|
 |
SUNDERLAND'S EINDHOVEN 18-9-07
Toby Higgins
Like counting the number of hairs on your head, or how many raindrops it takes to land on the windscreen before the automatic wipers kick in, researching information can be a long, thankless process that often leaves you as disappointed and unfulfilled as a Britney Spears comeback performance.
As nerdy as it is, I enjoy researching stats and figures. Regular readers will know that the occasional fact or ratio will often appear midway through an article to hopefully illustrate a point or validate an argument.
Statistics and sport seem to snuggle up quite nicely to each other in the hotbed of media coverage. Where would we be without cricket's batting averages, the long pot success of snooker (perhaps we'll discuss the legitimacy of snooker's appearance under the heading 'sport' another week?) and the second serve success rate in Tennis?
Many remain unconvinced - hell, even sceptical - about the legitimacy of statistics, largely because they are pumped through society as fast as they can be thought up by politicians, banks and any other party of people trying to convince, persuade or advise; though trick, mislead and deceive, could Easily stand as synonyms. Politicians and banks are trying to sell you an idea or product and abuse statistics as a vehicle for a quick, easy sale.
Sport doesn't though. Fans don't mind hearing that one of their players has the most yellow cards to minutes played ratio, or the most shots off target in the league etc, without being harassed with them. They are added little quips that create conversation in the pub, and arouse theories about why certain patterns develop.
For example, Boro's best away record over the last six seasons is, somewhat staggeringly, at Old Trafford (D-D-D-W-L-W), though when you consider the last six non consecutive meetings away from home (i.e. including teams not currently in the league or who missed season's due to relegation) Boro have not lost at Southampton in their last seven visits (eleven years), with the last defeat a crushing 4-0 defeat in 1996/97. Over the last eight years, Boro have lost 72 (48%) of the 152 away league matches, winning 31 (20%) and drawing 49 (32%).
It's a decent enough record if you accept that most teams in the league will have away records over the last eight years that look very similar. How many sides can claim to have lost only once at Old Trafford in their last six league visits there? Why is it that we seem to be able to go there as underdogs, year upon year, and still come away with an average of 1.5 points per visit?
Our record with West Ham is worth noticing, too. While we haven't won at Upton Park for eight years (six visits - West Ham spent two years in the Championship, lest we forgot) when Brian Deane netted from the spot for a 1-0 win in the 1999-2000 season, West Ham's record at the Riverside isn't much better. Out of the last seven seasons the two have been in the Premier League, in five of them, Boro have beaten West Ham at home, and lost to them away.
While the sufficient leg-work hasn't been done, another suspicion many Boro fans have is that players and teams always seem to break their duck, or score their first goal for their club, against us. Sunderland's victory at the Riverside in 2005, Andrei Shevchenko's first goal for Chelsea in 2006, and last Saturday, Dean Ashton's first Premier League goal in eighteen months suggest that all bad luck will be banished once you play Boro. Reading the article published by the National Lottery regarding Boro's fans chances of 'getting lucky' (or not, as the chance maybe), not many of us would disagree with these sentiments.
Indeed, it was Ashton, as well as Lee Bowyer and Young Luke, through the shape of an own goal, who provided the goals in what was a totally expected defeat to West Ham, if you look at the recent history, though 3-0 appears a more compressive score line than the otherwise close game suggested.
Despite Southgate signing Jeremie Alidalidair and Sanli Tuncay to score the goals Yakubu and Viduka aren't now going to, it seems the pair are more interested in rivalling Lee Dong Gook's club record for hitting the woodwork before scoring your first goal. And, no, I don't have any statistics for that.
The news that Alidair faces weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury means that Tuncay will, without doubt, be given a chance to impressive alongside Mido in attack, and while the Turk hasn't netted yet, the signs are positive that he will become a real star.
His work rate coupled with his movement and ability to read the game should make him one of the first names on the team sheet, but Southgate's decision to leave him out and opt for Aldalidair in the early weeks could yet prove inspired. Tuncay's appetite will be tested with him being dropped to the bench following the back to back away games at Wigan and Fulham, but that he looked so lively against the Hammers is encouraging. He's just needs a goal.
And what better time to get a few than at home to little Sunderland, who, as has been mentioned, scored a victory so unexpected and famous the last time they visited the Riverside that every Mackem fan has had one of the goal scorers' name tattooed onto their backsides. Julio Arca's. None of them will ever forget that special day; a day some are calling 'Sunderland's Eindhoven'.
Arca has never looked back since Gareth Southgate started playing him in his proper position in centre midfield after years of being wasted at left back on Wearside, and his partnership with Fabulous continues to blossom.
If those two perform to the level they have been then we will simply have too much for Sunderland, who let's face it are really not very good.
If you feel inspired to do your own research into football facts and figures after having read this article, then here's a little something for you to try and do before next weekend. See if you can find out the names of eleven current Sunderland players; because I couldn't name more than three.
Same time next week...
UpTheBoro
RETURN TO THE ROCKLIFFE FILES INDEX HERE
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.00 ON THE FA CUP FINAL
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Saturday afternoon's FA Cup Final clash between Portsmouth and Cardiff, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.00, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time (ninety minutes), you will be at least £41.00 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £129.00 on the FA Cup Final and we will collect £175.00 if Cardiff win, £171.24 if Portsmouth win and £170.00 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 31%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Extrabet
 .
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £20.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £84.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £20.00 on Cardiff at 5.00 (4/1) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Cardiff as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Cardiff.
Back Portsmouth with £84.00 at 1.78 (4/5) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on the draw at 3.44 (12/5) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on the draw.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £129.00 on the FA Cup Final. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game. All winnings are paid out on the ninety minute result.
If Cardiff win, you collect £175.00. That's £150.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Portsmouth win, you collect £171.24. That's £146.24 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw you collect £170.00. That's £145.00 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Cardiff match is a draw and you make £41.00 profit. However, if Cardiff win you make £46.00 and if Portsmouth win you make £42.24. That's a minimum profit of 31%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
|
|
|
|
