Premier League Betting: Spurs and Arsenal strike right notes but Chelsea are finding rhythmn

Premier League / Ralph Ellis / 24 August 2009 / Leave a Comment

"If you took my tip 10 days ago to back Defoe at [22.0] to be the Premier League’s top scorer you are laughing – he’s already in to just [7.8]."

The Premier League table has started to take shape after a busy weekend while in the top goalscorer charts two of England's key strikers remain on song, says Ralph Ellis.

This is the time of year when my favourite competition begins. It's the search for somebody with real star quality, the ability to stand out from the rest and make a difference. The series seems to go on forever, with lots of audience reaction and participation. There are auditions, there are people who look great for a week or two then can't stand the pace, and there are those who just have that certain something, a quality you can't quite define, but which picks them out for greatness.

No, not the X factor. You'd need ropes, chains and heavy weights to make me sit down and watch that nonsense. This is the start of the football season where people emerge who really have got something special.

Take Harry Redknapp. This time last year Spurs were spluttering through their annual early season crisis, so deep that by the time they'd played eight games and got two points I backed them to get relegated. If only I'd known that Harry was riding to the rescue the very next day!

Their 2-1 win at West Ham yesterday means they have just logged up their best start to a League season since 1960, the year they went on to win the double. Redknapp, who wouldn't name names, reckons a couple of his current players are good enough to have got in Bill Nicholson's history making team. It's a fair bet that Jermain Defoe is one of them (it was a year later that Tottenham signed Jimmy Greaves). He was given a large slice of help by Carlton Cole's suicidal back pass, but the way he took his only chance was typical. If you took my tip 10 days ago to back him at [22.0] to be the Premier League's top scorer you are laughing - he's already in to just [7.8].

That famous 1961 side, with legends such as Dave Mackay and Danny Blanchflower, scored 115 goals in a season and Redknapp's Spurs have set off in the same attacking vein. It's brought them crashing in to just [1.63] for a top six finish, and [3.6] to gatecrash the Champions League places.

Mind you, there's another striker who's really got the X factor and that's Wayne Rooney. He's actually priced a fraction ahead of Defoe in the top scorer market at [7.6], yet curiously is longer in the top English scorer rankings at [3.85] against Defoe's [2.82]. In five seasons at Old Trafford, Rooney has never scored more than 16 in a Premier League season, and for the last two years it's been only 12. But this year he's playing far more as a centre forward and with Cristiano Ronaldo gone he's suggesting that he has the maturity to take on the challenge of leading the line. The header that began a 5-0 romp at Wigan was exceptional.

Spurs' great start means they are breaking up the top four at the moment, and Manchester City have their own 100 per cent record - albeit after two games - thanks to Emmanuel Adebayor's goal against Wolves.

The newcomers have all got points on the board. Birmingham slogged out a 0-0 draw with Stoke - they will get voted off the entertainment factor charts pretty quickly! And Burnley, given the opening fixture list from hell, have now got wins over both Manchester United and Everton after Wade Elliott's goal yesterday. For the first time they are fractional odds against to be relegated at [2.08]. Hate to be unkind, but grab that while you can because it's hard to see how a smallish squad can stay the pace.

Winning the title, of course, is much like the X factor. It isn't just about one or two dazzling displays and top notes, but consistently getting your performance right. Chelsea appear to be dropping into a rhythm under Carlo Ancelotti. They are back to the grinding days of Jose Mourinho, but a steady 2-0 win at Fulham showed the right signs and the front pairing of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka both got goals.

At the bottom of the table Portsmouth are the equivalent of the old pub crooner who turns up for his audition and sings way out of tune. A 4-1 defeat at The Emirates means they are now [1.87] favourites to go down, and even if managing director Peter Storrie completes his takeover there won't be major funds, or sufficient time, to change things round. You can vote them off pretty quickly!

All of which leaves Arsenal, with nine goals in two games as opposed to the three it's taken their neighbours. They are in to just [6.8] to be champions now, but we'll know more this weekend about the value in that. I think in the X-factor they call it a "sing off". Even this early in the season there's much the same importance to this Saturday's trip to Old Trafford.