Changing of the Guard

The past few weeks has seen the changing of the guard somewhat with Inter beating Barca in the CL, Spurs finishing in the top four and Chelsea look set to reclaim the title from United. Out of all these the Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho saga interests me most from a betting point of view. Mourinho looks set to leave Inter Milan this summer with Real Madrid/Liverpool/Man City/Man United all mooted as possible destinations, for my money I would back Jose Mourinho to be at Real Madrid next season - in fact I would place wheelbarrows full of money on this if I could find a market somewhere!!

Skybet had a market up briefly and I regret not taking the Evens that was available for the Real Madrid manager at the start of next season to be Jose Mourinho. The rumour mill has been going crazy about Jose coming back to England in the summer. Personally I think that Jose would like to win a la liga title before coming back to England – he has stated before he wants to be the first manager to win titles in England, Italy and Spain, Real Madrid will more than likely continue their tradition of a new manager each year and dump Pelligrini in the summer paving the way for Jose, this looks nailed on to me.

I have searched high and low for a market somewhere but to no avail, I even emailed Betfair to see if they would put a market up but they responded they might add a “Mourinho to Stay” market up, which would be a forgone conclusion in my eyes – its not when he is leaving it’s the club!!

If anyone can find some prices, please let me know!

End of Season Break

It feels like I have lost my way a little bit recently with the blog and betting as a whole, I have good days and then very bad days where I end up chasing losses until im betting on the very last game in South America - not a good sign. So I have decided to take a break from betting and the blog while I regroup and decide if its healthly for me to continue!

I still cant seem to shake off this chasing mentality, binge-betfair if you like! So im just going to sit and enjoy the last few games of the season and possibly be back for the World Cup.

What a week..

What a massive week this is for sports fans across the world, Tiger Woods tees off in the Masters in what is his first tournament since his sex scandel broke five months ago and I would take Woods on at all prices. I would lay the hell out of him, the pressure and intense media coverage on Woods will be a massive distraction for him. I believe Woods will just be glad to get the Masters in one piece Lay at 5.7 on Betfair - no way can I have Woods as favourite after his break from the game and his mental state.

We also see the Quarter Final 2nd legs of the Champions League and Europa League, Arsenal tonight take on Barcelona at the Nou Camp for a place in the Semi's. I fancy Arsenal to cause an upset and nick a win here, Barca captain Puyol is suspended along with defensive partner Pique and throw in Ibrahimovic who is injured and Barca could struggle. OK, Arsenal have injuries of their own with Fabregas, Song, Arshavin and Gallas all out injured but Walcott could run riot here if given the freedom and can see Arsenal nicking it by the odd goal. Back Arsenal at 9.0 on Betfair - a huge price! Will Barca have one eye on the weekends clash with Real Madrid? Lets hope so, either way I expect Barcalona to struggle against Arsenal then I also fancy Real Madrid to beat them on Saturday.

Newcastle also confirmed their promotion to the Premier League last night with a 2-1 win over Sheff United, alot of praise should be given to the team and manager Chris Hughton but personally I believe that Chris Hughton is not the man to take them forward in the Premier League. I could have managed Newcastle in the Championship this season - thats how good their squad is in comparison to other teams. Hughtons failure to control the players has resulted in cliques forming in the dressing room, the recent episode of Andy Carrol brekaing Steven Taylors jaw just goes to show the player power at Newcaste - Hughton failed to make an example of Caroll as he as seen as a popular figure in the dressing room and Hughton didnt want to upset the players.

In short, today I want Lay Woods and Back Arsenal.

Good Luck

Should the Rich.... ?

Is it just me or should the rich abstain from buying their beloved football club? First off we had Mike Ashley buying Newcastle United and watching them fall quicker than John Terrys trousers at a team mates house!. Along the way there was pictures of Chairman Mike Ashley sitting with the Newcastle fans in the crowd watching the games, OK Mike we get it - you’re a fan too! He then decided to sack Allardyce and appoint the messiah Kevin Keegan (again) which was to end in tears as Keegan walked out over a power battle within the club.

Now David Sullivan has finally “gone home” and bought West Ham United, I have a lot of respect for Mr Sullivan and the success he achieved previously at Birmingham – looking back it was a wonderful job he done there over the last 10 years or so but buying a club like West Ham which is so close to his heart he has given him an almost impossible job. How will he ever be satisfied at West Ham as his expectations will be so high as a fan which leads to enormous pressure and mistakes a la Mike Ashley. I hope David Sullivan and West Ham do succeed but it’s a huge task for him and his team.

The reason I wrote this piece was down to David Sullivans “open letter” to the West Ham fans (he sent a copy to all season ticket holders at West Ham yesterday). It made me cringe and I feel for Gianfranco Zola as how can he run a team when the chairman undermines you like this. Of course, Sullivan is only doing this because he is a fan. And that’s why you don’t buy the club!! You’re a fan and should enjoy being fan as becoming chairman takes away that pleasure away somewhat.