IT was another day of almost nothing to bet on but UEFA dominated the news with their belief can return in June with attempts to finish the domestic seasons.
The prediction seems widely optimistic but went down at the associations of nations such as England, Spain and Germany who face losing billions of pounds in TV revenue and sponsorship deals if this season is not completed.
I hope UEFA are correct as we all want to get back to normal ASAP but safety can't be compromised and it's difficult to see us clear of the pandemic by then.
Another day on the site meant another quiz and the latest was a cracker so check out our Emoji Stadium quiz.
In these strange teams clubs are caught between putting staff on retention and looking forward to the future and their next big signing.
With so many doubts over finances it would seem folly to spend millions but bookies are convinced Jadon Sancho will be on his way to Manchester United.
England's Borussia Dortmund star is 2-1 with Coral to head to Old Trafford in the next transfer window whenever that may be.
He is 7-2 to sign for Liverpool and 9-1 to join Frank Lampard at Chelsea.
Coral's John Hill said: “It has been all one-way traffic in our betting on Sancho's next club over the last 48 hours. Punters have been rushing in to back the English youngster to join Manchester United.”
Meanwhile, Ladbrokes have five names priced at 7-2 or shorter for moves to the Emirates when the transfer window opens and as things stand it's Chris Smalling who heads the betting at 2-1.
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
Nicaragua premier.
Ko 01-00 Thursday .
Managua v real esteli.
Btts EVENS (hills) NAP.
1st v 2nd clash here.
Managua have won 9 of their last 10 homes., the last 4 being Btts and win.
Esteli have the best defence in the league, diriangan did have but lost 2-1 at Managua last weekend.
Esteli away form is patchy at best going back over the last year but have scored in 11 of last 13 h2h in Managua.
1-1 HALF TIME
⚽? WINNER?⚽
Been quiet for a couple of months but times like this just highlight everything that’s wrong in the world. Football clubs seeking tax payers money to pay excessive amounts to footballers,bankers now refusing to bail out those in need 12yrs after the bailout of all bailouts,Richard Branson with a net worth in the billions has his begging cap out too….on a lighter note China has just announced that they will use bear bile too treat Coronavirus victims, lunatics are running the asylum…..was yesterday or the day April Fools Day ?
Branson has always portrayed himself as ‘a man of the people’ but in reality is a slippy snake just like a large proportion of these entrepreneurial Millionaires. Many of them only got to where they are today by having no ethics or morals in the first place, happy to screw people over to make a quick buck.
Mega rich and is a man of the people yet suggests his staff work 8 weeks unpaid and asks for a bailout.
Same thing from Jeff Bezos of Amazon who’s asked for public donations. Meanwhile I notice prices for day-to-day items on Amazon have shot up… from the company that has arguably the best supply chain going. They’re all as bad as each other.
*Billionaires.
Makes me sick that these footballers are so out of touch with real life, they should all be doing what Barcelona have done.70% pay cut for all players this should apply to every club in the EPL and a few in the championship.Then it should filter down the leagues with 50% 40% etc etc .No body needs someone to kick a bag of wind about to save lives.
Did you know Richard Branson has 9 accountants working 24 hours a day 7 days a week from his mansion taking payments and paying tax.The guy is super rich and i think hes taking the p-ss.
The rich get richer as they say. It’s east to be critical but the guy employs probably 50,000+ people and their jobs need looking after.
Shouldn’t be begging for public money though.
On footballer’s wages if they can afford it they should take a cut but for players not earning millions it’s not so easy and up here the PFA are slamming clubs like Hearts who are talking about transfer targets in the same breath as wage cuts.
The footballers better suck it up because this is the sporting calendar for the foreseeable future and I personally don’t see any leagues starting on time next season either. Public gatherings will still be banned come August time when all the European qualifiers take place,it be folly too suggest the season will start on time. I see Belgium have halted their leagues and current standings are final so Club Brugges are champions
I can’t agree about Branson. Whilst his company employs a lot of people it’s not himself who has recruited. He built his brand up and employed management who do all that work for him.
Here’s a snippet from Forbes magazine regarding the response to his recent request for his staff to take 8 weeks unpaid leave and a member of parliaments stance on it.
He can afford to pay all staff just off the interest he makes, but is reluctant to, given the current situation is that selfish or what;
“Eight weeks at the £94 statutory sick pay would cost £754 per employee. There are 8571 employees in Virgin Airlines.
“If all of them took eight weeks unpaid leave that would be a cost of £6.4 million.
“Sir Richard Branson’s net worth is $3.8 billion. If he’s able to get 2% interest on that money for eight weeks, he will earn the equivalent of £9.9 million.
“So I say, Sir Richard Branson, give up the interest on your wealth for eight weeks and pay your employees yourself their unpaid leave.”
Went to plan in Nicaragua.
3 hours ago
—4-Fold—
Diriangen U20 game
Chinandega game
Las Santanas game
Deportivo Ocotal game
All 4 games Over 1.5 MGls
7/5
2 POINTS
**WON**
@Mr H indeed you have been quite for while and I think its b’se of what the World is under going right now.
But i am certain that most of us are still going on fairly, may God be with us at this difficult times.
Belarus reserves 11.30
Dinamo Minsk over 2.5tgs 5/6
Dinamo Minsk over 3.5tgs 9/4
Good luck
Total rubbish
Afternoon gents
I was asked by the the guys at WeLoveBetting to give some insight as part of their “ask the experts” series – see below and feel free to answer the questions from your one perspective
IN a brand new series at WLB, we’re getting inside the minds of some of the betting industry’s smartest minds by asking the experts to reveal their favourite resources, valuable insight and biggest wins in the game, with Scottish football expert and star of the Gambla Podcast, Greg Browning (@Browning84Greg ) up next.
When did you first start betting? Can you
remember your first bet?
Now there’s a question – probably around the late 90s when I first started going out and I could get into the bookies. It was just win-draw-win focussed back then and whilst I can’t remember the bet, I’m sure a landed a six-team accumulator – the rest as they say, is history
What sports or leagues do you focus and bet on?
I’m a football man – very rarely do I bet outside of football, and when I do its usually just the Cheltenham Festival. There’s a never ending list of sports you can bet on but it’s important you are betting on stuff you know a bit about. My knowledge of the NFL is zero so I can’t ever see me getting involved, haha.
As for football, my primary focus is in Scotland and I decided a few season ago that I would really focus my efforts on our four leagues, especially due to the fact a I watch a lot of Scottish football, know the teams, the players etc. I don’t rule out any leagues but I do tend to focus on the same leagues/competitions – my weekly betting calendar looks something like this
Monday – Scottish Reserve League / Belgian Reserves
Tuesday – UK matches / Champions League
Wednesday – UK matches /Champions League
Thursday – Europa League
Friday – French Ligue 2 / Dutch Eerste Divisie / Austrian 2. Liga
Saturday – Scotland / Occasional lower leagues in England
Sunday – Scotland / Norwegian Eliteserien
What sites or sources do you use to follow them?
I use a number of different platforms, depending on the league but would really encourage people if they have a poor memory to have a little black book of teams and trends. Sites can be a terrific source of insight bit for me nothing beats your own data.
What are your favourite websites for research?
There are dozens and dozens of sites to access data but the two I use mainly are, Soccerway and Whoscored. I guess it really depends on what markets you bet on but my main focus is goals and I regularly venture into the corners and card markets. The above mentioned sites give me what I need.
Once you get 3-4 months into the season, I personally don’t need to rely on websites as much, by this point I’ve already got a good grasp of who the go to teams for goals and corners are.
I also find Twitter extremely useful, especially when it comes to reserve football – the bookies are really exposed with these games and any early insight on starting line-ups can give you a real edge.
What stats do you consider the most important?
As someone who predominantly bets on goal markets, I like to take a 6-8 game view of goals scored and goals conceded and I’m really keen to see the home away goals spit for a team and who’ve they have played during those games.
There is no magic formula but when you are backing goals overs markets, you really want to be looking at games where there is a high probability for Both Teams To Score. It may sound really obvious but that’s great thing about over’s betting, you have two teams working for you.
Hibernian are a great example of that and have been my most profitable team to back this season, by some distance
Are there any stats or trends you feel are irrelevant?
Don’t get too hung up on league tables – they can be quite misleading, especially when you look at a clubs home and away record
Head-to-head is a contentious one – I always like to have a look but I would never back out from doing a bet because of a poor head-to-head record . I’m fascinated by trends and its great to find one.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt betting?
There’s probably three key things I’ve learnt:
If you are serious about making profit and having a positive ROI, try and stick to singles and doubles. Slow and steady wins the race
There are hundreds of leagues and markets to bet on, you can’t have knowledge and understanding on all of them so focus your efforts, time and research on just a couple of them. Get to know a league, have a niche, be a master of something.
It pays to concentrate on lower league football and reserves – the bookies know less about these leagues, and often leave themselves exposed. The bookies DO get it wrong.
Why is value important in betting?
Without looking for value we are probably all wasting our time. Even on the surface when you find a match a match that may not necessarily offer value, the huge number of markets on offer to punters usually means value can be found
Have you any advice for punters looking to try and find an edge?
Do your homework and look at alternative markets – you’d be amazed at how often the bookies get it wrong, especially on lower league and reserve games.
Over 1.5 First-Half Goals is a market I love and is one I’ve been backing for the best part of 10 years.
The bookies don’t offer much value on Over 2.5 Goals in some of the reserve matches I bet on, but they continue to give you even money for Over 1.5 First-Half Goals for matches that have a very high probability of delivering 4+ goals
What’s your biggest betting win and how do you spend it?
It’s from a goals market I discovered a few years ago where I was picking five games for their to be a goal in the first 10 minutes (backed as accumulator, four-fold and trebles (£5 stake).
At this point bookies were offering 4/1 or 9/2 for a goal to be scored in the first 10 mins so even getting just three correct you were getting 10 times your stake back. The odds on all five landing were between 1200/1 and 1500/1
It’s landed three times over the last few seasons with the biggest paying £1,800 for the £5 stake – there’s been lots of close calls with four correct but even then you are still getting £250 back.
The way I look at it is, you try backing five horses at 4/1, it’s near impossible. Goals can be scored at any time an odds of 9/2 permed can give you a lovely return for just a fiver
Do you review your bets and track your winners/losers?
I go through stages of tracking them and it’s probably a really worthwhile thing to do to – I’m fortunate I can easily access the bets I’ve posted so will often retrospectively go back and track winners and losers
How do you cope with losing bets?
I’ve come to accept there will always be losing bets but I ask myself if the same match was be played again tomorrow would I back that outcome again, the answer is usually yes.
What’s the best thing about betting?
Definitely the buzz of that last goal or corner landing and knowing that the hours of prep, analysis, and write up’s etc were worthwhile. I love data and trends and there is nothing better than identifying one, highlighting it to people and seeing them win money from something only you identified.
Interesting stuff but didn’t they say they were asking the industry’s smartest people?
They made an exception for me – wanted people form all walks of life ?
On the first bit Greg, when the bookies first started football betting the only choice you had was to pick six wdw on Saturday and that was it. It was hard to win but a couple a season would give you a profit. As soon as they went for singles I opted for treble with some success, and I suppose the rest is history with the choices now. A good read the above, thanks.
Great interview and insight Greg into your betting mind, i think in another world you would have made a great economist, with your love of stats and trends. keep up the good work!
Been keeping an eye on the minsk reserves game pre match and inplay. Looking at stats alone and Minsk should be winning this. Just waiting for it to hit near evens and I will be having a pop on them.
4/6 on the 70min mark so shouldnt be too far away. ?
Pen in the 70th throws that out the window?
May have a dable on over 1.5 when it hits evens, but not a fraction under.
Leaving the minsk reserves out completely.
Will use Gregs wise words and have a go on over 1.5 first half goals in the other reserve game 12 mins in.
Over1.5 fh goals
11/5 betway
1point
tonite
the 5 u20s games in nicaragua o1.5mgs 11/8 last nite now 10/11 WON
same games overs 8/1 LOST
will add
chinandega 20s & ocotal 20s btts, sabanas 20s overs 2/1 LOST
happy enough with that…………….
Comedian Eddie large dies in hospital of coronavirus after catching there while getting treatment for a heart condition.
Was he cannon or ball ?
my memory is a bit fuzzy at the moment.
Apparently he was a Glaswegian, always though he was from Lancashire.
Shame anyway, another TV stalwart from my youth gone unfortunately…..r.i.p.
He was part of a double act known as Little & Large.
RIP
Little & Large were a famous comedy double act. Eddie Large was indeed a Scot – sorry to see him go.
Thanks for that johan…..
Was Eddie large the big one or small one ?
Have a guess Elvis ?
Sunday 12.00 kick off
Energetik-BGU v FC Minsk
Over 2.5 goals at 8/11*****
Over 3.5 goals at 2/1******(NAP)
Over 4.5 goals at 4/1
Best of luck
Fully expect the above game to get hammered in come Sunday and these prices won’t last.
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.
This film is almost universally recognised as the worst film of all time.
If you have 80 minutes to spare enjoy this veritable feast of acting incompetence, definitely falls into the ‘so bad it’s good’ category.
https://youtu.be/Ln7WF78PolA
When my local team had their match postponed I played the fixture on my living room carpet with a couple of Subbuteo teams and talc for snow. We won 4-0 and I put a report in the local paper about it. The players were quite bemused as they didn’t remember playing. Why don’t they finish the EPL with Subbuteo matches… it would be a lot more exciting than the real thing!
I was more of a World Soccer League on the Spectrum than a Subbuteo kind of kid in the 80’s. Then Championship Manager hit the Amiga 500 around 92/93 and the rest is history…. currently playing 2001/02 edition ? breaking the lockdown stresses on a classic ?
Not sure if any of you have been following/betting on the ESoccer Liga Pro games {12 mins play} but the over 1.5 match goals usually priced at around 1/4 or 2/9 seems to come in nearly every time, worth considering for building a nice pot as the games come. Good luck
Plus another plyer in this format to look out for is Catalonia FC (CFC) back this to score over 1.5 team goals each time usually @ 1/2 , only started following this since the footy shutdown but it can be very profitable and easy to predict goals wise
Hi Sean
Thanks for the helpful esoccer tip. Which bookmaker do you use ? I can only find >2.5 mgs. Thanks in advance.
Skybet …before kick off
Thanks Sean appreciated
You can watch ur games on this La Liga Pro format via this https://www.twitch.tv/ligapro1
Ten in a row over 1.5 then comes the 1-0 to end that sequence but i will go again :)
Won
Over 1.5 Goals @ 2/9
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
Team Ruspro (R11) eSports v Pele Warriors (PWR) eSport
Won
Catalonia FC (CFC) eSports @ 8/15
To Score 2+ Goals
Catalonia FC (CFC) eSports v Team Ruspro (R11) eSports
Won
Over 2.5 Goals @ 2/3
Under/Over 2.5 Goals
Won iNACTIVEtv (INA) eSports 4 v 1 Kazan (RUB) eSports
Catalonia FC eSports @ 1/4
To Score 2+ Goals
Catalonia FC eSports 3 v 1 InactiveTV eSports
Won
Over 1.5 Goals @ 1/4
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
Kazan (RUB) eSports 2 v 0 Team Ruspro (R11) eSports
Won
Over 1.5 Goals @ 2/9
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
Team Ruspro eSports 2 v 1 InactiveTV eSports
Won
Over 1.5 Goals @ 2/9
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
Team Ruspro (R11) eSports v FC Dimonchello (DNK) eSports
Won
Over 1.5 Goals @ 2/9
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
Nyancat FC (NFC) eSports v Tundra (TES) eSports
Won
Over 1.5 Goals @ 2/9
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
FC Dimonchello (DNK) eSports 2 v 2 Tundra (TES) eSports
Lost
Over 1.5 Goals @ 2/9
Under/Over 1.5 Goals
Royal Bears (RLB) eSports v Nyancat FC (NFC) eSports
As you can see its usually very predictable width of a post in last game killed it but 10 out of 11 aint bad ;)
Something too look out for guys.
Online dice is the answer to deciding the league.
Each team member throws 1 dice, simple winner takes all.
Just played Everton v Liverpool.
Everton 53643122546 =41.
Liverpool 36645342131 =38.
The margin becomes the result so Everton won 3-0.
Was a good comeback as you see in the sequence Liverpool led for a good while but Everton turned round a 7 point deficit in the last 3 throws.
I will forward this groundbreaking formula to the fa for consideration.
I might even patent it like Vera duckworth and Lewis Hamilton did in cricket and call it victory by ‘ELVIS METHOD”. ?
Bit of Ozzie soccer tomorrow i believe? Sticking with the US racing with my few $s for entertainment and intrest as ive been doing all week,stinker last night but better card tonight.
Yankee Doodle Dandy and a few singles
Your too Sexy…Gulf R4 7/2 (**)
Hartling..,R6 10/3(*** backed a few times,now going for a 5 timer and tipped on R.post)
Assume… R7 6/1
Mulhima…Golden Gates R7 5/2 (Ex brit horse)
GL all ?
No football in oz mate. Grassroots football is suspended until May 31st and I’d expect the national leagues and the A League to be a similar timescale although it’s not confirmed yet
Belgium cancel their season and have crowned Club Brugge Champions and their will be no relegations with two extra places next season.This means come what may in England Liverpool will be Champions and i would expect the English,Spanish,Italian all to take the same action.
The ??????? Highland league were the first to do this last month they lead the way.
You would expect every league to follow suit.
You’re ok winning by default Macca?
It wouldn’t be by default would it,that’s just a silly statement.
Ok
It wasn’t a statement it was a question, more how do you feel about being robbed of the title which you obviously would have won and given it because you’re in front?
25 points in front al,it’s a lead that cannot be caught so for me it’s not by default
Still can’t lift it in front of the Kop
Yes, wrong word, still interested how you’d feel about it should it happen.
Obviously as a fan we want to be there to see them win it and it was going to be awarded in the home game against Chelsea,hopefully this will still be the case but with the Belgians doing what they have done you can only see others following suit.
The big five leagues still holding out because of the cash involved.
As you say Liverpool is not by default. 100 per cent they’d have been champs. Boffins say Celtic were 98 per cent and Bruges looked certs too.
Brugge will go down as the duckworth Lewis champions.
Awarded the league on the balance of probability.
It’s a hollow way to win a league, the trophy cabinet will have a cup sat there that wasn’t won really but awarded to them in real terms.
Always be an asterisk against it for me.
Be interested what jstuhhs has to say after yesterday’s discussion .
If the Belgians have done it you can bet the sheep will follow,(no offence Elvis)
Thanks for that Al,
In response I still believe it will be finished but either way of it is voided Liverpool will be worthy champions.
As for my team Middlesbrough they will not have to fight against relegation
It will be intersting Most of all Be safe
sorry jstuhhs – I couldn’t resist!
How will that pan out with the bookies . I have an 8 team acca on teams to win the League. teams to finish top 3 top 4 for example I would imagine that would be voided .
Al
Please dont apologise its the banter that makes this site the best keep it up
Every one has an opinion as well
Trev
Cant believe there some guys out there sayin Liverpool will win the league by default. 25 yes 25 points in front of 2nd and you still dont want them to be league champions. If your teams were in that position you would be screaming give us the league we deserve it. SAD BITTER BOYS!!!!!!
Why bitter? and who says they don’t deserve the title?
Some people will always be gitter
Alex if my team was in that position I’d have to wake up and spoil the dream at some time. No bitterness, I’m not very sad just asking what I classed as a view from Macca that everyone seems to be blowing out of all proportion.
You deserve it by a long way.
Doesn’t mean Liverpool fans aren’t the most unbearable in the world though
You can put it on another T shirt “2019/20 default winners” and hang it next to your “team suarez” shirts.
Just seen the news that bookies have agreed that all profits from the Virtual grand national on Saturday will go to the NHS i don’t usually have kind words for the enemy but fair play to them this time i may part with a few pennies on the cartoon races after all
I’m going to have a couple of bets too – maximum stake across the board is £10.
Mr F, in the case of the Belgian league, what do you think the bookies will do as regards season long bets? Void or not to void, that is the question.
I have a mate who lives in Belgium i will ring him later and find out.
Al
I would have thought all bets should be void asthe season was not complete
Depends on bookies rules
If agame was abandoned they would void the bet
Interesting
I expect they’ll pay out on Bruges to win league but what else are you asking about. There’s no relegation for example.
Hypothetically, if you had Gent to win the league although 15 points behind the bet hadn’t lost.
It has if Brugge are declared champs – bookies will have to pay out on Brugge.
Best you’ll get is a kind-hearted firm voiding Gent but that’s unlikely.
It’s still to be endorsed al it’s only a recommendation at the moment and has to pass before the general assembly meeting on April 15, so the bookies will do absolutely nothing just now.
It’s already been decided mate
Al my mate has been on to his bookie and he has been told that that they will be paying out on Club Brugge as champions.
Cheers Macca
Yeah they’ll have to.
I said to my mate I reckon England will follow suit,he doesn’t think so as clubs will go bust if that was the case as they will have already spent tv money,and as he says there isn’t as much money at stake for the Belgium sides.
England still hoping for the best – as you say cash is the issue. Scotland and Holland could follow suit though as TV money not such an issue.
Mr fixit obviously who sits on the Belgian general assembly has decided this decision is just a formality- could you see it being the same in Scotland without huge ramifications and lawsuits? I very much doubt it
Actually I can see Celtic being declared champions. It’s obviously more complicated at the foot of the table.
That’s ok for 3/4 divisions in Scotland where there’s a team well clear. I think there’s 1 point between Falkirk and raith. They’d need to come up with something to satisfy them both as the decision to call final placings just now would need to be the same across the board I’d imagine? We all know the folk running the game up here aren’t too clever at coming up with sensible decisions.
As I said some tough calls to make. Even increasing the league to 14 won’t go through easy as clubs already in top flight will lose money.
Sean I reckon Scotland will follow suit.There won’t be law suits as there won’t be any relegations,there would be two extra teams then 6 relegations the next season.
Where you getting 6 relegations.
Out with the relegation issues macca you can bet your last pound there would be a legal challenge from rangers.
More than likely sean.
Typo mr f
The decision makers in Scotland are proven bottlers, they will hang on and hang on in the hope of the epl making a decision first imo. They’ve already tried passing the buck to uefa and been told to deal with it themselves, and I can imagine the response to that was them running about with their fingers in their ears with their pants on their head shouting la la la
There’s a meeting of all clubs on Monday so we’ll see what they say.
Is it still 11-1 needed to pass anything?
Yeah pretty sure it is.
Mr F. Once again can you rattle Admin to respond to his emails.
Thanks.
A legal challenge from rangers, where are they getting the money for that from?? If they were serious about “null and voiding” the league, they wouldn’t have accepted the prize money they received recently.
Can we have a round of applause for 89 year old formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone who has announced that his 44 year old wife is pregnant, usually a man of his age struggles to get their pecker up high enough to prevent them from pissing on their own feet.
Evening gents
5 matches tomorrow from Belarus with two Premier League matches and three reserve fixtures
I’ve had a good look through the matches and the bookies certainly aren’t taking any chances on the bookings markets with prices as low as 1/2 for over 4.5 cards. – The Premier League games look tough to call but the Reserves are far more open affairs and two of them stand out
?? Dinamo Brest Reserves vs Slavia Reserves ?? (KO 11am)
Over 1.0 1.5 First half goals
4/5 (Bet365)⚽️
??BATE Borisov Reserves vs FK Ruh?? (11.30am)
Over 2.5 match goals double
5/4 (Bet365)⚽️