By Andrew McKenzie
BBC Sport at St James' Park |
But in the end, it was the home-town boy who took the stick.
Eriksson was cleared of any wrong-doing by the Football Association following his much publicised affair with secretary Faria Alam.
But how would he be judged by a jury of 35,387 supporters as England got preparations for their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign under way?
On a stormy night in Newcastle, Eriksson's appearance pitch-side during the pre-match warm-up did not come close to registering on the Richter scale.
Instead it was Kieron Dyer who felt the full force of the St James' Park hurricane.
When Dyer's name was announced as one of England's substitutes prior to kick-off it was met by a chorus of jeers.
But that was nothing compared to the tornado facing Dyer when he was introduced as a second-half substitute.
The midfielder's every touch was a signal to let rip by large sections of the crowd, unhappy at claims he refused to play on the right side of midfield for his club at the weekend.
Some fans tried to drown out the boos by offering support to the under-fire 25-year-old, but they were fighting a losing battle.
While Eriksson got away with a few teenagers teasingly chanting "Nancy, Nancy" behind his dugout, there was no holding back when it came to Dyer.
The more he saw of the ball the louder and more venomous the taunts became.
To be condemned by England fans while on home soil is nothing new.
 Eriksson was not heavily criticised by supporters |
John Barnes heard the boo-boys while playing at Wembley, Manchester United players used to regularly get abuse while representing England in London, while David Beckham's sending off at the 1998 World Cup saw him do his time as public enemy number one.
But to be booed while playing for England on your own club ground must be a first in this country.
It shows that supporters care little about what players get up to in their private lives.
Paul Gascoigne admitted to beating his wife. Tony Adams spent time in jail for drink-driving. But neither player was ever booed while playing for England by fans of their own club.
In the eyes of Newcastle's fans Dyer committed the ultimate crime: he disrespected the people who pay his wages.
For the 55,000 fans who subsidise Dyer's reputed �3m-a-year salary, refusing to play for Newcastle is an offence punishable only by the death of your career prospects at St James'.
Such bad publicity is nothing new for Dyer. Since joining Newcastle from Ipswich for �6m in 1999, he has spent too much time on the front pages for Robson's liking.
There were the newspaper revelations about his drunken antics in Cyprus in 2000, then losing his driving licence for speeding and being sent home from a club break in Spain in 2001.
Last season he was caught up in a probe over rape claims at a London hotel and while the case was dropped and the player completely cleared, Dyer had to put up with taunts from away fans.
Throughout all this the Magpie faithful have never wavered in their loyalty to their highly-talented midfielder.
At the end of last season Dyer talked about how he had not done "justice to the Geordies" and vowed to use Alan Shearer as his role model.
His reluctance to follow team orders and contempt when handed the captain's armband by Shearer at the weekend does not seem to indicate a new leaf has been turned.
But his latest indiscretion has lost him the support of those he needed most - the Newcastle fans.
There is still hope for Dyer. Just as Beckham showed following his Argentina indiscretion, Dyer can get his career back on track.
But it will take huge determination and a large dose of remorse if he is to do that while playing his home games at St James' Park.
Making a formal apology to Robson is a start, but Dyer has a lot of work still to do.
MMIX
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