Premiership Transfer Window Review - Part Two
David Walker continues his review of the January transfer window and how the moves will impact each team’s success, or survival at the end of the 2005/06 season. Everton
After spending the early part of the season facing a relegation battle the only reinforcements came in the form of Alan Stubbs, joining from Sunderland for his second spell at the club. Two players have left the club – Marcus Bent to Charlton and Per Kroldrup to Fiorentina. The Danish defender arrived in a £5 million switch from Udinese but returned to Italy for substantially less after making just one league appearance. At 10 points clear, Everton look safe from the drop but you may be tempted by the 33/1 relegation odds. Fulham
Fulham are battling against relegation and have made five new signings. Goalkeepers Tony Warner and Antti Niemi joined from Cardiff and Southampton respectively while New Zealand international Simon Elliott arrived from Columbus Crew. Defender Wayne Bridge and midfielder Michael Brown joined from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur on loan. Without an away win all season, Fulham’s strength and key to survival lies in their form at Craven Cottage. 26 of the 29 points accumulated have come from home wins and manager Chris Coleman will need to keep up this momentum. Fulham can be backed at 14/1 for relegation. Liverpool
Third in the table and a favourable draw in the Champions League has seen further recruits arrive at Anfield. Defender Jan Kromkamp arrived in a swap deal from Villarreal which saw Josemi return to Spain while Danish defender Daniel Agger cost £5.8 million from Brondby. A host of fringe players left on loan deals but all transfers were eclipsed by the return of striker Robbie Fowler, five years after leaving Anfield. Fowler scored 120 goals in 236 Premiership matches for the Reds previously and with Manchester United wobbling, Liverpool could eclipse them in second position. They are three points behind in third but have two games in hand. Rafa Benitez’s side can be backed at 6/5 to win the Premiership in the “without Chelsea” market. Manchester City
Following a blistering start to the season, City are sitting comfortably in tenth position. Manager Stuart Pearce will not stand for half measures and has motivated his side into three wins out of their last four matches, including a 3-1 derby win over bitter rivals United. Pearce has boosted the ranks with the £6 million signing of Greek striker Georgios Samaras from Heerenveen after allowing Robbie Fowler to rejoin Liverpool and the loan capture of Espanyol midfielder Alberto Riera. Pearce’s managerial qualities have not gone unnoticed and he is quoted at 20/1 to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson as the next England boss. Manchester United
The former Premiership powerhouses have been exposed yet again this season as being nowhere near Chelsea in terms of results, consistency and strength in depth. However, the Glazier’s sanctioned the arrivals of Spartak Moscow defender Nemanja Vidic Spartak for £7 million and £5.5 million signing Patrice Evra. A dire spell in Europe has seen them with the Carling Cup one of their only chances of silverware this season although Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are still 5/6 favourites for the Premiership “without Chelsea”. Strike duo Ruud van Nistelrooy is 5/6 and Wayne Rooney 10/1 to top the Premiership scoring charts. Middlesbrough
One of the pre season outsiders for a top four position, Middlesbrough are now staring relegation square in the face. Boro have won just once in their last 10 Premiership outings and that was away at rock bottom Sunderland. No players arrived in January although Szilard Nemeth left for Strasbourg. One of the few bright spots, striker Yakubu, can be backed at 16/1 to top the Premiership goalscoring chart while speculative punters may fancy the 13/2 on offer of relegation. Newcastle United
Manager Graham Souness became the latest Premiership managerial casualty after recently losing five of their last six league matches. With just 36 wins in his 83 matches in charge the club are hovering six points above the drop zone. Big money arrivals Michael Owen and Alberto Luque failied to ignite an expected charge for European football and former West Ham manager Glenn Roeder and Alan Shearer have taken over the reigns temporarily. Bolton manager Sam Allardyce is the 9/2 favourite to take over permanently and despite a poor run of form the Magpies remain 20/1 outsiders for relegation. The third and final part of the review will look at transfers involving Portsmouth, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Wigan Athletic. David Walker runs free bets and UK poker websites. A free email course: "Seven Days to Better Betting" is available at both of these websites. |
Other Sport Betting Articles
League Two Betting Review - 6 March 2006 Leyton Orient failed to take full advantage of a host of teams not playing this weekend but moved to within one point of an automatic promotion place. The O’s let a two goal lead slip at Shrewsbury Town to draw the match 3-3.A 30-yard free kick from Matt Lockwood and a low strike by Paul Connor put Orient had put 6/4 Orient 2-0 up after 2 ...Is Poker a Sport? Maybe they should call it Pokeman and satisfy everyone.That, however, may cause phony fur to fly among the ladies.But Pokewoman doesn't sound right and Pokemanandwoman is too long.Oh well, you can satisfy some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.Or something like that.Right ...A Regular NBA Season After a break in the summer, basketball-training camps begin in October. During this time, coaches decide which players to add to the twelve person active roster. Following training camp there is a series of preseason exhibition games. The regular season for the NBA starts in the first week of November.Over the course of a regular season, ...League One Season Preview 2006/07 - Northampton Town Northampton TownOdds: 33/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 2 (League Two, Promoted), 2004/05 - 7 (League Two), 2003/04 - 6 (League Two), 2002/03 - 24 (League One - Relegated), 2001/02 - 20 (League One).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup Third Round vs Crystal Palace (a) - lost 4-1. Carling Cup Second Round vs Norwich City (a ...Championship Betting Review - 7 August 2006 Burnley are the early pace setters after defeating Queens Park Rangers 2-0. New signing Steve Jones scored a brace after 59 and 69 minutes for the even money Clarets.Even though the influential Steve Howard and Kevin Nicholls moved elsewhere during the summer, Luton Town won their opening match against Leicester City. Leon Barnett broke ...World Cup 2006 Preview - Ukraine Outright Odds: 66/1 Group H Winners: 12/5This will be the Ukraine’s first major tournament they have qualified for since narrowly missing out every time following their independence in 1991. This time there was no messing about and they became the first European side to qualify for the finals, bar hosts Germany of course.They s ...World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit On October 25, 2004 Harrah's announced the creation of the World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit that marked the beginning of the 36th annual World Series of Poker season. And with it began their efforts to evolve the World Series of Poker from a month long frenzied rush into a year long sport. The Tournament Circuit is a set of poker tournam ...Wenger Scare Us Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva has revealed Arsene Wenger was so furious after Sunday's row at West Ham that even the players were scared of him!Gilberto is the first Gunners' star to shed light on exactly what happened in the dressing room after the touchline clash that stunned football last Sunday.The Brazilian World Cup star ...Baseball: The New Wrestling Another baseball season is on the way and-for the most part-we all pretty much know which teams will have a shot at the playoffs. Teams like the Pirates, Devil Rays, Royals, etc., have no shot at entering the playoffs and this is before the season has started. That is nothing short of a disgrace.For all the talk about "balance" in basebal ...Games That Cost You A Fortune Besides the obvious fact that some online casinos (an estimated 30%) will never pay their customers one red cent either because you will never win or they fail to pay out if you do, there are some “bad bets” no matter where you play. This article looks at some of the games that will cost you a fortune if you don’t change your gambling ways. ...The Dish: Lullaby Time For North American Sports Lull, lull, lull.The North American sports landscape has the post-Super-Bowl blues, which is kind of funny considering how many sports there are on TV just now. Tune to any NBC-owned station and you're bound to see people who call themselves athletes who engage in what other people call sports. But pardon me if I don't get all that stoked ...League Two Season Preview 2006/07 - Bury BuryOdds: 66/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 19 (League Two), 2004/05 - 17 (League Two), 2003/04 - 12 (League Two), 2002/03 - 7 (League Two), 2001/02 - 22 (League One, Relegated).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup First Round (replay) vs Scunthorpe United (a) - lost 1-0 after extra time Carling Cup First Round vs Leicester Cit ...England under Steve McClaren - A New Beginning for England's Football Team? Steve McClaren was always going to need a big performance, against European Champions Greece, last night. Not just because it was his first game in charge, but after the very public dropping of David Beckham the team needed to show that they could put the disappointment of a poor World Cup behind them and make a new start under the McClar ...Premiership Betting Review - 26 February 2006 Manchester United are the 2005/06 Carling Cup winners following a 4-0 demolition of Wigan Athletic at the Millennium Stadium. United, as short as 8/13 on the day, took the lead after 32 minutes through Wayne Rooney but it was a three goals in six minutes salvo in the second half that devastated outsiders Wigan. Louis Saha netted after 54 minutes ...How To Teach Aggressive Soccer Play It is rough to win these if you are fearful of contact. The most hard squad might typically "win" most of the 50/50 balls and might generally gain the match. It is decisive that your defenseive players be rugged and not fearsome of full contact. If a player is cowardly of bodily contact, you might spare several goals if you play him or her at Fu ...Much Adu About Nothing? Freddy Adu is one of the most famous young players in the world – it seems as though there is nobody who has not heard of the young DC United star. Since a young age he has been hyped up as the next ‘big thing’ in world football, but is he as good as all the hype that surrounds him? Or is he a prime example of the hyperbole that surrounds all th ...League One Season Preview 2006/07 - Port Vale Port ValeOdds: 40/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 13 (League One), 2004/05 - 18 (League One), 2003/04 - 7 (League One), 2002/03 - 17 (League One), 2001/02 - 14 (League One).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup Fourth Round vs Aston Villa (a) - lost 3-1. Carling Cup First Round vs Rotherham United (a) - lost 3-1. Football ...Gambling for Fun With so much being talked about the problems of gambling addiction we have lost sight of the fact that gambling can actually be a fun way to past the time whether it's online card games like poker or going to the casino to play roulette or indulging in some sport betting on horses or your favourite football or basket ball team.That's it, ...The Top 5 Poker Hands Poker is a very intricate sport and while many people attempt to understand it in order to get involved in the game, it can be overcomplicated at times. Sometimes, it is best to review the little details of poker in a very simple matter and move on from there in order to develop a deeper understanding of the game. One of the simplest aspects o ...Stephen Daldry Stephen Daldry is an expert of many grand stage productions. In the movie about Billy Elliot he displays both a visual elegance and a talent to capture human drama. The well-illustrated interaction between characters successfully enables the world of Billy Elliot to come alive. While it would be tempting to have scripted Billy Elliot as a dance ...Using Arbitrage Trading to Make Money From Home In today’s world anymore you need to work two jobs. You need a part time job, and a full time job. The problem with this though is that it doesn’t allow you to have much time to do the things we should really be doing in life. Spending time with our kids, taking family vacations, buying a new home or car, and so much more. If you are anything li ...World Cup 2006 Group Stage Review - Phase One - Part Two All 32 teams have played one match each as the World Cup has begun in explosive fashion, but are things going according to plan for the favourites or are the underdogs having a say in proceedings? This is a short round-up of Groups E to H, of the results as they stand after one match.Group E1. Czech Republic 3pts, 2. Italy 3pts, 3. ...Championship Season Preview 2006/07 - Southend United Southend UnitedOdds: 200/1Last Five Seasons2005/06 - 1 (League One, Promoted), 2004/05 - 4 (League Two, Promoted), 2003/04 - 17 (League Two), 2002/03 - 17 (League Two), 2001/02 - 12 (League Two).2005/06 Cup ProgressFA Cup Second Round vs MK Dons (h) - lost 2-1. Carling Cup First Round vs Southampton (h) - lost ...Manchester United a Tribute to the Busby Babes As Manchester United celebrates the Busby Babes and remembers the disaster that killed 23 people connected with the club it is important to remember the team’s achievements preceding that disastrous night. Matt Busby’s team had an average age of just 22 when it won the championship in 1955-56. The darlings of football looked set to dominate foot ...League One Season Preview 2006/07 - Doncaster Rovers Doncaster RoversOdds: 20/1Last Five Seasons 2005/06 - 8 (League One), 2004/05 - 10 (League One), 2003/04 - 1 (League Two, Promoted), 2002/03 - 3 (Conference, Promoted), 2001/02 - 4 (Conference).2005/06 Cup Progress FA Cup Third Round vs Port Vale (a) - lost 2-1. Carling Cup Quarter Final vs Arsenal (h) - lost 4-3 ...Kickboxing Combinations Applied to Cardio Kickboxing This is the second in a series on martial arts striking combinations used as choreography in cardio kickboxing. As said, a key difference between a trained martial artist and a streetfighter is that the martial artist reflexively hits in sequences of three or four moves. The instinctive non-thinking reaction isn't just a one-move event, its a mo ...Top Ten Reasons David Letterman Always Wears White Sox There are three talk shows that I watch on television, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (I now also watch The Colbert Report. with Stephen Colbert.)Stewart comes on too late for me, but I can catch it several times the next day along with ...World Cup 2006 Preview - Trinidad & Tobago Outright Odds: 1500/1 Group B Winners: 50/1Trinidad & Tobago will be looking to cause a few upsets after qualifying for the World Cup finals for the very first time at the eleventh attempt. The ‘Soca Warriors’ beat Bahrain 2-1 across a two-legged play-off to reach Germany but also beat Mexico, ranked seventh in the world, along the wa ...World Cup 2006 Preview - France Outright Odds: 12/1 Group G Winners: 1/2France were required to call on the cavalry to ensure qualification to the finals. Stuck in fourth place in their group, retired veterans Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram returned to the side in an attempt to turn around the fortunes of the failing side.A precious 1-0 wi ...The FIFA Rules Are no Longer Enough And then the world cup ends ... The last game between France and Italy is probably exemplary for the quality of soccer these days.What should you make of this. The emotion about what happened has not faded yet, but whatever Materazzi said to Zidane, there is no excuse for his behavior. The only relief is that after such an incident you in ...
|
