The North Stand | The Ultimate Football Blog

January 21st, 2013

Premier League betting: fourth place odds

Betting on who will get the Premier League fourth place is a popular option for football gambling enthusiasts, but anyone who does not have much experience of betting on football would be advised to find out more about the game before putting too much money down. This has been made much easier in recent years given the rise of the online gambling industry. Online bookmakers and casinos alike have cropped up all over the web over the past decade or so and are now highly established within the industry. Online bookmakers allow for users to place a bet through their smartphone at any time and of course they can also have a ‘betting tips’ tab open alongside that. As mentioned this isn’t just the bookmakers, but online casinos such as www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/online-blackjack also share similar advantages. With apps making them portable, instead of a rare visit being made to a casino, users can now do so from wherever they wish. All the game types are there – roulettes, card games including baccarat, blackjack and of course poker; and sports fans are in luck, with a range of slots games covering almost any sport thinkable. Playing football-themed games like Game On at online casinos (which can be played for free if you aren’t quite willing to place your money down yet) enable non-football fans to familiarise themselves with the teams, players and form before starting.

If you’re not looking for anything outside of sports betting though it can also be useful to know what the odds for the various teams in contention are, as this lets you see which sides are rated the favourites for fourth place, and decide whether you want to back one of the favourites or go for a longer odds bet. In this case, the teams with the shortest odds are Arsenal and Tottenham, rated around 10/11 and 6/5 respectively at most sports betting sites. Arsenal have the prior experience while Tottenham have the financial investment, but backing either of these teams is unlikely to make you serious money – simply because the odds are not long enough. Arsenal may need to expand their squad a little though having still not completely filled the void left by Robin Van Persie.

A team such as West Bromwich Albion, currently in contention according to the league table, will present you with far longer odds – they currently have odds in the region of 80 at many sports betting sites. This reflects the fact that they have never played in the Champions League before, and were not expected to be in their current league position. Betting on West Brom would be a very risky proposition for most people though, but a team like Everton might represent a better option. You can get odds of either 7/2 or 9/2 on them at most sites, which reflects their status as being serious candidates for fourth place, but not one of the hot favourites to get it. Having enjoyed some good years under David Moyes it is likely they will be looking to provide that extra push for the much coveted 4th spot.

November 20th, 2012

Where Will David Beckham Go Next? Becks’ Most Probable Destinations

It’s official. The Beckhams are moving out of their dwelling in LA and heading to another club. After a stint in America, earning Becks a rumoured £10 million + every year (without sponsorship deals and the like), David will no doubt be looking for a decent pay packet in what he is calling his final challenge. Wages might not be a huge issue though as clubs battle it out for the global brand and merchandising phenomenon that is David Beckham. Where are the most likely destinations for the former England and Manchester United man?

Paris St. Germain

PSG are loaded. Fact. They’ll be happy to meet his wages and will be licking their lips at the prospect of pairing Becks up with some of the stars they’ve already invested in. When it was confirmed that David would be on his way, the Paris club were one of the first to declare their interest. Don’t be surprised if this is Posh’s first choice.

AC Milan

The Milan following know Becks well after his time their earlier in his career, and we reckon a return would certainly be welcomed by the fans. Another destination that Victoria might be keen on due to it being a fashion paradise.

Australia (Perth Glory or Melbourne Heart)

Both clubs have declared an interest in Becks, with Heart’s chief exec Scott Munn telling the press ‘What I can say is that it’s certainly real, we’re putting forward an offer, it’s compelling and the opportunity is here for him to come here. That is absolutely legitimate. Let’s let David get through next week, play the final of the MLS and hopefully he’ll have a win.’ Rumours of Beckham down under were around before it was confirmed that he was on his way out of Galaxy.

Manchester United

You never know, right? United seem a little short in the Midfield area and whatever you believe about the relationship between Fergie and Becks, the two no doubt have worked together to good effect in the past. Lets just hope he doesn’t take any lessons from Victoria when it comes to comebacks, eh?

Shanghai Shennua

China has become one of those ‘career twilight’ moves, and rumours are rife that Beckham could follow Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba in making moves to Asia, who are reportedly paying stupid money as they increase the commercial appeal of football in China.

UAE

There are a few clubs in the UAE that would probably fancy a punt on Beckham, and have the cash to make it happen too. Not sure what Posh and the kids will make of a move to the middle east, though…

Where do you think Becks will end up? Is a return to England on the cards or a big money last hurrah? Leave us a comment below.

November 15th, 2012

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Quotes – From the Funny to the (Very) Arrogant

As Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to prove himself as one of the brightest talents of his generation, we thought it was an appropriate time to delve into the long list of memorable quotes the Sweden man has treated us to. A nice way to describe Zlatan would be to say that he doesn’t suffer with modesty, and as you’ll see from his words, confidence has never been an issue for the former Barcelona, Ajax and Milan man.

On his ongoing feud with former boss Pep Guardiola:

“I felt like crap when I was sitting in the locker room with Guardiola staring at me like I was an annoying distraction, an outsider. It was nuts. He was a wall, a stone wall. I didn’t get any sign of life from him and I was wishing myself away every moment.”
“I asked for a meeting with Guardiola – for a discussion, not an argument. I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn’t have bought me if they wanted another type of player.“I told him what a friend had said to me – ‘you bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat’. The chat seemed to go well but then Guardiola started to freeze me out.”
“I would walk into a room; he would leave. He would greet everyone by saying “hello”, but would ignore me. I had done a lot to adapt – the Barca players were like schoolboys, following the coach blindly, whereas I was used to asking ‘why should we?”
“At Barca, players were banned from driving their sports cars to training. I thought this was ridiculous – it was no one’s business what car I drive – so in April, before a match with Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene.”

On finding somewhere to live in Paris:

“We are looking for an apartment (in Paris). If we don’t find anything, then I’ll probably just buy the hotel.”

On his childhood:

“I got a bike when I was little, a BMX. I called it ‘Fido Dido’ after the tough little cartoon guy with spiked hair. I thought he was the coolest thing ever. The bike got stolen outside of the Rosengård swimming baths and Dad went there with his shirt open and sleeves rolled up. He’s the kind of person that says: ‘No one touches my kids! No one takes their stuff’. But not even a tough guy like him could do anything about it. Fido Dido was gone, and I was crushed.

On his sexuality:

“Come to my house and you’ll see if I’m gay. And bring your sister.”

On his antics after winning the title with Juventus:

“It was the fault of David Trezeguet, who made me do one drink of vodka after another. I slept in the bathtub. Now I hold my vodka much better.”

On what he would buy his wife for her birthday

“Nothing, she already has Zlatan.”

On rejecting Arsene Wenger’s offer of a trial at Arsenal:

“Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”

November 12th, 2012

England vs Sweden Preview November 2012

England take on Sweden on Wednesday November 14th, with full coverage available on ITV1 for UK viewers.

Following England’s thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden at Euro 2012, fans will be hoping for an exciting encounter when the two nations meet again on Wednesday. Two recent England victories in this fixture have ended a 43 year wait for a victory against the Swedish national team, and Roy Hodgson will be hoping that his side make it three in a row in Stockholm.

Sweden have many reasons of their own to go in search of a victory, in spite of the match just being a friendly, as the game will mark the opening of their new 50,000 capacity Stadium the Friends Arena. The Scandinavians will also be out for revenge following that Euro 2012 defeat.

The new look England squad, depleted by injuries and withdrawals, could well mean a few debuts for players young and old, with Leon Osman, Raheem Stirling, Fraser Forster and Ryan Shawcross all included in the original squad, with Wilfried Zaha and Carl Jenkinson also joining the squad after withdrawals.

The squad to face Sweden is:

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Steven Caulker (Tottenham), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Spurs) Leon Osman (Everton), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United).

Strikers: Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United)

We’re hoping that the new boys add a breath of fresh air to the squad, and a bit of passion we might not have otherwise seen in a friendly match.

Our prediction: 2-1 England win.

November 11th, 2012

Wilfried Zaha Gets First England Call Up

20 year old Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha has been called up to the England squad for the forthcoming friendly against Sweden. Zaha is also eligible to play for the Ivory Coast, and has expressed some desire to do so, but for now he will ply his trade for England. An appearance in the friendly will not affect which nationality he goes on to represent as it is not a competitive game, but many will be hoping he chooses to stick with England.

The youngster is one of the hottest properties in british football, and has played almost 100 games for Palace, scoring 11 goals. Linked with big money moves to the premier league, Roy Hodgson will be hoping to tie him to the England squad, and his plans for the future, as he looks to young talent for the mainstay of his squad.

The news follows the call up of Carl Jenkinson (who was also eligible to play for Finland) and Leon Osman, who will hope to become one of the oldest debutantes in England history in the midweek fixture.

November 10th, 2012

James McLean Refuses to Wear Poppy

According to reports, Sunderland winger James McLean refused to wear a poppy today in their clash with Everton. The news of his remembrance snub has been met with mixed reactions on Twitter, with many accusing him of being hugely disrespectful, while others have stuck up for him, defending his moral beliefs and right to not wear the mark of respect if he so wishes.

It isn’t the first time he’s been in some hot water, famously getting in his share of arguments on Twitter and famously used the social network to lay into Giovanni Trappatoni when he left him on the bench in a recent poor Ireland performance against Borat’s very own Kazakhstan.

The midfielder will surely now be the subject of an awful lot of debate in the footballing community, and although there is no rule to say that he has to wear a poppy, I’m sure most will see this as a huge sign of disrespect to the fallen.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

November 10th, 2012

Ian Holloway Quotes – His Greatest and Funniest Moments

Ian Holloway has made his share of friends (and enemies) over the last few years. His amazing feat of getting relative minnows Blackpool into the premiership gave him a well deserved crack at the top league. For a year (and only a year) his unusual charisma and undoubted character lit up the premier league, but Ian has been at it for years in the lower leagues, and has given us all some hysterical moments in his interviews and television appearances. Whatever you think of Ian, its hard not to crack a smile at his hilarious outlook on the world, and being a football manager. Here, we’ve collected some Ian Holloway quotes and greatest moments as a manager for your enjoyment.

“He’s six foot something, fit as a flea, good looking… He’s got to have something wrong with him. Hopefully he’s hung like a hamster – That would make us all feel better. Having said that, my missus has got a pet hamster at home, and his cock’s massive.” – on Cristiano Ronaldo, Ian knows what all of our egos are hoping for when it comes to the Portuguese maestro.

“I am a football manager. I can’t see into the future. Last year I thought I was going to Cornwall on my holidays but I ended up going to Lyme Regis.” – Fair enough Ian…Fair enough.

“When my wife first saw Marc (Nygaard) for the first time, she said he was a fine specimen of a man. She says I have nothing to worry about, but I think she wants me to buy her a QPR shirt with his name on the back for Christmas.” – Fortunately for Ian (not for Mrs. Holloway), he didn’t work with Marc Nygaard for long after this.

“We need a big, ugly defender. If we had one of them we’d have dealt with County’s first goal by taking out the ball, the player and the first three rows of seats in the stands.” On a defeat to Notts County. Did this make anyone else think of Tony Adams?

“It was a bit cheeky wasn’t it? But I don’t think it was that bad. It would have been worse if he’d turned round and dropped the front of his shorts instead. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a couple of butt cheeks personally. If anybody’s offended by seeing a backside, get real. Maybe they’re just jealous that he’s got a real nice tight one, with no cellulite or anything.” – Yes, this is Mr. Holloway complimenting Joey Barton on his backside.

“It’s been an absolute living nightmare, to be honest. It is just ludicrous, I don’t see who it benefits at all.

“When my wife’s shopping, we need some milk and bread on a regular basis. We can’t buy it all at the start and then wait until January because it would have all gone off.” – Not a fan of the transfer window, then? Nor owner of a freezer.

“Well obviously they’re so important, that we’ll have to change when we play our tournament. It’s so vital that they have our tournament that belongs to the world and I think I’m a world person aren’t I, I come from England. So we’ll just change everything ‘cos your weather’s really hot. Cos we can’t play it when we should do. Brilliant. If it was up to me heads would roll and I know which head it would be and I’d love to do it. Why don’t we let the people in charge of Blackburn do it, they seem to like sacking people. Sepp Blatter and all of them lot Mr Platini I know he was a good player but he aint very good at what he does, I don’t think. I think he’s useless you can quote me on that.” – Ian never was one to hold anything back…

And my personal favourite of Ian Holloway quotes…

“To put it in gentleman’s terms if you’ve been out for a night and you’re looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they’re good looking and some weeks they’re not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She weren’t the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let’s have a coffee”

Thanks Ian. There are no words… Football could do with a few more characters like this.

November 8th, 2012

John Terry on a Bike

October 5th, 2012

Footballers Who Have Got in Hot Water on Twitter

Twitter and other social networks that have grown prominent over recent years have grown to have a big impact not only on sports but the world in general. Designed as a way to stay connected and share information as fast as the speed of light, the idea of ‘following’ your favourite sports star on Twitter is a very appealing one. Yes, I do want to know what goes on in the life of the UK’s top Footballers, and must admit that I’m not entirely bored when they tell me what they have for breakfast, either.

October 2012 has seen another high profile example of a player making a huge cock-up on a social network. Twitter was the platform, and the culprit was England’s most capped Left Back, Ashley Cole.

Cole is hardly a national treasure, and has something of a bad reputation in the media, but, until now at least, a reasonably good reputation in the game we love. This reputation however is now in tatters after a Tweet about the ongoing John Terry “racism” accusations and saga, with Cole tweeting expletives and a sarcastic message that would not look out of place in an angst ridden teenager’s feed. For Cole to criticise the Football Association that has given him 98 caps for his country is nothing short of disrespectful, and will surely see another disciplinary hearing piled onto Chelsea. They need that like a hole in the head.

The Chelsea and (maybe) England left back isn’t the only example of a high profile tweet causing this kind of trouble though…

In 2008, Ryan Babel criticised referee Howard Webb on his Twitter account with around 300,000 followers.
Former West Ham Defender Danny Gabbidon knows how to make friends: “U know what, f*** the lot of you, u will never get another tweet from me again, you just don’t get it do you. Bye bye.” He was fined and subsequently deleted his account.
Bradley Orr, Paddy Kenny and Clint Hill – the QPR trio came out in defence of team mate Jamie Mackie when he suffered a broken leg, and was reportedly abused by the unpopular El Hadji Diouf. Use of expletives and some threatening language was not enough to see them disciplined, which caused some controversy.
Luis Enrique – Enrique publicly criticised Newcastle’s transfer policy on Twitter, explaining that they would never be a top 6 club if they continue to sell their best players.
In one of the highest profile Twitter outbursts, Wayne Rooney threatened to put a Liverpool Fan “to sleep” in 10 seconds over abusive tweets he was receiving.
Joey Barton…he could have his own article here, I wont go into specifics but suffice to say he tweets…a lot…oh and erm…he’s Joey Barton.

So why do we see this kind of thing over and over again on Twitter in spite of many club policies and the disciplinary action the players know they can be on the receiving end of? Well, Twitter is a strange way of communicating, and these players see tweets sent to them by thousands of followers, whether they’re fans or rivals of the player or player’s club. This is bound to get you wound up at times and to an extent I can understand a “lashing out” in response, though players should be more professional.

The problem is that the instantaneous nature of Twitter means that before having a chance to cool off, players can tweet their feelings straight away, and don’t leave themselves time to cool off. Unfortunately, we see an increasing amount of these instances, and surely the FA are beginning to wonder what they can do to tackle the Social Media revolution.

September 24th, 2012

Who Will Win The Premier League Title in 2012/2013?

The season, as we expected, has well and truly started with a bang, and it is as unpredictable as ever. We’re a few games into the 2012/2013 season now and though they say you cant tell much about how the season will pan out at this early stage, the margins at the top of the league are so fine come game number 38 that dropping points early on can leave the big teams out of the race come the last straight.

So, we’re evaluating the teams who may well be in contention come May, using their summer signings and the way they have started what promises to be the most exciting Premier League season since…erm…last year.

Manchester United

If there is one team that is always there or thereabouts it is United, and expect 2012/13 to be no different. They’ve strengthened their squad whilst retaining a lot of stability, and are also boosted by the return from long term injury of Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher. United’s squad certainly isn’t the youngest, and it will be interesting to see if they have the legs to last the season, though the Red Devils will be confident that their players are reaching their prime and will gain revenge over rivals City after last year’s drama. Robin Van Persie has started the season as well as we all expected, and we can expect his transfer to have a big bearing on the end result of the season.

Manchester City

Undoubtedly, City are a real force now, and even though their spending hasn’t been huge by their standards, they’ve added to their already superstar squad with some solid players who will add depth to their squad. If Man City are to continue to dominate for years to come, this season could be pivotal, but keeping their huge (and sometimes volatile) squad happy could be a tough job for Roberto Mancini. I predict that City will be pipped to the title this season.

Chelsea

Chelsea are definitely back with a bang, and in my opinion they’re in with a realistic chance of winning the title this year after a few years out in the cold. Roberto Di Matteo has got the team spirit back with his amazing achievements last season, and Roman Abramovich is throwing cash at the squad again. The signings of Oscar and Eden Hazard will have a big impact, but whether Fernando Torres can step up and score the goals needed to win a title is key.

Arsenal

Certainly an outside bet, but Arsenal have started the season well, and look to have coped with the loss of RVP well with some brilliant signings including Santi Cazorla and Lucas Podolski, who are already impressing. Arsenal probably wont be up there at the end of the season, but dont be surprised if they ruffle a few feathers.

Other title long shots include Tottenham under AVB, who still have a really strong squad, and Everton, who have started the season incredibly well, though you can still get pretty long odds on either snatching their first Premiership title.