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Wednesday Football
17 October 2007
by Jerrad Peters

"I thought we'd never lose," stated Steve McClaren, crestfallen, as he faced the press immediately following England's 2-1 loss to Russia. "We had it. It was in our grasp and we've ended up losing it." The disconsolate manager, whose job may hang in the balance after the latest trip-up, watched his side lose their heads for four minutes after Wayne Rooney had provided the opener. Four minutes, a dubious penalty, and a monumental shift in momentum. "I've just seen the penalty again," commented McClaren. "It's an absolute disgrace. It's outside the box. The lineman didn't give it. It was the referee from quite some distance." Nevertheless, Roman Pavlyuchenko's pentultimate penalty and follow-up in the 73rd-minute proved decisive as Guus Hiddink's Russia moved to within two points of England. Pavlyuchenko, the productive Spartak Moscow forward, slotted his first effort past Paul Robinson after Wayne Rooney was judged to have pulled Konstantin Zurianov's shirt in the area. His second-goal was produced after Alexei Berezutsky's rebound landed at his feet. It was a quick turn of events as England, having held the lead for over an hour, had their qualification prospects dealt a severe blow in a matter of moments. Indeed, England's campaign is now in tatters. Even a win in their final match at home to Croatia would see them on 26-points. Russia, with a game in hand, will have every opportunity to post a total of 27-points with wins over Israel and Andorra. And the Croats, atop the group with 26-points, will face lowly Macedonia on 17 November -- 4 days prior to their crucial match at Wembley. Complicating matters for McClaren will be the absence of Rio Ferdinand. The Manchester United defender was assessed a yellow card in Moscow and will miss the next game through suspension. In hindsight, had England capitalized on several chances to go 2-0 up, they might never have been in this unfavorable position. Rooney's goal was a thing of beauty. After Micah Richards lofted a superb pass into the attacking area, Michael Owen knocked the ball to Rooney who chested it briefly before unleashing a cannonball past Vladimir Gabulov. Steven Gerrard might well have doubled the lead shortly thereafter. In a final gasp of desperation, McClaren introduced Frank Lampard for Joleon Lescott in the 79th-minute and both Stewart Downing and Peter Crouch for Shawn Wright-Philips and Joe Cole, respectively, a minute later. But it was to no avail. Not even a training session at the Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic Church in Altrincham was enough to save England on this night.

Sammy Lee has been sacked at Bolton Wanderers. Dead-last in the Premier League with just five points through nine rounds, Trotters parted ways with the 48-year-old last night and have yet to name a long-term successor. "This has been a difficult decision for all parties but we hope to have agreed that the time is right," stated chairman Phil Gartside on the club's website. "Sammy has played an important role in the club's recent history." And under departed manager Sam Allardyce, the Lancashire outfit prospered as never before. And Allardyce's assistant, Lee, was touted as the brains of the operation when the former left for Newcastle last spring. But as so often happens, the number-two could not properly fill the shoes of the number-one. Lee removed Gary Speed's coaching duties a fortnight ago -- a move which will likely result in the Welshman's exit in January. And club captain Kevin Nolan was ostraciszed as well. With relegation looming over the team, Gartside acted before it was too late. Already, former Wigan boss Paul Jewell and current Real Sociedad manager Chris Coleman are being touted for the position. Speed, meanwhile, has been offered a loan deal by Bryan Robson at Sheffield United.

The French courts have come down on the ringleaders of Marseille's notorious era of corruption. Between 1997 and 1999, Rolland Courbis and Robert Louis-Dreyfus are alleged to have skimmed 22M-pounds from the club's coffers. Using several off-shore bank accounts, the two collected illegal commissions from the transfers of players such as Lorent Blanc and Michael Duberry. The ruling concludes a 6-year investigation into the goings-on at the club. Courbis, the former manager and current Montpellier boss, will spend two years in jail and pay fines totalling 200,000-euros. Louis-Dreyful, the club's major stakeholder, has been issued a 10-month suspended sentence and will pay an identical fine.

Alessandro Del Piero has agreed a contract extension which will see him remain at Juventus through 2010. The 32-year-old forward would have been out of contract at season's end and had already been the focus of a handful of interested clubs. Most audatiously, Queens Park Rangers made an overture for the Juve captain last week. Chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc announced the signing, stating, "Today we have achieved an important result for the future of Juventus." Del Piero echoed similar sentiments in his comments. "Juventus have given me a lot and I want to continue to win here," he said. Currently, the club's all-time leading goal-scorer is manager Claudio Ranieri's third-choice forward behind David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Four English football fans were hospitalized in Moscow after clashes with their Russian counterparts on Tuesday evening. The Foreign Commonwealth Office has reported that while two of the individuals have been discharged, two remain in hospital in the Russian capital.