The new season of the FA Premier League is nearly upon us, so I have been having a look at some bets that will make the year a little more interesting!
The tenures of managers are becoming shorter and shorter as the fans become more demanding and hold greater power over their clubs’ futures. The manager thought to be out of the door first is Birmingham City gaffer Alex McLeish; you can get odds of 11/4 on this. He is closely followed by Paul Hart, currently manager of Portsmouth. After the departure of Harry Redknapp last season, Pompey struggled to live up to their potential and a slow start might signal an early departure for Hart.
Another market being offered at the moment is the fate of Mark Hughes as Man City manager. Wild spending this summer has sent expectations through the roof for the Sky Blues, who have always had the problem of living in the shadow of their red counterparts. If Hughes cannot deliver the goods in the opening couple of months, his time might be up, with Roberto Mancini, Martin O’Neill and David Moyes all tipped to replace him.
The power held by the Big 4 clubs has been unpenetrable in the past few seasons, with Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton all going close but no cigar. You can get odds of 6/4 that Arsenal will drop out this season, the shortest of any of the teams. However, I wonder how much value any of these bets really are because at the end of the day, the Big 4 are the Big 4 for a reason - they’re the best in the country.
‘PENALTY!’ is the cry coming from the away end at Old Trafford, but the referee waves away the call once again. Too many times during the season is this a popular commentary soundbite as officials come under more and more pressure by the influential Red Devils at home. However, if one ref plucks up the courage to give the away side a penalty at this ground, you can reap the rewards with a bet at 4/7. Reckon it’s unlikely? Go the other way and say it won’t happen at 5/4.
Finally, who will bag the most Premier League goals this season? Liverpool and Man Utd have been made joint-favourites each at 9/4, with Chelsea closely following them at 7/2. One big win can tip the scales in a team’s favour, and I would argue that Chelsea are less likely to do this than their title-challenge rivals. A good bet could be Man City at 6/1 as the Sky Blues boast a strike-force that would match any in the division.