Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 05 May 2009 /

There's an old cliché that says that nobody remembers the losers, the runners-up or the 'nearly men'. And to people who use that cliché I would say, what a load of tosh (well If I was born in the 1950s, and lived at home until the age of 40 I would use the word 'tosh')!

Every football fan remembers that it was Roberto Baggio and the Italians who lost on penalties in the final of USA '94, that Bayern Munich were the ones left crying into the Nou Camp turf after Manchester United's two late strikes in 1999. For years British tennis fans gloried in the final hurdle failure of Tim Henman's Wimbledon pursuit, and perhaps the most popular snooker player of all time, Jimmy White, was sports greatest runner-up on the big stage. White lost all six of his World Championship final appearances.

So, from the nearly man of the multiples world I raise a glass to the nearly men of the sporting world, and bring you these selections.....

Bet 1: Cricket - IPL - Bangalore v Rajasthan

The first meeting between these two sides produced the lowest total in IPL history as the Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for a measly 58 after being set a modest 133 to chase. The match was to be the template from which both sides' early tournament fortunes would follow. Bangalore continued their poor form with the bat and lost their next four games and the Rajasthan Royals needed a wash-out and a Super Over to make it to three points from four games.

In the build up to that opening fixture, much was made of the coming together of two foes, Graeme Smith and Kevin Pietersen. Ironically for the most expensive player in IPL history, his side's results have improved dramatically since his departure, and they now look a much more complete team without him.

However, the Royals also seem to have got their act together now and appear to be re-capturing their form of 2008 just in the nick of time. With Smith at the top of the order and the big hitting Yusuf Pathan coming in further down the order, they look well equipped to take out a Bangalore side who appear to be a little over-reliant on the runs of Jaques Kallis.

Selection: Back Rajasthan to beat Bangalore @ around [2.0] on Thursday

Bet 2: Football - SPL

The SPL has now split into two mini leagues, the top six and bottom six, and either side of the partition there is still everything to play for. It is still not clear which side of Glasgow the league trophy will be going to, four sides are separated by four points at the foot of the table, and anyone of three sides could be representing Scotland in next year's inaugural Europa league.

Although I don't agree with the top six/bottom six split, and the possibility of seventh position finishing with more points than the sixth placed team, one cannot argue that it throws up an abundance of crunch games in the closing stages of the season, as almost every game is seemingly a six pointer.

On Thursday, Dundee United have an opportunity to increase the gap between themselves and Aberdeen whilst potentially moving above third placed Hearts at the same time. Manager Craig Levein has an impressive home record against the Dons; the Terrors have won all four of their Tanadice meetings under his tenure and that could be a key factor here.
It's another crunch game in the push for Europe north of the border, but the boys in tangerine have the bit between their teeth on home turf and will look to press home the advantage in their quest for Europe.

Selection: Back Dundee Utd to beat Aberdeen @ [2.1]

Bet 3: Darts - Premier League (Challenge Match)

Wayne Mardle's withdrawal from this year's tournament has presented us with a number of Challenge matches to fill the void left by his departure. And so far the Premier League boys have dominated them, as all three of the match ups have gone the way of the men experienced on the big stage.

This week two of the PDC new boys are given the chance to sample firsthand the reason why they made the step across the divide from the BDO. Both players have made reasonably good starts to their PDC Pro Tour careers, Webster has made one semi and one quarter-final thus far and Gary Anderson was twice a beaten finalist at the hands of Phil Taylor.

However, as Jelle Klaasen has shown this year, it is not a simple procedure transferring form to the carnival atmosphere of the Premier League. It surprised me to see both newcomers priced up as short odds-on favourites for these challenge matches and I think it would be well advised to take on both.

The biggest value of the pair looks to be Jelle Klaasen to beat Mark Webster at around the [2.6] mark. Webster seemed to freeze when the pressure was on to defend his BDO World Championship title in 2009 and made an early second round exit. He can't afford to any similar bouts of nerves here as the Dutchman will use all his experience gained in the last two months to show why he was given the wild-card entry this year.

Selection: Back Jelle Klaasen to beat Mark Webster @ [2.4]

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