Tuesday 15 December 2009

Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers, Tuesday 15th December

My Thoughts

Two sides heading into this one on somewhat different form: Birmingham are unbeaten in 7 games, with Lee Bowyer showing the kind of form that once got him an England cap, and Joe Hart proving to be something of a revelation in goals, with 6 clean sheets to his name so far this season. Indeed' Alex Mcleish's side will go 6th if they win this one. Blackburn, meanwhile, have not won in their last 4 league games, and have scored a grand total of 0 goals in that run. They are also hampered by the abscence of David Dunn for this match. Rovers' record away from Ewood Park so far this season is a dismal 1-1-6, while Birmingham's 4-2-2 at home is respectable.

The Verdict
Everything points to a home win in this one, and this pundit can't argue against that. Birmingham are solid, compact, and have experience in the middle of the park, with the lively Chucho Benitez adapting nicely to the Premier League. It says a lot about Blackburn's form so far that many people are talking about goalkeeper Paul Robinson as a contender for the England World Cup squad, despite conceding an average of 2.62 goals per away game.

The Bet
Birmingham are outstanding value at 11/10 with William Hill. Apart from that, other bets to consider would be Benitez, James McFadden or dead-ball expert Sebastian Larsson to score anytime

Friday 11 December 2009

Stoke v Wigan Odds

As promised, here are the odds from the Stoke v Wigan game:

Stoke to win outright: best price 6/5 with Coral
Under 2.5 goals: best price 4/6 general

Shifty and Graeme's Big Blog Adventure: The Review Part 2



5:20pm

Shifty and Graeme arrive, ravenous, at Harry Ramsden's. Graeme orders himself fish and chips, while Shifty inexplicably orders something other than chips and bread and butter by going for the battered chicken. The global effects of this shock decision are still being felt to this very day- rumour has it that, before Shifty's order was placed, the Nobel Peace Prize was set to be awarded to Ian Huntley.

6:20pm
Full up and raring to go the boys nailed down to the ground. Usual sightseeing faire. Graeme bought a rather fetching hat from the clubshop. Some photos under the Sir Matt Busby statue and enjoying the general atmosphere which was laced with jubilant Scouser bashing. Much to Graeme's dismay there is an alcohol ban at European games, so with an expectant crowd and a cup of tea Shifty and Graeme climbed the steps to take their seats, in the Theatre of Dreams.

7:40pm
Another couple of photos were taken (have a butcher's at Graeme's hat) before the teams emerged to the spine-tingling Handel's Zadok the Priest, better known as the Champions League anthem. And then a young Manchester United side were underway!
8:05pm

Effing Ben Foster! He's 3rd choice for a reason
8:30pm
Half-time. In the absence of the availability of a half-time beer, Shifty and Graeme prefer to chill (quite literally- it was freezing!) in their seats
9:35pm
Full-time. Disappointing result. Shifty and Graeme make a smooth escape from the ground and board the bus back to the hotel room to "freshen up" before a night on the town.
10:45pm
Bus into Piccadilly Gardens (where all them mad huns kicked off ken'). Empty aside from one drunk homeless Scottish guy shouting at a parked car. First pub, nice environment, can't remember the name but had decent pintage and a tpb (tasty Polish barmaid). Every pub needs one.
11.30pm
It's raining cat's dogs and few other animals, the boys go for a dawnder. Much to Shifty's dismay (there's been an awful lot of that on this trip, hasn't there?), the two bloggers are directed to Manchester's gay village. Graeme finds this amusing, and has a great time. Shifty's mood brightens up after a Sex on the Beach.
2:30am
3 gay bars, 6 cocktails and a trip to the casino later, Shifty and Graeme find themselves in a karaoke bar, surrounded by Chinese students singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Both come to the conclusion that this means hometime, and return to the hotel.
7:00am
Shifty wakes up for breakfast, works his way into the bathroom only to discover Graeme fast asleep and up to his neck in lukewarm bathwater. Good Night all round.
9:40am
Shifty and Graeme leave the hotel after a hearty all-you-can-eat breakfast, and make their way to the train station, for the long journey home.

Here are those photos, then:










Stoke City v Wigan Athletic, Saturday 12th December

My Thoughts

When the TV head honchos got hold of the fixture list at the start of this season, and were told to pick what games they wanted to show, it's difficult to imagine this game jumping off the list. Yet this game will be the lunchtime game tomorrow, which may (or may not) tempt this pundit to head for the pub. The recent fallout between the (allegedly) nude Stoke boss Tony Pulis and his star centre-forward James Beattie offers an interesting subplot to a match which should feature something of a clash of styles: Stoke's direct, physical approach has been well-documented, while under Roberto Martinez, Wigan play (or at least attempt to) a fluid 4-2-31 system, with lots of short, neat passing serving their angry, powerful and sometimes brilliant frontman Hugo Rodallega.

The Verdict
'Tis true that neither side goes into this one in the best of form: Stoke have just one win in their last 5 (and even that was at home to bottom side Portsmouth, who also had a penalty saved). WIgan also have just 1 win in 5, and their recent run also happens to include a 9-1 horsing away at Spurs. Add to that their poor away record in the league this season (2-0-5) and the likely abscences of midfield enforcer Hendry Thomas and goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, this pundit reckons that Stoke will edge this one.

The Bet
Stoke have scored just 13 goals in the league this season, the lowest total in the league, and despite Wigan's porous defence, it's difficult to see this one being full of goals, particularly given Stoke's decent defensive record (conceded 17 in the league this season). Therefore, this pundit will be backing Stoke outright, as well as having a look at under 2.5 goals (prices to follow this evening, I'm at work).

Thursday 10 December 2009

Shifty and Graeme's Big Blog Adventure: The Review

Now that Shifty has recovered following a bully evening out, and the £50 million required for Graeme's bail has been paid, these two intrepid pundits can finally tell the story of Shifty and Graeme's Big Blog Adventure:

Wednesday, 25th November: 7:30am
Shifty wakes up. Immediately texts Graeme, fearing that he may have slept in. Turns out Graeme has been up for hours, drinking tea and watching childrens' television

8:30am
Shifty and Graeme meet at Stirling Train Station. Shifty is wet and cold. Graeme has a sausage roll and a huge cup of tea. Shifty opts for a smaller cup of tea. All aboard the 08:44 Stirling to Glasgow Queen Street!

9:15am
The train rolls into Glasgow Queen Street. As their train to Manchestoh does not depart until 10:10am, Graeme suggests a trip to the Apple store. After in-depth discussion about how opening an Apple store in Aberdeen dilutes the Apple brand value somewhat, they discover that the store is closed. After falling off a lorry, a giant ball, not dissimilar to the orb that tends to be portrayed in sci-fi films, nearly kills Shifty and Graeme in broad daylight, in the middle of Buchanan Street.

9:40am
Shifty and Graeme get sandwiches at Glasgow Central Station, providing Graeme with the first photo opportunity of the day (photo 1 on the photo post, which will follow).

9:55am
Shifty and Graeme board the 10:10 to Manchester Airport. Much to Shifty's dismay, a couple of no-good hoodlums are in Shifty and Graeme's reserved seats. Fortunately, Graeme intervenes, and finds a table elsewhere on the train, and they settle in for the journey.

11:00am
The journey provides another couple of photo opportunities, with both pundits taking a picture of their reading material for the journey (photos 2 and 3 on the photo post).

12:45pm
Much to the dismay of the train passengers, an announcement comes on that the rear 3 carriages of the train (where Shifty and Graeme are located) will be taken out of service at the next stop, Preston. At Preston, cue a mad dash for seats at the front of the train. Shifty courageously ducks and dives through the crowds and finds a twosie (two seats next to each other) free for himself and Graeme. Result. At this point, the two bloggers hear the shrill of 14 half-cut Dundonian nurses, cackling and reeking of their 4 pints of Somerfield own brand wine. Graeme chats them up.

1:25pm
Shifty and Graeme arrive at Manchester Oxford Road station and expertly negotiate the route to their hotel. Much to Shifty's dismay (and Graeme's delight) they find themselves booked into a double room- mercifully for Shifty, a very pleasant young lady wishes to swap rooms, and the two bloggers are spared the prospect of spending the night in the same bed. On arriving in the hotel room, they take another couple of photos (photos 4 and 5) and have a cup of tea while watching Scrubs.

3:30pm
Shifty and Graeme go for a dawnder around town, and admire the sights of Piccadilly Gardens, where the Rangers fans all kicked off last time. They partake in the consumption of a couple of pints in a Wetherspoon's (photos 6 and 7) before boarding the number 256 bus, and heading off to the match!

Keep checking back for the photos, and an update on how the Harry Ramsden's went!