Premier League Betting: When An Ex Bites The Hand That Used To Feed Them

Football Food For Thought / Dan Fitch / 15 September 2009 / 1 Comments

Carlos Tevez looks like Lou Ferrigno and you don't want to make him angry either.

I’ve witnessed Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard score against Spurs and then make a special trip to celebrate in front of our fans, on countless occasions. I prefer to just call them some more unsavoury names rather than to instigate World War III.

In a week in which Adebayor scores against Arsenal and Tevez may do the same against Manchester United, Dan 'The Betting Man' Fitch looks at the phenomenon of players that return to haunt their old clubs.

We've all been there. You get dumped and within an instant, the love of your life is no longer your favourite person. If you're lucky you never have to see them again, except for the odd moment of Facebook stalking when you've had a few drinks and are getting a bit maudlin.

If you're unlucky, you still have to see them all the time. They creep pass you on the way to the photocopier, pretending not to notice your weeping. Or just imagine how gut wrenching it would be if your cellmate broke up with you, because he'd seen a prettier new inmate down the hallway.

It's the same with football fans. You open your heart to a player and invite him to come inside and make himself at home. Life without that player seems impossible to imagine and if he does one day leave, you prefer to believe that it will be because your side has ditched him for a younger model.

We should learn from our mistakes, because footballers are scum, who always fancy a transfer if it puts a few extra pound notes in their pockets. I was reduced to a gibbering wreck on the morning that I was awoken by my father with the news that Chris Waddle had signed for Marseille. At the time I was twelve and you would think that I would have learned my lesson since.

Not so, because it wasn't that long ago that a signed picture of Dimitar Berbatov was hung on my living room wall. Obviously the moment he left Tottenham for United, the picture went into the loft, only to be unearthed again if Berbatov resigns and redeems himself, or suffers a tragedy that makes his signature suddenly very valuable. Like accidentally cutting his right hand off.

The one solace that I could draw from Tottenham's defeat to Manchester United was that Berbatov didn't score. The sulky Bulgarian is available at a distant price of [48.0] to be the Premier League's top scorer this season.

United are now [3.9] to win the Premier League, which I think is excellent value given their fine display on Saturday. Tottenham have been brought back down to earth, but the [1.7] for Spurs to finish in the top six still looks like a pretty safe bet.

Normally the one thing that you can guarantee when a striker you've sold returns to play against your side, is that they will score against you. Tottenham's fans got lucky on Saturday, but Arsenal weren't so fortunate.

You could hardly accuse Emmanuel Adebayor of having had a quiet game at the weekend. He nearly maimed several of his old colleagues and also found time to score a goal, before running the length of the pitch to taunt his former supporters.

Personally I think that if a football crowd spend the match giving stick to a player, then it's fair enough if they get some back. Some will say that it could start a riot, but that's the responsibility of the crowd rather than a player. I've witnessed Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard score against Spurs and then make a special trip to celebrate in front of our fans, on countless occasions. I prefer to just call them some more unsavoury names rather than to instigate World War III.

Arsenal have now suffered consecutive defeats against their rivals for a Champions League place, but are still available at [1.64] to finish in the top four. Manchester City are [2.1] to do the same, but this price could shorten drastically if they excel against United next weekend.

That game could see the return of Carlos Tevez to Old Trafford, if he can shake off the injury that kept him out of the Arsenal match. Let's hope for the sake of spectacle that Tevez can play.

The Old Trafford faithful can be guaranteed to give it to Tevez with both barrels and although Tevez was quoted back in July stating that he wouldn't celebrate in front of the Manchester United fans if he scored against them, he did say that he would take the opportunity to shout in Sir Alex Ferguson's face. That is something that I want to see.

Because we should never forget that football is theatre and what's theatre without a decent baddie? No one is able to pull at your heart-strings like someone you once adored.

Comments (1)

1. ADEJO OGAJI | 16 September 2009

   Thanks to Emmanuel Adebayo for proving himself a hero in front of his former coach.