Swift end for the troubleshooter signed to clean up game's image

Mark Palios was never under any illusions that his job as the Football Association's chief executive would be easy. On the day he started work at Soho Square, 13 months ago yesterday, the 51-year-old accountant declared: "I am in no doubt that there will be significant challenges ahead."

On the same day, he said: "As a former player and as a fan of the game, I am in no doubt that the FA must at all times put football first." As recently as April this year, he said: "We need a strong, credible FA to look after the game, to be guardians in the long term."

With the FA's reputation in tatters and Palios's professional life falling down around his ears, his first statement has been proved unequivocally true, but following his resignation last night there is now no chance of him being any part of a "strong, credible FA" in the future.

Instead of building on early successes in his mission to clean up the "tarnished" image of the England game, including waging war on football's lax attitude to drugs, Palios's own behaviour took centre stage yesterday. His affair with the FA secretary, Faria Alam, was not in itself regarded as a problem. His possible role in any attempted cover-up certainly was. While Palios insists he has done nothing wrong, the question remains whether he was complicit in offering Sven Goran Eriksson's head to save his own.

That act alone makes a mockery of Palios's views on disciplinary matters, aired shortly after starting work at the FA. "The FA's disciplinary process is fundamental to everything that the governing body of the game stands for," he said. "My aim is to ensure the highest standards of fairness and transparency."

His departure leaves in ruins Palios's grand plan to clean up the FA's image. Ironically, it was his greatest achievement as chief executive ­ dealing with Rio Ferdinand's missed drugs test ­ that sowed the seeds for his biggest mistake.

He took a tough line with Ferdinand, choosing to drop him, against Sven Goran Eriksson's wishes, from England's crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey in Istanbul. He said he did so because he did not want the FA "compromised" should Ferdinand's missed test subsequently be made public.

Palios was also insistent that Ferdinand should be properly punished and was not unhappy with the Manchester United defender's subsequent eight-month ban. Palios's view was that the FA not only do the "right thing" but be seen by the international community to be doing it.

If his decision effectively to suspend Alan Smith from England contention after Smith had been charged with misconduct for throwing a plastic bottle antagonised Smith's England team-mates, it at least hinted that Palios would be consistent in his clampdown on bad behaviour.

The problem was that he was uncomfortable dealing with the media on these issues, preferring to keep his head down and leave much of the public explanations to Paul Barber, then the FA's marketing director who also held a communications brief. Yet Palios then decided that the FA needed someone more expert in the communications field and hired Colin Gibson.

Palios has undoubtedly helped the FA to move forward in some areas, not least financially. His background as a corporate troubleshooter, as the head of Business Recovery Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was one of the main reasons the FA's chairman, Geoff Thompson, gave him the nod.

The FA's financial commitments, including £757m on the new Wembley Stadium, were threatening to get out of hand and it seems that Palios, through a combination of cutbacks and new commercial deals, has at least steadied the ship. Conversely, he is also the chief executive who fought so hard to retain the services of Eriksson on £4m-a-year contract until 2008.

Now that Palios has resigned, he will not appreciate the irony that he was never the FA's first choice. The man it was set on, Peter Littlewood, a senior executive in the Mars organisation, pulled out of the running.

Instead Thompson hired Palios, on £350,000 per year, as the successor to Adam Crozier, who had resigned seven months earlier. The chain of succession speaks volumes about the nature of the FA's hierarchy in recent decades.

Thompson had been instrumental in hounding out Crozier, who he felt had committed too much money to too many projects, not least Wembley.

Thompson was formally voted into a first full (four-year) term of office in 2000. He was re-elected chairman three weeks ago, a remarkable feat for a man who not so long ago seemed in danger of losing his own £75,000-a-year post. He is viewed by several senior FA figures, including on the 12-man board, as weak and ineffective during crises.

For the moment, he survives, as does David Davies, the FA's executive director, who became acting chief executive upon Graham Kelly's departure in 1998 and has retained a senior role at the FA since.

Davies's own role in Svengate is still under scrutiny. From being apparently in danger a few days ago, Davies now seems almost safe. The FA cannot afford to lose too many leading figures in one go.

Five in the firing line

Key players in the Svengate debacle

Mark Palios

FA chief executive

Appointed: 2003.

Salary: £350,000.

Case against: Admits to affair with Faria Alam. Appointed Colin Gibson as his director of communications, who offered deal to News of the World (see right) toexpose Sven Goran Eriksson in exchange for not exposing Palios. It is assumed Palios knew of the deal.

Chances of survival: Gone.

David Davies

FA executive director

Appointed: In various roles since 1994.

Case against: Thought to have contacted Eriksson over initial allegations. Widely believed that Eriksson told him "this is nonsense" on the basis of which denials were issued - but not clear whether this was without Eriksson's consent.

Chances of survival: Pretty good.

Colin Gibson

FA communications director

Appointed: November 2003, took up post in February.

Salary: Believed to be £150,000.

Case against: Offered the deal under which he provided details of Eriksson's affair - "I've got the places, I've got the phone calls, I've got everything" - and in return the paper did not publish anything about Palios.

Chances of survival: Nil.

Geoff Thompson

FA chairman

Appointed: Took over as acting chairman in 1999.

Salary: £75,000.

Case against: Rushed to put out a press statement announcing an inquiry into situation but at the same time exonerating Palios last Tuesday, which was a move which baffled and irritated a number of senior FA board members.

Chances of survival: Uncertain.

Sven Goran Eriksson

England coach

Appointed: 2000.

Salary: £4,000,000.

Case against: His private life has embarrassed the FA, though that hardly constitutes grounds for dismissal. Appears to have been a breakdown of communication when first asked about his affair with Alam, though it is far from clear that he deliberately misled his employers.

Chances of survival: Uncertain.