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THE CRAIG SMITHSON COLUMN - ARE BORO RIGHT TO PLAY THE CONTRACT GAMBLE? 6-11-08
Craig Smithson
As we rapidly approach the end of this calendar year, the familiar scenario of Boro failing to nail down a soon to be out of contract star is rearing its ugly head once again!
In past seasons, we have seen the likes of Bolo Zenden, Mark Viduka, Abel Xavier and Mark Schwarzer all allowed to see out the final year of their respective contracts before moving on to pastures new.
While it can be argued that the quartet I have mentioned were probably all dead set on quitting the Riverside, it still leaves the fans and the media questioning the mentality behind leaving the futures of important team members hanging in the balance until the last minute.
Column continues below...
The gamble paid off last season when David Wheater was eventually tied down to a new improved longer term deal after his rise into the first-team. And this time around, it looks like current number one keeper Ross Turnbull is getting the same treatment.
Gareth Southgate could not resist a dig when quizzed about Turnbull’s future – and his fellow custodian Brad Jones – earlier this week by rightly stating that “everyone at the start of the season was asking 'why are you going with them?' and now they are asking 'why are you not signing them to new contracts?', so you can't win.”
Gareth says the reason for stalling over contract talks is to "keep them hungry" and "focused on playing and playing well". He also states that the club has never lost a player that they have been desperate to keep through a contract situation!
To detract for a moment, I think there is an element of porky pies in that statement as we offered Viduka a king’s ransom to stay but he opted to line his pockets up the road in Skunksville, while Zenden was also a huge loss!
Back to Turnbull’s situation and if I was a football betting man, I would expect him to sign on the dotted line whenever he gets the contract put in front of his nose! However, I feel we could just make life a little easier and sort out his future now.
Leaving things as they are hands rival clubs the opportunity to discuss a pre-contract agreement with Turnbull during the January transfer window and he could then be out of the door quicker than you can say ‘Ben Hutchison has signed for Celtic!’
As for distracting them from the focus of playing, I don’t recall it doing Stewy Downing any harm at the back end of last season when he put pen-to-paper on a longer contract in January. If anything, he upped his game to new levels!
Like I said, whenever negotiations finally get going, I do expect Turnbull to agree a new deal and hopefully he will continue improving as he has done in recent weeks with match-saving displays against Manchester City and West Ham.
Indeed England coach Fabio Capello could even come knocking and it would be interesting to see how much Boro would gamble on his future then.
Written by Craig Smithson, a Middlesbrough season-ticket holder and a sports writer who blogs about football betting.
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A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £45.20 ON SPAIN U21 v GERMANY U21
The European U-21 Championship kicks off on Monday and did you know that it is possible to win money on Monday evening's clash between Spain U21 and Germany U21, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK Time and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £45.20, 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 £45.20 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.
Also, 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 as we have alternative bets written and ready to mail out to you using different bookies.
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 £89.00 on the Spain U21 v Germany U21 match and we will collect £134.20 if Spain U21 win, £136.50 if Germany U21 win and £135.00 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of over 50%, 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 Paddy Power.
Open an account with Bet On Bet.
Open an account with  Bet 24.
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £25.00 into your new Paddy Power account.
Deposit £36.00 into your Bet On Bet account.
Deposit £28.00 into your new Bet 24 account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Back the draw with £25.00 at 11/5 with Paddy Power.
Paddy Power will now add a £25.00 bonus to your account. Place this on the draw as well. You will now have £50.00 riding on the draw.
Back Spain U21 with £36.00 at odds of 2.20 (6/5) with Bet On Bet.
Bet On Bet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £61.00 riding on Spain U21.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Bet On Bet site.
Place £28.00 on Germany U21 at odds of 3.25 with Bet 24.
Bet 24 will now add a £14.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Germany U21 as well. You will now have £42.00 riding on Germany U21.
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 £89.00 on the Spain U21 v Germany U21 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 it's a draw, you collect £135.00 from Paddy Power.
If Spain U21 win, you collect £134.20 from Bet On Bet.
If Germany U21 win, you collect £136.50 from Bet 24.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Spain U21 v Germany U21 match is Spain U21 win and you make £45.20 profit. However, if Germany U21 win you make £47.50 profit and if it is a draw you make £46.00 profit. That's a minimum profit of over 50%, a much better rate of interest than 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 or you may not qualify for the
bonuses/free bets.
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.
There is a wagering requirement at Bet 24. You have to roll your winnings over before we can withdraw them but it is very easy to do this risk-free. If Germany U21 win, please contact us and we'll show you exactly how to do this. Winnings from the other two bookies are immediately withdrawable.
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 these kind of 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, which is highly unlikely.
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 next season.
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