Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day. Here we have another transfer window and therefore, as per usual, another chaotic mess at Spurs.

Just like in 2008 when Tottenham sold Dimitar Berbatov on the last day of the window; Luka Modric has been sold with no replacement in sight.

The only difference this time around is that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has got five days to find a replacement as opposed to five hours!

At the same time, Tottenham announced that that they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid on a partnership.

The partnership agreement will see the two Clubs ‘working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships’.

It is likely that this roughly translates to the Spanish giants getting first refusal on any Spurs star in the future, with Tottenham likely to get a few cast-offs deemed not good enough to ply their trade at the Bernabeu.

There is little doubt that Levy’s negotiating ‘skills’ have increased the price that his club will receive and surely the shareholders will be extremely pleased.

Now let’s spare a thought for the fans. This is the group of people that pay their hard-earned money to watch Real Madrid’s newly acquired feeder club. Without them, there would be no football club. They pay to watch footballers, not a balance sheet.

Tottenham are financially very stable but this doesn’t equate to success on the pitch. Holding on until the very end of the window to get the best deal for a player almost certainly has a detrimental effect on the team.

Last year after two games, Spurs had zero points and had conceded eight goals to the two Manchester giants. Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker were then signed to bolster the squad.

Whether the results would have been different is debatable, though few could argue that having a settled, balanced squad would have held Spurs in with a greater chance of starting the season successfully.

This season has been a similar story, with yet more uncertainty surrounding Tottenham and will continue to run right up until deadline day and will more than likely end in disappointment for the long-suffering fans.

The last time the squad was this unbalanced, the then manager Juande Ramos was walking out of the door and Tottenham were languishing at the foot of the Premier league table with two points from eight games.

If Levy does not support new manager Andre Villas-Boas with new signings this week, the Portuguese supremo may have more similarities with Ramos than he may have liked.

Goals Galore - The value is still out there, but not always with Fred!!

When both teams score its Goals Galore! This popular bet went down a storm last year, with Betfred dropping a whopping £2.5 million in one weekend alone! On two occasions last season, EVERY team scored in the Premier League! Due to Betfred offering 4/5 on all fixtures on the coupon, the treble payed at odds of 9/2 compared to the majority of other firms measly 5/2.

With the new season on the horizon Betfred were bound to make changes, and they certainly have reeled in their odds! They have two coupons available this season; one with every fixture at odds of 8/13 and a bonus coupon with selected fixtures, each with odds of approximately 8/11. Last year the minimum selection was a double, it is now a treble.

With no real form to go on, the opening few weekends are a difficult time to select fixtures where both teams will score. Betfred have removed just 6 UK fixtures from their bonus coupon, not surprisingly these contain the teams which were coming in almost every week last season! These removed fixtures are as follows -
             
              Hull v Blackpool
              Burnley v Watford
              Peterborough v Crystal Palace
              Southampton v Leeds
              Walsall v Leyton Orient
              Port Vale v Crawley

On Betfred's coupon with every fixture, a £10 six-fold on the above would return £177.69. The same wager with other firms all return over £200, with Victor Chandler offering £296.18! Now that is value!

Now of course a six-fold is a long shot, but it just goes to show that looking around the different firms could be very profitable this year.

I must say though, the bonus coupon from Betfred still does offer great value and is better odds than most other bookmakers, just beware the fixtures removed are the most likely to have both teams score!

Enjoy the new season and remember - Win, lose or draw; when both teams score it's Goals Galore!!

Nicholson Noise Wobbles Blackpool Power

      After four days of great action on the oche, everyone is talking about the action off it. Paul 'The Asset' Nicholson has usually got plenty to say for himself and Sunday night was no exception!
      At the 2011 UK Open, Nicholson defeated Taylor in the last 16, and supposedly waved goodbye to him. In the interview after Sunday's 12-10 victory over Colin Osborne, Nicholson spoke of Taylor's reaction and stated that when they meet again, he will "put him to bed". Big words from the Geordie and Taylor let his darts do the talking, with a 3-dart average of over 101 to beat Mark Hylton 10-8 in a high class first round game. After his game Taylor was clearly agitated by the comments and their next encounter is a mouth-watering proposition!
      The shock of the first round was the exit of second favourite Gary Anderson, losing 10-6 to Andy Hamilton. It was a typical performance from the Scot, with ten 180's to Hamilton's one, followed by bucket-loads of missed doubles. Hamilton's finishing was superb, with a 59% success rate, finishing no less than three times on the bull! The snarl was back!
      Among the other favourites, James Wade whitewashed a very poor Jamie Caven, hardly getting into second gear, whilst Raymond van Barneveld strolled to 10-3 victory over Steve Brown. Adrian Lewis also progressed with a 14-12 victory over Kevin Painter, who missed three darts at tops to beat Lewis 10-6! After the match Painter was less than impressed with his performance, although insisting he never gets any luck.
      John Part rolled back the years to produce the perfect 9-dart leg but went on to lose 10-8 to Mark Webster.

      Here's my predictions for the second round -

Wednesday 20th July

Steve Beaton v Mark Webster

'The Adonis' averaged over 100 in the first round, and has a great chance on that form to beat Webster. However Beaton's consistency is a worry and I see Webster edging a close encounter.

Adrian Lewis v Vincent van der Voort

This will certainly be the quickest paced match of the tournament, and 180's aplenty smashing home! My money is on Lewis in a tight affair although with him being 1/4 with some bookies, the value bet is a van der Voort triumph!

Raymond van Barneveld v Paul Nicholson

The match of the round. If Barney performs at his best he will beat Nicholson comfortably. That said, if it becomes a close game, Nicholson will have the edge over a fragile Barney. I'm hoping for a Barney win and think the crowd will too!

James Wade v Mark Walsh

For me, there is only one winner here and classy Wade will be too good for 'Special Brew' Walsh. With a nickname like that he deserves to get stuffed!


Thursday 21st July

Simon Whitlock v Denis Ovens

'The Wizard' isn't finishing as well as he can but I think his big game experience will drag him through against the 'The Heat'. However, I do believe that Ovens should be awarded a special prize for best darts shirt ever seen! A classic!

Andy Hamilton v John Henderson

Henderson had a great matchplay debut, beating Colin Lloyd 10-7 but if Hamilton plays like he did against Anderson he should win this.

Phil Taylor v Wayne Jones

Taylor win. Simples.

Wes Newton v Justin Pipe

Newton won for the first time at the Winter Gardens with an easy 10-2 win over Andy Smith. He will have too much for Pipe who played well to beat a poor Mervyn King in the first round.

An 8 fold on the selections in bold pays 12/1 at Stan James!

Game on!!!