X-Factor / Mike Norman / 24 October 2011 /

It was petty arguments and serious accusations that made X Factor headlines over the weekend, but on the stage Johnny Robinson stole the show for all the right reasons says Mike Norman.

Like school kids who'd just had their skipping rope and marbles taken from them. That's how one newspaper described X Factor judges Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh, Kelly Rowland, and Tulisa Contostavlos, and it's hard to disagree.

Saturday night's Rock theme descended into chaos the second girlband Rhythmix performed a medley of pop songs - wearing cut-off jeans and a bit of pink in their hair (to make it look rocky). From that moment on the judges were at each other's throats, accusing each other of ducking the theme.

But regular readers of this column, as well as being rich (more on that later), will remember that I told you last week that X Factor themes now mean absolutely nothing. If it's rock week, then all you have to do is don a pair of black fingerless gloves and away you go, you can sing any song you like. And it will be the same next week when the theme is horror. You can sing The Birdie Song if you like, just as long as you're either wearing some devil's horns, or you have a bit of pretend blood painted on your face.

If the judges are genuinely angered that some song choices don't match a certain theme then why spoil a live Saturday night show with continuous petty squabbles? They all know who is singing what long before the live show commences, so sort it out off camera.

If I'm being honest, Saturday night's show - quality wise at least - was pretty dreadful. But who cares? From a betting point of view it was fantastic, or at least it was for followers of this column. Whilst my colleague Jack Houghton clings on to his The Risk wager (an excellent selection it has to be said), my disciples are already booking next summer's holiday with their winnings.

Houghton likes to call himself the gob, sorry, god of X Factor betting, but the fact is there's only one god on these pages, and my disciples will tell you exactly who he is.

Not only did I tell you that pre-live show favourite Jade Richards wouldn't even make the TV stages (she didn't), and that second favourite Amelia Lily wouldn't win (she won't), I told you that Nu Vibe would be eliminated the week before last (they were at odds of [4.0]) and that Sami Brookes would be eliminated last week (she was at odds of [4.6]).

But that's not all folks. I've advised bets on Rowland at [2.6] in the Winning Mentor market (she's now available to back at just [1.83]) and Barlow at [5.0] in the First Mentor Eliminated market (still worth a punt now at [3.5]), and of Johnny Robinson I said this, "One of my strongest recommendations is Johnny Robinson at [4.2] in the Over 25s market." He's now available to back at just [1.43].

Robinson was wonderfully entertaining on Saturday night, and if you failed to take any notice of what I told you three weeks ago about how popular and infectious his personality would be then you only had to listen to the audience's reaction to understand what I meant.

Robinson is available to back at [25.0] in the Winner market now, but if you haven't had a bet on him already then perhaps the best wager is for him to finish in the Top Three at [6.0]. It's not a wager I will be having because if he were to finish in the top three then it would almost certainly mean I'll profit hugely elsewhere. But I really do believe the Johnny bandwagon is going to keep on rolling and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he finished ahead of all of Barlow's Boys, and Misha Bryan.

The best of the Boys is arguably Craig Colton ([12.0]) but I'm going right off him; I don't like the cat on his head and he sings the same every week, whilst Bryan ([6.6]) continues to grab the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The bullying debate will do her more harm than good, and I believe the public are not warming to her one bit.

In this week's Seventh Elimination market Frankie Cocozza is the early [2.5] favourite just ahead of Kitty Brucknell ([5.0]). The reality is, if Frankie ends up in the bottom two then he will go but I'm not prepared to risk him at those odds. As a result, I'm keeping my powder dry this week.

Incidentally, Janet Devlin has regained her status as the favourite to win this year's competition, the Irish lass is available to back at [3.4] whilst The Risk are slightly on the drift, out to [3.6].

Recommended Bets

No bets this week

Previously Recommended

Back Sami Brookes @ [4.6] in Sixth Elimination market (1pt) - WON
Back Nu Vibe @ [4.0] in Fifth Elimination market (1pt) - WON
Back Gary Barlow @ [5.0] in First Mentor Eliminated market (2pts) - OPEN
Back Janet Devlin @ [4.0] in Winner market (2pts) - OPEN
Back Sophie Habibis @ [14.0] in Winner market (1pt) - OPEN
Back Craig Colton @ [18.0] in Winner market (1pt) - OPEN
Back Johnny Robinson @ [4.2] in Over 25s market (2pts) - OPEN
Back Kelly Rowland @ [2.6] in Winning Mentor market (1pt) - OPEN

*betting pts settled = 2; pts returned = 8.6; profit/loss = +6.6 (+330%)

Star Predictor

Do you agree with Mike that Johnny is the fans favourite? For the latest odds on the winner and next elimination markets check out our shiny new X-Factor Star Predictor...

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