Going into the final column of the season both pundits are currently posting a loss so the pressure is on going into a weekend of sporting action, and Preston v QPR of course although as sport is meant to be competitive I'm not sure that is.
No winners for Brian last week although following a steward’s enquiry we have had our attention drawn to a missed treble bet from the week before that fetched in £31.68 and his running total, in this final week, is now -£125.10. The Challenger account was boosted by a last goal Berbatov bet in the Man Utd v Spurs game that brought in £30 but that still meant a £20 loss and a -£36.04 running total. This is the last chance for our punters to make that money back.
Brian Power
My fortunes or lack of them match our club this year. It started back in August full of optimism and started with a win but it has been pretty much poor stuff all year except for a 4 week period where my hopes were raised but have been slapped back down again almost as quickly. Now if we had a tenner on no scorer in each of out games or a couple of quid on the 4-4 draw in each TV game involving Liverpool or Arsenal we could be rich.
We travel to Preston who walloped Cardiff in their last home game and will be looking to take advantage if either the Welsh or Burnley slip up. How will they handle the pressure in front of their own fans on Sunday and how will we cope playing in Bermuda shorts and sandals because after last Saturday our players are clearly already on the beach enjoying their holiday? However I will stick with what I said last week in the hope that 3-1 pops in and I will go for an outsider to score the first goal. Yes one of our strikers I will have a £10 on Agyemang to score against his old club.
The Guineas meeting at Newmarket gives us an opportunity with a £10 win double on Rip Van Winkle and Rainbow view in the big races on Saturday and Sunday.
On the football side a Sunday afternoon in Berkshire should be fun as Birmingham play Reading . Nails will be bitten and backsides will be flapping like Deirdre Barlow’s neck in a wind tunnel. You can see this being a draw and Sheff Utd sneaking up on the outside to pip them at the post. And news of more squeaky bottoms the authorities and police will be hoping that in the second division they get a set of results that mean Millwall and Leeds don’t play each other in the playoffs. Never mind about relaying the pitch at Wembley if they meet they may need to rebuild the ground. And finally on big fights the Hitman is in action this weekend and we will go for him to win in the eighth round.
Enjoy the Summer break and watch out for any sneezing pigs.
For the weekend:
PNE V QPR
£10 1st goal P Agyemang 9/1 Skybet
£5 QPR to win 3-1 50/1
£10 double with SKybet
Rainbow view 6/5 1,000 guineas
Rip Van Winkle 4/1 2,000 guineas
£5 doubles and £5 treble
Arsenal 6/5
Dagenham Evs
Leicester 6/4
£5 Ricky Hatton to win in the 8th round 28/1
The Challenger
Well I certainly got my comeuppance for backing against my own team last week – Hull FC got their first win in seven matches at Salford last week which, while a tremendous relief, blew my double bet which did successfully predict Wigan’s surprise win at Wakefield. Anyway that hasn’t discouraged me because it’s the “Magic” weekend in Edinburgh this weekend and having watched Castleford comprehensively outplay Hull in Hull a month or so ago I’m backing the Tigers to do us again on Sunday. I’m also backing Preston to beat QPR because I’m grumpy with our players at the moment both for their performance against Plymouth and attitude after that match. May as well try and make some money off their bone idolness. In the boxing I was going to back Manny Pacquiao because my boxing expert friend rates him as the absolute very best and made me sit through his last fight talking me through every punch – however as he is 1/2 on there is no value there so I may as well back the “little fat man” Ricky Hatton at 17/10. Finally a nod in the direction of my predecessor The Don who I am sure would have had his usual score on Neil Robertson in the snooker, the Aussie does look like he’s going out to Shaun Murphy though.
For the weekend:
Losing double, QPR at Preston 9/20, Hull FC to Castleford 10/11, £30
Draw double Portsmouth v Arsenal 23/10, Sunderland v Everton 9/4, £10
£10 on Hatton to win 17/10 Bet 365