Vancouver and Montreal to bid for pair of 2011 MLS slots

The Vancouver Whitecaps have confirmed they will join the Montreal Impact in the bidding for the chance to join MLS in 2011, according to The Globe and Mail.

Yesterday, MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the league would add two additional teams in 2011, bringing the total number of clubs to 18 following the introduction of Seattle in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010.

The Whitecaps and owner Greg Kerfoot will join with NBA star and Victoria native Steve Nash to make the bid. Nash's brother, Martin, is a midfielder for the Whitecaps.

As for the Impact, the Globe further confirmed the Saputo family, who own the Montreal USL team, will join forces with Liverpool FC and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett to bring an MLS team to Quebec.

It has been previously reported in the Ottawa Citizen that the owner of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, Eugene Melnyk, is interested in bidding for an MLS team. Garber confirmed a group from Ottawa has expressed interest in an expansion team during his state of the league address in Toronto on Wednesday. In fact, Garber mentioned Ottawa alongside Montreal and Vancouver, making it seem that Melnyk is more than just curious in acquiring a football team. A video of the address is available on mlsnet.com.

A bid by Melnyk would not likely target the two spots opening in 2011, however. A later bid, closer to 2014-2015 is more likely.

Portsmouth look at Wright-Phillips bid

According to The Guardian, Portsmouth are looking at making a move for seldom-used Chelsea midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The south-coast team would make the diminutive winger the replacement for Sulley Muntari, who looks set to move to Inter Milan for around £12.5 million. Portsmouth would use the proceeds of that deal to acquire Wright-Phillips.

This would be a great move for both club and player. Wright-Phillips is a fantastic player who has stagnated on the bench at Chelsea.

For Wright-Phillips, it would be a great opportunity to vault himself back into England contention, as Fabio Capello will be watching UEFA Cup-bound Portsmouth intently this year with Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe, David James and Sol Campbell all likely to feature for Pompey this term.

Ronaldinho has met his match with AC Milan

I would like to take this time to personally congratulate both Brazilian international Ronaldinho and Italian Serie A side AC Milan. I feel this is "a really special moment" that could be the start of something big. It is only natural that "every player dreams of playing in a team as important as Milan, for this club's greatness and the importance of their players." This truly is "already a victory" for both club and player.

How curious it is the two biggest footballing names I've seen associated with weight problems have either signed or are linked with Milanese clubs (according to The H List, Frank Lampard is very fat indeed). Ronaldinho was at his chubby best for the Rossoneri media Wednesday, whipping out that Cheshire grin on cue and bowing politely to the 30,000 some-odd supporters (rubber-neckers maybe?) who turned up to support (or gawk at) the £16.7 million signing.

This really is a perfect match. Milan seem content to sign players creeping up on their thirties, while Ronaldinho seems content to continue his lazy ways in the slow-paced Serie A. Milan have some challenges ahead of them this season, like finishing in the top four, winning the UEFA Cup (an easy task for Bayern Munich last season, right?) and continuing the long process of replacing the geriatrics who make up a good chunk of their roster. Ronaldinho will help to be sure (he scored 89 goals in 190 appearances for Barcelona), but if things don't go swimmingly, don't wait for the former Big Barcelona Sulk to pitch in for the cause.

Frankly, I couldn't picture him trotting out for a Manchester derby for the blue half of the city. He'd be weeping by halftime after 11 Red Devils ran circles around him for 45 minutes. Manchester City were reported to have offered roughly £10 million more than Milan, but it likely would have been money wasted. Fancy footwork only flies in the Premier League when you've got the pace to back it up. Manchester's Mark Hughes may have saved himself some valuable cash when all is said and done.

Speaking of cash, according to a report on ESPN Soccernet, Milan fans "snapped up 5,230 season tickets out of a total of 18,518 sold during the whole of the close-season subscription period." Mr. Berlusconi is smiling, that's for sure.

Carson not really worth that much after all

After many reports earlier in the year had former Liverpool keeper Scott Carson valued near £10 million, he signed with West Bromwich Albion for a paltry £3.25 million, according to The Guardian. The England international, who played on loan at Aston Villa last season, had been linked with a move to Stoke City for around £3.5 million, but the Baggies move could be increased by another £500,000 based on "performance-related criteria," according to the Guardian.

Carson is not the first young English keeper of promise to play for West Brom after time at Liverpool -- Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland played on at the Hawthorns during the 2005-2006 season.

World Cup 2010 rumor & Dwayne De Rosario to Copenhagen?

This week I tuned in to a podcast that I've been away from for far too long: World Soccer Daily. What the hell was I thinking? This is still, along with the Guardian Football Weekly and Footy Show, mandatory listening for any Canadian football fan.

Anyways, my reward for correcting my negligent behaviour was a pair of juicy rumours.

According to Steven and Kenny, FIFA has confirmed three contingency nations to host World Cup 2010 if things continue to go awry in South Africa. The United States, England and Spain apparently have agreed to host the tournament if South Africa continues to fall behind on development.

This week, Sepp Blatter announced that three nations had been contacted to provide cover in case of a natural catastrophe, but refused to provide the identity of the countries. As well, it was announced that a new stadium under construction in Port Elizabeth will not be ready for next year's Confederations Cup, casting further doubt on the status of the 2010 event.

The second rumour, heard on yesterday's show, which was not confirmed by the player himself (but not denied either), is that Canadian star midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who plays for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS, could be lining up a move to Danish side FC Copenhagen. Such a move would allow De Rosario to participate in the UEFA Cup, for which Copenhagen have qualified, and a chance to play alongside fellow Canada international Atiba Hutchison.

I think De Rosario, two-time MLS player of the year, has proven himself at the MLS level and it's time for him to move on to a higher level of competition. This is great news, I feel, for Canadian fans as an improved Dwayne De Rosario would certainly improve Canada's chances to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, wherever it might be played.

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.