|
 |
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? 30-10-07
Toby Higgins
I spent my Monday afternoon in a lecture, listening with little interest to a fat ginger bloke telling a half empty theatre how, and how not to, write a good Linguistic essay.
If a sentence is more than two lines, it's too long; you're allowed to refer to yourself as "I" but that your opinions are worthless, so don't tell us them; explicitness is essential as nothing is too obvious to be said.
But the main overriding reason why people score badly in Linguistic essays is failure to answer the question. The ten minutes he spent advertising this point was just enough time for me to switch off and let my mind wander, as it so often does on Monday afternoons, back towards the weekend's football.
At the Boro, questions are starting to be asked of both staff and players. Although we're only a few goals worse off than we were this time last week, fans appear to be panicking even more than ever that this could be the season we drop back down into the gutters of the Championship after all these years swaning around in the Premiership Palace.
It appears that two very apparent and very distinct sets of supporters have emerged. Those who feel relegation is upon us and are resigned to this fact, and those who feel that we've still got plenty in the tank and will finish safe with a few games to spare. Oh, I suppose there's a third group - Ali Brownlie - who is probably just one home win away from asking Bernie, "So, can Boro qualify for Europe this year?"
Those who can feel relegation's cold hand creeping quietly on to their shoulders do so with good cause. Two wins in eleven, with one of them in fortuitous circumstances at Craven Cottage, and recent form of one point from the last eighteen available means that being perched dangerously over the edge of the relegation zone is probably the best we could hope for.
The problem areas are visible enough. Jeremie Aliadiere's first Premiership goal for five seasons (Christ.) came as scant consolation at Old Trafford in terms of points. Having drawn blanks in front of goal against West Ham, Everton and Wigan, our away form is certainly not aiding the situation.
Having said that though, when has it ever? If we take last season's away form on the road with us for the next few years we might just struggle to win ten games away from home in one hundred.
Defensively too, we look vulnerable. The increasing pressure on Jonathan Woodgate to start turning in a few performances is coming from many quarters.
The Rockcliffe Files also believes this but finding a suitable partner for the England defender is proving just as difficult as keeping a clean sheet. One out of eleven is a figure that represents not only our clean sheet record, but also the selection headache facing Gareth Southgate when it comes to selecting Woodgate's partner in central defence.
I suggested last week that maybe Southgate needed to drop a few stars - with Stewart Downing, Mark Schwarzer and Woodgate the names I mentioned. Given that Woodgate and Schwarzer have conceded another hatful of goals with no thanks to Downing, who did himself and us no favours by trying to prove that he is good enough to play for England by dribbling his way out of his own penalty area, then maybe all three should be ditched.
Radical? Yes. But what else can Southgate do? He'd soon see who wanted to fight for the club, and who was simply picking up their wage, safe in the knowledge that next season they'll be playing in the Premiership, with or without Boro. Adam Johnson is doing the business on loan at Watford, so why not drop Downing and give Johnson a chance?
Woodgate and Manu Pogatetz's partnership was impressive in the second half of last season so Mad Dog's return, rumoured to be this weekend, probably couldn't come at a better time for Woodgate. He needs to find his form quickly because, while I'm not an England international defender, even I could tell where Rooney was going to back heel that ball for United's third goal. It might have been irrelevant in terms of the result but every goal conceded is another blow to the confidence of the defence.
The other half of supporters suggest we have the quality to stay up and that we will, eventually, steer ourselves away from relegation's crumbling edge. The squad certainly posses enough quality and with Mido, Aliadieeeere and Tuncay all close to full fitness again, the threat in front of goal may soon return.
With every game that passes, we are a game closer to the return of Julio Arca. With Pogatetz back in contention and Gary O'Neill looking impressive, the shape and balance of the team will soon be back. And with it should come consistency.
I won't comment on the importance of the next three games, Spurs, Bolton and Villa, because it would be almost insulting to do so, despite being told on Monday afternoon that explicitness is king.
If you were given an essay with the title "Can Boro stay up and if so, how?" then it would probably be a tough one to call at this moment. It is not us, the supporters, who have to answer however. It's Southgate and his players.
Let's just hope that in giving their answer, they actually answer the question correctly because otherwise it could be a very depressing summer.
Oh, and while it's not normal Linguistic essay etiquette to give an opinion as the writer, this is a football essay and so here's my opinion.
I'm with Ali. Europe here we come.
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.
|
|
|
|
