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MIDO: A QUESTION OF COMMITMENT 6-11-07
Jeff Winter
Down the years Boro have had some legends as goal scorers - Camsell, Clough, Peacock, Horsfield, Hickton, O'Rourke and Slaven to name but a few.
Of late we have seen Ravenelli, Boksic, Viduka and Yakubu grace the Riverside. Differing talents but with attitudes that were often more evident than their abilities.
Well we got rid of the Yak and got a different proposition in Mido. Or did we?
He arrived in typical tub thumping style, wound up the Geordies and played on through the pain barrier against Sunderland.
We had a new hero, a talisman - the front man who would run, challenge and link up our new-found attacking style of play.
There were critics in the game however. This man changes clubs as often as some of us change our shreddies and there has been a history of spats and run-ins with team mates in the past.
But that goes with the territory nowadays. We could live with that. We had a hero who wanted to be here, who claimed that Boro were a potential top six side.
The big problem was that we were going to lose him in January. Well, hang on a minute, let's back track. We lost him virtually as soon as he arrived.
I have never got my head around the "missed a pre-season" argument. A professional footballer, aware that he is to be sold by Spurs, may be lacking in pre-season match fitness. But surely personal pride or ambition would mean that his personal fitness would be spot on?
Rumours are rife that his attitude has been "Boksic-like" as he has been preparing himself to regain full fitness. If this is true then we have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire with his signing. The trouble is we need him badly as Saturday's punchless attacking display showed.
I wait with interest to see if this week sees him back in action. When all is said and done Michael Owen can have an operation and within eight days be playing and scoring for club and country.
At Boro we seem to have this endless problem of training ground injuries and new signings having ongoing treatment. Who does the medicals Dr.Spock??
Steve Gibson was 100% correct in his summing up of some professional footballers last week - it is the players and not the clubs or the managers that cause problems with players' performances. Some are just too rich now to really care.
Mido in my humble opinion should realise where his bread and butter, or should I say caviar and champagne, comes from. He should get back on the pitch and do what he is paid for and forget about the African Nations Cup in January.
He owes the Boro big style and if he is genuine about us becoming a top six club then he should realise that him being here is more likely to make it happen. Or perhaps the prospect of a fight against relegation does not feature in his future plans?
I sincerely hope that I am wrong, though many in the game share my concerns. We have had more than our share of bad apples in the past and they only rock the boat further when things are not going well.
This Sunday is a massive game for us and Bolton appear to have their old fighting spirit back. We need to match them. Is Mido hungry enough? Only he knows that. But let's hope he starts earning his dough on Sunday!
Saturday saw many frustrations for the fans but I don't think those who turn on individual players are doing us any good. I will continue to champion the cause of the fans though as if we don't keep the pressure up then nothing will change. On a match day, however, we must get behind the team.
My number is 01642 616666, so give me a call on a Saturday evening from 5.30 till 7pm.
YOU CAN READ MANY MORE OF JEFF'S ARTICLES ON HIS OFFICIAL SITE
RETURN TO JEFF WINTER'S SOCCER SPOTLIGHT INDEX HERE
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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