Aug 02
Handicapped United a good bet for the title?
With The London Olympics hogging the limelight and making all the headlines, Premier League football is taking an usual and unfamiliar berth at the back of peoples minds right now, but there’s a mere two-and-a-bit weeks to go until United kick their glory hunting season of 2012/13 off with the aim of wrestling the title back from (bitter) arch rivals, City.
The betting markets are flat outside the Olympics at the moment and that could explain why bwin betting are offering an eye-watering 16/1 on United lifting the Premier League title……
Granted the price is in the handicap market where City are Scratch, United are +2, Chelsea +6, Arsenal +9 and Spurs further back at +14.
The most laughable price for me is Liverpool at 16/1 with just +15. Didn’t we finish above them by 37pts last season? In fact, the handicap list (as seen below) for this season, if converted across for last season’s standings, would have Newcastle 3rd (one point behind) and Spurs fourth a further 5pts short.
Manchester City (Scr) 14/1
Manchester United (+2 Points) 16/1
Chelsea (+6 Points) 16/1
Arsenal (+9 Points) 16/1
Tottenham Hotspur (+14 points) 16/1
Liverpool (+15 Points) 16/1
Newcastle United (+23 Points) 16/1
FC Everton (+24 Points) 16/1
Fulham (+29 Points) 20/1
Sunderland (+30 Points) 18/1
Stoke City (+31 Points) 20/1
Aston Villa (+31 Points) 20/1
QPR (+33 Points) 20/1
West Bromwich (+35 Points) 18/1
West Ham United (+38 points) 16/1
Swansea City (+39 Points) 14/1
Norwich City (+41 Points) 16/1
Wigan Athletic (+41 Points) 18/1
Southampton (+45 Points) 10/1
Reading (+47 Points) 10/1
Excuse me if I’m wrong but wasn’t it David De Gea’s first season [in goal] last season? Didn’t he suffer a few high-profile blunders and have obvious weaknesses early in the campaign before growing in stature and becoming one of United’s standout players of the season?
Did my eyes deceive me or was the name of Nemanja Vidic not on any teamsheet since December 9th 2011? That’s Nemanja ‘possibly one the best centre backs in the game’ Vidic, out for the entire second half of the season.
I know it’s hard to think about (last season), but I’m almost certain United only lost the league thanks to a freak result at home to City (thanks to a woefully out-of-form Jonny Evans being sent off…..Jonny would also go on to finish the season as one of United’s standout performers), a totally out of character capitulation at home to Everton in a match that was only decided by the post denying Patrice Evra at 4-2; and who can forget Wigan away.
Now I’m sorry, but if there’s anyone out there who doesn’t think United will be tougher to beat or [more precisely] tougher to score against this season, then Luis Suarez isn’t a racist!
The return of Vidic, the evolution and improvement of Smalling, Evans and Jones, the prayer that Patrice Evra couldn’t possibly have a worse season than he did last, the introduction of a powerful midfielder (which I’m sure is on its way) and the purchase of the assist-hungry Shinji Kagawa to load the gun for Rooney to fire the bullets…..I think United could win this league by a fair old margin next season no matter what City or even the cash-splashing current Champions of Europe [Chelsea] can muster.
16/1 to finish a single point behind City (at worst)? 16/1 to finish just 15pts in front of Liverpool? You could double that and I’d still be confident.
Perhaps, if there’s a wolf lying in wait, then I’d be wary of one of the lesser teams with a huge handicap.
Take Southampton and Reading for instance. If either one of those teams were to excel and accrue the same points tally as Swansea or Norwich did last season (47), then their +45 & +47 respectively would pip United to the post and ultimate ‘do your dough’. But come on, I don’t for one minute expect United not to amass 90pts+ this time around and therefore we’ll all be doing the conga come May 2013 wherever we’re celebrating!
I hope all our fellow Reds are as confident and positive as I am and I hope you all head over to bwin betting, open an account and watch the money come flooding in next May…..thank me then!
Come on United….We want our trophy back!
Related items from Red Rants:
Tags: Manchester United
The_Philosopher (402)
Redrich (217)
Opti (207)
Moscow (147)
Stephen (146)
Can’t you just put a 10′er on each of top four teams?
Outlay = 40.
Return > 140??
Too easy? #noobGambler
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@Opti: No lol, Arsenal would need to accrue 9pts more than City, 7 more than us, 14 more than Newcastle etc. Can you see that happening?
The bet is United, possibly Chelsea although too many signings will do for them. 16/1 is a great price in my opinion because…..
assuming United win the league (like I think they will so I’ll presume away) in what will, as always, become a two horse race from April at the latest, the only horses in it will likely be United, Chelsea and City. Spurs have a new manager which will take time to gel, Newcastle won’t be a surprise to teams this season and nor will their best players (Cabaye, Cisse, Ba, Ben Arfa etc) so teams will set up differently against them. They also had an easy-ish start to the league last season which gave them a platform. Arsenal will start the season in turmoil over RvP and that will cost them (imo) and Liverpool not only have a new manager but also have the biggest pile of shite for a squad I’ve ever seen there so they won’t be anywhere near.
Therefore. If City fall away and Chelsea are the second horse, we’d need to win the league by 6 clear of them which is tough in a two-horse race hence why imo that’s the only danger other than a lesser team with a huge handicap to 16/1 being paid out.
City could win the league by a point and I’d still get paid out. Maybe them running away with the league is a possibility but there’ll be another Tevez scenario there this season which will unsettle the applecart again, my money would be on Dzeko or Kolo Toure or even Tevez himself. Not sure in what capacity but one of the overpaid monkeys will definitely fall out of line at some point during the season.
I’m Uber-Confident in United this coming season.
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Apparently we have 40million to spend- i will believe it when i see it
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If Chelsea sign a top striker I’d happily bet on them. Their midfield looks very strong now and I think Oscar was a fabulous addition. They also have a lot of mental strength and seem more united under Di Matteo and Roman seems way more committed to the team.
I think we will do OK though. Manchester City haven’t strengthened this summer and still seem to lack unity. We’ve added Kagaya and technically he is just fantastic and very composed and I think that will add another dimension to the team. Our young defenders are a year older and hopefully wiser (IMO defensive errors cost us our season). If Vidic stays fit the whole season that will be a massive boost. While Cleverley has been good at the olympics and if he can stay fit he will give our midfield a bit more energy.
The real problem is whether Ferguson knows his best team. We need to find a good midfield pairing and figure out how to best use Kagaya. While he claims to like playing in the hole I don’t see Ferguson changing from 4-4-2 especially as he likes Welbeck so much and Hernandez surely will feature more. But Kagaya and Carrick in the middle of the park seems lightweight even if they are technically very good and great in possession. Cleverley has made a great showing at the Olympics while Anderson is claiming his injury problems are behind him. And of course there is always Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs defying the march of time.
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