BIRMINGHAM - The first England team to be selected by a foreign hand will tomorrow step out at Villa Park bedevilled by the familiar English handicap of being under-prepared and over-hyped.
Though Sven Goran Eriksson did his best to lower expectations, insisting "it is not a new era, just a new manager", his adopted country will inevitably expect such a landmark departure from tradition to reap substantial rewards. Moreover, it is unlikely to be patient.
That Eriksson has had to constantly rejig his team because of withdrawals – the latest being Joe Cole – any plea of mitigating circumstances would go largely unheard.
While Cole returned to West Ham with an ankle injury, Eriksson may, at least, be able to select Paul Scholes who is making a rapid recovery from gastroenteritis.
The attention surrounding Eriksson's appointment means tonight's match, played with a hastily constructed, fleetingly instructed team against one of Europe's best sides, will be scrutinised like tea leaves by a fortune teller.
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