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UEFA Cup Odds: Pitch will be perfect in Lisbon tonight

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But that is not always the case. The old cliché tells us that the pitch is the same for both sides, but there is no doubting a barely playable pitch is a leveller and that is what the lesser talented side will always want. Frank Gregan tells all...

"I ain't very clever but I can lift heavy fings!" That was the self effacing statement that a former kit manager of mine used to come out with on a regular basis. Dressing room banter left him perplexed and he was subjected to all the normal stereotyping of being one nipple short of a pin up, a few French fries short of a happy meal etc. He seldom made any comment that was amusing or indeed relevant but he was a tireless worker and I liked him.

We were away from home in an FA Trophy tie to a side a couple of divisions below us and he was muttering away to himself as he was hanging up the player's kit. The gist of his rambling was that the players should not be wearing numbered shirts but should have individual serial numbers on their backs "like those floppy dolls." It didn't take me long to work it out, cabbage patch dolls, he was alluding to the fact that the playing surface was a cross between a paddy field and a landfill site. Call me pessimistic, but you know your team is going to have problems adjusting mentally to the surface when your kit manager is complaining about it.

Of course the old cliché tells us that it is the same for both sides and there is no doubting that it is. It is the same for both sides when a pitch is frozen and only barely playable or it is blowing a gale and the wind is making conditions a farce. It's a leveller and that is what the lesser talented side will always want. Wigan against Arsenal at the weekend was a case in point, the surface severely hampered the Gunners sharp passing style and consequently they created a fraction of the chances that they normally would.

Uneven bounce meant that more care had to be taken on the touch, the normal 'shift it and give it' that Arsenal play was slowed down and consequently their tempo was nowhere near as quick as usual. The classic example was the chance that Bendtner had on the left side of the six yard box that he tried to square across the face of goal. The ball took a bobble the height of a Brett Lee bouncer, no matter how talented the individual is the chances of making that adjustment are nil. The one touch stuff that they so like to play in the final third was unachievable.

But it was another two points dropped and another twist in the favour of Manchester United as the title race continues on towards its climax. A few weeks back I recommended that Arsenal as champions should be a green in any portfolio. I also said that they were much too short to be backed and should be laid with a view to backing them when their odds improved. It's now reached that stage and having laid them at [1.8] I will now be backing them at [4.4]. Even if you have not laid them previously I still suggest that they be backed. There will be a multitude of twists and turns before the season's end and I'd be very surprised if they do not get considerably shorter than the odds that are currently on offer before the trophy is lifted.

There will be a superb playing surface at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Thursday night for the encounter between Sporting Lisbon and Bolton. Bolton had their chances in the first leg, they led 1-0 before hitting the crossbar and were made to pay when Sporting equalised. I think it will be very tough for them tomorrow night but I cannot bring myself to back the Portuguese side. I had a great party in a Portuguese bar when Sporting won the league title on the last day of the season a few years back. The bar owner was a Sporting fan and made sure we all had a fantastic night and consequently I always keep a track on how they are doing. On the other hand I worked for Bolton during the Colin Todd era and have a soft spot for them. But it is always the same when an English club is in Europe, I feel soiled if I bet against them. I feel like one of my forefathers trying to get a bet on the Germans during the Second World War or a few bob on Napoleon at a good price. Nope, Land of Hope and Glory for me and I will be laying Sporting not to qualify at odds of [1.36].

And that FA Trophy tie with the dodgy pitch? We scraped home 2-1 but it could have gone either way. The surface was a real leveller!