Taylor: Sven walk-out 'would rebound on him and Chelsea'

From the rear of the ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul, a diminutive figure observes proceedings with rapt attention. He watches as first the England coach Sven Goran Eriksson and then the captain David Beckham skirmish with the media ahead of yesterday's final European Championship qualifying game - always with protection afforded by their Football Association minders.

The scene would have evoked some painful memories for Graham Taylor, who, in another era, had no such defence mechanism from his employers to protect him when he was under verbal assault prior to his resignation in the autumn of 1993. Now, having departed Aston Villa at the end of last season, the accreditation round his neck reads "reporter". He is working for Radio Five Live as a pundit; a classic case of Christian turned lion.

Recently turned 59, Taylor describes himself nowadays as "a fan", with all the instincts that entails. As Taylor attempts to analyse exactly what is going on within the mind of Sven Goran Eriksson, he is adamant that any decision to abandon England for a return to club football could rebound both on him and on Chelsea.

"Generally speaking in this country, people know what is fair and what isn't," Taylor reflects. "If he went to Chelsea and it cost Claudio Ranieri his job, I think the majority of fair-minded football supporters - probably even some of the Chelsea fans, too - would turn on Sven and Chelsea Football Club. They'd say: 'Hey, this isn't right'."

However, Taylor accepts that there appears to be a rift developing between the FA and Eriksson. But is it contrived or coincidental? "I just have a feeling that there's a get-out being manoeuvred here," he agrees. A get-out for both the Swede and the FA? "If so, they're both wrong. The England team belong to the nation; they do not belong to Sven, they do not belong to FA. They belong to all of us.

"I think they should stick together and see it through. My message to Sven would be: 'Do you realise what you're leaving? Don't go and spoil it now. The average age of a World Cup-winning side is 29, 30 and with several players having 60, 70 caps, with perhaps a couple of young players coming in. You see this England squad developing in that way towards the 2006 World Cup in Germany. By then, this England group will be around that age. It's all adding up. Is this the best chance that England will have to win another World Cup? I have got to say that it is."

He adds: "Despite all the nonsense that's been going on, I would not want him to walk away, whatever his reasons are, be they political, or just because he misses club football. I certainly would not want the FA to dismiss him either, because if you look at things historically we have a lot of the right ingredients for success in place. We have a group of England players who are coming up to their peak in 2006.

"I just don't want things that have happened this week to cause decisions to be made which would damage all that potential. If it were to happen you'd have to tell whoever took over, 'Don't touch anything, leave it for two years and let's see what we do'."

Taylor's resignation in November, 1993, followed that World Cup qualifying defeat in Rotterdam, an event magnified in the perception of England followers because it featured heavily in a fly-on-the-wall documentary which produced the immortal phrase: "Do I not like that." Taylor is big enough to laugh all that off - as well as the famous Sun portrayal of him as a vegetable. "I don't mind Turnip - just don't call me Gordon [a reference to the PFA chief executive]".

Though he readily empathises with the Swede and his predicament he has faced this past week, Taylor remains mystified by the coach's lack of reaction to the players' threatened mutiny. "Generally, if players have a complaint, they go and see the boss and see what his view is. If the manager is for it, he takes it on. If he is against it, which he obviously couldn't have been because his name is there on their statement, it goes back to the players. They then say, 'Hey, the boss isn't happy with this', and you don't immediately get 24 players voting for it. If your name comes out on the list, it's got to be assumed you're for it."

Taylor adds: "Yet, here we have the players feeling so strongly about something they produce a statement, yet not one of them is there to read it. It includes the manager's name, who sits there and doesn't say anything. With the media we've got, you're not going to get away with that." He pauses, before adding: "I think there's still a lot more to come out about all this." He could just be correct.