Has the Swede lost the confidence of the nation or does he remain the best man for the job?

Austria 2-2 England

Another lead squandered, another sorry night for England's huge army of supporters.

The end must surely be nigh for Eriksson, the svengali who has become a laughing stock.

Eriksson earns a huge salary and - with possibly the most talented England squad ever at his disposal - so he should deliver positive results.

The margins at international level are fine and on the evidence so far Eriksson seems to fall short when it matters most.

Cool and calculating he may be but a coach at the top level must be a man of many guises and he singularly failed to deliver the tub-thumping team-talk so desperately required at half-time in England's 2002 World Cup quarter-final against Brazil.

Eriksson looked a haunted figure against Austria

Is there anything more painful for England fans than watching their team exit a major tournament - against 10-men - with such a whimper?

Euro 2004 was another sorry tale of defeatism.

Does it take a genius to work out that this England side works best going forward?

Brazil, France, Portugal - England led against them all and lost.

And if you visited one of Eriksson's homes would you find posters of David Beckham on the wall?

Beckham should not have lasted 90 minutes during a single match in Portugal and his petulant showing in Austria was hardly the sort of leadership required by a young team looking for inspiration.

Yet Eriksson has failed to show he is only willing to judge his captain on the merits of his form - instead displaying a blind faith in his underperforming skipper.

Sven hasn't got what it takes to compete at the highest level From Freddie Have your say on 606

On the subject of tough decisions - when will Eriksson finally ditch David 'Calamity' James for Paul Robinson, who has been superb for new club Tottenham?

The man who arrived as the saviour of English football has become a tabloid figure of fun, exposed time and again for liaisons ill-fitting of a man in his position in the public eye.

A defeat in Poland would result in England's World Cup campaign being in tatters - leaving Eriksson's already-unstable position untenable.

Wow, hit the brakes here.

Let's put all this in perspective.

Sven-Goran Eriksson is paid to manage the England team, not deliver a moral lesson through example on the virtues of monogamy.

It is the England team - and only the England team - that matters here.

Under the calm, competent managerial influence of Eriksson, England have lost only three competitive fixtures.

One of these came on penalties - against Portugal - another saw France produce le miracle to win - and the other was at the hands of eventual World Cup winners Brazil.

England have reached the quarter-finals in their last two tournaments and have looked at home in the highest company.

Remember Germany?

Eriksson is the man who masterminded England's most glorious win in a generation - the 5-1 demolition of Germany.

And let's not forget that when Eriksson took over he inherited a World Cup qualifying campaign hanging by a thread and a team in a shambles.

Eriksson has brought professionalism and competence to the England team.

No longer do we have giant central defenders playing on the wing or a group of players who do not know whether they are coming or going.

The England players respect Eriksson and he commands a group that is close-knit and moving in the right direction.

No-one is denying that the draw with Austria is disappointing but keep your finger off the panic button for a little longer.

A victory in Poland on Wednesday and England will have collected four points from two potentially tricky games on the road.