Eriksson curses perils of those 'crazy' fixtures

Road to Euro 2004: England's indispensable quartet for Portugal are probably their most injury-prone players

The female streaker who kept all her clothes on while cavorting round the pitch during England's 1-0 defeat by Sweden in Gothenburg summed up the essentially bogus nature of the event. Like many of Wednesday's internationals involving teams bound for Euro 2004, there was a feeling of not wanting to reveal too much.

In the Scandinavia of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, harsher critics were also asking whether Sven Goran Eriksson is not parading around naked while the Football Association invite the nation to admire his beautiful new clothes. Given his indifference to the results of friendly matches, it is reasonable to await the outcome of this summer's tournament before providing a definitive answer to that one. The newly enriched head coach genuinely believes that, at something close to full strength, England can make a positive impression, but is clearly worried that the expensive designer gear he would hope to have on show in June may have a slightly threadbare look by then.

Just as he arrived at the World Cup two years ago with players either missing (Gary Neville, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy) or less than fully fit (David Beckham, Michael Owen), Eriksson fears the draining effect of the final period of the English season. He has done what he can by allowing the leading clubs to withdraw up to two players from the trip to Sweden, and by declining any sort of get-together - let alone a game - for the next seven weeks, until the week of R & R in Sardinia with families in tow, beginning on 24 May.

Sharp-eyed observers will note that the date is precisely two days before the Wednesday when anything up to five squad members could be facing the biggest game of their lives in a Champions' League final. For rest and relaxation, read work and concentration, with muscles and limbs at risk.

"That's the worry I have, injuries at the end of the season," Eriksson said. "Remember the World Cup, Gary Neville already out, and then suddenly the day before we left, Steven Gerrard out. In April, I prefer to rest them, that's much better than travelling again. What they need now is resting."

And what do they get? Check Arsenal's current programme, involving an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United yesterday, a Champions' League quarter-final with even more at stake on Tuesday, Liverpool at Highbury midday on Friday, and then a (literally) flying visit to Newcastle two days later, when a historic unbeaten Premiership record may receive its stiffest test of the season.

Asking those club managers to ensure that English players do not tackle each other was probably not a viable option. Meanwhile, Tuesday's opponents Chelsea play four games in 10 days. "Crazy," said the man who suddenly found the prospect of managing them less attractive last weekend. "You could ask any football manager in all the world and they would agree that playing Saturday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, four games in nine days, shouldn't be possible. If you talk to a doctor, a physio or whatever, they would say it's impossible to recover. It's an absolutely super-hectic programme."

Improvements to it tend to be slow. At least there was no New Year's Day fixture list this January, preventing another run of four games in nine days; but when the man now paid £4m a year by the Football Association to make England successful suggested having one Saturday in January free, he was overruled by the FA's own Challenge Cup committee, chaired by Mr Kenneth Bates. Yes, the same Mr Bates who no longer has a club, only a fortnightly newspaper column, in which his contribution to the debate over English football last weekend was headlined: "Sven's full of bulls**t. I wouldn't buy a second-hand Saab from Mr Eriksson".

One of the benefits of having a foreign manager is to see ourselves and our football as others see us. Continental coaches are horrified at the schedules imposed by a combination of too many matches and the television companies' desire to screen as many of them as possible. The small consolation with this summer in mind - and especially the opening game against France on 13 June - is that players such as Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Marcel Desailly, William Gallas and Claude Makelele are as likely to pick up a pull or a tear as their English club-mates.

Given that Rio Ferdinand is already out of contention, Gerrard, Beckham, Owen and Sol Campbell can be regarded as Eriksson's key men, who must be fully fit and firing if England are to turn potential into performance in Portugal. Yet, bearing in mind Campbell's persistent groin problem (Arsenal would be well within their rights to insist he either rested all summer or had an operation, though Wenger said last night they would not do so), they are probably the most injury-prone quartet of all. Asked about the prospect of being without, say, Beckham and Owen, the Swede initially deflected the question with one of his own: "If you take away Vieira and Henry for France will they win it? At that level, you must be lucky and have the best players available and, of course, if we miss Beckham and Owen that's a big, big problem for us, but they will be there." He should have added, "fingers crossed", as he did when discussion turned to Owen's suspect hamstrings: "I can't do anything about it, nothing at all, so wait and see."

The same applies to those fringe players given a trip to Sweden, who must now know that in the (admittedly unlikely) event of the first-choice 23 being fit at the deadline of 2 June, there are no longer any places up for grabs. Wes Brown is one of those who would have liked a friendly encounter this month to confirm his return to form; Jermain Defoe, who, like Jimmy Greaves, always makes an impression on debut, is another, but his only hope apart from injuries to the four favoured strikers is that Eriksson changes his mind and takes an extra one at the expense of an eighth midfielder.

Wait and see. And best cross those toes as well.

The last call for passengers...

Ian Walker (Leicester) or Robert Green (Norwich) With Liverpool's Chris Kirkland effectively discounted because of injury and the 37-year-old Nigel Martyn indicating a lack of enthusiasm, there are two candidates for the historically unrewarding role of third goalkeeper. It would make more sense to take the younger Green than Walker, who has little to offer.

Phil Neville (Man Utd) or Danny Mills (Middlesbrough) Two years ago, Mills edged ahead of Phil Neville as replacement for the latter's injured brother and played every minute of England's World Cup. This time they are competing to be the older Neville's understudy. The United man's versatility and greater European experience may be decisive.

Joe Cole (Chelsea) or Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle) After two starts and 12 appearances as substitute, Cole, once the great white hope, remains the great enigma. Scott Parker having had insufficient time to prove himself at international level, Cole should travel ahead of the more prosaic Jenas.

Darius Vassell (A Villa) or Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) Wednesday's encouraging debut has pushed Defoe, a natural goalscorer, ahead of Alan Smith. His problem is the manager's loyalty to Emile Heskey and Vassell as understudies to Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. A tournament too soon for Defoe unless injury strikes or a midfielder is dropped.