by Stuart Gillespie

Ever since I attended my first, and until yesterday only, Premier League game, I've been sceptical of the Sky-led 'Best League in the World' hype.

It was Wigan vs Portsmouth at the JJB. The fog was so thick you could barely see the fans in the opposite stand. Chris Kirkland was cheered every time he managed to avoid dropping the ball. Glen Johnson put in one of the worst individual displays I've seen at any level. Only a late Lee McCulloch goal broke the palpable depression at the ground.

Sure, I was unlucky on this occasion, and you do see the odd classic in the Premier League, but I've also seen plenty of crackers following St Johnstone in the Scottish First Division.

And while I admit that there are some sights you just don't get north of the border - Arsenal or Manchester United in full, breathtaking flow, for instance - more often than not Premier League games feature several of the elements said to blight Scottish and lower league football: 11 men behind the ball, route one football, profligacy in front of goal, inept defending, horror tackles and so on.

To borrow a metaphor from Jose Mourinho, the buses that many teams park in front of Big Four goals may be full of players who would walk my team's league, but they're unable to display these talents from their own six-yard box, throwing themselves in front of Cristiano Ronaldo shots.

And when the top teams are pitted together the saliva-inducing aesthetic feasts we are promised rarely occur - often the sides simply cancel each other out.

With all this in mind, I didn't have high expectations for my trip to Upton Park to watch West Ham vs Bolton. 

As it happened, yesterday's match wasn't too bad, though certainly not as good as you'd expect from 'The Best League in the World'.

The atmosphere was fairly decent and Gianfranco Zola has got his team attempting to play passing football. Trouble is, many of his players are simply not good enough to emulate their Arsenal and Manchester United counterparts, and the decidedly stodgy Bolton triumphed without contributing much in the way of attractive football.

The saving grace was a wicked bender of a free kick by Matthew Taylor - fitting, sardonic karma for the witless West Ham fans who had been riffing tritely on matters relating to sexual preference since his introduction as a substitute.

Oh, and Robert Green, like Kirkland, was cheered every time he managed to avoid dropping the ball.

I'll stick to St Johnstone, thanks.

by Stuart Gillespie

So, where are we at? Well so far Cherno More have beaten Sant Julia 9-0 on aggregate, Man City have played about 15 games (all unconvincingly), Young Boys have spunked on some Hungarians at the Wankdorf, and it has been announced that this 38th edition of the mind-boggling competition will be the last.

And we haven't even reached the group stage yet.

Are our teams likely to get there? Let's find out...

Aston Villa (3) v Litex Lovech (1)

Put simply, yes, Aston Villa are likely to get through. It was a kind draw and the Premier League high flyers have gratefully placed one-and-a-half feet in the group stage at the expense of the unknown Bulgarians.

Man City (2) v Omonia Nicosia (1)

Omonia Nicosia may not be a household name, but they are no mugs and City did well to leave Cyprus with a first leg lead. Of course a lot has happened since then, with defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Wigan seeing Sulaiman-ia dampened somewhat. But with that crucial advantage from the away leg and the talent they have at their disposal, City should have no problems progressing to the next phase.

Motherwell (0) v Nancy (1)

Mark McGhee's side did well to hold relative giants Nancy to a one-goal advantage in France, though they remain underdogs going into the second leg. But despite their struggles in the SPL this season, Well have a good group of players and are by no means out of this tie.

Standard Liege (2) v Everton (2)

Everton look to have the toughest task ahead of them if they want to reach the group stage. Their lack of summer spending has seen them eclipsed by rivals Villa, Man City and Portsmouth in the Premier League, and their uncharacteristic defensive frailty this season was evident in the first leg draw with the Belgians. Liege came so close to putting out Everton's city rivals Liverpool in Champions League qualifying and will rightly be confident of piling more misery on already worried Toffees fans.

Vitoria Guimaraes (0) v Portsmouth (2)

Harry Redknapp's men have a good advantage from the first leg, but in that match Guimaraes missed a penalty at 1-0 that would have given the Portuguese an intriguing away goal. As it stands they'll still be a danger at home, though it'll be a surprise if Portsmouth are unable to finish the job.

Wisla Krakow (1) v Spurs (2)

Where to start with Tottenham? Much has been written elsewhere (including on this blog) about their horrific start to the season. Whoever's to blame (and, as usual, it's probably a combination of factors), things won't be any easier in Poland tonight. Between 2001 and 2006 Wisla went 73 matches unbeaten at home, and although they haven't had much success in European competition recently, a tricky trip to Krakow is undoubtedly one of the last things Spurs need at the moment. Of course successful negotiation of this tie could kick-start Tottenham's season. But, on current form, the more likely scenario is the overturning of their slender 2-1 lead and yet more pressure being heaped upon on Juande Ramos.

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So there we have it. Britain should have a few representatives in the asymmetrical group stage, and possibly more than a few. But the competition is in desperate need of next year's long overdue revamp. The Europa League may be more of a gentle tweaking than the rebranding suggests, but the changes should be for the better. The Intertoto Cup will be absorbed into the qualifying rounds and the group phase will come at the beginning of the competition, rather than in the middle, featuring even numbers of teams with home and away legs. 

Cherno More? Unfathomable format no more, with any luck.