No matter how many websites are set up calling him for him to be sacked or how many times he is put up for sale on Ebay (a joke that wore thin in 2002), Sven-Goran Eriksson will not either resign or be sacked this side of the final World Cup qualifiers. And nor should he be.
For the FA to sack the manager of a team lying second in their World Cup qualifying group with one defeat in three qualifying campaigns would be utterly ridiculous. He has taken us to two major Finals and within a decent substitution of two semi-finals. To kick him out because England lost to Northern Ireland would make the FA no better than Freddy Shepherd when it comes to making decisions about managers.
Yes, England were awful against an inspired Northern Ireland, yes, the formation was at least partly at fault, yes, Eriksson does lack the passion that we'd all like to see from an England manager (but anyone who bases their opinions purely on this clearly has no memory of Keggy Keegle) and yes, he does seem to have lost control of a team of superstars.
But no, that should not mean he loses his job. Yet.
Eriksson should be given this World Cup campaign, whether it ends in play-off defeat or in Germany next summer, to finish his job. That job should involve having the gumption to upset players, having the courage to pick a formation that suits the team and not individuals and temporarily having the dizziness to lose Owen Hargreaves' phone number.
All the hundreds of e-mails received by Football365 in the last 24 hours prove that there is no universal opinion as to how this England team should play - 3-5-2, 4-4-2, drop Beckham, drop Lampard, shoot Hargreaves - but what is universal is the instruction to England players to start looking like they give a flying kiss about playing for their country.
If they need a Stuart Pearce or a Sam Allardyce to come in now to shout the odds and make that happen, then that really says rather more about the motivation levels of the players than it does about the current manager.
But I do believe that Eriksson should not stay beyond the World Cup however this all ends - it will be time for a change, for him, for the players, for the press and for the fans. And I put paricularly emphasis on the players - a new manager with no alliances and no favourites is needed to put a rocket up the backside of certain folk.
So who should follow him? Steve McClaren? No way. He's part of the Eriksson club and as such does not match the criteria for a fresh start. And his achievements with Middlesbrough have hardly blown the bleedin' doors off.
Alan Curbishley? A solid choice but not a remarkable one. Here is a man who has always struggled to motivate his Addicks in the FA Cup against inferior opposition or indeed at any point of the season beyond the point at which survival is ensured.
Sam Allardyce? If you want English passion, then Sam's your man. Unfortunately, we also envisage a future of Gary Neville trying to land a long throw onto the head of Peter Crouch. And why would he want such a rotten job anyway when he seemingly has a job for life in Lancashire?
Stuart Pearce? Too soon, and we really wouldn't wish it on him anyway. We'll come back to him.
The name that jumps out from the bookies' list for me is Peter Taylor. Forget for a minute the disastrous spell at Leicester (the lesson WGS should have heeded: never follow Martin O'Neill), beyond that his record is exemplary. At club level, there was promotion at Gillingham, Brighton and Hull twice over. And then there's the England Under-21s, who Taylor is for the second time turning into one of the best teams in Europe.
How fantastic to hear this week that Glen Johnson was sent home from the squad for being a Bertie Big B***ocks. That's what you want from a manager, someone who says 'I don't care what you do at Chelsea, here you listen to me'.
He ticks all the right boxes - tactically astute, passionate without being hot-headed, strength to deal with big personalities, hard-working (he does two jobs, remember) and an encyclopaedic knowledge of England's young players. And he's already respected by the FA and knows the drill. Graham Taylor said on Saturday that it takes two years for a manager to adjust to international football. Halve that for Taylor.
And his assistant? That's where Pearce comes in. A man like that will never be happy away from the training-ground, in the stands watching games or in meetings at the FA. But turning up a few days before the game to kick some butt and remind the players how they should feel playing for England? Perfect.
