RATHER than worry about the departure of Adam Crozier, England fans should today be far more concerned about the possibility of another senior Football Association employee following him out of Soho Square.

For the question that ought to be on the lips of every supporter is: Will Sven-Goran Eriksson now quit, too?

It was Crozier who made the initial contact with Eriksson, telephoning the Swede from the bowels of Wembley while the country was still coming to terms with Kevin Keegan's resignation.

And as senior figures at the FA raged against the idea of a foreigner managing the England team, Crozier - a Scot - was unequivocal in his backing for Eriksson. Theirs was a relationship akin to those shared by Bob Murray and Peter Reid, or Steve Gibson and Bryan Robson.

Ultimately, their footballing marriages also ended in divorce, but in those cases it was the manager sacked by the chairman.

Here, Crozier has jumped before he was pushed for behind-the-scenes chicanery, not for incompetence.

No wonder Eriksson last night confessed to being "devastated" at the departure of his closest ally.

Sure, Crozier has ruffled a few feathers at the FA, but after taking charge of a body that was stuck in the 19th century, he deserves immense credit for dragging it into the new Millennium - no matter how painful the transition might have been.

No decision was more controversial than the one he took in looking abroad for Keegan's replacement - a decision that prompted one journalist to scream: "We've sold our birthright down the fjord to a nation of seven million skiers and hammer throwers who spend half their lives in darkness."

Despite such incredible xenophobia, England have a bright future under Eriksson - but he would be excused if he were to see Crozier walk away and decide to follow suit.

The studious Swede has endured the slings and arrows of outrageous footballing fortune this year.

First, there was his illicit liaison with Ulrika Jonsson; then, he was ridiculously criticised in some quarters for failing to bring the World Cup back with him from Japan.

With his best mate at the FA now departed, and the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign going slightly awry, it would not shock FA chairman Geoff Thompson if Eriksson's resignation letter were to land on his desk shortly.

And to lose one influential official would be unfortunate; to lose two would be downright careless.

So, instead of launching an immediate search for Crozier's successor, the FA would be best served ploughing all their energies into persuading Eriksson to stay.