Mido could be the key to profit on the Boro finishing position market

Premier League / Mike Norman / 29 August 2007 / Leave a Comment

"Mystical" Mike Norman looks into his crystal ball to decide whether to buy or sell Boro's finishing position

Not many football clubs can sport a history like Middlesbrough F.C can over the last 21 years. Back in 1986 the gates of Ayresome Park were locked and the club went into administration. Boro were just hours away from being closed down as a football club when a local consortium stumped up the money to keep the club afloat. The squad mainly consisted of local players of a very young age and they had to play their first home game of the season at Hartlepool's Victoria Ground. They drew that game 2-2 and the rest, as they say, is history. Boro were a team brought together by adversity, managed by an ex Army Sergeant, the players looked out for each other and they had a passion and a will to win that I have rarely seen matched since in any one team. Since those days Boro have appeared in 5 English Cup Finals, had numerous promotions, have built a new stadium, have won their first major trophy in the club's history, have appeared in European Competition for the first time, reached the UEFA Cup Final, and attracted some of the world's best and most high profile players. Not bad for a small town in the north east of England!

There is a massive betting opportunity on Betfair's market for predicting where Boro will finish in the Premier League this season. They are currently trading at 14.4 to sell and 14.8 to buy, which means their final finishing position is 'expected' to be around 14th-15th. Well, I can tell you Boro will finish higher than this and you should buy "buy, buy, buy," here in this market. Boro are sitting in 13th place at the moment, but any true fan will know that this is good, as any true fan knows that Boro only play 32 league games a season compared to everyone else's 38. This is because Middlesbrough F.C. has without doubt, over the years, the worst record of all the established Premier League clubs, at accumulating points in the first 4 games of the season, the game on Boxing Day, and the game on New Years Day. It's a well known fact around the town, that when a player signs for the club, it is written into their contract that they can over eat at Christmas and over drink on New Year's Eve - or is that just how it seems?

Middlesbrough have invested well this term, securing Jonathan Woodgate on a long term deal from Real Madrid, signing England International defender Luke Young from Charlton, Turkish International Tuncay Sanli form Fenerbahce, promising Ex-Gunner Jeremie Aliadiere and Egyptian striker Mido from Spurs. Mido in particular looks an excellent signing, scoring 2 goals in 2 games despite not playing a competitive match for over 5 months. He looks a ready made replacement for the departing Yakubu who decided he no longer wanted to play for the club. With promise from the board that there is more money to spend, then you can rest assured Boro will have plenty of ammunition to secure a mid table slot, at worst. Some of the winning Youth Cup players from a few years ago are now flourishing into excellent first team and squad players, and the future is very bright at The Riverside Stadium.

I see no reason whatsoever why Boro cannot finish above the likes of Derby, Sunderland, Birmingham, Bolton, Wigan, Reading, Fulham and Villa. That alone would put them in 12th position, but I am very confident that at least a few of Everton, Blackburn, West Ham, Man City and Portsmouth could well finish below Boro, securing a top 10 slot at least for the Teesside club. I have said before that having a bet on the football adds so much extra excitement, but buying Boro in this market will mean you can cheer on last season's top North East team with that extra enthusiasm, knowing that finishing 13th or above will net you a tidy profit.