Gone in 64 seconds

I’m feeling a little bit inadequate. Apparently, a normal male averages 20 minutes when expressing his love physically; I’m assuming that includes the taxi journey and the queue for the cashpoint.

My haste is a blessing in disguise for the wife, as she’s on the phone to her mother every 15 minutes. Her old dear doesn’t want to hear my shrieking voice; again.

On the subject of hidden blessings, Arsenal may well benefit from the absence of Thierry Henry. The Gunners have looked a more cohesive unit without their talismanic captain this season, the 4/1 about an Arsenal win at the Bridge should be jumped on; but not for too long.

Robin Van Persie can open the scoring at 17/2. The little Dutchman’s left foot is so cultured; it can often be found sipping Pimms with Graeme Le Saux at the theatre.

Sir Alex believes that his United team are on the verge of greatness, Wayne Rooney may have toppled over the edge. The circular forward can inspire United to derby day domination at 4/11.

It’s rumoured that Cristiano Ronaldo has been offered the lead role in a remake of the Michael Douglas classic, ‘Falling Down’. The collapsible winger should be backed to score at any time at 9/4.

Biscuit magnate Eggert Magnusson has told the press that Alan Pardew’s throat will be cut if West Ham fail to perform; he’s one touch cookie. West Ham can snatch a point at the Reebok at 9/4. Nice.

Newcastle United and Robbie Savage have a lot in common, they’re both awful travellers. Somewhat surprisingly, the Toon Army have only tasted defeat at Ewood Park on one of their last eight visits; a Savage led Blackburn can buck that trend at 6/5.

Paul Jewell did a ‘Baldrick’ in the summer when he bought Emile Heskey, I now expect him to do ‘a Blackadder’ and take advantage of a rotten Boro. Wigan can leave the Riverside with three points at 13/5.

Pompey and Everton shared 1-0 wins in last season’s meet-ups, but ‘no goalscorer’ paid out in both matches. Only the betting naïve (like Harry ‘what’s a computer’ Redknapp) back a 0-0 scoreline. The ‘No goalscorer’ hat-trick is in play at 8/1.

Tottenham’s treatment of Jermain Defoe has left me as bemused as Monty Panesar. What could Defoe have done to deserve such shoddy treatment? Perhaps he spiked his spinach or sent Olive Oyl suggestive text messages. Spurs can beat up Charlton at 4/7, with or without the miniscule goal machine.

The wife is a big fan of Reading; she’s supported them ever since her English teacher wrote ‘reading difficulties’ on her school report. She’s backing the Royals at 13/8 to see off Watford; if I write out the betting slip.

It was odd to hear Neil Warnock begin a sentence with ‘I’m a bit like Arsene Wenger,’ as he questioned the Premier League’s schedule. That’s like the wife claiming to be ‘a bit like Madonna’ because she sings after lovemaking. I’m mad on a Villa win at Bramall Lane at 8/5.

Sheikh Mohammed may sound like a BNP policy, but he’s potentially the new owner of Liverpool FC. The billionaire is normally associated with the glamorous world of horse racing, where he can often be found discussing opera with Robin Van Persie’s left peg. The Reds have an easy looking match at home to Fulham, dive into the Pool at 4/11.

Man Utd, Blackburn, Liverpool, Tottenham and a Pompey draw are the virtually guaranteed selections for an 18/1 accer. Admittedly, it’s never over ‘til the fat lady sings; in my house, that’s normally after 64 seconds.


Weekend Betting:

Man Utd v Man City Saturday 9th December 12:45 Live on Premiership Plus

Man Utd 4/11
Draw 10/3
Man City 9/1

Get on: Man Utd

Match Special:
Ronaldo to be booked for diving 9/1

Blackburn v Newcastle Saturday 9th December 15:00

Blackburn 6/5
Draw 9/4
Newcastle 11/4

Get on: Blackburn

Match Special:
Blackburn to score three or more goals 4/1

Liverpool v Fulham Saturday 9th December 15:00

Liverpool 4/11
Draw 7/2
Fulham 17/2

Get on: Liverpool

Match Special:
Bellamy to score two or more goals 5/1

Middlesbrough v Wigan Saturday 9th December 15:00

Middlesbrough 6/5
Draw 9/4
Wigan 13/5

Get on: Wigan

Match Special:
Camara to score the only goal of the game 50/1

Portsmouth v Everton Saturday 9th December 15:00

Portsmouth 6/5
Draw 9/4
Everton 9/4

Get on: Draw

Match Special:
No goalscorer in the match 8/1

Tottenham v Charlton Saturday 9th December 15:00

Tottenham 4/7
Draw 3/1
Charlton 11/2

Get on: Tottenham

Match Special:
Berbatov to score from outside the area 9/2

Watford v Reading Saturday 9th December 15:00

Watford 13/8
Draw 9/4
Reading 13/8

Get on: Reading

Match Special:
Doyle to score the first goal 11/2

Bolton v West Ham Saturday 9th December 17:15 Live on Premiership Plus

Bolton 10/11
Draw 9/4
West Ham 7/2

Get on: Draw

Match Special:
Tevez to score in a 1-1 draw 20/1

Chelsea v Arsenal Sunday 10th December 16:00 Live on Sky

Chelsea 8/11
Draw 12/5
Arsenal 4/1

Get on: Arsenal

Match Special:
Van Persie to score direct from a free-kick 10/1

Sheff Utd v Aston Villa Monday 11th December 20:00 Live on Sky

Sheff Utd 2/1
Draw 9/4
Aston Villa 8/5

Get on: Aston Villa

Match Special:
Villa to score a penalty 6/1


Copyright (c) Gerry McDonnell & soccerphile.com

English Premiership Betting


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Dragons Soar Above Bluewings In FA Cup

FA Cup finals conjure certain memories for Englishmen of a certain age. Brilliant May sunshine reflecting off a lush green Wembley pitch to blind 100,000 fans all cramped into a dump of a stadium.

It’s slightly different in Korea. The cup itself needs four men to lift it, Seoul World Cup Stadium is infinitely better than the old Wembley dinosaur and, on an arctic December afternoon, there was nothing lush about the bone dry turf.

The temperatures didn’t plummet quite as low as last December but according to a gloomy group of journalists in the lift, we would be enjoying temperatures of –9 C by the time the game finished. Few wanted to think about the possibility of extra time and penalties.



Over in Doha for the Asian Games, Baek Ji-hoon and Cho Won-hee of Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Kim Young-kwang of Chunnam Dragons must have been laughing at their club-mates, probably as they lounged around the pool.

Well, perhaps Baek and Cho weren’t too happy as Suwon lost 2-0 to a determined and energetic Chunnam team who lifted the trophy for the second time.



It’s been a bad few days for the Bluewings. Just two weeks ago they were on course for the double ala Manchester United in 1995. Just as Sir Alex’s team lost the league to Blackburn on the Sunday and the cup to Everton the following Saturday, Suwon were denied the K-League championship final by Seongnam the previous weekend and were soon playing second fiddle to the Gwangyang outfit in the cup final.

From the beginning, Chunnam looked hungrier, more committed and determined. The yellow shirts and black shorts were buzzing all over the pitch.

Lee Woon-jae made a return to the Suwon team for the first time since returning from the World Cup. The 33 year-old may have been the captain of the Korean team but doesn’t enjoy the best of relationships with Cha Bum-keun. His recall for the final had the air of a farewell appearance about it.

There wasn’t much that Lee could do about the two goals. The first was scored by Song Jong-hyun but his low shot from outside the area took a nasty deflection off Mato Neretljak.



Suwon pushed forward in search of an equaliser but almost fell two behind after 75 minutes. Sandro Hiroshi’s point blank header at the far post was well-saved by Lee.

After failing to create a clear-cut opportunity for most of the game, Suwon missed two gilt-edged chances in the space of a minute.



In the 82nd minute, Shin Young-rok dragged the ball wide of the post when through on goal and just seconds later, fellow substitute Denis Laktionov headed wide from three yards out with the goal at his mercy.

The crowd sensed that Suwon’s hopes had gone and they were right as Chunnam soon sealed the win with a second goal.

With the Korean defence AWOL, Kim Tae-soo side-footed the ball home from close range and the celebrations started for Chunnam and the recriminations for Suwon.


Seoul Look For New Coach




In one of the worst-kept secrets of the season, FC Seoul have decided not to renew the contract of coach Lee Jang-soo.


Lee joined the club at the end of 2004 and his solid his uncompromising style made the team hard to beat but Seoul rarely looked like potential champions.

The 50 year-old is set to return to China and where he enjoyed some success around the turn of the century. He will take over Beijing Guo’an.

His last game in charge was the recent championship play-off final defeat at the hands of Seongnam. Even if the team had won the title, the word on the street was that Lee was still done for.

The club will look outside Korea for a replacement.

“After Lee Jang-soo’s contract has expired, we have decided not to renew his contract. We have decided that the baton will be passed on to a foreign coach. We will try to find one quickly."

“This season we won the Hauzen Cup and reached the play-off semi-finals with good results. We have considered the problem of the coach’s contract renewal for a long time.

"However, we came to the conclusion that a change was necessary in order to reach the next level."

According to the media, former national team coach Humberto Coelho and ex-Turkey boss Senol Gunes are in line to take over.

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile

K-League News and Interviews

K-League soccer football Chunnam Dragons Korea Suwon Bluewings John Duerden Korean Soccer

Car Trouble For Dragan Stojkovic

Ex-estrella del futbol japones

La pareja Stojkovic pillada en una trampa

La mujer de afamado ex-fútbolista y el actual presidente del Estrella Roja, Dragan "Piksi" Stojkovic ha utilizado a una persona minusválida para importar un Ferrari de 200.000 euros, con el fin de eludir los cargos de la aduana, de 25% del precio del vehículo..

Fue el regalo de Stojkovic para el 40 aniversario de Snezana Stojkovic, informa el diario Kurir de Belgrado.

Piksi, la leyenda viva del fútbol serbio, se aprovechó de la ley según la que los minusválidos de invalidez de más de 70% están exentos de los cargos de la aduana, independientemente del valor del coche. Por lo tanto, encontró a una mujer ciega de la localidad sureña de Pirot e hizo registrar al coche al nombre de ella.

Sin embargo, alguien implicado en la transacción no guardó silencio, así que los rumores sobre la trampa empezaron a difundirse por Belgrado. Cuando la historia llegó a los oidos del ministro de la hacienda, Mladjan Dinkic, este se ensaño y aprobó un decreto limitando el valor de todos los vehiculos a ser importados para el uso de minusválidos a sólo 10 mil euros.

Tal medida tenía previsto impedir semejantes malversaciones en un futuro, pero el ministro no tomó en cuenta el hecho de que los coches adaptados para ciertos tipos de minusválidos, por ejemplo parapléjicos, cuestan más de 10 mil euros.

"El nuevo límite perjudica a la gente con verdaderos problemas", ha matizado el presidente de la Unión de minusválidos de Serbia, Zvonko Nikolic.

Visto que el ministro Dinkic dimitió hace unas semanas, posiblemente se modifique el mencionado decreto y aumente el limite para satisfacer las necesidades de los inválidos.

Stojkovic, quien militó entre otros en el Estrella Roja, Marsella, Verona y Nagoya Grampus japonés, sólo comentó, "no había comprado el coche para mi", evitando la mención de su mujer. Snezana, por otro lado, raras veces sienta en el lujoso coche que causó la controversia.

Efe/Soccerphile



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