X-Factor Betting: My selections Eoghan and Diana still very much "inplay"

X-Factor / Jack Houghton / 06 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Jack Houghton on sophisticated bugs, the outspoken Lily Allen, Jake Houseman and a little bit of X-Factor.

You can back Any Other at [1000.0] to win this year's X-Factor. That might sound like a ridiculously short price. Unlike other reality TV shows - such as Big Brother - the X-Factor have not made a habit of tinkering with contestant line-ups once the live shows have begun. But my insiders tell me there is reason to believe that this usually conservative approach will be changed.

Let me explain. A "sophisticated bug" has been found underneath Cowbell's Bentley Continental. I think I know the bug they are talking about. On a trip to Paris last year I met an oversized flea. He was in a café: eating a pre-theatre meal of lobster thermidor whilst reading Jean Paul Sartre's La Nausée. A very sophisticated bug indeed.

Anyway, it seems as if Cowbell has taken a shine to said bug and will shoe-horn him into a final spot; probably at the expense of boy band JLS. You heard it here first.

Cowbell apparently asked for his car to be searched after he noticed a leather-wearing chap on a motorbike was following him around. Mmm. It sounds a bit like the not-very-believable riposte of an old school Conservative politician caught in the bushes on Clapham Common, doesn't it? "Oh him! Leather-biker-boy. I have no idea. I can only assume someone has bugged my car and he is following me around."

In other X-Factor news... A pregnancy test kit has been found in the girls' house. The owner has been tracked down and "dealt with" (hopefully by Baby's caring father, Jake Houseman, and not by some travelling doctor) and X-Factor's family-friendly image has been saved.

Otherwise, most of the news has been dominated by Diana Vickers and her Abu Hamza-esque hook hand. If only she'd stop randomly waving it around in front of her face, all would be well. Lily Allen has come out and says she doesn't like it. In fact, it's not just the hand, but Diana in general that Lily doesn't like.

But no matter how many people tell her it's annoying, Countess Hook - with the support of mentor Cheryl - has said it comes naturally to her, and so she is keeping it.

The big betting play of this column has been to support Eoghan to the hilt. And I still think he is the most likely winner. But Diana (tipped up here at [9.4] before the show started) was our saver if Eoghan wasn't able to win.

Unfortunately, Alexandra (the apple of that pesky Mike Norman's eye) put up two relative strong performances last week when compared to the drab and dribble of Eoghan and Diana. Luckily for supporters of this column, despite unquestionably delivering the two strongest songs of the night, Ruth was evicted last time and our duo gets to compete again.

And it's worth remembering that just as Alexandra ascended last week, she could just as easily fall this. She had a relative advantage over Diana and Eoghan with regards to song choice; an advantage that will now disappear as mentors and contestants choose their path from any genre. So Joe Dyer can stop sending me graphs plotting Eoghan and Diana's demise... the fat lady is still warming up.

With regards to this week's elimination, the [2.04] about JLS is tempting. I think they are most likely to go but there is not enough meat in that price to risk a surprise eviction. I'm certain Eoghan is safe, but either Alexandra or Diana could conceivably fail to make the final.

Recommended:
No bet this week.

Already Recommended:
1pt back of Diana at [9.4] in Winner market.
1pt back of Eoghan at [14.5] in Winner market.
1pt back of Simon at [3.7] in Winning Manager market.
2pts back of Eoghan at [6.0] in Winner market.
3pts lay of Cheryl at [1.72] in Winning Manager market.
3pts back of Diana at [1.65] in Girls market.

Already Settled:

2pts back of Girlband at [1.65] in Bottom Two Acts market, week two. (WON)
1pt back of Rachel at [2.9] in Bottom Two Acts market, week three. (LOST)
1pt back of Rachel at [3.7] in Bottom Two Acts market, week four. (WON)
4pts back of Daniel at [1.44] in Bottom Two Acts market, week four. (LOST)
1pt back of Austin at [9.2] in Winner market. (LOST)
2pts back of Rachel at [1.97] in Bottom Two Acts market, week five. (LOST)
1pt back of JLS at [5.7] in Bottom Two Acts market, week five. (LOST)
2pts back of JLS at [5.8] in Bottom Two Acts market, week six. (LOST)
4pts back of Rachel at [1.89] in 7th Elimination market, week seven. (WON)
2pts lay of Ruth at [1.41] in Bottom Two Acts market, week seven. (WON)
1pt back of Ruth at [2.7] in 25 and Overs market. (WON)
1pt back of JLS at [3.3] in 8th Elimination market. (LOST)
1pt back of Alexandra at [6.2] in 8th Elimination market. (LOST)