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Sven questions Capello's methods

Fabio Capello saw England suffer a 0-0 draw on Tuesday © Getty Images

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Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has called into question the strict man-management tactics employed by current national team boss Fabio Capello.

Capello is renowned for his stern approach to player interaction, while Eriksson created a more relaxed atmosphere around the national team, famously allowing his midfielders to talk him out of a diamond formation during Euro 2004.

While Capello's no-nonsense approach initially saw him feted by the national press and public, a poor World Cup performance and a 0-0 draw with Montenegro in Euro 2012 qualifying has once again called his methods into question.

Eriksson certainly feels that England players should be treated with some compassion and understanding.

"I always treated my players like men," Eriksson told the Sun. "I would certainly never walk past a player in the corridor and not speak. Why should I do that? They have to play for you so of course I would speak to them.

"If you want them to do everything they can for you, then you have to treat them with respect. Yes, they should always know who is the boss - but they do know that. So treat them as grown-up people.

"The big question for me is - are the players happy? Because in my mind it is all about building the right relationship with your players and creating the right atmosphere. Is that the case with England? I don't know.

"It is difficult for me to say yes or no because, to know for sure, you have to be close to the situation and I'm on the outside. But I believe it is so important that you trust your players and believe they will trust you."

Meanwhile, Capello has also been questioned by Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, who was unimpressed by his decision to remove the captaincy from Steven Gerrard following Rio Ferdinand's return from injury.

"I was disappointed to see that he had the England captaincy taken away from him - I've got to be honest and say I don't really understand that decision," Hodgson told the club's official website..

"As much as Rio (Ferdinand) is a great player as well, I think if you have been out for a long time through injury and you're making your first England appearance for a long, long time, someone who actually had the captaincy for three games and had done brilliantly deserves to keep it.

"I haven't spoken to Steven about the subject but I just hope he is not too disappointed about it. At the moment, in his form and with his ability and desire to take responsibility, he plays a true captain's innings for us and I think he did it or England in the three games before [Tuesday night]."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.