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ALASTAIR BROWNLEE'S BIG MATCH PREVIEW - MIDDLESBROUGH v STOKE CITY 29-8-08
Alastair Brownlee
There is a wonderful feeling growing amongst Boro fans, and that is a sense
of optimism that this season could be one to remember, as a relatively young squad
has opened the new campaign by playing a refreshing brand of attacking football that
looks full of goals.
All the more reason, therefore, to ensure that Boro go into the break for
international World Cup qualifiers with three points from the visit of newly
promoted Stoke City.
A lot has been made of the brand of football that Stoke adopt and anyone who watched
the analysis of their victory over Aston Villa on 'Match of the
Day' will be only too aware that the long throws of full back Rory Delap
are a potent weapon.
Boro have prepared for the expected aerial bombardment by employing one of the young
apprentices with a long throw to send the ball towards Pogatetz, Huth and co in
training.
Gareth Southgate was, of course, part of a Crystal Palace side that were not afraid
to use the 'route one' approach to the opposition penalty area,
so he is well aware of what is required to combat the expected tactics from the
visitors.
It is, however, more a case of Boro concentrating on their strengths and letting
Tony Pulis players have the problems to solve.
The 5-1 win over Yeovil on Tuesday was a great display of attacking football and in
the previous league game at Anfield, even the greatest of Liverpool fans would have
to admit that Boro deserved at least a point, if not all three.
The victory of Yeovil drew some comparisons with the 1996 seven goal hammering of
Hereford, inflicted by a Boro side boasting the likes of Ravanelli, Emerson and
Juninho.
True, Boro only scored five against their league one opponents, but it is no
exaggeration to say that could have been doubled and the size of the crowd at just
under 16,000 was terrific for a tie at the second round stage.
When you compare that to the 17,000 that witnessed the 1996 victory over Hereford at
a time when the hype surrounding the club was, probably, at an all time high it
makes you realise just how far the club have progressed in getting the supporters
excited about the 'Boro babes' of 2008.
Mido has made a terrific start to the new season with three goals in three outings
and there have been rumours that the Egyptian international may be the subject of a
bid before the transfer window closes on September 1.
Gareth Southgate has made it clear that he would like Mido to stay at the club and
after a difficult year injury wise for the striker, it would be good to see Mido
repay his managers faith by continuing to score goals in a Boro shirt.
Mido has played for eight clubs over the past eight years and Gareth is right to
assert that it is time that he settled at a club for a while and put down some
roots.
Another player who might be attracting interest from other clubs is Adam Johnson,
who put in another exciting display against Yeovil which was crowned by a splendid
goal in the second half.
Johnson's desire to play regular football is understandable but he also
recognises that in Stewart Downing Boro possess one of the best, if not the best,
left sided players in the country.
In many ways the strength of the squad, with Mido and Johnson all desperate to
start, is just what is needed if Boro are to push for a UEFA Cup place this
season.
Congratulations must go to young defender Rhys Williams who has been called into the
full Wales squad for the first time. Rhys came on, as a late sub, in midweek and
those fans who made the journey to Holland for the pre season friendly with Sparta
Rotterdam will remember his fantastic second half goal.
Williams is another youngster with a great future.
With 4,000 Stoke fans expected on Saturday, the Riverside will have a cracking
atmosphere and let us hope Boro put in another three-point display.
Mark Drury, Gary Gill and I will be on air with BBC Tees Sport from 2pm and after
the game the lines will be open on 01642 225511 for your reaction.
The best caller, as chosen by Gary, will win a pair of tickets for the game against
West Brom at the Riverside.
BBC Tees Sport is also on air Monday-Friday from 6 until 8pm looking at all aspects
of sport and special guests next week will include Geoff Boycott, Sir Geoff Hurst,
Alan Peacock and the FA Director of Communication (and big Boro fan) Adrian
Bevington.
Enjoy the game and Up the Boro!
Ali
BACK TO ALI'S BIG MATCH PREVIEW INDEX
CREDIT CRUNCH RELIEF - A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £43.60 ON MANCHESTER CITY v ARSENAL
The Premier League returns to action this weekend and did you know that it is possible to win money on Saturday afternoon's clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm UK Time and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £43.60, 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 £43.60 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 £111.00 on the Manchester City v Arsenal match and we will collect £154.60 if Arsenal win, £155.00 if Manchester City win and £156.86 if it is a draw. That's a minimum profit of 39%, 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 Sky Bet .
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of FTB125 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 £48.00 into your new Sky Bet
account.
Deposit £38.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £48.00 on Arsenal at 6/5 with Sky Bet
.
Sky Bet will now add a £20.00 free bet to your account. Place this on Arsenal as well. You will now have £68.00 riding on Arsenal.
Back the draw with £38.00 at 3.6 (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Manchester City at 3.1 (21/10) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Manchester City.
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 £111.00 on the Manchester City v Arsenal 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. All winnings are paid out on the ninety minute result.
If Arsenal win, you collect £154.60. That's £129.60 from Sky Bet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £156.86. That's £131.86 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Manchester City win you collect £155.00. That's £130.00 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Manchester City v Arsenal match is Arsenal win and you make £43.60 profit. However, if Manchester City win you make £44.00 and if it's a draw win you make £45.86. That's a minimum profit of 39%, 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 three 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 this is the fifth season that we have been publishing arbitrage bets 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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