Gillett speaks candidly about Liverpool FC

I just finished listening to the interview of Liverpool owner George Gillett by Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt on Prime Time Sports yesterday.

I must say I think I was wrong to ever think Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks were cut of the same cloth. Over the course of the interview, which was summarized on ESPN Soccernet along with a link to an audio version, Gillett was very forthcoming about the very unpleasant behind-the-scenes business at Liverpool. I'm beginning to see who the real problem is in the Liverpool front offices.

Gillett revealed that his relationship with Hicks has become unworkable and that his life has been threatened by individuals who don't want to see Hicks take a controlling stake in the club. Over the course of the interview, I became convinced that Gillett is truly a man who cares deeply about the fate of Liverpool, just as he cares about the Montreal Canadiens, his National Hockey League club.

This only ads to the sordid tale that has become the biggest off-field story of the Premier League season, but I think Liverpool fans should take heart from at least one owner's words and that all is not yet lost for the future of the club.

I encourage any Liverpool fan to read the article and download the clip, it is definitely worth your time.

Millwall FC may play in Ottawa

Football fans, American and the rest of us, had reason to be hopeful in Ottawa today.

As I reported today on the National Post website, one member of the group conditionally slated to run Ottawa's third (yes third, the two previous incarnations went bust) Canadian Football League team is also a significant shareholder of Millwall FC.

Bill Shenkman suggested during the press conference that Millwall, a League 1 side, could be brought over to train in the summer, possibly bringing other clubs in for friendlies.

He didn't go into much detail, but the possibility remains high. With the mayor, some members of council and the CFL behind the bid, a refurbished Frank Clair Stadium may see some real football much sooner than we'd anticipated after last summer's FIFA U-20.

"Gargantuan" Sunday: The Return

For whatever reason, the Premier League has decided two of the biggest rivalries in England should play their games on the same Sunday, almost at equidistant points during the season. This weekend, the "Grand Slam" returns, with Manchester United hosting Liverpool and Chelsea versus Arsenal.

Last time around, back in December, spectators were treated to one of the worst displays of football not involving Derby when Man United beat Liverpool 1-0. In a slightly better contest, Arsenal brought down Chelsea 1-0.

Why these games need to be crammed into one day is beyond me, but I'm certainly hoping the quality will be better this time around. I have a feeling it will be, but you never know when someone like Sir Alex will throw ten men behind the ball with hopes of grabbing all three points on the break, as he did at Anfield, turning a match into a dry, agonizing battle of attrition.

But I digress. Fergie will likely plan a more positive game, as he is wont to do at home. Chelsea is less likely to sit back, also at home and with the scent of blood in the water: Arsenal is vulnerable and a legitimate shot at the title beckons.

The one thing the Grand Slam has going for it now, that it didn't in December, is the end is near. We can clearly see the implications of possible results. If United wins and Chelsea-Arsenal ends in a draw (Arsenal have taken a shine to draws, posting four in a row), the Red Devils may have the title sewn up.

They would lead by five points with seven games remaining. Not insurmountable, but Man United seems to have a knack of winning in April and May. If Man United and Liverpool draw and Arsenal wins, it would seem to be a two horse race, with the Gunners and Devils fighting it out over the last two months.

The more interesting scenarios involve Chelsea winning and United dropping points. Chelsea would be level with Arsenal, only 2-3 points back of the leaders. Alternatively, and most intriguingly (and most unlikely, it should be said) is for red-hot Liverpool to pull off Rafa Benitez first defeat of Man United in the league and for the other game to finish in a draw.
The resulting table would look like this:

Manchester 70 pts
Arsenal 68 pts
Chelsea 66 pts
Liverpool 62 pts

With three games or less separating each team and head-to-head matches left to play, the final seven games would be something to behold.

Got all that? Enjoy your Easter Sunday!

Champions League Quarterfinal Draw

Here's the draw for the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal:

Arsenal v. Liverpool
Roma v. Manchester United
Schalke v. Barcelona
Fenerbahce v. Chelsea

The first legs will be played April 1/2 and the second legs will go April 8/9.

I got my wish, and there will be no Premier League domination of the continent this season. The last thing football needs is giant English teams with even more money at the expense of the rest of Europe.

Bolton must now win at Wigan after UEFA gamble lost

Gary Megson huffed, he puffed, but nothing he did March 13 could make his understrength team topple Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Cup, losing 1 - 0 on the night and 2 - 1 on aggregate.

The Bolton Wanderers manager elected to leave Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Davies, Matt Taylor, El-Hadji Diouf, Andy O'Brien, Ricardo Gardner, Ivan Campo and Gavin McCann at home in anticipation of the relegation battle against Wigan Athletic on Sunday.

His reserves, led by Gary Cahill who put in a heroic performance at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, could not muster the goal they needed to knock of the Portuguese side after drawing the first leg in Bolton.

The dilemma that Megson faces is that he wagered if he rested his top men for Sunday, they could potentially move on in Europe and get three points valuable points in the league.

Based on how his team performed last night, the gamble almost paid off. Only a late goal in the 85th minute sealed Bolton's fate. Watching the Trotters battle against a somewhat mediocre Sporting side, one couldn't help but wonder what could have been had Megson kept, say, Nolan, Davies and Diouf in the team.

Bolton only needed a goal, now they need to defeat Wigan on the road. Mired in 17th place, Bolton has only one win in their travels this season, so the odds get even longer for Mr. Megson.

Bolton have been the most underachieving side in the Premier League this season (Newcastle had yet to achieve anything, so they don't really count). The departure of Sam Allardyce has damaged both Bolton's fortunes and those of Big Sam himself.

Allardyce had managed to keep a penny-wise club in the top eight, four seasons in a row. Now Bolton are fighting for their top-flight lives.

The story of Bolton this season has been a woeful one, but Wanderers fans can only hope Megson gets his bet right on Sunday.

Champions League quarterfinal draw needs an all-English tie

The draw for the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League takes place in Nyon, Switzerland tomorrow with four Premier League sides having qualified in the previous round.

This presents a possibility, albeit somewhat remote, that four English clubs could qualify for the semi-finals. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United each have a shot at avoiding one another, but this would prove to be a disaster for the competition and UEFA in general.

The best case scenario would see at least one match-up involving the top four teams in England. A rematch of Chelsea-Liverpool or a London derby would make for a fascinating storyline in the next round.

The sentiment among the players is that they would like to meet another English side later in the competition, but can anyone truly imagine an all-English competition? What sort of mockery would be made of the European club championship if it were contested by English sides alone?

Naturally this assumes the four Premier League teams win in the quarterfinal round, but this is not an impossibility by any stretch of the imagination.

The strongest side on paper appears to be Barcelona, but they have been inconsistent in La Liga this season, allowing an equally inconsistent Real Madrid side to waltz along in first place for most of the year.

Roma has been impressive, beating the aforementioned Madrid side in the round of 16. They've managed to keep pace with Inter in Italy, but who can forget the quarterfinal debacle last year that saw them bow out to Man United, conceding seven goals at home?

As for Fenerbahce and Schalke, certainly anything can happen over two legs, but for either of these teams to defeat any of the other six would make for a David and Goliath epic.

The Premier League has come a long way in the past 15 years or so. The 1990s were a relatively barren time for English clubs in Europe. Now they are regular contenders for continental silverware. For the powerhouse sides of England to so utterly dominate the continent, so that the four clubs that qualify are the only ones left in April, will distort the competition in ways that may permanently impact European competitions.

UEFA likes to tinker with their toys, I can only imagine how they'd respond were England to bully everyone else off their playground.