Despite taking an early lead through a Wayne Rooney stunner, England succumbed 2-1 away in Russia, once again putting their qualification hopes in doubt.

The English media once again had a case of premature ejaculation after the Israel game, and things were brought quite heavily down to earth today.

However, the English will be aggrieved at the way Russia equalised. Wayne Rooney clearly comitted a professional foul, tugging the shirt of the player who had stolen in on the left to race onto a throughball, but he seemed to have done so well outside the box. However the momentum of both players was carrying them forward, and they both flew to the ground in the penalty area. I would say that it was clearly NOT a penalty, and it definitely looked worse than it was. Rooney though can have no complaint over his yellow card.

This all happened during a sustained period of Russian pressure. In the first half England had been the dominant force. coming to terms with the difficult conditions, and playing intelligently and commitedly. Then Michael Owen won a header, flicking the ball onto Rooney, who controlled it on his chest before thumping a powerful, dipping volley over the Russian keeper's head. The defender nearest to him seemed to be convinced that it was a handball, but the replays confirmed that it was his chest.

The game was cat-and-mousey, but it all changed in the second half. With about 30 minutes left, the ineffective Alexandr Kerzhakov was taken off for Roman Pavlutjenko, and it was the latter who scored both goals.

First came the "penalty" in the 69th minute, which was at the start of a period of sustained Russian pressure. And the Russians kept swarming the English goal. They surged forward, switching the ball around at pace, and making very, very good use of the wide players (as Hiddink loves to do). They never forced the play, they never thumped in tons of speculative crosses, instead they concentrated on keeping possession around the England penalty area. Their passing and movement gave time for the midfielders and fullbacks to run up and join the attack, and when they finally did cross or pass the ball, it seemed almost like a post set-piece scramble in the England box.

4 minutes after their equaliser, Russia had the lead. They passed, and waited, and passed and waited, and didn't rush their shooting chances, even though several of them could have made speculative shots. Eventually Robinson had to save, and since the box was loaded with Russian players, one of them managed to break free and react first to the rebound. Once again it was Pavlutjenko, poking the ball past a lumbering Robinson, and static defence.

So that's it, 2-1 to Russia. They are just two points behind England (23) now, with a game in hand. The next two fixtures are difficult: Israel vs Russia, and England vs. Croatia. Let's see what happens.

Back in May, when Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal at Ashburton Grove, thereby handing the title to Manchester United, Arsenal fans took great delight in singing "Sacked in the summer, you're getting sacked in the summer" to the hyperactive Jose Mourinho. Bordering on obnoxiousness as always, the Portuguese manager had charged on the field at full-time, gesturing wildly to the crowd and trying to be the focus of attention.

Although that little interchange amused many, tellingly not a lot of eyebrows were raised - Mourinho was clearly not too happy with how things were being run at Chelsea, and Chelsea were allegedly not too happy with the style of football played under Mourinho, and his unwillingness to be pushed around by their collection of suits - Kenyon, Buck, Abramovich and Zahavi, of which only the latter can have some claim to being a "football man".

Add to that the appointment of Avram Grant from Portsmouth as Director of Football (not to mention the arrival of Frank Arnesen many months earlier to oversee the scouting and talent acquisition) and Chelsea clearly seemed to be building the sort of system that makes a manager's wishes irrelevant. In someways they have jumped from being small to "big" in a very short span of time, and without really having the structure to match. They have hurriedly tried to cobble together a "structure" at the club, and this smells of an insecurity towards the age-old foundations established at powerhouses like AC Milan, Barcelona, and closer-to-home... Arsenal and Manchester United.

I don't think Abramovich liked the fact that Chelsea were reliant for success on Mourinho, especially with the disagreements over playing style and the arrival of certain personnel (Shevchenko, Ballack, Wright-Phillips), and so he decided to establish a "continental-style" structure that would oversee everything to do with the sporting aspects of the club other than the actual coaching, tactics and and operations of the first-team. Any manager arriving in the future would have to work within these constraints, but Mourinho had been there before it all, and was the man responsible for delivering Chelsea's first meaningful silverware in 50 years, so it was never going to work well.

Mourinho may not have played terrific football, or thrilled many (or any), but he had a talent for figuring out how to win or draw football matches. I can't remember any games where they every looked out of a tie, and their resilience and solidity were incredible. You can't hire a manager to win you titles, and when he wins you titles, start telling him how to do his job.

So out goes one of the brightest young managers in Europe, the only surprise being that it was a month into the season instead of before it. Whoever comes in now will have a difficult task, because they can't afford to let performances flag. Avram Grant has stepped up to the mantle for now, but two of the names being bandied about are Fabio Capello and Guus Hiddink. Capello seems unlikely, given his fondness for signing Italians wherever he goes (and the fact that the transfer window doesn't reopen for some months), and when you factor in the Russian connection, and his friendship with Abramovich, Hiddink is not the unlikeliest candidate in the world. Harry Redknapp is a less-likely figure, but another shrewd operator, and someone who likes to play exciting football.