What are the odds Owen Hargreaves makes less than three Prem starts for City? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day
It will be a surprise to see Owen Hargreaves in a Manchester City kit when we’re so used to him in a medical kit.
The former England midfielder made just five appearances in his last three years at Manchester United – which is about as many as he’s likely to get for City.
He’ll be the most under-used figure at the Etihad Stadium – apart from Gareth Barry’s speed coach.
The Canadian-born waster has predicted he will be good for 40 games a season – so long as he gets a giant compendium for Christmas.
Before joining Roberto Mancini’s mob, Hargreaves asked about the club’s ambition, its hunger... and its sick-pay.
If he manages to stay fit, there is a chance he could force himself back into the England fold, which gives you some idea how bad England are.
He’s just 6-4 with Hills to make an appearance between now and the end of Euro 2012.
I’m not sure if they mean an appearance for England or an appearance on a pitch.
Hargreaves is 5-4 to make fewer than three Premier League starts for City.
City fans, meanwhile, have unveiled their first Hargreaves poster.
It reads: ‘Welcome to Manchester... Royal Infirmary’.
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It has been a bittersweet couple of weeks for Scottish football.
Disaster at club level in Europe was followed by victory for Scotland in the Homeless World Cup, although the homecoming fell a bit flat.
That’s twice the Scots have won the Homeless World Cup and they put their success rate down to their coach, their backroom staff, and bailiffs.
Opposing sides could not cope with the Scottish formation – two up, two down.
In the World Cup proper, two down is a normal state of affairs for Scotland, at least until they concede the third.
The Scots face a crucial Euro 2012 double-header against the Czech Republic and Lithuania over the next few days and need to pick up seven points from those two games to have a chance of qualifying.
Hills offer 3-1 for the Scots to pick up maximum points from the double-header while Bet365 go 6-5 for double-chinner Charlie Adam to break his international duck.
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There's talk that Stoke, having paired Peter Crouch with Kenwyne Jones, could have a say in the title race.
The NBA title race.
Crouch is said to suit Stoke’s style, but that’s ridiculous – they don’t have one.
Potters fans are more excited about Crouch’s missus Abbey.
The England striker is evens to net fewer than seven goals.
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It's difficult to second-guess the great British public when it comes to the X Factor.
The 2004 winner Steve Brookstein got six million votes in the final, though a large portion of that was probably down to people voting several times. Six million times in Mrs Brookstein’s case.
Brookstein was dropped by his record label just eight months later and by 2007 was performing on the Portsmouth-to-Bilbao ferry.
There was a huge increase that year in the number of men overboard during the crossing. In all cases the man being thrown overboard was Brookstein.
The early front-runner this year is Janet Devlin, the 16-year-old who blew away Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland, and Tulisa C with her rendition of Elton John’s Your Song.
She had already blown away Louis Walsh by mentioning she hailed from Ireland.
Janet, a shoo-in for the boot camp, is the 5-1 favourite to win the show.
Some are saying the only way she can lose is if those six million people voting in 2004 are still on the loose.
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BET OF THE DAY
The justice system in this country dictates that you are guilty until proven wealthy.
Get on Ivo Karlovic at 6-5 to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov in the US Open tennis on Saturday.
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MACCA'S ACCA
I bought the mother-in-law a chair yesterday, but she won't let me plug it in.
A 0-0 draw scuppered a 66-1 acca last week, but hopes are high today.
Get on Macclesfield (16-5), Scunthorpe (11-10), Swindon (13-10) and Hartlepool (10-11).
The four-timer with Hills pays around 40-1.
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