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ALASTAIR BROWNLEE'S BORO v FULHAM MATCH PREVIEW 8-2-08
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The football links between Boro and Brazil that began back in 1995 with the arrival of Juninho, were further strengthened with the unveiling of record signing Afonso Alves on Thursday at the Riverside Stadium.
The club pulled out all the stops to give Afonso a great welcome and the samba band, carnival girls and the enthusiasm of local school children, who were delighted to swap the classroom for a chance to see the new hero, all made for a memorable afternoon.
Alves was delighted to see so many fans make an effort to greet him and said to me afterwards that he was aware of the previous Brazilians who had made their mark at the Riverside. He said he was also aware of how they were made to feel so welcome and that this was part of his decision to come to Middlesbrough.
Afonso's goal scoring record in both Sweden and Holland is impressive. He finished second in the Swedish top goal scoring charts two years in a row. After becoming Heerenveen's most expensive signing in their history, he went on to be the top goal scorer in the Dutch league in 2007.
The attendance for the vital home game with Fulham will, naturally, be boosted by fans keen to see Alves in action. They will be hoping that he can make the same impact that was made by Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli, who hit a hat trick on his debut against Liverpool in August 1996.
Ravanelli is currently studying for his coaching badges with the Italian Football Association and was quoted this week as saying:
"English football for me is the best in Europe, it's the passion. It's my dream to one day come back where I played, say Middlesbrough, to be a manager."
I think it highly unlikely, however, that Ravanelli would receive a call to the Riverside hot seat and in Gareth Southgate we have a manager who is getting the club moving very much in the right direction.
The battling 1-1 draw at St James' Park last Sunday extended Boro's good run of form away from home to just one defeat since October. Robert Huth's header ensured Boro left Tyneside with a point. This was the least their efforts deserved.
Furthermore, the German international's partnership with David Wheater is developing into a formidable obstacle to opposition strikers.
Boro fans who remember the promotion winning side of 1973-74 under Big Jack Charlton will never forget the Boam-Maddren partnership. Meanwhile, for fans of the "Class of '86", Mowbray-Pallister were a terrific central defensive pairing. Whilst there is obviously a long way to go, the Huth-Wheater partnership is looking rich in promise.
Fulham arrive at the Riverside second from bottom in the Premier League and seven points behind Boro. However, they will be boosted by last Sunday's 2-1 home win over Aston Villa. It was a late free kick from Jimmy Bullard that clinched the win at Craven Cottage and gave Roy Hodgson his first win as Fulham manager.
The Cottagers' record on opposition territory is poor as they have yet to win away from home, picking up just five points from five draws. It is therefore up to Boro to take advantage.
In the last home match with Wigan, Boro put in a terrific opening half hour but lost their way somewhat when Tuncay went off injured. The Turkish international has been sorely missed since.
Nevertheless, Jeremie Aliadiere scored the winning goal against Wigan and then gave everything in the lone striker's role at Newcastle.
Aliadiere will undoubtedly benefit from the arrival of Alves and it will be interesting to see who Gareth decides to pair up front with his record signing.
Boro have a great home record over Fulham and looking back through the Century Radio archives, one of my favourite matches was the 2-1 win over the Cottagers on 7 January 2004.
Stewart Downing had just returned from a successful loan spell at Sunderland and on that evening he simply tore the Fulham defence to pieces with a great display of wing play.
Stewart nearly won the derby for Boro last Sunday with a late free kick that hit the post and I am sure that Alves will be delighted to be on the end of Downing's deadly crosses.
After, hopefully, a three point display against Fulham, Bernie and I will be on Simply Red on Century Radio this Sunday from 11 until 1pm.
As well as our usual features, including the chance to win Sunday lunch for two at the Bluebell Hotel, Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, our guests will include Neil Maddison, Gary Pallister and Gary Parkinson.
So why not join in the fun by giving us a call on our usual number 08450021100 or send a text 85102.
Good luck to Afonso on his debut.
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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