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ALASTAIR BROWNLEE'S PORTSMOUTH v BORO MATCH PREVIEW 28-12-07
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The pre-Christmas hope that back-to-back wins over Arsenal and Derby would be the inspiration for a rapid push up the table has evaporated following defeats by West Ham and Birmingham City that have dragged Boro back into a battle for their Premiership lives.
Attending the after match press conference at St Andrews on Boxing Day, I could see that Gareth Southgate was clearly angry with the side's 3-0 defeat.
He made his feelings known with his honest assessment that his side "had let themselves down" and looking at the overall picture added: "Some people claimed we had turned the corner after the win against Arsenal but I knew that we hadn't and the evidence was there to see."
By pulling no punches, the manager will earn the respect of the fans that travelled to the Midlands but Gareth is also well aware that he needs a positive response from the side this weekend at Portsmouth.
The reasons behind Boro's current plight were all on display at Birmingham as the team failed to break down the opposition defence and conceded poor goals.
At the midway point of the season our top goal scorer is Stewart Downing with four goals and the contribution from our main strikers has been Tuncay three, Mido two and Aliadiere one.
Clearly, an addition of at least one more forward would seem an essential requirement in the January transfer window otherwise the lack of goals could cost the club very dearly.
Its not just scoring goals that needs to be addressed because the five goals conceded in the two matches with West Ham and Birmingham were all avoidable and that is something that will anger Gareth just as much as the failure to score.
There is no good time to let a goal in but to concede late in each half, as was the case in the past two matches, is a major psychological blow and a solution must be found quickly.
The tradition that football over the festive period should consist, by en large, of games with local rivals seems to have been lost when this seasons fixtures were allocated as after the Boxing Day journey to Birmingham, the final match of 2007 sees the miles clocked up even further with the "local derby" at Portsmouth!
Pompey are in seventh place and will be tough opponents at Fratton Park where they fought hard to earn a point against Arsenal on Boxing Day.
Ironically, Portsmouth have a much better away record than at home where they have only won twice so far this season.
That statistic might come as a surprise to anyone who has been to Fratton Park and witnessed the terrific atmosphere that the home fans can generate but the answer seems to lie in their style of play.
Harry Redknapp tends to favour a 4-3-3 formation, both home and away, relying on hitting opponents on the break.
This works well on the travels but at home where the opposition do not push forward as much this can cause Portsmouth problems and let's hope that's the case on Saturday.
Gary O'Neil has been a major plus this season following his transfer from Portsmouth and he is desperate to play against his former club but at this stage it looks as if injury will prevent his return. This would be a major blow to Boro, especially as George Boateng is suspended.
After Portsmouth, Boro begin the New Year with the visit of Everton underlining yet again how tough a league this is.
I was thinking on the way back from Birmingham of great wins at Portsmouth but sadly, there have been very few over the years.
However one match on 25 August 1973 stands out.
Boro had just appointed a new manager in Jack Charlton and we set off on the Beeline coach at midnight on the Friday evening to get to Fratton Park in time!
The long journey was rewarded with Alan Foggon grabbing the only goal and that season would turn into one of the best I can recall watching Boro as "Charlton Champions" stormed to promotion.
Big Jack prided himself on making his team hard to beat and keeping a clean sheet was something he enjoyed almost as much as scoring goals.
Opposition supporters' chants of "Boring Boro" were music to his ears and there would have been more than a few hard words from Jack if his team had conceded the goals Boro let in during the past two games.
Possibly the route to Premier League survival in 2008 will be by becoming like the class of 73-74, tough to beat and injecting some of the Big Jack defensive spirit!
After, hopefully, a win at Portsmouth Bernie and I will be back with Simply Red on Sunday from 11 until 1pm on Century.
As usual there will be the chance to win Sunday lunch for two at the Bluebell and all our regular features.
Ahead of the New Year clash with Everton we will catch up with Billy Ashcroft, John Hendrie and take in the Blues view with football legend Duncan McKenzie.
So why not join in the Boro fun by giving us a call on 08450021100 or text 85102.
I do hope that Boro fans everywhere enjoy a very Happy New Year and that 2008 is a fantastic year for the team.
Up the Boro!
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A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.20 ON PORTSMOUTH v FULHAM
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Sunday afternoon's Premiership clash between Portsmouth v Fulham, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.20, 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, you will be at least £41.20 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 £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match and we will collect £115.00 if Portsmouth win, £112.20 if Fulham win and £114.13 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 58%, 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 £26.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet
account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £20.00 on Portsmouth at 3.00 (2/1) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Portsmouth as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Portsmouth.
Back the draw with £25.00 at 3.7 (11/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £26.00 on Fulham at 2.2 (6/5) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £51.00 riding on Fulham.
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 £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match. 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.
If Portsmouth win, you collect £115.00. That's £90.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £114.13. That's £89.13 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Fulham win you collect £112.20. That's £87.20 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Fulham match is Fulham win and you make £41.20 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £43.13 and if Portsmouth win you make £44.00. That's a minimum profit of 58%, 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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