Archive for November, 2007
Here’s a fun competition for those of you still suffering from Euro2008 qualification blues (you know, those of you who, like all dedicated fans, had cleared a month in your busy schedules to watch England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland or even Wales in their galant battles at Euro2008…)
The team at PaddyPower.com online sportsbook are challenging you to find something else to fill “the giant Euro 2008 shaped hole in your diaries for next year”.
The bookie promotion called “Win a Dream Holiday” is easy to enter – just post your entry on the blog at PaddyPower.com – what you now really want to do next June – and you could win £2000/€3000 towards making it happen!
Make your entry fun and original. All enties considered and if it’s the sort of thing that Paddy can’t make happen (use your imagination), he’ll still stump up the cash for a legal alternative.
It’s free to enter – Entrants must be over 18 and have a Paddy Power account (Open one here if you haven’t already)
PS: To the punter who apparently has requested the money to marry his long suffering girlfriend while Euro2008 is on, please change your password (ie I’ve gotta assume she’s posted this entry!)
November 30th, 2007
Here’s the latest EPL game previews and pricing for the weekend’s football betting action courtesy of top Asian Handicap bookie, PinnacleSports.com.
Two new Premiership managers were unveiled this week at Derby and Birmingham, while rumours are circulating that Rafa Benitez may have over-stepped the mark with his criticism of Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. These drastic moves reflect the fact that the Premiership season is reaching a tipping point for those clubs serious about making a title challenge, as well those struggling at the foot of the table. Bettors should make careful note of the managerial activity before taking advantage of up to 60% better Premier League betting odds at PinnacleSports.com.
Liverpool Staying Focused Despite Boardroom Battle
Following the mass show of support at Anfield on Wednesday night, Rafa Benitez will be in bullish move for the visit of Bolton Wanderers on Sunday. With better finishing from Fernando Torres, the Reds could have beaten Newcastle by far more than three goals last weekend. Ringing the changes again, Benitez gave the first league starts of the season to young Brazilian, Lucas Leiva, and injury prone, Harry Kewell. Leiva was effectively employed in front of the back four, while Kewell formed part of an attacking formation along with Dirk Kuyt and the wasteful Torres.
If the young Spaniard has his shooting boots on against the Trotters, it could be a busy day for goalkeeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen. Bolton will be boosted by last weekend’s home win over Champions, Manchester United, which lifted them out of the relegation places, but Gary Megson’s side are still searching for their first away win. They have taken just two points from six games on the road, scoring only four times, and have one less day than Liverpool to prepare after midweek European action. Bolton have lost on their last five visits to Anfield, failing to score in four of those games. PinnacleSports.com make Liverpool favourites 2.080 (-1.5) with Bolton 1.855 (+1.5).
Gunners Take Unbeaten Record to Villa Park
Unbeaten in the Premiership, Arsenal travel to Villa Park on Saturday looking to maintain their lead at the top of the Premiership table. Arsene Wenger shouldn’t be too disappointed that his young side experience their first loss of the season away to Sevilla on Wednesday. He fielded an experienced side, safe in the knowledge that they will make the knock-out stages. He used Cesc Fabregas for only 56 minutes, and given the young Spaniard missed last weekend’s win over Wigan due to suspension, he should be fresh and raring to go for the game against the Villans.
The absence of Fabregas was telling, as the Gunners struggled to break down a resolute Wigan side. His creativity is critically important to the side, and will be needed against a very well organized Aston Villa side who have recorded three straight Premiership victories, conceding just once. Martin O’Neill has John Carew fit again, and the big Norwegian provides a perfect foil for the pacey Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor. These are exciting times for the Midlands’ club, who have real European ambitions, but they still have someway to go to bridge the club with the Premiership’s elite. Aston Villa have not beaten Arsenal in seventeen meetings and PinnacleSports.com price the game Arsenal 1.980 (-0.5) with Aston Villa 1.943 (+0.5) – a market priced to under 102%.
For the latest independent bookmaker review of PinnacleSports.com check out BookieLabRat.com.
November 29th, 2007
Here’s a quick summary of headlines from today’s news that involve some of our top recommended bookies.
First up we have Paddy Power, our favourite Irish bookie courting controvesy yet again.
Paddy Power backs gay rugby tournament
Irish bookmaker PaddyPower.com has given €100,000 to sponsor an international gay rugby tournament, being held at Dublin University next June. Paddy Power’s marketing director Ken Robertson said the event was highly appropriate for their brand, before adding this was not the type of company that does what people might expect a bookmaker to do.
“This might raise a few eyebrows when it comes to town, but we’re not scared of that.” He also highlighted the fact that the gay and lesbian market represented an important sector of consumer society.
Richie Whyte, the Bingham Cup’s tournament director, said he was delighted at the deal. “Paddy Power has an innovative and risk taking approach to the market.
“Having an international brand throwing their weight behind it represents a huge development for the tournament particularly in terms of developing mainstream interest. We expect our partnership to enhance an already great tournament and help to make it the biggest and best tournament yet.”
Then we see more signs of the ongoing expansion programme Ladbrokes Bookmaker is undertaking.
Ladbrokes begins Italian online betting
Bookmaker Ladbrokes revealed that it had started taking online bets from Italian customers. Mattia Nicelli, Ladbrokes’ head of Italian business, said the company now had around 800 people from the country placing wagers online.
…and finally PartyGaming, the company that owns Gamebookers (historically one of the more innovative European online sportsbooks) is ducking and weaving a bit in the open markets.
Garber cancels share sale
Mitch Garber, PartyGaming’s chief executive, has cancelled a planned sale of his company. Over the past six months Garber has sold over nine million shares in the gaming firm, and currently holds 8.75 million shares.
November 29th, 2007
Tipster Gerry Armstrong from PaddyPower bookmakers is sharing his picks for Tuesday’s Champion’s League Football. We think he may have had a swig or two too much of his Irish Whisky as he’s picking Sevilla to beat The Arse – How do Gerry’s picks compare with yours?
Man Utd v Sporting Lisbon – Tuesday 7.45pm
Man Utd are the only team in the Champions League that have claimed maximum points so far not that you would have guessed it at the weekend. I think they’ll get back to winning ways in this one. Ronaldo will probably come back into the side after being rested at the weekend and Vidic should be fit again after missing the last game. When you add those two to the team, they’ll be much stronger. Having said that, there are players like Johnny Evans who is trying to break into the first team who may get a run out so there’s still the motivation for the players to perform.
They’ll want to keep the 100% record going and I think they’ll win comfortably.
Gerry’s recommendation: Man Utd 2-0
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Sevilla v Arsenal – Tuesday 7.45pm
As good as Arsenal have been lately, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them lose this one. They’ve already qualified and they’ve got a few injuries to cope with. It took them until the last few minutes to see off Wigan at the weekend whilst Sevilla on the other hand rested a few players. Luis Fabiano has been in great goalscoring form recently, particularly for Brazil in last week’s World Cup qualifiers and he’ll be firing on all cylinders. Alongside Fredi Kanoute, it think they’ll cause problems for the Arsenal defence.
I fancy a bit of an upset in this one – I think Sevilla will win.
Gerry’s recommendation: Sevilla 2-1
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Stuttgart v Rangers – Tuesday 7.45pm
Stuttgart have nothing to play for, they are out and I think it’s a good time for Rangers to play them. Their top goalscorer, Mario Gomez is out and their midfielder Basturk is also injured.
We all know what’s at stake for Rangers and I think they’ll get themselves a draw in Stuttgart.
Gerry’s recommendation: 1-1 Draw
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Lyon v Barcelona – Tuesday 7.45pm
For the first time in a while, Lyon are struggling to get out of the group and they really need to win. I wouldn’t put it past them as it’s a good time to play Barcelona. There’s a lot of in-fighting going on at Barca – certainly Edmilson has put the cat amongst the pigeons with remarks about Ronaldinho. I don’t think Barcelona are as good away from home as they are at the Nou Camp. They’re virtually unbeatable on their own patch, but away from home they’re very vulnerable and they’ve lost several games already in La Liga.
I’m going for another upset in this one with Lyon keeping their hopes of qualifying alive by winning.
Gerry’s recommendation: Lyon 2-1
November 27th, 2007
A White Christmas in the UK would cost the betting industry over £1 million according to a leading bookmaker. The recent cold weather had fuelled the surge in betting, and apparently Aberdeen was the current favourite to see snow over the holiday season.
Here’s the latest White Christmas 2007 odds at a couple of our favourite bookies:
Paddy Power, head of top Irish online sportsbook, PaddyPower.com says
“In the UK or Ireland we only see a White Christmas once every 10 years or so. The summer was a washout so maybe there’s hope that Christmas will be a Snow fest?”
White Christmas in Dublin? Snowfall must be officially registered at Dublin Airport for YES bets to be a winner.
No 1 – 8
Yes 9 – 2
White Christmas in London? Snowfall must be officially registered at London Heathrow Airport for YES bets to be a winner.
No 1 – 7
Yes 4 – 1
White Christmas in Berlin? Singles Only. Bets will be settled on official recordings of main City airports in accordance with Deutscher Wetterdienst.
No 4 – 6
Yes 11 – 10
White Christmas in New York? Snowfall must be officially registered at John F Kennedy airport for YES bets to be a winner.
No 4 – 9
Yes 13 – 8
A spokerperson from Ladbrokes bookmaker asks “Are you dreaming of a White Christmas? With a cold snap coming over the country just in time for the 25th December, anything can happen! We offer (4/1) 5.00 that Belfast experiences a White Christmas, while London is (6/1) 7.00. visit us for prices on more snowly cities!”
November 27th, 2007
Derby have parted company with their manager Billy Davies.
Club chairman Adam Pearson held a meeting with the Scot this morning and then revealed in a statement they had “mutually” decided to “go our separate ways”.
Davies leaves with Derby County bottom of the Barclays Premier League with just one win from their opening 14 games after they gained promotion from the Coca-Cola Championships via the play-offs last season.
Despite Pearson reassuring Davies over his position following his takeover of the club at the end of last month, it appears the Rams’ persistently poor form and the ex-Preston boss’ barbed comments at the weekend sealed his fate.
“I have met with Billy Davies this morning and we have decided mutually, in the interests of both parties, that to go our separate ways is the best decision at this time,” Pearson said in a statement released on www.dcfc.co.uk.
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Funny – I’ve just finished watching the weekend highlights show – where they said during the derby v chelsea game that “newspaper reports” said he had just two games to save his job …
… and the board dismissed the speculation ?!
HE HAD ONE GAME TO SAVE HIS JOB APPARENTLY !!
November 26th, 2007
Don’t you just love football and all the in-media bickering that accompanies it? Here’s the latest bitch-fest that caught my eye (courtesy of Globet Online Sportsbook):
24 November, 2007 – Newcastle boss Allardyce: “Benitez doesn’t like me”
Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce has re-ignighted his war of words with Rafa Benetez and accused the Liverpool boss of sour grapes after Bolton’s win last season.
Benitez dismissed the Bolton of the Allardyce years as an ugly, dirty, long-ball team and that was before Liverpool lost 2-0 at the Reebok.
Allardyce said: “Our relationship is average – a bad average. He doesn’t like me because we beat them. Bolton weren’t supposed to beat a team like Liverpool.
“We played a different game with different rules apparently. He criticised Bolton’s style, saying we played outside the rules. I didn’t see any referee’s report saying we played outside the rules.
“When you get criticised by a fellow manager, you take it in the spirit that it comes and for me I find it a great compliment because I won when I shouldn’t have.
“I used that kind of criticism as a big positive because I’d rather them moaning about the way I beat them than how well we played in losing 3-1 or 3-0.
“But I don’t see why I won’t be inviting him in for a glass of wine after the game.
“I went in for a glass of wine when Liverpool beat us 2-0 and he spoke about me in the papers. But I was big enough to walk in and test how good his red wine is.”
November 25th, 2007
England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 will cost the betting industry between £50 million and £250 million in lost bets according to Sporting Index’s chief executive Richard Glynn. Research suggests that the result will cost the British economy in excess of £1 billion.
Here’s a couple of the bookie refunds:
BetFred.com: “Three Lions” Refund – Due to England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008, BetFred has refunded all single bets placed before 6pm on Saturday 17 November 2007 on England to win the tournament. Maximum refund is £50 (or currency equivalent) per customer.
PaddyPower.com: “Cro-tastrophe” Refund – As England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, Paddy Power are refunding all losing single 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast bets on the match. Max Refund €300/£200 per customer.
November 22nd, 2007
We reported in an earlier blog that Fred Done of top UK bookmaker, BetFred.com, was offering a Mercedes car to any Israeli player that scored the winning goal against Russia in the Euro 2008 qualifier.
Now the Israeli FA won’t let the winner claim his prize and of course Fred is not taking it lying down! Apparently winning goal scorer Omer Golan can’t claim his car as the UK bookie’s offer is “illegal and unethical”!
BetFred.com features a petition on it’s front page that they plan to send to the Israeli FA and they’d like your signature!
Visit BetFred.com and follow the “SIGN UP IF YOU LOVE OMER!” links to express your opinion.
Mike,
PS: I don’t think Fred’s purse strings would stretch as far as gifting the Merc pictured above. It’s the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and has been on world’s fastest and most expensive cars lists for quite a while now. And at a cool $452,750 price tag, even the Israeli hero is not that deserving!
November 21st, 2007
Here’s PinnacleSports.com’s latest EPL Betting Analysis for games playing November 24 and 25th.
Check out this top online sportsbook if you’re wanting great Asian Handicap betting prices. Read our detailed bookmaker review at BookieLabRat.com for more about PinnacleSports.
The final sixteen teams that will contest the Euro 2008 finals are now known, and after a topsy-turvy end to the campaign, England are among them. The Three Lions’ participation adds a huge added incentive to those players looking to represent their country, while Premiership managers will simply be relieved to concentrate on club issues from now until next May. The Premier League resumes on Saturday with Arsenal leading the pack, and PinnacleSports.com offering up to 60% better Premiership betting odds.
Bruce Facing Baptism of Fire at Emirates Stadium
Steve Bruce became Wigan’s new manager earlier in the week, and his first game in charge of the relegation threatened side comes at the league leaders, Arsenal. Bruce jumped from his post as Birmingham boss, before he was pushed by incoming chairman, Carson Yeung. He briefly took the helm at Wigan in 2001, but hopes for a longer and move fruitful stay at the club despite crippling injuries and terrible form. The Latics need to turn around a seven game losing streaking, failing to score in five of their last six.
By complete contrast Arsenal are bristling with confidence. Emmanuel Adebayor scored his seventh goal of the season in the recent 3-1 win at Reading, it was also the Gunners’ 1,000th goal in the Premiership, and a fitting celebration of that milestone. Arsenal’s fluid passing game make them irresistible at home against struggling teams like Wigan, but they will be handicapped by the absence of midfield talisman, Cesc Fabregas, who is suspended. The Spaniard’s contribution cannot be overstated with six league goals and seven assists. Tomas Rosicky is perhaps one of Arsenal’s few under-performers, and in the absence of Fabregas, the Czech international will get his chance. PinnacleSports.com price Arsenal 1.943 (-2), with Wigan 1.980 (+2).
Newcastle Hit by Another Owen Injury
Michael Owen’s injury jinx continued after he tore a thigh muscle in England’s recent friendly against Austria in Vienna. The Newcastle striker now misses Saturday’s big game at home to his former club, Liverpool. Owen’s absence won’t help boss Sam Allardyce, as he tries to engineer a response to the recent poor run of results, including a 4-1 home defeat to Portsmouth. The Magpies have taken just one point from their last three games, and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine games.
Liverpool are looking to continue a mini-revival which has seen them keep three consecutive clean sheets, and resurrect their Champions League hopes with an 8-0 win over Besiktas. Fernando Torres played a key role in the recent win against Fulham, breaking the deadlock in the 80th minute as a substitute. Yossi Benayoun has also been instrumental, but is out with a groin strain. Newcastle won this fixture last season, breaking a three game winning streak for the Pool against the Tynesiders. PinnacleSports.com price Newcastle1.855 (+0.5), with Liverpool 2.08 (-0.5).
November 21st, 2007
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