England defeated 2-1 by Russia

Steve McClaren's position is appearing shaky once again. A 2-1 defeat by Russia has unraveled all the good work England has done in putting a string of five consecutive 3-0 wins together before this decisive group fixture.

He insisted he is not contemplating resignation and will not stay on and fight as England coach but one wonders what else is there to fight since his superstar squad is going to miss out on a trip to the Euro 2008 finals.

England looked to have the win they needed to clinch qualification in the bag when Wayne Rooney put them ahead mid-way through the first half. But two goals in the space of four second-half minutes from super-sub Roman Pavlyuchenko crashed England's hopes and left McClaren barely clinging on to his job.

England are now in a precarious position and qualification is out of their hands. Russia will qualify ahead of England if they can secure wins in Israel. Based on today's performance, that should not be a problem. McClaren has to pray that the Israelis can do England a favour by frustrating the Russians in Tel Aviv.

England will be in an even stronger position if if Macedonia beat Croatia on November 17. Then England could still overtake the current group leader by also beating them at Wembley four days later, although that would require an unlikely three-goal victory against the best side in the group.

With Israel already out of the qualifying race, the odds must be on Russia getting the two wins they need, Croatia joining them in the finals and McClaren being out of a job by the end of next month.

Hiddink rubbed salt into English wounds by suggesting McClaren's men were punished for over-confidence.The Dutchman said: "I had the feeling at half-time if we could keep the pressure on and get an equaliser it would not be easy for them. With one goal they would start worrying."

England thought at half-time that they were leading so even a draw would be a good result. But you must finish the job before you get what you want. That's what we did."I'm very proud of these guys. We did a lot on the sidelines but in the end we can be proud of what the players achieved on the pitch."

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Is Owen A Good Partner for Rooney?

Despite Rooney breaking his three year duck with England by scoring in the 3-0 victory over Estonia, there is lingering doubt over the effectiveness of Owen playing alongside Rooney.

The England midfield pairing dilemma of Lampard-Gerrard has been solved with Gareth Barry being installed as the mainstay. He has brought a new balance to the midfield and in this match, he repaid the faith of his supporters by giving another solid performance and allowing Gerrard to roam forward.

The same cannot be said of Rooney-Owen pairing. Rooney reasserted himself in this match after a long international hiatus but Owen was barely in the action.

Both did not have much interplay and one-two passing was negligible. Against a better team which allows them less time on the ball and played a suffocating style, the lack of telepathy between the two strikers will be England's main stumbling block.

For much of the match, England played the long ball and that exposed the inadequacies of the partnership. The team sorely needs a physical presence to latch on to the high balls. Owen can be forgiven for being annoymous as he is still recovering from a surgery. It was a big relief to England that Rooney got onto the scoreboard and Estonia was not a threatening team.

England are now second in Group E behind Croatia and are almost certain to qualify. A draw against Russia in their next match would suffice. Getting a win would be the best result as they qualify with a game in hand. With the current form of the strikers, scoring in Moscow may not be so easy though.

Injuries to Terry and Ashley Cole may also hamper the team's chances and McClaren will have to struggle with fitting Lampard into the team when he recovers. Lamps was booed when he came on as a sub in the final 20 minutes.

McClaren is riding on a high now and Soccer Pundit does not think he should jeopardise England's chances by letting Lampard feature at all. As for Owen, he can still play in the first XI since there are not many good strikers around but choosing the right partner for Rooney is critical if England were to advance further.

World Champion Italy In Poor Form

Italy struggled against soccer minnow Georgia in the Euro 2008 qualifying Group B over the weekend. The result 2-0 was flattering for a lackluster performance and they need to improve a lot against a resurgent Scotland next month.

Goals from Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Grosso in each half kept Italy in second spot below Scotland but above France. They are still not in the clear yet as a defeat by the Scots and a victory for France against Lithuania would leave qualification out of the Italians' hands, even if they win their last match against Faroe Islands.

This match should have been easy especially when Georgia's most notable player, Kakha Kaladze who is playing for AC Milan, is missing through injury. However, Italy has not been the same since winning the World Cup and struggled to stamp their authority on the match.

Italian coach Roberto Donadoni will do well to reconsider the role of strikers Alessandro del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi in the team. Both are getting old, approaching 35, and are no longer as effective as in their hey days.

With the main strikers misfiring and defenders like Fabio Cannavaro, Marco Materazzi and Gianluca Zambrotta injured, no wonder Roberto commented that "the important thing was the result."

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ten Cate The Volcano

Chelsea has employed the service of ten Cate, better known as the Volcano for his ferocious temper and abrasive manner.

The coach's service at eight different clubs over the last twenty years has been marked by controversy. Vitesse Arnhem President informed the press in 1998 that "I had to sack ten Cate in 1998 because there was a bad relationship between him and my players."

"Every day, ten Cate had an emotional argument with someone. With him, you have a top coach at your club but also a volcano."

Ironically, Chelsea supposedly sacked Mourinho over these reasons.

ten Cate left Ajax to join Chelsea as assistant coach and report to Avram Grant. He spent the weekend acquainting himself at Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea's prima-donnas set to return for training after international duty, many fear that conflict is about to start.

The Dutchman has already warned the players he will be in command. He said: "When I am the coach, I take it to the limits. Be sure, I will be the boss."

Cate is respected as a coach but his reputation is tainted by the number of public rows in his career. If Abramovich wants a better player-management relationship, he better think again.
Dutch legend Ronald Koeman believes Chelsea have blundered by appointing him.

Koeman questioned his credentials: "I can't understand how ten Cate can suddenly become coach of Chelsea when at Ajax, they have failed to qualify for the Champions League in the last two years and are not in the Uefa Cup."

Klinnsman To Replace Martin Jol

Jeurgen Klinnsman is ready to replace Martin Jol as manager of Tottenham if there is assurance about the future ownership of the club.

According to the Guardian, Klinnsman is preparing for his entry into club management and believes his former club can provide it.

However, he is concerned with the majority shareholder Enic's plan to sell the club. If the club will not be taken over in three years, Klinnsman is ready to step in to improve the club's fortunes. Enic, which is co-owned by Joe Lewis and Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, holds more than 82 percent of Tottenham's shares.

Tottenham has been unofficially on the market since last season, and the club has met at least one consortium of investors to discuss a takeover.

Martin Jol will not be happy with this report but he should take a break as results have not turnaround and morale is at an all-time low. If Tottenham doesn't improve soon, they could be fighting relegation at the end of the season.