September 2008 - Football Food For Thought

Football Food For Thought. Opinions and thoughts from the betting.betfair team from the Premier League to the Champions League to the World Cup. This is where opinions come to live and whatever your football PoV it is sure to disagree with someone here!

How Gary just isn't up to Speed and why the children are our future

Having watched an Arsenal side whose average was 19 demolish a Sheff Utd side that included 39 year-old (and former betting.betfair.com columnist) Gary Speed, Tareq Quiroz examines the question of whether if you're good enough,...

Tareq Quiroz

Sep 28 2008

The big difference between a bad tackle and a bad tackler

"Mystical" Mike Norman looks at the best and worst tacklers in the Premiership and the effect that changes in the laws of the game have had on a good old-fashioned bone crunching challenge....

Mike Norman

Sep 28 2008

Premiership Betting: The FA have an unlikely ally for their Respect Campaign in Scolari

Ralph Ellis looks at a change in attitude to the referee at Stamford Bridge brought about by Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, which may have gone some way to helping them avoid defeat against Man...

Ralph Ellis

Sep 22 2008

Premiership Referees: We need top class refs who aren't interested in their own fame

TQ was less than impressed with John Terry's dismissal at the weekend and the reasoning behind it and wonders whether we wouldn't be better off having refs who had actually played the game....

Tareq Quiroz

Sep 19 2008

Steve Clarke: Mr "Been there and done it" faces a whole new challenge at Upton Park

Frank Gregan tells us about role play with Steve Clarke and just how much of a gamble the former Chelsea Assistant Manager has taken by swapping Stamford Bridge for Upton Park....

Frank Gregan

Sep 19 2008

Keegan, Rush, Kendall and the disappointment of going back

Dan "The Betting Man" Fitch on why your second (or third) spells are never as good as your first. Just ask Keegan or Rush....

Dan Fitch

Sep 16 2008

Premiership Bet: Berbatov, Riera and whether the "last piece of the jigsaw" actually fits

Ralph Ellis looks at the Premiership players such as Cantona who have succeeded after being described by their managers as "last piece of the jigsaw" and the likes of Angel and Rebrov who haven't....

Ralph Ellis

Sep 15 2008

Fans join footballers in choosing club over country

Tareq Quiroz admits to not feeling the same emotional attachment to the England team as that of yesteryear, amid concerns that Aston Villa's players return home fit and suspects he's not alone in picking club...

Tareq Quiroz

Sep 12 2008

A barmy game where being sacked is the most profitable way to leave your job

As a man who has been sacked by a football club himself, Frank Gregan can give us good insight into the definitions of resigning, leaving by mutual consent and being sacked. And which of the...

Frank Gregan

Sep 12 2008

Craig Bellamy: Does the baggage outweigh the talent?

Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo looks at the incident-filled career of Wales and West Ham star Craig Bellamy and wonders what he could achieve if he stayed fit and out of trouble....

Paul Moon

Sep 12 2008

European Football: Scouting for boys and the £40m pound player that got away

Dave Farrar tells us about Premiership clubs's refusal to take a gamble on unproven raw talent and why Karim Benzema is still at Lyons....

Dave Farrar

Sep 10 2008

Using Hasselhoff to explain the departures of Keegan and Curbishley

Dan "The Betting Man" Fitch identifies the same problem that plagued both West Ham and Newcastle and ultimately led to both their managers leaving. What works on the continent doesn't always work over here, he...

Dan Fitch

Sep 9 2008

International Football Betting: Does Capello have a "winning" mentality or a "whingeing" mentality?

Ralph Ellis discusses the man who has won everything that was up for grabs at club level but has so far failed to covert his pedigree to the international arena as England continue to struggle....

Ralph Ellis

Sep 8 2008

Next Newcastle Manager: Wise money is on a continental manager

"Knowledgeable" Nik Wardle talks us through the different candidates in line for the poisoned chalice that is the Newcastle job....

Nik Wardle

Sep 5 2008

Loyalty, principles and the Monday that changed football

TQ had mixed feelings about the events that occurred on transfer deadline day on Monday that included Robinho and Berbatov going, Villa staying and two Premiership managers resigning....

Tareq Quiroz

Sep 5 2008

Transfer Day Deadline News: Manchester duo leave it late but capture their targets

Frank Gregan looks at deadline day deals that have brought Robinho to Man City against the odds and Berbatov to Man Utd to leave the Man Utd and Spurs boards at odds with each other....

Frank Gregan

Sep 2 2008