating, the officials should add an extra minute at the end of the injury time.

“I think it would be easy for the referee to give one more minute extra time instead of the second yellow.”

Sensible talk from a man who normally makes a habit of talking nonsense.

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