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TWO THOUSAND AND GREAT 3-1-08
Toby Higgins
2008 probably couldn't have started in a more frustrating fashion, on a personal note, as well as in terms of the footy.
I returned from my boozy night in 'the toon' to find some chavvy low life had decided New Years Eve would always be remembered as the night they kicked the wing mirror off my car, leaving only the plastic carcass on the road side.
The glass had gone, used by the vandal to cut himself I presume, since I understand this is what such retches on society do to pass the time between standing in large masses to intimidate the elderly and throwing rocks at school windows, or, even better, passing cars. What a time to be alive.
Given that I was about forty-five minutes away from the ground at 2pm, that I felt rougher than John Wayne's bog roll (and probably smelled worse) and that it was pouring down, I decided to stick the mirror's shell in the boot and press on towards the Riverside.
I didn't need the mirror anyway, I thought, as I set off. That was until I tried pulling on to the new underwater A19 with spray and mist the likes of which have never been seen before.
With the inside of the car heavily condensed from the steam flaring out of my nostrils, down came the window and out went my head. By the time I got near Middlesbrough, I looked like I'd been strapped to the outside of the car for my high speed journey, so wet was I.
Then, having failed to find a 'legal' parking space due to the emptiness of my wallet, I ran, again through the rain, to the ground to buy a ticket (if only parking meters took debit card payments).
Having bought my ticket nowhere near anyone I knew, I tried to settle down to watch what I hoped would be a game that would make the whole trauma seem worth it. By then though, I knew it was going to be one of those days.
It was a cold, boring, tactical battle between two teams who both seemed to be missing key men in vital areas (Cahill and Arteta in midfield for Everton, and any sort of presence in attack for Boro) but 0-0 at half time was certainly not the end of the world.
With chances few and the atmosphere only rising for the berating of a former player, it looked like this one had stalemate written all over it in a rather boring shade of grey.
It was the kind of game that was going to take a moment of class, or a mistake, to upset the balance. It got both.
Andy Johnson, having skipped past Robert Huth, fired low and true beyond Mark Schwarzer's helpless paw and wheeled away towards the until then quiet Everton supporters.
The lethalness of the finish was matched in terms of outcome just five minutes later by the carelessness of Stewart Downing and Fabio Rochemback, who contrived to hand the Toffees an easy second, and with it, the game.
Funny really because everything had looked so much more promising as I drank out the New Year.
2007 was a weird one for me. I always thought I was too few in years to determine the difference between a 'good' and 'bad' year because I hadn't really seen enough to pass accurate judgement.
2007 though, was, for one reason and another, a fairly difficult year. But, surrounded by mates, well liquored up, and with Boro having remarkably won away at Portsmouth, it looked like 2007 had noted it wasn't welcome and had gone home a few days early, with 2008 set to be a year to remember.
It still could be. The F.A. Cup draw is fairly favourable. We have already played Bristol City in the last twelve months and with only eight places separating the sides in the grand scheme of things, it's hardly the game that, should we lose, would be considered a giant killing.
Should a few bigger teams be knocked out early on, and should we get a few favourable home draws, then there is no reason why we couldn't have another big year in the F.A. Cup.
The main aim for 2008 is surely going to be the same as for all but a few of the last ten years; staying in the Premiership.
It's been made fairly clear that Gareth Southgate will have no money, or at least very little money, at his disposal and that any cash he will have must be generated from the sale of the current crop of players.
While many have been linked with moves away - most recently George Boateng, most worryingly Stewart Downing amd most bizarrely new signing Mido - selling players in January is probably not high on Southgate's 'to do' list, given the frequency with which players seem to get injured and the lack of real class when looking beyond the first eleven.
The most obvious area of weakness is in front of goal. Only Derby have scored fewer than our eighteen goals this season and we have yet to score more than twice in a game this season.
Jeremie Dalialiajeriere, despite looking sharp and creating plenty of chances for others since his arrival, has got a relatively poor scoring record and needs a goal as desperately as I need a new wing mirror.
Tuncay's recent return of four in seven has been worth ten points and the need to find someone who can provide for him, or at least take some of the burden off him, is a necessity.
The less said about Lee Dong-Gook, the better.
The answer is already within the club. Mido's return cannot come soon enough and, while the Bristol clash on Saturday looks like being one Saturday too soon, to have him available again for the home game with Liverpool and beyond would be beneficial. This would also allow me to hit on a disgusting but equally as useful cliché; he'll be like a new signing.
The Egyptian, combined with Tuncay or Ladilaere or even both, will give our relatively tame attack some teeth with which to tear at the heart of opposition defences.
To buy a fourth striker in excess of a few million pounds would be ludicrous at this time, particularly as money doesn't guarantee goals. We do need a fourth striker, of that there can be little doubt, but January prices tend to be hugely inflated compared to their close season buddies and value for money can rarely be found.
The return of Julio Arca has seen some of the creativity return to what was a flagging midfield and Downing looks full of energy and menace down the left once more. Whether both are eyeing moves away is something I couldn't possibly comment on.
2007 was hardly heaven for Boro but hopefully 2008 will turn out to be great. (Thank you to The Sun who used the headline "Two Thousand and Hate" before I got chance to use mine. Bastards.).
Same Time Next Week.
Up The Boro!
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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
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This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
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Deposit £20.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £84.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet account.
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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.
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