AS THE SECOND half unfolded on Tuesday night and England sought to retain or extend their 1-0 lead against Sweden, my mind drifted back to the finals in Japan and South Korea four years ago — more specifically, England’s quarter-final against Brazil.

England led in that match also but faded, even against ten men after Ronaldinho had been sent off. It was the limpest of exits from the tournament and I remember, too, the comment from Gareth Southgate. “What we needed in there was Churchill,” the England centre half said, referring to the half-time team talk. “But what we got was Iain Duncan Smith.”

It was direct and scathing criticism of Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England head coach. When the players needed a rousing pep talk, when they needed Churchillian words to inspire them to great deeds, all they apparently got was bland mutterings similar to those of IDS, the former Tory party leader.

Fast-forward to 2006 and it would appear that that is all the players got on Tuesday and maybe against Paraguay in their 1-0 win in Frankfurt, where they petered out after the interval.

Even the best players in the world need advice, even those at the top of their profession need help and guidance. Yet within five minutes of the start of the second half in Cologne, you could see that most of their first-half solidity and confidence had disappeared. Eriksson should have emphasised to his team how vital it was to keep the ball and dominate possession, as they had been doing. Make sure you give nothing to the Swedes, scrap for every morsel. And maybe he did tell them that. But it certainly did not seem like it.

Frankly, Eriksson is not passionate enough for my liking. I don’t know him that well, but where is his belief and drive? You just don’t see it. Even when he is sitting on the bench, he doesn’t seem to be doing much. A little encouragement to his players now and again really wouldn’t go amiss. How England weren’t able to hold on to the ball against Sweden, to protect their 2-1 lead over the last few minutes, is almost beyond me.

OK, so the guy is not a Churchill. It is not in his nature, I understand that. He’s a typical laid-back Swede. But didn’t his compatriots manage to play with passion and desire in the second half? Didn’t they force the pace and show how much they wanted to win? If the Sweden players could do it, why not Eriksson? Half-time is one of the most important periods of the game. It is the only time that the manager or coach has the undivided attention of his players. In that 15-minute spell, he has to praise their efforts and tell them to continue doing what they are doing, or put right what is wrong. Most of the managers I played for were good at it. Jim McLean, at Dundee United, could get a bit excessive at times. His language would strip the paint off the walls. Howard Kendall, at Everton, and Ron Atkinson, when I was at Aston Villa, were very good, too. You knew where you stood with them, you knew what they wanted and you always strived to deliver.

To be fair, it is easier for managers at club level. They work with the players day in, day out. They know what makes them tick, what makes them sulk, who needs an arm round the shoulder, who needs a kick. At international level, you are dealing with players who do not belong to you, sometimes for short periods of time. Sadly, I’ve heard too many stories about Eriksson and his brand of man-management — the softly-softly approach — to realise that they are not unfounded. And, after all, he doesn’t have much longer left in the job. If only he could go out with a bit of fire in his belly.

In with a shout

TELEVISION CAMERAS HAVE RECORDED many managers ranting at half-time, in sharp contrast to the approach of Sven-Göran Eriksson. John Sitton, the Leyton Orient manager, raged at his team as they trailed 1-0 at home to Blackpool in February 1995 and was so angry that he dismissed Terry Howard, the defender, on the spot. Howard, who moved to Wycombe Wanderers three days later, claimed that he was dismissed because Sitton was jealous of his popularity at Brisbane Road. Either way, the shouting did not work because Orient lost the match and Sitton was shown the door two months later.

A documentary captured Peter Reid habitually swearing at his Sunderland players at half-time during the 1996-97 season as he tried to steer the club away from relegation. Reid’s ferocity was unrewarded because Sunderland went down.

BILL EDGAR