|
 |
REAL CHAMPIONS - 22-1-08
Louis Spence
This year sees the fifty-third European Cup/Champions League competition. It has always been fascinating to watch the final and find which team emerges triumphant.
In England we often hear about our league being the best in the world. But is it really?
It may well be the biggest money spinner but I very much doubt that the technically minded would agree with the assumption of it being the best Read on and see what YOU think.
One of the few ways we can draw comparisons between the leagues of Europe is of course this cup competition. And the history of it makes fascinating reading.
By nation, Italy and Spain have both provided the champions on eleven occasions followed by England on ten, Germany and Holland on six apiece then Portugal on four.
Scotland (of course), France, Romania and Yugoslavia, as it then was, complete the set.
Individually the roll of honour showing the number of times each side has won the trophy and the number of times they have finished runners-up reads:
Real Madrid 9/3
AC Milan 7/4
Liverpool 5/2
Bayern 4/3
Ajax 4/2
Juventus 2/5
Barca 2/3
Inter 2/2
Manchester United 2/0
Porto 2/0
Of the sixteen clubs remaining in the knock out stages this season, eight are previous winners. The full draw with their ratings positions in brackets (from latest betting odds) read:
Schalke (13) v Porto (12)
Roma (11) v Real Madrid (5)
Olympiakos (14) v Chelsea (3)
Liverpool (9) v Inter Milan (4)
Celtic (16) v Barcelona (1)
Lyon (10) v Manchester United (2)
Fenerbahce (15) v Sevilla (8)
Arsenal (6) v AC Milan (7)
Matches to be played 19/20 February. Return legs early March.
So Barcelona, despite their draw against rank outsiders and previous winners Celtic, are the bookies favourites to win. This would, of course, edge the Catalan giants closer to the phenomenal Real Madrid but it would also send Spain clear at the top ahead of Italy as the dominant European nation on victories.
With Manchester United (2), Chelsea (3), Arsenal (6) and Liverpool (9) in contention, the English representation looks very strong this time around. Will we see Arsenal or Chelsea win it for the first time? Of the other first-time hopefuls I could only make a case for Sevilla owing to their recent UEFA cup successes.
I have to feel, however, that it will be a previous champion who will conquer again.
Money may not buy you everything but the richest clubs buy the best players and the world's richest clubs are all in contention here.
It may appear, following last week's article on Alex Ferguson, that I have become a Manchester United fan. I assure you reader that nothing could be further from the truth. I can however see them emerging as champions of Europe again this year.
What do you think?
Why not join the hilarious and controversial message board and air your views. Y'all welcome now, you hear.
Louis Spence
JOIN THE DEBATE AT THE COME ON BORO MESSAGEBOARD
RETURN TO LOUIS SPENCE INDEX PAGE 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.
|
|
|
|
