Picks
|
|
|
World Cup Picks Semi Final
by Ben, last updated 2006-06-30 19:01:28Gerry's Picks
By Gerry McDonnell
Pie, have you forsaken me?Pricing up a football match is a lot like baking a pie. Get all the ingredients right and you have a sweet smelling pastry that will attract interest from afar; get the ingredients wrong, and you’re left with a concoction so inedible, even Brazilian waddler Ronaldo would refuse to eat it all.
If a full strength England were to meet a full strength Portugal, the majority of handsome, highly intelligent, sexually potent odds compilers would make England slight favourites. Decimate the Portuguese team with suspensions and injuries, and England’s odds must fall like Arjen Robben in a penalty area.
A couple of bookmakers appear to have left the ‘team news’ ingredient out of their respective pies, they’re offering England at a huge 6/5 against a Portugal side riddled with reserves. If you don’t take advantage of this oversight, you’re basically condoning their behaviour. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a bad pastry.
Big Phil may have got the better of Sven in the last two tournaments, one more win for Scolari would allow him to take Sven home for keeps, but thanks to a card happy refereeing maniac, Portuguese dreams ended the moment Deco saw red. Take advantage by backing England to be winning at half time and full time at 13/5.
Historically, England have been the better team. The 1966 World Cup winners used Portugal as a stepping stone, and Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews once inspired the Lions to a 10-0 win in Lisbon. The more cynical amongst you may feel the need to question the relevance of form from the 1940’s, but it all adds to a feeling of genuine optimism. A 10-0 win for England can be safely ruled out, but a 2-0 victory looks bang on the money, 8/1 is available.
England have a goalkeeper of genuine quality in Paul Robinson, but his recent performances have left a question mark hanging in the air. (If it was David James, he would have flapped at it before philosophically pondering the complexities of life while Pauleta rolled it into an empty net.) An England clean sheet has been priced up at 6/4, and that’s a Peter Crouch price, it’s too big and it shouldn’t really be there.
John Terry has been lined up to deliver a motivational speech in the dressing room before the match, I’m guessing he’ll be holding a razor while declaring that bouncers don’t like it up ‘em. Terry looked wobbly against Ecuador, it’s 9/1 that he makes amends by scoring with a header.
Sven’s bold decision to play a 4-5-1 against Ecuador freed up Lampard and Gerrard as expected, but Frank hardly covered himself in glory. Lampard had such a disappointing match, at the end of the game he tried to shake hands with the ref and missed by a good five yards. Frank scoring from outside the area has been priced up at 11/2, he’s due.
I refuse to shy away from asking the tough questions. Is it true that Victoria Beckham was the inspiration for the Robert De Niro film ‘WAG the dog’? Sorry, that’s a trifle harsh, on the poor pooch. Vicky did jump up like an excited Chihuahua when Becks curled in the winner against Ecuador, hopefully, I’ll get to see her excited again. Becks threw up after scoring, a scenario I’m more than familiar with; Golden Balls is an 8/1 shot to score direct from a free-kick for the second match running.
Brazil face France on Saturday night, and the Samba Boys have to be opposed. Ronaldo may be the greatest World Cup goal scorer of all-time, but his lack of mobility will prove to be a hindrance now they finally face quality opposition. How can Brazil play with a striker who has to stay five yards in front of the last French defender, in order to keep his stomach from drifting into an offside position? He can’t use his body weight to challenge a defender, as it could lead to a charge of attempted murder. The French are the call at 4/1.
Thierry Henry was a little bit naughty against the Spanish, rolling on the floor clutching his face like he was Phil Neville in a house of mirrors. It could be that his: "Next time i’ll learn to dive maybe, but i am not a woman," outburst after the Champions League final was actually a statement of intent. Henry glides like a ballerina and even when he scores, he has the facial expression of a lady who has ‘the decorators in’. Teri can still play though; take 7/1 about Henry opening the scoring.
I’m not going to waste your time by going into too much detail on Friday’s quarter finals, as the Argies and the Italians are such nailed on, in the bag, already past the post, absolutely raging certainties. The Friday double pays out at a healthy 10/3.
Weekend Betting:
Germany v Argentina Friday 30th June 16.00
Germany 7/4
Draw 21/10
Argentina 7/4
Get on: Argentina
Match Special:
"Big Max" - Maxi Rodriguez to score with a header 10/1
Italy v Ukraine Friday 30th June 20.00
Italy 8/13
Draw 13/5
Ukraine 11/2
Get on: Italy
Match Special:
"Pirl jam" - Pirlo to score direct from a free-kick 10/1
England v Portugal Saturday 1st July 16.00
England 6/5
Draw 9/4
Portugal 11/4
Get on: England
Match Special:
"My name is Hurl" - David Beckham to score at any time 4/1
Brazil v France Saturday 1st July 20.00
Brazil 5/6
Draw 12/5
France 4/1
Get on: France
Match Special:
"Thierry, wait" - Henry to score in the second half 5/1
Open an account with bet365 and you can qualify for up to £100 in Free Bets with their fantastic bet basket promotion. Click Here
← Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 Next →
|
|
| ↑ Top of page |
|
