Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

Well they say good things come to those who wait, and let's hope the sporting and gambling gods are true to those words. This has been a tough week - working loads of hours, staff sickness helping to make me look a bit of a pillock to a rather important company higher up, subtlely threatened by knife wielding mentalists, not to mention affairs of the heart becoming rather more complex than should be the case.

But two things have made the stress and sleep deprivation well worth it. The promise of the biggest paycheck of my life next Friday (although probably two or three days "work" to some of the Betfair boys that may read this), and the quite magnificent sporting fare on the table today.

Saturday yielded a very small profit. The horsie Lucky 15 held it's own, and could have been much better if the well fancied Royales Charter hadn't fallen, and Forpadydeplasterer could have kicked on for third rather than fourth.

The double went down thanks to yet another failure from Oxford United. I know plenty of people at the game who tell me that they should have beaten Hereford around 8-2 today. Michael Duberry scored three goals, although unfortunately two of them were in his own net. But the fact of the matter is Oxford have lost more leads than David Blunkett this season, and must be swerved from this point onwards.

However, Bolton's 11/2 victory over Liverpool pulled us slightly in the black. Long time readers of this blog will be well aware that Liverpool are..., well shite is a bit harsh, overrated is more apt. I know many extremely switched on Liverpool fans well aware of the failings, but the majority sadly still think they are living in the glory days of thirty years ago.

But it seems that even some of those are beginning to turn against "King Kenny". It's never good for long term success to be labelled a King. Whether it be Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, or King Louis XVI of France, it will usually end in tears. You can bet Rafa Benitez ordered in a king size box of chocolate eclairs for tonight's Match Of The Day viewing.

I'm not going mad on the punting today, as I'm going to do some good old fashioned poker grinding whilst enjoying the sporting action. But I can't resist Ladbrokes' offer of 4/1 that both Manchester teams win. City are without key players, but so are Spurs and City's home record deserves massive respect, added to the fact Spurs are becoming ludicrously over-hyped.

Arsenal improved massively after the 8-2 nadir at Old Trafford, but the basic problems have resurfaced in the last few games. Having been a gooner for long enough now (about thirteen years, and QPR signing Barton would have severed my hoops ties anyway) I'm used to getting beaten by United and can't see today being much different. It won't be 8-2, but we simply can't defend properly, and whilst I expect a strong offensive Arsenal showing, I'm not sure it will be enough to paper over the cracks. Both teams to score at 4/6 is an absolute must bet in this game.

Really enjoyed the snooker this week having been able to view some of the terrestrial non red button action. The fact of the matter is there are seven or eight world class players capable of winning the big tournaments these days, and it's impossible to predict with the standard (and the easiness of the tables?) so high.

Masters Finals night is as big a cauldron as snooker atmosphere gets, and I expect the rowdy crowd to favour the much more likeable Aussie. This is as close a contest as you can get though, so we could be in for a cracker that goes all the way. For this reason I'm dutching 10-9 and 10-8 to Neil Robertson, both at 8/1.

Finally, a big thank you to top blogger Snookerbacker for contributing his Smiths/Morrissey songs of the week for the past year plus, culminating in the recent Top Ten that concludes this week. There have been some snide and quite frankly harsh remarks about some of these selections.

One rather biting email I received on the subject stated "You've hit some lows on this blog. Showcased a song about the Kent State Massacre, suggested a village indulged in untoward matters, and posted a video of a politician shooting himself. But The Smiths song of the week made the aforementioned seem quite cheerful".

However, the good news for all concerned is that Mr. SB has signed up for another year of selections. We're not entirely sure of the title yet but the theme will be along the lines of Manc/Scouse songs, so expect some gems from the Roses/Carpets/Oasis/Cast etc. no doubt with some lesser known great tunes thrown in. This new feature will appear next Friday evening.