Attack of the tabloids

By Torin Douglas
BBC media correspondent

Pressure on Mr Eriksson grew following News of the World stories

"It could only happen in this country, that's for sure."

When Sven Goran Eriksson bemoaned the state of the British press after his expose by the News of the World's 'fake sheikh', he would have had a sympathetic hearing in Liberal Democrat circles.

The resignation of Mark Oaten as the party's home affairs spokesman was also precipitated by a News of the World story - the undenied revelation that he had a relationship with a male prostitute.

Now another candidate for the party's leadership, Simon Hughes, has admitted to the Sun that he has had gay relationships, despite denying the fact in the past.

Eriksson gave vent to his feelings following the announcement that he would step down as England manager after the World Cup - a decision brought to a head by his unguarded comments printed in the News of the World.

He is taking legal action against the paper and said the way he had been treated was a "scandal".

"Sometimes I get fed up reading about my private life - what I did, what I said. I think people are getting fed up with reading this. Since some time ago I felt that it's too many circuses around my private life and maybe this was one too many," he said.

That constant pressure will always be there Des Kelly Daily Mail journalist

So how much has Eriksson's career in the UK been affected by the tabloids?

Is he any different from the politicians who have paid for their indiscretions being exposed by the media?

And could it only happen in this country?

It is true that tabloid newspapers in the UK delve further into the private lives of its public figures than those in most other countries. And just like politicians, England football managers are seen as fair game both on and off the field.

That is nothing new - ask Terry Venables, Graham Taylor or Bobby Robson about the media pressure they experienced.

"That constant pressure will always be there" says Des Kelly, former sports editor of the Daily Mirror, now writing for the Daily Mail.

Mr Oaten left the Lib Dem front bench after a damaging news story

He told the BBC this week: "I think there's a fascination and an interest in the England job and it has reached the stage now where it's almost entertainment to bait the England manager whatever the results.

"Sven Goran Eriksson is not a politician - I realise that politicians being caught with a rent boy is almost a daily occurrence but at least there's some point to that kind of expose, if an individual is putting himself forward as leader of a political party in championing family values.

But Sven is not in politics - they just become a target. They seem fair game."

Bill Bradshaw, sports editor of the Daily Express, said he believed an English or British manager would have found it easier to cope with.

"They know about the tricks, they know all the red top shenanigans" he said.

"Eriksson came to this job and was genuinely surprised at the interest. He's used to five or six pages over tactical naivety in Italy but not that sort of number of pages into his personal naivety or personal peccadilloes."

Glamorous women

Kelly profoundly disagreed: "The idea that an English manager will have more time and have an easier ride from the media is laughable - it didn't work for Bobby Robson or Graham Taylor.

And if you recall, Sven had something of a honeymoon period because people didn't actually know who he was; he was an enigmatic figure and he wasn't pre-judged - he had no past history."

Then, unlike Robson and Taylor, Eriksson was found to have had relationships with three glamorous women - his then partner Nancy Dell'Olio, the TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson and an FA employee, Faria Alam - as well as holding secret talks about joining a Premiership club, leaving the England job mid-contract.

Bradshaw said: "This departure from the FA was always going to happen and we at the Express and other papers have been saying this ever since the Faria Alam affair. What it did is bring it to a head."

Many would say that, like some politicians, Eriksson must accept a good deal of the blame himself.