FA Cup Rd 4 Round-Up

Well, what can I say!?  The FA Cup continued to throw up a few surprises, but not that many and very few that I had actually gambled on.  However Crawley did beat Torquay, which was part of my Accumulator and also became the first non league team to reach the Fifth Round since about 1996!

When all is said and done, and my Goal-Rush and Accumulator were falling to pieces before my eyes, it was Watford v Brighton Hove Albion that made my weekend somewhat miserable.  A great result for Brighton Hove Albion to beat Watford at Vicarage Road though!  Results on the Goal-Rush as follows;

Watford 0-1 Brighton Hove Albion*
Hull 0-0 Queens Park Rangers*
Rochdale vs Charlton * Postponed due to a frozen ditch
Birmingham City 3-2 Coventry City
Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Wigan Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 Hereford
Torquay 0-1 Crawley Town
Southampton 1-2 Manchester United
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Stoke City

As you can see, I wasn't even close!

My Accumulator went as follows;
Burnley to beat Burton Albion- CORRECT
Tottenham Hotspurs to beat Fulham - incorrect, Fulham won
Crawley Town to beat Torquay - CORRECT
Watford to beat Brighton Hove Albion - incorrect, Brighton Hove Albion won
Nottingham Forest to beat West Ham - incorrect, West Ham won
Stoke to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers - CORRECT

Current standings are now £34 placed and £18 won.

Update - And FA Cup Weekend Once More!

Well Darren Bent had a wonderful start to his Aston Villa career, but without him scoring a hat-trick it meant my bet went by the wayside.

However my Goal-Rush coupon was quite simply exhilarating!  With Aston Villa's match against  Manchester City being the evening kick-off it meant I got to listen to all the action in the other games during our journey up to the ground.  With 20 minutes remaining all teams had scored, with the exception of Hartlepool against Peterborough (and of course the Aston Villa/Manchester City game which was still to kick-off). Sadly my luck was out and the champagn didn't flow.  Results were as follows.

Cardiff City 4-2 Watford City *
Ipswich Town 3-2 Doncaster Rovers *
Portsmouth 2-2 Leeds United *
Peterborough United 4-0 Hartlepool *
Blackpool 1-2 Sunderland
Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City
Reading 1-1 Hull City
Sheffield United 1-2 Norwich City

That leaves my current balance at £28 placed and £18 won.  Lets not forget I still have the Premier League/Championship doubles "still in play"!

And so we move onto this weekend, and its FA Cup action once more!  I'm truly unsure of how events might pan out, and so i'm going for a 3 game 'small' Goal-Rush which incorporates one FA Cup, one Championship and one League One match.  The 'big' Goal-Rush is a 9 game mammoth, as I cross my fingers that the magic of the FA Cup will be about once again.  My coupons will be completed as follows;

Watford v Brighton Hove Albion *
Hull City v Queens Park Rangers *
Rochdale v Charlton Athletic *
Birmingham City v Coventry City
Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday v Hereford
Torquay United v Crawley Town
Southampton v Manchester United
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Stoke City

With the FA Cup frequently throwing up bizarre surprise results I am going to place a small accululator, based on 6 matches this weekend.  My six predictions are as follows;

Burnley to beat Burton Albion
Crawley Town to beat Torquay United
Watford to beat Brighton Hove Albion
Tottenham Hotspurs to beat Fulham
Stoke City to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers
Nottingham Forest to beat West Ham United

The above accumulator offers odds of around 200/1.  As always, my fingers are crossed for a champagne filled weekend!

Saturdays Football, Barren Bent's Debut

Just a brief update as we travel to Villa Park for this eve's kick-off.

Todays Goal-Rush selection is as follows;
Cardiff v Watford *
Ipswich Town v Doncaster *
Portsmouth v Leeds United *
Peterborough v Hartlepool *
Blackpool v Sunderland
Aston Villa v Manchester City
Reading v Hull City
Sheffield United v Norwich City

With Darren Bent making his debut tonight I've decided to have a lucky punt on him scoring a hat-trick and for Villa to run out 3-1 winners. My £2 wager could see me net nearly £2500 if my luck is in though!

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FA Cup Replays

There are some tough replays coming up during this week, with Arsenal at Leeds United, Stoke City at Carrdiff City, Leicester City at Manchester City and Doncaster at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

I haven't managed to find any accumulator or some-such coupon to tempt me to chance my arm, so I think this weeks money would be best placed on Doncaster to win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.  Odds are 4/1, so it'll turn your £2 bet into a fine crisp ten pound note.

The Weekly Football Review

I must say, this is a very frustrating morning for me.  Whilst looking at yesterdays football fixtures I announced to my friends in the local ale house that I thought every game would be a draw.  I had a look at the odds, which I seem to remember were over 40/1.  Yet I did not manage to get a bet on, and what happened!? ... Sunderland/Newcastle was 1-1. Birmingham/Villa was 1-1, Liverpool/Everton was 2-2 and Tottenham Hotspurs/Manchester United was 0-0.  Next time I'm going to make sure I get to the bookie!

Anyway, here are the results for this weeks matches;
Doncaster 0-3 Reading*
Leeds United 4-0 Scunthorpe*
Watford 3-0 Derby County*
Brighton Hove Albion 3-1 Peterborough United*
Burnley 0-0 Queens Park Rangers
Norwich City 1-1 Cardiff City
Rochdale 1-1 Leyton Orient
Tottenham Hotspurs 0-0 Manchester United

And with the Birmingham/Aston Villa game ending in an entertaining 1-1 draw it meant a wholly unfortunate weekend for me.

That leaves my current balance at £22 placed and £18 won.

This weekends English Football

Well don't the weeks just fly by!

It seems like only yesterday I was celebrating my 'small' Goal-Rush bet coming in, and yet here we are ready for another weekend of topsy-turvey football action.

Having studied fixtures and form sheets I have decided to once again to select my 'Big Four' (as I shall refer to them as from here on) as the backbone of my selection for this weekends coupon.  The 'Big Four' in question are Leeds, Doncaster, Watford & Peterborough.

Therefore, my two Goal-Rush coupons will consist of the following matches;
Leeds United v Scunthorpe *
Doncaster v Reading *
Watford v Derby County *
Brighton Hove Albion v Peterborough United*
Stoke City v Bolton Wanderers
Tottenham Hotspurs v Manchester United
Norwich City v Cardiff City
Rochdale v Leyton Orient

Assuming odds are constant, I should see odds of 8/1 for the small bet and 90/1 for the big bet.  I will place £2 on each line when I visit my friends at Ladbrokes this morning.

Sunday will also be the Second City derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham City.  I must be crazy to back Aston Villa at the moment, but perhaps all this transfer talk has clouded my thinking and i'm going to have a couple of pounds on Aston Villa to win 2-1 with Gabby Agbonlahor to score the first goal.  Ladbrokes are offering 45/1, but William Hill will currently return 60/1!  I am about to investigate their online service and see quite how their free £25 bet works.

FA cup Review

Well, with Birmingham destroying Millwall 4-1 in the early kick-off on Saturday my accumulator very quickly became impossible.

I was also fearing for my Goal-Rush coupon at approximately 2:20pm, as Arsenal were still 1-0 down to Leeds.  However, a last minute Fabregas penalty meant I went into the 3pm games with my Goal-Rush coupon still alive!

The results for the relevant FA cup games were as follows;
Arsenal 1-1- Leeds *
Doncaster 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers *
Fulham 5-1 Peterborough United*
Watford 4-1 Hartlepool *
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Brighton Hove Albion 3-1 Portsmouth
Reading 1-0 West Bromwich Albion

So my 4 game coupon was a success, and I was just two goals away from a truly joyous champagne moment!  Still, my 4 match coupon offered 8/1, so that's still £18 I have the pleasure of collecting from my friends at Ladbrokes.

My current annual balance now stands at £16 placed, and £18 won!

FA Cup, Round 3.

Today is a momentous occasion, when the worlds greatest cup competition begins for 2011.

I will shortly be off to visit my friends at Ladbrokes, hoping to be drinking champagne within 36 hours.

Due to today being such a prestigious occasion I have decided to play two lines of Goal-Rush, and also chance my luck on a 6 game accumulator.

This weekends Goal-Rush is as follows;
Arsenal v Leeds *
Doncaster v Wolverhampton Wanderers *
Fulham v Peterborough *
Watford v Hartlepool *
Blackburn v Queens Park Rangers
Brighton Hove Albion v Portsmouth
Reading v West Bromwich Albion

That gives me 1x four game line at 8/1 and 1x seven game line at 45/1.

The 6 game accumulator is made up of the following matches;
Middlesbrough to beat Burton
Hull to beat Wigan
Manchester City to beat Leicester City
Millwall to beat Birmingham City
Norwich to beat Leyton Orient
Watford to beat Hartlepool

I believe I calculated the odds to return me over £80 on a £2 stake.

Here's to the magic of the FA Cup!

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This Weeks Goal Rush Results

It is with great sadness that I have to report today is a day to throw away some betting slips.

My first Goal-Rush coupon returned the following results;

Derby 0-0 Millwall*
Scunthorpe 1-2 Watford*
Sheffield United 2-2 Doncaster*
Peterborough United 4-1 Walsall*
Blackpool 1-2 Birmingham city
cardiff 2-1 Leeds United
Newcastle United 5-0 West Ham
Everton 2-1 Tottenham Hotspurs

I came desperately close to securing an opening victory to the year, with just the Derby-Millwall game dashing my chances of champagne.

The outcome of last night Goal-Rush coupon was as disappointing as my beloved Aston Villa's performance against Sunderland!

Arsenal 0-0 Manchester city
Aston Villa 0-1 Sunderland
Newcastle United 5-0 West Ham
Everton 2-1 Tottenham Hotspurs

My current balance shows £10 placed, and £0 won.  I do still have four pounds in play though, and with this weekend being F.A cup weekend, I feel that all is not lost.  Not just yet.

Harry Bassets Midweek Prophecies

Well, it would appear Derby County and Millwall have scuppered the chances of champagne from my midweek Goal-Rush coupon. With two games to play tonight, I have 5/6 correct. Frustratingly unfortunate.

Still, I am off to the sacred land of Aston Villa this eve, and so I thought a little flutter might be just the job. My hunch would be 2-1 to Gerrard Houlliers men, but at odds of 7/1 I discovered I would be better placed to go for another 4 game Goal-Rush at 8/1. My picks for the matches to be played tonight are;

Arsenal v Manchester City
Aston Villa v Sunderland
Everton v Tottenham Hotspurs
Newcastle United v West Ham United

Whilst browsing in my local friendly Ladbrokes I thought it might be polite to attempt to 'win a few bob' on the winners of the Premiership and Championship. I opted to choose a 'banker' coupled with a slightly more ambitious gamble. My thinking being that if the banker comes in, it will cover off the bets placed. If the ambitious bet comes good then it will be Champagne time! I completed my two coupons as follows, both are doubles.

Manchester United to win the Premiership, Queens Park Rangers to win the Championship.

Manchester United to win the Premiership, Norwich City to win the Championship.

As you can tell, I fancy Manchester United for the Premier League. Ladbrokes are offering 4/5 so a £20 bet could become £36 if Sir Alex's Red Devils can remain so hard to beat!

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A wise man once said ....

A wise man once said to me that gambling was a past-time for the foolish.

However, as we enter this year of twenty-eleven, I have a fortunate feeling. A fortunate feeling that I have decided to act upon and as I result I shall pit myself against the planetary powers that be so see just if my luck might be in.

I've decided not only to become familiar with my local book-maker, but to also enter the variety of competitions that I regularly hear promoted on the wireless. I remember seeing a Mr Robson Green of Newcastle on the television, and he was offering the chance to win a vacation to the faraway land of Florida to attempt to catch some truly large fish! Now that would just be splendid, thank you very much!

And so today a paid a visit to my local Ladbrokes. With a full fixture list this midweek, I have decided to complete their Goal Rush coupon. This entails predicting the games where both teams will score at least one goal. I have chosen two lines, both with a £2 bet. My first line consists of 4 games, the second is made up of 8. My bet is as follows;

Derby v Millwall *

Scunthorpe v Watford *

Sheff Utd v Doncaster *

Peterborough v Walsall *

Blackpool v Birmingham

Cardiff v Leeds

Newcastle v West Ham

Everton v Tottenham

With the first 4 games just kicking off, I have gambled £4 and won £0. I do hope the next 48 hours are kind to me.