The Swedes are not really known for their sense of humour but it is alive and well, if not a little subtle. Sven Goran Eriksson has demonstrated that clearly.

There he was putting together his England squad for the friendly with Spain on Wednesday, and down went the names of a bright new beginning for this country's football - Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Jamie Carragher, Michael Carrick and even somewhat surprise packages Michael Ball and Gavin McCann.

But Sven has the air of a kindly headteacher, and all the tricks of the trade.

Just to check everyone was paying attention the Swede threw in the name Chris Powell.

There are probably national tabloid journalists stiff suffering from whiplash today.

There they were scanning the names, and wham, bang, double-take time - Chris Powell? What, Chris Powell of Southend, Derby County and now Charlton fame?

It's not even an anagram of Gareth Barry.

Don't get me wrong, Powell is a great club footballer. As a Derby fan, I was saddened to see a solid player leave the club and we have never really found a suitable long-term replacement.

But, there is a world of difference between being a good club professional and stepping up to the international scene with a country that should be dominating their opponents.

Powell was probably as surprised as everyone else to see his name in the 31-man squad, but good luck to him, he cannot do any worse than Phil Neville in that position if he is lucky enough to get a game.

Whether Powell will get a run-out is debatable, but the inclusion of Ashley Cole is a step in the right direction. He has only just broken into the Arsenal team but he looks a natural left-sided player with real potential.

AN INTERESTING NIGHT It's hard to comment on a game that you haven't actually seen but the edited highlights of Liverpool versus Roma on Thursday reveal that Spanish referee Jose Garcia-Aranda had an interesting night.

The apparent awarding of a penalty to Roma, and swift change of decision to a corner obviously has not gone down well in Rome.

Banner headlines such as Roma Cheated have graced the front pages of their sports papers - no sitting on the fence there then.

Radio Five pundits have been through the incident with a fine toothcomb and it was interesting to hear a Spanish journalist say that in the past month in Spain referees have changed their decisions in such manner twice.

This is a worrying trend. Players will now believe that their protests may actually reverse a decision, and refs will suffer even more verbal abuse as they try to go about their job.

And, with the success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire now global, the prospect of footballing Chris Tarrants asking the question 'Is that your final answer?' is all too real.

Finally, I would just like to withdraw my name for the position of manager at QPR. I have been expecting a letter to fall on my mat any day now offering me the post rather like a call-up for National Service as the likely candidates drop like flies.

Dave Bassett, Steve Bruce and Lawrie Sanchez have all asked to be taken off the shortlist so just to save any embarrassment on the side of Rangers, I don't wish to be considered.

Mind you, I was saddened to hear Gerry Francis was stepping down from the job. I always looked forward to seeing his interviews which without fail seemed to be conducted with a minature reporter who was somewhere down by his shoes. Well, he never looked straight ahead once.