Say It Ain't Sven

A bevy of names are popping up as potential replacements for Bruce Arena (should he not retain his job as national team coach), and some of them don't make sense. The one I find most preposterous is Sven-Goran Eriksson, the man who coached England to a quarterfinal finish this World Cup.

The main knock on Eriksson's most recent team is that his players seemed unmotivated and lacking direction. Sound familiar?

England's lack of creativity and commitment was apparent on both ends of the pitch. The attack sputtered against against Paraguay, needing a lucky free kick from Beckham to squezze by, and later produced nothing against Portugal in being ousted from the tournament. But in the Sweeden game, Eriksson's defense looked listless on set pieces, allowing two goals in the 2-2 draw.

Against Czech Republic and Italy, the U.S. fell behind on goals scored off crosses. If Eriksson couldn't get Rio Ferdinand and John Terry to concentrate on balls played into the box, what will he do with the U.S. central defenders who are talented but not in Terry and Ferdinand's league.

Right now, they're calling Eriksson a long shot for the job. Let's hope he stays that way.