Then, the composition of the final-winning 11 could not have been predicted two months earlier and neither, I suspect, can the composition of Eriksson’s.Apart from the fixture fiasco, the FA are doing their best to assist Eriksson to foster squad morale. They are to fly the players’ wives and partners out to Dubai for a holiday with them before they move on to Japan. News of this generous gesture, which will cost £100,000, emerged on the same day that ITV Digital dropped its bombshell threatening the existence of a few dozen League clubs. Not the most sensitive timing, and a glaring example of the varying values at work in the game.There is no reason why England’s players shouldn’t enjoy some quality time with their loved ones before going off to battle for their country but, surely, they could afford to pay for their own pleasures. That £100,000 would help an entire club to stave off extinction.Cheek by JowellIf England were to win the World Cup, innocents at London’s Heathrow Airport could die in the rush as the Prime Minister and assorted members of his cabinet clamoured to be the first to welcome them home.

At the moment, however, football is far from the Government’s favourite activity. Stung, no doubt, by being made to look fools over Wembley and by being dragged into the absurdly expensive and forlorn attempt to stage the 2006 World Cup, they have developed a nasty antipathy to the game.This was demonstrated in waspish fashion on Thursday by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, who weighed into the bitter conflict between ITV Digital and the Football League with a damning attack on the very clubs who have been put into deep financial trouble. Why this minister was ever put in charge of a department that includes sport is a mystery. That she has neither knowledge nor sympathy for the subject was obvious from her statement that it was not her responsibility to “bail out” football.”Clubs are paying their players too much,” she accused. Whether they are or not, the words “bail out” imply they’ve done something wrong. They may have been na? to think you can trust anyone concerned with big business, but their only “crime” has been to build their budgets around money they would have received from an agreement they had every right to expect to be honoured.

Perhaps Jowell is getting her Manchester Uniteds confused with her Torquay Uniteds and all the other clubs whose fight for existence was grim even before ITV Digital decided to complicate it further. But, however wretched their situations, they still mean a great deal to their communities and in their forthcoming battle with those behind this digital cop-out they could do without ministers providing ammunition to their opponents.It was a despicable stance to take at this delicate stage and unhappily typical, because when it comes to sport, this is a Government that will intervene only where there is glory to be gained and not where there are principles to uphold. If they want to stay out of it, the Government should have remained silent and not made prejudicial statements that favour one side – in this case, the big, if incompetent, battalions.It would not be so bad if this was a rare disregard of our sporting interests, but it is reflective of an attitude that is stifling the development of sport in this country.Braveheart BertiWe shall soon discover how lucky Sven Goran Eriksson is, but he was certainly far more fortunate than his counterpart in Scotland, Berti Vogts, in the manner of his introduction to the job.The former German manager had to make his Scottish debut against the world champions, France, in Paris The resultant 5-0 thrashing was a sobering start. Vogts, a belligerent player himself, criticised his new charges for their lack of passion in the tackle. He didn’t expect Scots to be emotionless.Inevitably, the pair’s progress will be closely compared, and it promises to produce some fascinating differences.