The Sports Bookie Blog

Estonia vs England: no room for sentiment

June 6th, 2007

There is no room for sentiment in gambling, so you should be wary of the emotive headlines (Estonia desperate for a win…) and instead focus on getting the best odds around. So check out the best Euro 2008 odds on our live odds checker here.

Becks to the Rescue?
One of the first decisions Steve McLaren took when installed as England manager was a bold one. Having earned 94 caps, he dropped the Three Lions captain, David Beckham, by phone call, following a poor showing at the World Cup. The media saw this a bold statement of intent, and the country looked forward to a fresh new era for the national side, with a smooth Euro 2008 qualification campaign anticipated.

Things haven’t quite gone to plan for McLaren. England are currently fourth in Group E after a bitterly disappointing sequence of results including goalless draws at home to Macedonia and away to Israel, and defeat to Croatia in Zagreb. The new England manager’s stock has plummeted. After less than a year in charge he has been christened Steve McDonut, among other things, and the final humiliation has come in performing a spectacular U-turn over Beckham, who he has welcomed back into the England fold hoping he might save his skin in Tallinn on Wednesday night.

Worst still for McLaren, he is without Wayne Rooney through suspension, and cannot call on striker, Andy Johnson or winger Aaron Lennon, part of a growing number of other key players missing through injury. Owen Hargreaves – one of the only players to come away from the 2006 World Cup with any credit – misses out with a knee injury. Hargreaves’ new team-mates, Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand are crocked, part of a defensive crisis which accounts for Ashley Cole, Micah Richards and Jonathan Woodgate.

The media has been full of headlines suggesting that should England fail to beat Estonia, they will have a new manager for the home tie against Israel at Wembley, three months later.

The odds at top handicap bookie PinnacleSports.com suggest the Three Lions should prevail against a side of players that wouldn’t be out of place in the Conference, with goalkeeper, Mart Poom, the only name on the team-sheet that English bettors will be familiar with.

England will however face a difficult playing surface, and a side with nothing to lose. In the end, Beckham could mark a fairytale comeback by settling the affair with a trademark free-kick either finding the back of the net, or the head of Peter Crouch who will prove a handful for Jelle Goes’ side.

Entry Filed under: Sports Betting