|
 |
A TURN FOR TURNBULL 7-8-08
Udayan Mukherjee
Hello again and welcome to the first edition of the Udayan Mukherjee column for a brand spanking new Premier League season.
It sounds somewhat mundane but we have now been annoying the big boys and dramatically finishing thirteenth since 1998.
We’ve endured two previous seasons of underwhelming results and performances under Gareth Southgate’s tenure and it seems that the team has changed a lot since our last tilt at the UEFA Cup.
Southgate has brought in young, hungry professionals with a desire to prove themselves, as well as continuing to bring players through our academy. It seems like this is the best way for a club like ours to survive at the present time as we simply cannot afford to compete with the big boys.
As salaries of upwards of a hundred thousand pounds a week proliferate amongst the top players, we can only offer half of that money at most. Therefore, we cannot buy a couple of star players on top of their game any more.
Over the summer, we have seen a great many players leave our engine room and we have added only one replacement – twenty-two year old Didier Digard.
From what I have seen of the youngster, he seems to be a like-for-like replacement for George Boateng but with a keen eye for passing. As good as Boateng was, passing was a real downfall for Boro at times due to George's inability to quickly and accurately play the ball to someone more likely to cause the opposition damage.
Our other arrival, Marvin Emnes, looks quick and skilful and should provide competition for O’Neil on the right hand side.
It seems that slowly but surely, quick and versatile players are making up the squad. This leaves much room for tailoring tactics and formations according to the game at hand.
Added to this is that the next bunch of youngsters to come from the academy are starting to knock on the door. Judging by their involvement and performances in pre-season friendlies, they will have a big part to play in the future.
Of course, from this season, clubs will be able to name seven substitutes and perhaps this will accelerate the development of some of our talent.
Our academy has produced a lot of players in a short period of time but many will feel that the majority of these players are good but not good enough for the Premier league.
Time will tell whether the likes of Joe Bennett, Graeme Owens, Josh Walker et al will be able to become players worthy of an automatic place in the team, a la Stewart Downing.
It will be difficult because many of the shining stars of the last crop - Adam Johnson, Tony McMahon, Lee Cattermole and James Morrison - have been unable to build on early promise. And in the case of the latter two, they have been sold as they are more Championship level than Premiership.
Time will tell whether it was the correct decision to let Lee Cattermole go because his early performances at seventeen showed a very good player in the making.
Unfortunately, many of you will have heard whispering of alleged piss ups and formed the same conclusion that I have: Cattermole may be a good player but he needed to get away from the distractions on Teesside and go and improve his game somewhere else.
In an attacking sense all four of our registered forwards will feel they deserve a place. I believe that Mido and Alves will start up front for the Boro but there is a case for the skilful and workaholic pair of Tuncay Sanli and Jeremie Aliadiere.
This season holds a great deal of promise, a tangible sense of cautious optimism and a certain feeling of “It might go OK, it might not, but it’ll probably be exciting”.
This is in stark contrast to last season, when I thought, “Why do I bother, I’m wasting my life” at pretty much every game.
However, as it always is with the Boro, there seems to be a caveat, a feeling of lurking dread. This season, it is with the goalkeeper situation.
After the departure of Mark Schwarzer, it seems like a huge void has been left at the club with no recognised number one. Brad Jones and Ross Turnbull are said to be held in high regards by MFC staff but Jones in particular worries me.
Jones looks nervous in the air and seems to fumble an awful lot. Furthermore, the vibes given off by the club in pre-season are concerning - that due to Jones’ seniority and status as a full Australian international, he may be given the nod ahead of Ross Turnbull.
It may well be the case that the performances that we are judging Jones’ incompetence on were very high profile matches which he was thrown into at the last minute, such as the UEFA cup semi-final in 2006 and last year's Tees-Wear derby.
However, I would suggest that the one position that Gareth Southgate does not want to mess around with is goalkeeper. Having a player who is nervous in the big games and inexperienced is a recipe for disaster and could alter the mindset of our team.
Having a nervous wreck behind you means an awful lot of added pressure.
The other alternative, of course, is Ross Turnbull. Boro fans seem to be a lot more confident about the twenty-three year old and perhaps with good cause. However, solid as he seems, I can’t help but feel nervous.
Despite this, there seems to be a confident air on Teesside at the moment. However, it seems as though this confidence in the Boro’s ability is not shared by the nation’s media.
Despite knowing who the top four will be before the season kicks off (and perhaps even the top two), there remains a remarkable similarity between many of the teams in this League from fifth to fifteenth position.
Traditionally, we occupy the lower mid-table area but as we have done in the past, and as the likes of Portsmouth, Everton etc have shown recently, it is easy to buck the trend and significantly improve for a season or two.
Perhaps it is important to build from the bottom up as we are presently doing and gradually improve year in year out. The obvious pitfall is that many of our good players will leave and we may have to start again.
This is the balancing act that Gareth Southgate has to play: Make sure that we don’t rise up and then fall straight back down the next season, but also show significant progress every year to keep the fans interested.
In Southgate’s third season, it is imperative that progress is shown from some of the dismal performances over the last two campaigns. In many ways his honesty, personality and standing amongst the Boro fans is the reason why there has not been a deafening clamour for his resignation.
Imagine if the Cardiff debacle had happened under Steve McClaren? The ginger one with the big shit-eating grin would have been hung, drawn and quartered.
It is up to Southgate to deliver on some of the promise that he has shown so far. This is now his team and not the relics of yesteryear.
For some reason I have a good feeling that he will.
Up the Boro
Udayan Mukherjee
BACK TO UDAYAN'S CORNER 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.
|
|
|
|
