One game into England's World Cup campaign and Fabio Capello appears to be struggling with the managerial equivalent of 'Whac-A-Mole'.
There are suddenly plenty of posers and potential problems, and they're popping up faster than the Italian could have ever envisaged when basking in the glory of England's superb 5-1 win over Croatia last September that booked their place in South Africa.
It would certainly be tempting to thwack Robert Green with a giant mallet after his butter-fingers attempt to gather that routine Clint Dempsey effort on Saturday night. Of course, there is sympathy for the West Ham man but surely that can only stretch so far. It's like when an X Factor contestant develops a sore throat - everyone agrees it's a real shame for them, but they're promptly discarded and soon forgotten.
Calamity can befall any keeper at any time, but the fear is always that uncertainty between the sticks might transmit its way into the defence. With John Terry having now lost two centre-back partners to injury in the space of a week, he needs to have total trust in the insurance policy behind him. Whereas he may have been convinced by Green before kick-off in Rustenburg, can he say the same now? On this occasion, you couldn't really blame the Chelsea captain for being unfaithful.
Whilst Green tried to alleviate some of the damage by fronting up in the post-match interviews, he had by then taken on a slightly haunted look and his train of thought was derailing in response to very straightforward questions. On and off the pitch, he doesn't exude the quiet confidence of David James - a man just two months short of the big 4-0 - or the confidence of youth displayed by Joe Hart.
Green may survive for the next match, but his next mistake could send England crashing out of the World Cup altogether - and then he would surely go the way of Paul Robinson and Scott Carson, neither of whom have been seen wearing the Three Lions since the end of Euro 2008 qualifying.
Capello's decision not to reveal his hand until as late as possible meant Green had limited time to cogitate over his selection before striding out at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. However, and perhaps for the first time, that was not the only criticism that could be directed at the Italian. Taking a punt on James Milner on the left wing after a week of illness proved misjudged, but replacing him with Shaun Wright-Phillips was also a mistake. In fact, the left side was the biggest (outfield) disappointment in what was otherwise a much-improved England display. Ashley Cole must have been told to keep a close eye on Landon Donovan because he barely broke forward during the 90 minutes to help out in attack, while Wright-Phillips fluffed his big chance late on in the second half when given space in the box. Joe Cole would always be this writer's preferred option on the left flank.
Ledley King's injury has ruled him out of the Algeria game on Friday night, but Jamie Carragher hardly convinced on his substitute appearance due to his lack of pace. In truth, none of King's fellow centre-backs in the squad are particularly speedy which is why the expected return of trusty shield Gareth Barry for the Cape Town clash is most welcome.
As for the other Three Lions departments, there is much to work on in the next five days. Aaron Lennon may have won the battle of the right wingers, but his crossing was little better than that of Theo Walcott on the evidence of Saturday night. Wayne Rooney can only 'write the future' when he rediscovers the scoring touch that has eluded him for the last seven outings. Frank Lampard was Steven Gerrard's midfield partner but not his equal by any means on the balance of play; the return of Barry could free up the Chelsea man to get more involved, and allow Gerrard to play off Rooney. That's taking nothing away from Emile Heskey, who performed well, but ultimately the chosen attack failed to unlock the United States and there will be stronger defences to face in the latter stages - should England get that far.
That still looks more than likely, although Slovenia's three-point haul in Polokwane gives the Eastern Europeans a realistic chance of progress too. Capello needs to get to grips with those moles, or the clock will count down and there'll be no chance of a prize at the end for England.
