Now, the same sources are saying that Ferdinand has been "sensationally" dropped in favour of Campbell. It's being described as a "shock", but surely it's only a surprise to people who swallowed the earlier stories. Given the players' form, and the fact that England's recent performances have shown a need for a bit more passion, surely it's what everyone wanted. Ah, a good decision by Eriksson... maybe it is a shock.

Or maybe it's just another red herring. It's not at all clear that there's any more basis to this story than the earlier one. the official FA site, Eriksson "has refused to reveal his centre half pairing" and wants to keep things at the level of speculation till tomorrow.