Champions League Betting

We love the Champions League. After the first league rounds which are there to provide a healthy income and let the little teams have a decent go at taking on the big boys, you get to the knockout big banana games.

Now, with 8 teams to go, its time to see the really big games.

So, who will win? Its hard to look beyond Barcelona, and at 6/5 best odds, seems fair to us, that in half of the time, the clear best team will win. But around half of the time, it doesn't work out that way and someone will surprise them.

So, for us, we expect Barcelona to win, but its not good odds. Lets go with the assumption that they will get knock3ed out at some point. Who else then?

Well, in the other half of the draw is Chelsea and Manchester United. With Man U at 8/1 and Chelsea at 13/2 best odds, Manchester seems the best bet. Why are Chelsea favoured over a Manchester team that is leading the premiership. Seems no logical reason to us, so we fancy Man Utd as a good value bet at 8/1. With 8 teams left in, one of them will win it. Manchester are a good team, and we reckon its good odds.

So, bet on Manchester Utd to win the competition at 8/1. Good odds.

Other good bets? A Spanish team to win is 1/2 with Victor Chandler. Its a bet on Barcelona, with a cover in case Real Madrid knock them out (or Tottenham I suppose) in the semis.

We also fancy 4/1 on a draw tonight between Spurs and Real Madrid. And, take 10/11 for only one team to score tonight. Tottenham are having scoring issues, and if they do score are likely to shut up shop. So, 0-1 to Spurs but more likely Spurs don't score looks a good bet.

And lastly, Ronaldo is brilliant against weaker opposition, but is he a choker on the biggest occasion? We think so. So, with Ronaldo at 5/2 favourite to be the Man of the Match, there is value to be had. We say, if you fancy Tottenham then bet both Lennon at 14/1 and Van der Vaart at 7/1 and you should be covered. If you fancy Real Madrid then look no further than  Ozil at 7/1.

But remember, Connected, the Author is a retailer, selling Trampoline Spares and Sandpits, so its just for fun, not business advice.

England Friendly Games

England vs Ghana was a good game, and Ghana deserved to draw at least, perhaps even win. But I did not go. In fact I stopped going to England friendlies about two years ago. And the reason is why should I if even the England team do not take them seriously.

Of course, for Andy Carrol, Cahill and Jarvis, then last night was massive. But I want to see how Cahill will play with Terry. Can Jarvis play with Rooney?

By letting the star key players go home early, Capello made last night's game a joke.

The suggested reason was so that they could rest before a hard run in, and only players still in the Champions League were released.

Firstly, is that not disrespectful to the other teams in the League? Is Rooney more important to Manchester united than Parker is to West Ham? I think not. And, Manchester United have more resources available to rest players if they need it.

It seems that some teams are given preferential treatment over others. Is that fair? At the start of the season teams know if they are in the Champions League or not, it really is down to them to manage their resources.

Secondly, is this an admission form the FA that Champions League is bigger, better and more important than International football? I hope not, because it is not. there is nothing bigger than the World Cup. For all fans, nationwide, we can support England. The Champions League is fun football, and I want an English (are Arsenal English?) team to win of course, but I can not really support any team in the way I support England. Internationals MUST remain the pinnacle of the game.

thirdly it is disrespectful to fans, who pay handsomely to go and see England, and whilst I should expect some trials for new young players, they should be melded in to the full team,so we learn how they interact with the stars.

Capello let the country down on Tuesday, weakly giving in to the Champions League teams and should be ashamed.


About the Author: Connected is a Football fan, England fan, and a member of FA EnglandFans. In real life he sells products that make familes happy, top selling products this spring are 12ft Trampolines and Air Hockey Tables

Best Football Players of 2011

Who are the players of the season so far?

Most Surprising
Gareth Bale. He has been superb this season. Two years ago they were leaving him out of the team as they had never won a game he started, this year he is superb and possible worth £30m+. Gives pace and width and excitment.

Most Influential
Carlos Tevez. With a team of superstars, someone has to set the pace and set the tone. YOu notice when Tevez is not playing. Its not just his goals, bu the energy. Manchester City are not the same without him.

Best Relaunch
Scott Parker. Was superb at Charlton, becoming the linchpin of a good team, and moved to Chelseafor £10m where it really did not work out for him. He was not hollywood enough but proably good enough. A move to Newcastle where they had huge problmes did not help him, and for a while it seemed he was seeing out the contract at West Ham. This season though despite being in a poor performing team, he is superb,and deservedly got back in to the England team, where he looked at home.

Best Defender
Nemanja Vidic. Quiet simple, without him Machester United look weak and frail defensively. With him, the defence is transformed.

Best Manager
Ian Holloway. No doubt the most entertaining, having the most fun and has a team of unknowns playing well. Lets hope they stay up. We like him.

Most Unlikely Star
Charlie Adam. The heartbeat of Blackpool. Seems likely he will move in the summer, and will be a massive loss, perhaps even bad enough to get Blackpool relegated next year if they stay up this year.

Best Signing
Rafael van der Vaart. At £8m bargain of the year. He is superb, and we love watching him play. Taken the shine of the game of Defoe and crouch though and thats not good for England.

Most Dissapointing
Fernando Torres. Started the season with a new World Cup winners medal, but has been a miserable git all season. Engineeered a move, where Liverpool are laughing. COuld be the worst signing of all time if he does not get his form back. Undoubtably a brillitant player, but something is wrong either physically or mentally. And remember you have scored as many goals for Chelea as he has.

Add to the list, or give us your ideas.

About the Author: He is firstly a football fan, secondly a retailer of Pink Trampolines and Air Hockey Tables. But sport is the first love.

Olympic Tickets Strategy

Its decision time. What Olympic tickets do you actually buy. for years its been a fantasy that when the Olympics come to town we will get loads of tickets and watch loads of the games there in the flesh, being a part of the biggest sporting occasion on earth. But now the reality is here, what tickets do we apply for?

So, now, with credit card in hand, (Visa of course) and a glass of coke, not Pepsi ready we sit down and plan. But wait. If I go to the handball first round games, I will miss the cycling.

If I am at the Archery then I will miss  the rowing heats on the TV.

So, now we are faced with the very real dilemma. Do we really want to actually go to the Olympics, or is it better to watch it on TV?

the second problem is how many tickets do we apply for? Do we apply for loads thinking that we will only get a few if any in the Olympic ballot, or do we be more confident. Seems the danger is that if we want to see the Water Polo and we apply for all the first round games just hoping to get one, we may get them all and have two weeks of tickets for games we do not want to see.

So, it seems that we have to temper the fantasy of watching  all the Olympics live, and think about actually what would we really like to see and only apply for those.

Or do you have a better strategy for buying Olympic Tickets?

About the Author: He is an avid sports fan, who remembers the day we got awarded the Olympics like it was the day JFK got shot. He is a retailer of 10ft Trampolines, and this weeks top selling products are Willostix Cricket Balls and Talbot Torro Shuttlecocks.

Bet on Arsenal to win the League

Regular readers will know that we have a theory that exploits the over emotional nature of football excitement. That over emotion projects forward unreasonable expectations on teams that statistics do not bear out.

So, we advised on the 1st of March that you bet on Arsenal to win. See:  
http://britishballsports.blogspot.com/2011/03/arsenal-vs-manchester-united.html

Arsenal Can Still Win

At that point United were 4 points ahead and Arsenal were 2/1 to win the league.

We then advised you to hedge the bet with a bet on United at 4/5 that covered all losses but made a profit if Arsenal won. See:
http://britishballsports.blogspot.com/2011/03/bet-on-arsenal-to-win-leagueupdate.html

That would have guaranteed no losses and £750 if Arsenal win.

Now after the weekend the odds have moved again and Arsenal are 3/1. It seems a bad weekend for the bet, but we did advise you to hedge last week. Trouble is I bet you didn't. You are a gambler and decided to let it run. But that's not the point of this bet. It is not trying to find the winner it is trying to get an edge using unrealistic emotion in football betting odds.

So, lets analyse the odds. Arsenal are now 3/1. they are 5 points behind with a game in hand. Win the game in hand and they are 2 points behind and they still play United at home. Still a fair bet. Manchester United still have to play Arsenal away and Chelsea at home. Arsenal look to have an easy run in comparatively.

But the main point is that United have 8 games left. Statistically speaking they should get 17 point from those games on average. That means two defeats. Or 4 draws. Of course Arsenal will get only 20 from their 9 games, so we still expect Manchester to win the league. But, the question is WHEN will Manchester defeats come. If the come early in the 8 games then the odds will shift again. Look how much they shifts this weekend.

So, if you did not do it last time, then NOW, put £1000 on Arsenal. We almost guarantee that the odds will shift and you will be able to cover the bet and ensure no losses.

But, please remember that the author sells Trampolines and it takes a lot of sales of 8ft Trampolines at only £99 to make enough profit to generate £1000 for a bet. If he could make a living from gambling he would, so be warned he still sells trampolines. Let that be your own warning. This is for fun, not financial advice.

Fulham Michael Jackson Statue

Is it April 1st?

Fulham FC have announced that they will be unveiling a statue of Michael Jackson before their next home game.

Of all the great Fulham players to commemorate, they chose an American Pedo! I bet he could not tell the difference between an American Football, a Rugby Ball or a Soccer Ball.

Apparently it all comes about because the club's chairman and owner Mohamed Al-Fayed was a friend of the of Jackson. He commissioned the statue after the singer's death in 2009, originally planning to erect it outside his shop, Harrods. But he has now sold the Harrods store and is now planning to humiliate the Fulham fans with it.

"Michael Jackson was truly a legend, a term used too often in this modern world saturated in the hyperbole surrounding celebrity," Al-Fayed told the Fulham website.

"He was my friend, a man with whom I shared many happy memories and who died a tragic and untimely death.

"He left behind a legacy of music so vast it takes one's breath away; from a precocious talent to an ingenuity and groundbreaking modernity that shall never be repeated.

So at the game against Blackpool, Al-Fayed will unveil the ridiculous statue of Jackson in an 'iconic pose'. Prizes for the worst 'iconic pose' you can think of?

Still Blackpool at home is better than their first idea of a special friendly with Young Boys of Bern.

And do they have any plans for a Gary Glitter statue?

Look on the bright side Arsenal

Its not appropriate to be making jokes after this terrible tragedy. Its hard to feel sorry or sympathetic for them though since they are all foreigners. But we must remember that they have lost everything in almost an instant and they have been left with nothing. Still there is always next season Arsenal.


Heard this great joke today, that for the purpose of explaining to anyone reading this blog in years to come, I must explain that this is one week from the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, and in the same week Arsenal lost the Carling Cup final, got knocked out of the FA cup and lost in the Champions League, just a few days after proclaiming that they were going for an historic quadruple.

For anyone interested, the author is not an Arsenal fan but does have £1000 invested in a bet on Arsenal to win the League. If it fails, he better remember there is a day job selling Trampolines.