The FA have been handed a bonus they do not deserve with Sven-Goran Eriksson's early arrival as England boss.

Adam Crozier and his colleagues saw their prayers answered when Eriksson quit his Lazio job this week. But am I the only person who believes the FA acted with excessive arrogance over the whole affair?

Crozier and David Dein targeted the former Benfica and Sampdoria boss, entered into negotiations and reached an agreement whereby he would take over at the end of this season. In the meantime Peter Taylor and Steve McClaren were put in temporary charge and given a chance to gain experience.

All well and good, but what leaves a sour taste is how the FA, having got exactly what they were after, then decided that was not enough and applied unreasonable pressure for Eriksson to take over when he should still have been committed to his club.

In the end, the task of defending the Serie A title, tackling the Champions League and preparing for his role with the FA took its toll. But England fans need not think Eriksson heads to these shores as damaged goods. Lazio are fifth in the highly competitive Serie A, which is no disgrace. Just ask the likes of AC Milan, Parma and Inter, who are below them in the table.

I cannot help but wonder whether there would have been quite the unrest among Lazio fans had Dino Zoff not been waiting in the wings or if Roma not been top of the table.

Zoff may not have been around had it not been for David Trezeguet's equaliser in the Euro 2000 final while Roma would almost certainly not be top without the signing of Gabriel Batistuta.

When was the last time England had a Frenchman and an Argentinian to thank for doing them a favour?

SPANISH ADOPT THE "ENGLISH SYSTEM"

The Spanish have the best league in the world but, when it comes to knockout football, even they admit nothing beats the FA Cup.

This year they have scrapped their traditional two-legged ties for what they describe as "the English system".

It is not quite the same. They have extra-time and penalties rather than replays, but they are loving the concept of one-off matches.

The shocks are piling up. Most first division sides are already out, including Real Madrid, who lost to Toledo, and leaders Valencia, who crashed out on penalties to Guadix, the bottom side in the third tier of the league system.

Angry fans heckled their side in the subsequent league match and some made a point of walking out of the stadium when Valencia took to the pitch.

Passions are running high and the Spanish media admit it is all down to "the English system".

Good to see we lead the way in some areas.

TETLEY'S BITTER CUP: A SIDESHOW?

While the FA Cup flourishes, rugby chiefs are doing their best to turn the popular Tetley's Bitter Cup into a sideshow.

This year's final has been shifted to February and is expected to attract the lowest ever crowd for such a showpiece.

The RFU may think their cup is old hat but they should have stuck to a May final and given it the send-off it merits.