Peter Corrigan: A quiet word, Sven – make some noise

Nobody who has watched England play friendly matches over the past 30 years or so should have been surprised at Wednesday's disappointment. It was regarded as an outrage because our uppity cousins the Australians were the beneficiaries, but these outings have regularly caused more trouble than they have been worth. They are inevitably a pale imitation of the real thing, yet we repeatedly allow ourselves to expect too much of them.

Home friendlies should be looked upon as England's continuing contribution to the wellbeing of world football. Countless teams have left these shores with their morale brimming because they've been to Wembley or, more recently, one of the mother country's historic club venues and emerged triumphant. Visitors have no trouble raising their game on these occasions. England can't even find theirs most of the time.

For the latest example of this, however, Sven Goran Eriksson can count himself fortunate that assistance has been at hand to help him shoulder the responsibility. The clubs, robber barons that they are, have been accused of sabotaging the England coach by allowing him only partial use of their stars. They should not escape their share of the blame for the handicaps under which Eriksson, and his predecessors, have laboured, but the failure ran deeper than that.

Before the game, I was sympathetic to Eriksson's problems and complimentary about the way he was coping with them. He had already cancelled two friendly dates and was fully aware that the Australian game fell into one the busiest 12 days of the season for the bigger clubs. His decision to play his "first" team for 45 minutes and then blood young hopes in the second half was an attempt to make the best of a bad job and let the paying customers know what to expect.

His willy-nilly chopping and changing in previous friendlies had added to the frustration so, at least, there would be a point to his wholesale changes. That, plus his determination to find a way out of this interminable conflict, was to his credit. But the way it turned out, the under-performance of his senior players has to be a major concern.

Goalkeeper David James has accused some of his colleagues of being more focused on this weekend's Cup ties than they were on the proceedings at Upton Park. Oddly enough, Germany's goalkeeper, Oliver Khan, said much the same about his outfield team-mates after their 3-1 defeat by Spain.

Leaving aside the fact that goalkeeping stool-pigeons could be a healthy addition to the game, you didn't have to be that close to the inaction to notice the absence of wholehearted commitment. Unless the players were ordered to nurse themselves, their clubs cannot be blamed, so once more we have to turn to the worrying lack of exhortatory powers already exhibited by Eriksson in the World Cup defeat by Brazil.

Rabble-rousing may not be in his nature, but there is no evidence to suggest that, even in his calm yet authoritative manner, he explained to his men that although he had them for only 45 minutes he would be obliged if they employed every second of that time in the unselfish service of their country.

Since his arrival, the pundits have been divided down the middle about Eriksson's suitability for the job. Those who have doubted his credentials have been dismissed as "little Englanders" who resented the arrival of a foreigner. Others have welcomed the investment of a fresh influence, confident that a mannered, continental approach would invest our gallant tiros with sufficient refinement to raise their game to a level more compatible with the rhythms of the modern game. Sadly, there are times when the basic tenet of getting stuck in is not to be lost sight of when all else fails.

It is not yet the time to decide which faction is right. The away match against Liechtenstein on 29 March and the home encounter against Turkey four days later will inform us about England's possibilities in Euro 2004. There will no quibbling by the clubs about the release of players, and Eriksson will surely be in a stronger position to demand more of his men.

Meanwhile, he could help spread more confidence by being more positive in his body language. The way he sits there looking as bewildered as the rest of us is very discomforting. Managers who are constantly waving their arms and shouting and speaking urgent asides to their aides may be no wiser than he is, but the impression is vital. In the longer term, perhaps England should revert to their neighbours for friendlies. How much more valuable would that game have been if it had been against Wales at the Millennium Stadium? Still, defeat there would have hurt even more.

Time gentlemen, please

The BBC are at it again this weekend, pushing Six Nations matches and fifth-round FA Cup ties here, there and every-where in an attempt to maximise their viewing figures. How successful they are at that, we'll never know. What they are good at is causing the maximum inconvenience to licence-payers who are interested in watching sport either in person or via the screen.

Admittedly, it's not all their fault. I'm sure they would have preferred Man-chester United against Arsenal to take place tonight, convinced as they are that Sunday-evening matches are viewer-winners – what used to be called the God slot seems now more useful as a yob slot.

I believe neither the police nor the clubs fancied that. This lunchtime or this afternoon would have seemed a good alternative and would have given those involved with England on Wednesday an extra day to recover from their strength-sapping efforts.

Who was suited by yesterday's 12.15 kick-off? Not the fans, surely, especially not Arsenal's. Was it a viewer-friendly time? I doubt it. Who did it please, then? The same questions could apply to tonight's tie between Wolves and Rochdale. Apart from the relatives, friends and supporters of the two teams concerned, I can't foresee a mass appeal.

After my last rant on this subject, I had a letter from I C Pearson of Birley Carr, Sheffield, concerning the recent Sheffield derby game which took place on a Friday night. Mr Pearson reports: "The police operation began Friday morning at 11am and ran to the early hours of Saturday; over 30 arrests were made; flares were fired during the game and a 13-year-old girl was hit; pubs were forced to close or alter their opening times; and Friday night's normal city-centre routine was severely disrupted.

"The reason for this? Sky Sports disregarded the wishes of the clubs and the police, who wanted a midday Sunday kick-off, in order to secure a prime Friday- evening slot." If our major games weren't so concerned with shovelling television money into their pockets they might see a longer-term advantage in regaining control from the curious priorities of television schedulers.

A genuine bung

My item last week about former Welsh FA secretary Trevor Morris, whose funeral on Wednesday was well-attended by football folk, has produced a wealth of stories about this popular administrator.

One of his friends in latter years was John Munday, an Orient fan, who has written to relate a story Trevor was fond of telling. Orient have appeared in the top flight only once (1962-63 in the then First Division), and in the run-up to their promotion were neck and neck with Sunderland with one game to go. Liverpool were already promoted as champions, but who went up with them depended on the last game. Orient were at home to Bury and Sunderland were away to Swansea, whom Trevor was managing at the time.

Orient's chairman, Harry Zussman, rang Trevor and said if Swansea got a result that ensured Orient promotion he would treat him to a new hat. Trevor suggested it was worth at least a new suit and Harry agreed. Orient duly beat Bury 2-0 and Swansea held Sunderland to a 1-1 draw. Trevor popped into Swansea's best tailors, bought the best suit they had and sent Harry the bill. He still had the suit when he died.

Football's bung culture, of course, has become much more sophisticated since those days.