Eriksson poser over Leeds duo

By Mark Bradley, PA Sport Chief Soccer Writer

Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed his moral dilemma over whether to pick Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate for the World Cup as he stressed his determination not to risk disrupting the unity of his squad.

Eriksson and Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier have yet to decide the England futures of the Leeds duo following the end of their retrial.

Eriksson is a confirmed admirer of both players but accepts that he has a moral duty to consider non-footballing matters as he makes up his mind.

In the short-term, Woodgate is still banned from England duty at least until he has completed a 100-hour community service punishment after being found guilty of affray following an attack on student Sarfraz Najeib.

That rules him out of next month's game against Holland, for which Bowyer will also not be selected if he loses an FA misconduct hearing on two disciplinary charges next month, just four days before the squad is named.

Crozier revealed the FA are enforcing a rule that bans any player from being selected for a friendly if they are suspended from domestic football, which could also hamper the England claims of Danny Mills and Alan Smith.

It is the longer-term international futures of Woodgate and Bowyer which are really taxing the minds of Eriksson and Crozier, however.

The England coach admitted: "If you just talk about football then I think they might be under consideration as they are very good football players.

"However, it's not easy as whatever you decide, you will have people criticise you. They are two special cases.

"You have to make difficult decisions. You have to try to fight to keep the reputation of English football very high, not only on the pitch but also off the pitch. That's important for this country."

Question-marks have been raised over the conduct of young English players over recent months, with John Terry also banned from international football until the conclusion of his own court case on assault and affray charges.

And Eriksson admitted it was not simply a case for him of picking the best players.

"I wish it was that easy but I don't think it is. If you are a manager of any national team, you can't just look at winning football games," he added.

"You also have moral things to think about it. If you don't do it as a manager of a country, then who will do it?

"I have to think about moral issues. Of course it's very important to win, but it's not everything if you are in my position."

Bowyer, of course, was cleared of both charges in court, a fact acknowledged by Crozier, who also stressed that both players had already been banned from international duty for the past two years.

On a general basis, Eriksson also stressed that "if a young man makes a mistake, it's also a mistake to ban him for the rest of his life, just as you can't be angry forever at a son who does something stupid".

However, the Swede revealed the scale of his dilemma as he insisted he would not risk disrupting the strong squad spirit which has been established since he took charge.

"You have to make a balance. It's important that spirit is very high as it's difficult to live together for that long, for all teams and all countries," he said.

"If you are taking people under suspicion that they can't behave, then you are doing harm to yourself and the squad."

Then again, Eriksson accepts he can only judge the characters of Bowyer and Woodgate for himself after he has called them into an England squad as he "doesn't know them at all".

Indeed, when a player was jailed for drink-driving when Eriksson was in charge of Gothenburg, he still picked him for the 1982 UEFA Cup final after his release as "he had served his time in prison".

Neither Eriksson or Crozier were giving too much away about their eventual decision, which will be made in the next couple of weeks.

Crozier added: "Lee Bowyer has been found not guilty by the jury and you have to take notice of that. That's why we said immediately - and quite rightly - that he's available for selection.

"But that's quite another thing from being selected and that's very much a decision for Sven to take, whether that's the right thing to do for a lot of reasons. You have to put in all the factors."

As to the possibility of a civil court case being launched against the two players, Crozier added: "You clearly have to take into account all the circumstances surrounding this.

"In large part, that's the result of something that has already happened so I think we're aware of all the facts and therefore we are able to take a decision at the appropriate time."

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