What are the odds Sven adds the Championship to his list of conquests? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day
West Ham fans will get their first glimpse of the style of football Sam Allardyce’s team will play when they kick off their season against Cardiff tomorrow.
That’s unless there’s low cloud cover over Upton Park.
Hammers fans are forever telling me they are fed up of being a yo-yo club – and I’m not stringing you along there.
The East End outfit are too good for the Championship but not good enough to stay in the Premier League. There’s only one way to break the cycle – give it to one of my kids.
Former manager Avram Grant said he would have relished the opportunity to take West Ham out of the Championship although most people believe he had League One in mind.
At least the club have managed to hang on to most of the team who got them relegated last season – that’s one of the advantages you get for playing rubbish over an entire season.
Bookies report punters view the Championship as a two-horse race between Leicester and West Ham and are shirking all other clubs.
Sven Goran Eriksson fetched up at the King Power Stadium after he heard it was a good place to find Foxes.
The Swede can boast the likes of Lazio, Benfica, Manchester City and England on his CV. However the names he’s had on there recently are less alluring – Mexico, Notts County, Ulrika and the Ivory Coast.
Sven wanted to use the 2010 World Cup to prove a point to his critics. He believed he could be just as successful with African women as he is with European ones.
The annoying thing about Sven is that repeated failure doesn’t prevent clubs throwing money at him, just as
an absence of good looks fails to stop women throwing themselves at him. Why can’t I get that kind of luck? The last time I painted the town with a woman was when I was ordered to do so by magistrates.
Leicester share favouritism with West Ham at 5-1 to win the Championship with Nottingham Forest next best at 16-1.
The Hammers begin their campaign against a Cardiff side who missed out on top spot by a mere eight points last term.
This season they are missing Michael Chopra, Jay Bothroyd and Craig Bellamy, which will amount to a lot more than eight points. The Hammers are 5-6 to beat Cardiff to get their season off to a winning start.
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The Community Shield will unite both halves of Manchester. City players are desperate to leave Manchester while United’s fans already live everywhere else.
Should he play, this will be Ryan Giggs’ 14th appearance in the competition. The Welsh wizard will no doubt be fearing a fan backlash following the revelations about his love life.
Comparisons have been made between the United veteran and Labour leader Ed Miliband, each being an ageing left winger who just can’t get on with his brother.
City are 21-10 to win in 90 minutes with United a best priced 7-5 with Hills. The draw is priced at 21-10.
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Arsenal have drawn Udinese, who finished fourth in Serie A last season, in the Champions League play-offs to decide who reaches the group stages.
But don’t panic, Arsene Wenger, as Bet365 are offering 1-4 that the Gunners will see some group action.
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BET OF THE DAY
The neighbourhood watch is having a meeting about 'that creepy guy' and I'm the only one not invited.
Get on Nottingham Forest to beat Barnsley at 9-5 with Hills.
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MACCA'S ACCA
Time waits for no man - especially not a snowman.
Get on Forest (13-8), Cheltenham (10-3), MK Dons (5-6) and West Ham (4-5) with Corals.
The acca pays approximately 37-1.
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It's a rugby World Cup year, and we all know what that means: the All Blacks look unbeatable, then bottle it in the semi-finals.
England play Wales in a friendly at Twickers today and historically the Welsh risk a hiding.
In previous World Cup warm-ups they lost 43-9 at home in 2003 and suffered a humiliating 62-5 trouncing at Twickenham in 2007.
The bookies make England overwhelming favourites to win the two-match series. Hills offer a tempting 8-13 for a 2-0 England triumph.
William Hill betting – Two-match series: 8/13 England (2-0), 13/2 Wales (2-0); 7/4 series drawn (1-1).
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Cage fighter Alex Reid takes on Jason ‘Bad Ass’ Barrett tonight in a pay-per-view punch-up.
Barrett’s record suggests he’s less ‘bad ass’ and just plain bad. After three wins from nine outings, he really should go out less.
Reid, on the other fist, is coming off seven consecutive losses and is still Ladbrokes’ 4-9 favourite to win the fight.
Reid has spent the last week parading new love Chantelle Houghton on the Lorraine Kelly show and This Morning.
Cynics labelled the liaison nothing more than a ‘shomance’ but Ladbrokes still offer 1-2 Reid and Houghton tie the knot next year and it’s 5-1 they get married before the end of this year.
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