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!!