FOOTBALL TIPS and THE CRAIC

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E SUNDAY 19th FEBRUARY

2012-02-13T05:31:00.012Z

THE RIGHT NOT TO SHAKE HANDS

Liverpool and Suarez have apologised for the non hand shaking incident at Old Trafford. It would have also been in keeping if Man Utd and Evra had done similar about the bit of provocation that happened at the final whistle. Anyway my main point is this.We all have the right to shake hands with whoever we wish to.For me it is a sign of welcome and friendship. Both these qualities are decidedly missing between Suarez of Liverpool and Evra of Manchester United. I think that both men would sooner have blanked one another instead of being forced through this absurd theatrical piece . This lining up and shaking hands is not a tradition in the game. To be honest many games such as this one and a few others I could mention have some players who would sooner grab each other by the neck. We all know what has happened between these two players and just how very unsavoury it was. However this directive of lining up and shaking hands in some sort of old Corinthian "play up and play the game" kind of spirit belongs to another age. Ye gods a fair percentage of these badge kissing players are nothing but mercenary's who owe no loyalty or friendship to their club never mind any member of the opposition with whom they have had previous bad blood. I wonder how Sir Alec and King Kenny would have got on if instructed to line up and shake hands in a crucial Old Firm derby of Celtic and Rangers . They must remember just how plain sense and honest sportsmanship would tend to disappear especially when they entered the cauldron of a Derby match where every one including the office cat were well fired up. Give both these players a break and let time take its course.I do not think that they will run away together into the sunset but through time they might just learn to tolerate each other a bit better when tempers have been allowed to cool down. I would also like to ask the many English sports journalists who thrive on the so called English bulldog spirit of "in their face and up and at 'em". Just how do you equate these sentiments with fair play ? I would like to point out to them that xenophobia has no place either in the modern game. Oh and just to finish this "in yer face attitude" so beloved by some of the preaching English hacks used to be well displayed by Psycho Stuart Pierce. Oh and he is one of the runners for the England managers job. You just could not make it up.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN : W/E 12th FEBRUARY

A thoroughly splendid week with all three tips winning. I do believe that I would have had four from four if the Crawley match had not been postponed due to the weather. Suffice to say the winning trio was a great pick up and has thrust the blog back into profit for the first time this season. I have mentioned before in the last couple of posts that the new approach to the amount of tips given and also the spread through the week of the tips was working very well. December ,January and February to date have all shown profits so I am very hopeful that this progress can be carried forward. The target as you know is to show a twenty per cent return on monies laid. I am more than ever of the opinion that this can be achieved . To be honest though being back in profit after such a terrible start to the season is satisfaction enough at this moment in time. So onwards and upwards to the target,As the bishop said to the actress .

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MIDWEEK ONE TIP GIVEN : ONE WON :- UP £21.00

SATURDAY TWO TIPS GIVEN : TWO WON :- UP £37.00

NO TIP SUNDAY

LAID £90.00 : RETURNED £148.00

£58.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK = 64%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN DECEMBER

14 Tips from 20 Won : Laid £600 Returned £696

Profit £96.00 = 16%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN JANUARY

12 Tips from 16 Won : Laid £480 Returned £575

Profit £95.00 = 20%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN FEBRUARY TO DATE

6 Tips from 7 Won : Laid £210 Returned £291

Profit £81.00 = 38%

TARGET RETURN 20%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 22

NO 2 : WAYNE ROONEY - MANCHESTER UTD :- 17

  NO 3 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UNITEDTD :- 16

   NO 4 : AGUERO - MANCHESTER CITY :- 15

WEEK-DAY TIP :- TUESDAY

8/13 CARDIFF win v PETERBOROUGH

RESULT :- CARDIFF 3 - 1 PETERBOROUGH

LAID :-£30.00 : RETURNED :-£48.00

SATURDAY : 3 x £30 WIN SINGLES

  10/11 NORWICH win v LEIC/STER
FA.CUP
  RESULT :-

5/6 ACCRINGTON win v PLYMOUTH
  RESULT :-

3/4 DUMBARTON win v ALBION
  RESULT :-

LAID :- £90.00 : RETURNED :-

SUNDAY BEST

POSTING SATURDAY

RESULT :-

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £4,045.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £4,098 .00

PROFIT TO - DATE £53.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

GUESS WHO'S BACK

If English football is, as they like to tell us, a soap opera then Manchester City must be its Ramsey Street; with Carlos Tevez the former star who returned in shame after an eye-opening, ultimately doomed attempt to carve out a career in the music business. Roberto Mancini is Helen Daniels, always able to find a bed for a miscreant who is willing to admit his mistakes and knuckle down to a few household chores or babysitting some ankle-biters.

But despite spending what has seemed like the past 17 years back in Argentina, Tevez did not return to Manchester today wielding an olive branch, even though there is a plentiful supply of actual olive branches in Argentina on account of the country's large, albeit struggling olive industry and it being exactly the type of totemic gesture beloved of those who chronicle the sport.

Instead the former City skipper came back swinging metaphorical haymakers. Before boarding the plane in Buenos Aires, where he was photographed wearing a T-shirt adorned with a picture of himself, a strange form of sartorial cannibalism, Tevez gave an interview where claimed he had been the victim of some unfair dinkum during City's Big Cup defeat in Munich in September.

During the match, he says, he was treated like he was Bouncer, being repeatedly sent back and forth to Lassiter's on some unspecified errand, rather than someone who was working hard earning his keep and appreciated everything Helen Daniels had done for him (please stick with this laboured analogy, while at the same time bearing in mind that the Fiver hasn't seen an episode of Neighbours since 1993).

"I never refused to play," barked Tevez, tucking his tail between his legs in preparation for a return to Manchester. "I refused to keep warming up. He's [Mancini] in the middle of an argument, so then he tells me to keep on warming up and treats me like a dog. I was willing to play but the coach was in such a foul mood because he had that argument with [Edin] Dzeko. Mancini said some horrible things to me."

But on this romantic day of all days [Oh f**k, Valentine's Day! – Fiver Ed] it would be impossible to stay angry for long and Tevez is set for an emotional reunion with Mancini some time this evening and it seems his City team-mates are also excited about having him back. A quick look at Twitter shows that Liverpool and Manchester United fans are still arguing with each other about something or other but somebody said Joleon Lescott tweeted his excitement and that's enough corroboration for the Fiver.

Also bounding up and down with excitement are the two restaurants in Manchester that Tevez has deemed worthy of his custom. If they are not already full of couples staring at each other in silence wondering when it was they ran out of things to say to one another, then they could have a very special guest returning this evening. He'll be the one with a picture of himself on his clothes.

QUOTE OF THE DAY I

"I think they will go into administration and reappear as Rangers 2012 or something, sadly. It is just a tragedy that has happened to them. I think they will come out of it. I think there will be an addition to the name, Rangers whatever" - former Pope's O'Rangers manager Graeme Souness suggests the club may have to come up with a catchy new name once they've sorted out their £75m tax-knack, immediately prompting the Fiver to get on the phone to our copyright lawyers. O'Rangers entered administration today and have been docked 10 points in the Euro Disnae League, meaning they plummet from second place to ... um, second, just nine points ahead of Motherwell in third.

QUOTE OF THE DAY II

"In a sense I see a little of myself in [David] De Gea, who initially had problems, but now he is being shown more confidence - something which I was not granted. As a result, he is now starting to prove his worth" - Italian goalkeeper Massimo Taibi reflects on a mixed four-match career at Manchester United in which he won two man of the match awards but still managed to earn a reputation as one of the worst flops in the club's history

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY

2012-02-10T09:24:00.017Z

FABIO CAPELLO WAS RIGHT TO RESIGN

How on earth is anyone expected to manage a team when he has no input into any major decision that is being taken about the team concerned? It was a travesty by the English F.A. Fabio did the right thing and resigned. How he was supposed to hold together a supposedly split dressing room after this was any ones guess. 'Arry got cleared of charges by the Inland Revenue and all of a sudden Fabio is on his way. Could this have been a put up job by the nonentities at F.A. headquarters ? Who knows? I will leave that up to you to decide. I know this that Capello is a decent man and an excellent manager. He deserved much better . Now who will be the next England manager? I think that we can forget the thoughts of passed their best and extremely forgetful players like old wobbly Rio Ferdinand. Most English pundits seem to be lining up behind 'Arry Redknap. He is doing famously at Spurs and must be one of the favourites to succeed Fabio. The only problem I have is that if I think of 'Arry say teamed up with Pearce as coach . I get this really funny image of Del Boy and Trigger taking the England team led by Wayne Rooney to the Euro Finals. What an episode of only "Fools and Horses " that would make. They would never get near to winning it but at least we would all get a great laugh at their antics.How on earth is anyone expected to manage a team when he has no input into any major decision that is being taken about the team concerned? It was a travesty by the English F.A. Fabio did the right thing and resigned. How he was supposed to hold together a supposedly split dressing room after this was any ones guess. 'Arry got cleared of charges by the Inland Revenue and all of a sudden Fabio is on his way. Could this have been a put up job by the nonentities at F.A. headquarters ? Who knows? I will leave that up to you to decide. I know this that Capello is a decent man and an excellent manager. He deserved much better . Now who will be the next England manager? I think that we can forget the thoughts of passed their best and extremely forgetful players.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN : W/E 5th FEBRUARY

Not a great week and not helped with another tip postponed on Saturday due to bad weather. However with two from three tips winning a small profit was shown. That as I have said many times is better than a kick up the back side any day of the week.I can also add that as the season has gone on a very welcome consistency has developed. Since the start of December up to and including last week approximately three quarters of all tips are winning. This is certainly a ratio that I can live with and do hope that I can keep it up.

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MIDWEEK ONE TIP GIVEN : ONE WON :- UP £18.00

SATURDAY TWO TIPS GIVEN : ONE WON :- DOWN £13.00

NO TIP SUNDAY

LAID £90.00 : RETURNED £95.00

£5.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK = 5.55%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN DECEMBER

14 Tips from 20 Won : Laid £600 Returned £696

Profit £96.00 = 16%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN JANUARY

12 Tips from 16 Won : Laid £480 Returned £575

Profit £95.00 = 20%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN FEBRUARY TO DATE

5 Tips from 6 Won : Laid £180 Returned £243

Profit £63.00 = 35%

TARGET RETURN 20%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 22

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 16

  NO 3 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 15

   NO 4 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 15

WEEK-DAY TIP

CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE TUESDAY
-----------------------------------------

7/10 BIRMINGHAM win v PORTSMOUTH

RESULT :- BIRMINGHAM 1 - 0 PORTSMOUTH

LAID :-£30.00 : RETURNED :-£51.00

SATURDAY : 2 x £30 WIN SINGLES

4/5 HULL win v BRISTOL CITY

  RESULT :- HULL 3 - 0 BRISTOL CITY

4/9 SHEFFIELD UTD win v WYCOMBE

  RESULT :- SHEFFIELD UTD 3 - 0 WYCOMBE

4/9 CRAWLEY win v AL/SHOT (Postponed)

  RESULT :-

LAID :- £60.00 : RETURNED :- £97.00

SUNDAY BEST

NO TIP

RESULT :-

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £4,015.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £4,050 .00

PROFIT TO - DATE £35.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

FA HAVE HUGE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GAME',

IF WHAT IS SAID HERE IS RIGHT

Fabio Capello has won seven Serie A titles at three separate clubs, two Spanish titles in two seasons a decade apart, four Italian cups, a Uefa Super Cup, and Big Cup, when his 1994 Milan team delivered the greatest and most dominant single performance of modern times. Meanwhile in his penultimate game as England coach, his well-drilled young side ground out a result against world and European champions Spain, a sign that while nobody was expecting Brasil'70-style shenanigans any time soon, there were at least realistic and coherent plans being put in place, with a view to an acceptable showing at Euro 2012 and maybe even a smidgen of hope for the future.

But consider this. Capello recently went on holiday over the Christmas period! He speaks Italian! He doesn't do chest-thumping passion! He hasn't wasted one nano-joule of energy in buttering up the English press pack! And not once in his so-called career has he won the FA Cup, or pulled off an audacious relegation escape by signing Paul Kitson and John Hartson, even though he was the man who led his team into deep relegation trouble in the first place, or got a club relegated from the top flight after a 27-year residency, or proved himself to be a more successful boss than Jacques Santini and Christian Gross and Ossie Ardiles and Doug Livermore and Ray Clemence! So, no loss, then. Chancer. Foreign chancer. Bye!

Capello also had the bare-faced cheek to take umbrage at England's finest puffed-up bureaucrats telling him how to go about his business. "The manager is the most important figure, but there are moments when the board and chairman have to step up to the plate, and when strong leadership is required," explained FA chairman David Bernstein today, opening a press conference held amid the smouldering rubble of Wembley, during which he and FA Director of Something Adrian Bevington repeatedly paused awkwardly and stammered "you answer this one" to each other. Bernstein was, of course, referring to the issue of The Armband, ripped by said board from the biceps of Eejitry's Brave John Terry, much to Capello's annoyance.

Now, the Fiver accepts that going out to bat for EBJT might not have been the cleverest call in Capello's career, unless he was deliberately trying to engineer an out. But as things stand, EBJT has yet to be proved guilty of That Charge, so Capello's stance was, if not necessarily wise, then at least a legitimate one to take. Either way, it was undoubtedly a decision he was better equipped to make than the 14 men of the FA board, notwithstanding the fact that, according to Bernstein, these lads have "a high level of football expertise and a huge knowledge of the game". (For the record, the 14 include Bernstein, who once gave the Manchester City manager's job and a big pot of cash to Kevin Keegan; Dave Richards, who set Sheffield Wednesday trundling on their way from the Premier League to the third tier, and David Sheepshanks, who oversaw Ipswich Town's brave march into Europe and then administration.)

"Fabio wasn't happy," explained Bernstein, of events leading up to Capello's resignation "but he accepted the board's authority on the matter." So much so, you'll recall, that he stormed straight off to Italian broadcaster RAI and started swinging wild haymakers. "That caused conjecture and huge public debate, and frankly produced an unsatisfactory situation," admitted the FA's chief penpusher. And so, after a "detailed meeting" yesterday during which "a lot of detailed questions were asked by us", Capello informed Bernstein that he was for the off. "I agreed on behalf of the board that this was the right decision," grinned Bernstein, a job well done, adding that "principles" are important, and that Stuart Pearce, who in 1994 had to apologise to Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince for alleged racial abuse made "in the heat of the moment", would be taking charge for England's upcoming fixture against the Netherlands.

As for who will take over from Capello on a full-time basis, Richards promised that "we are actually devoting tomorrow to look at this!" So well done to them for clearing the decks to deal with that. "I don't want to pretend we've got plans in hand that we haven't got, but believe me, we will be moving fast to get our ducks in the right row here," continued the man who seconds earlier had suggested Capello struggled to communicate in English.

Harry Redknapp is, needless to report, the favourite for the post, although he is currently distancing himself from it. "I don't know anything about the England job," he said today, from the permanent Sky Sports News studio installed in the front of his 4x4. "Not even thought about it, I've got a job to do, a big game on Saturday, Tottenham is my focus. My only interest is with the Tottenham Hotspurs." Seeing Harry's very much the choice of Sid Vicious's good friend, The Man On The Street, he's the short-priced bookies favourite to get the nod. But the Fiver is counting no chickens. "We want to make an appointment that excites the fans," confirmed the populist Bernstein. Which, given the FA's track record of getting things done, should mean Entertainment's Roy Hodgson is a shoo-in.

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E 12/02/12

2012-02-06T06:12:00.011Z

FABIO CAPELLO WAS RIGHT TO RESIGN

How on earth is anyone expected to manage a team when he has no input into any major decision that is being taken about the team concerned? It was a travesty by the English F.A. Fabio did the right thing and resigned. How he was supposed to hold together a supposedly split dressing room after this was any ones guess. 'Arry got cleared of charges by the Inland Revenue and all of a sudden Fabio is on his way. Could this have been a put up job by the nonentities at F.A. headquarters ? Who knows? I will leave that up to you to decide. I know this that Capello is a decent man and an excellent manager. He deserved much better .

Now who will be the next England manager? I think that we can forget the thoughts of passed their best and extremely forgetful players like old wobbly Rio Ferdinand. Most English pundits seem to be lining up behind 'Arry Redknap. He is doing famously at Spurs and must be one of the favourites to succeed Fabio. The only problem I have is that if I think of 'Arry say teamed up with Pearce as coach . I get this really funny image of Del Boy and Trigger taking the England team led by Wayne Rooney to the Euro Finals. What an episode of only "Fools and Horses " that would make. They would never get near to winning it but at least we would all get a great laugh at their antics.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN : W/E 5th FEBRUARY

Not a great week and not helped with another tip postponed on Saturday due to the bad weather. However with two tips winning from the three given, a small profit was shown.That as I have said many times is better than a kick up the backside any day of the week. I can also add that as the season has gone on a very welcome consistency has developed. Since the start of December up to and including last week approximately three quarters of tips given are winning. This is certainly a ratio that I can live with, indeed I can.

TIPS GIVEN WEEK ENDING 5th FEBRUARY :- BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP GIVEN : TIP WON : - UP £18.00

SATURDAY 2 TIPS GIVEN : 1 WON : - DOWN £13.00

(ONE MATCH TIPPED ON SAT POSTPONED)

SUNDAY BEST : NO TIP GIVEN

TOTAL LAID : £90.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £95.00

£5.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK = 5.55%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN DECEMBER

14 Tips from 20 Won : Laid £600 Returned £696

Profit £96.00 = 16%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN JANUARY

12Tips from 16 Won : Laid £480 Returned £575
Profit £95.00 = 20%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN FEBRUARY UP TO-DATE

3Tips from 4 Won : Laid £120 Returned £146
Profit £26.00 = 21.7%

TARGET RETURN 20%

TOP FIVE PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ACES

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN PERSIE - ARSENAL - 22

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE - 16

NO 3 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY - 15

  NO 4 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD - 15

TUESDAY TIP : CHAMPIONSHIP LGE

7/10 BIRMINGHAM win v PORTSMOUTH

RESULT :- BIRMINGHAM 1 - 0 PORTSMOUTH

LAID :- £30.00 : RETURNED :- £51.00

SATURDAY : 3 x £30 WIN SINGLES

  4/5 HULL win v BRISTOL CITY

RESULT :-

4/9 SHEFF/UTD win v WYCOMBE

RESULT :-

4/9 CRAWLEY win v ALDERSHOT

RESULT :-

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

SUNDAY BEST

POSTING SATURDAY

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,955.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,953.00

LOSS TO-DATE £2.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

IT'S BEEN ANOTHER EDIFYING WEEKEND FOR ENGLISH FOOTBALL, SO IT HAS

It's been a fascinating 48 hours in the saga of The Armband, if your idea of a good time involves slowly shaking your head from side to side in slack-jawed bewilderment, as intelligent people who should know better, a couple of footballers and thousands of Chelsea fans make complete fools of themselves by getting involved in a row over the removal of a colourful elastic band from a man's upper-arm.

While QPR existentialist Joey Barton risked landing himself another spell in the Big House by tweeting some strident opinions on a court case in which he could be a star witness, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand got roundly booed by thousands of imbeciles at Stamford Bridge for the heinous crime of doing an interview on television in which he stuck up for his little brother, another footballer who may or may not have been racially abused by the two-times former England captain, England's Brave John Terry.

After Chelsea's draw with Manchester United, the home team's manager Andre Villas-Boas childishly refused to condemn this behaviour (the booing, not the seating arrangements), while Rio went on to cover himself in glory by starting a row with a national newspaper hack on Twitter, opting to traduce the scribe's professionalism by hiding behind a series of ill-informed retweets from fawning lickspittles, rather than answering a perfectly valid question put to him about his non-relationship with EBJT. Yes indeedy, it's been another edifying weekend for English football, so the Fiver would like to offer its heartiest congratulations to all concerned: well done everybody … well done.

Meanwhile in Italy, England manager Fabio Capello managed to confuse a large population of the English Fourth Estate by going on television and offering his opinion on The Armband shenanigans in Italian. While he said he disagreed with the FA's decision and had told the chairman David Bernstein as much, Capello implied it was entirely up to the FA to decide how best to deal with such a "moral" situation. But as this seemed far too reasonable for assorted hacks, they decided to pretend he'd said something he hadn't ("I considered and still consider [EBJT] the England captain") and then accuse him of "totally undermining" his employers. The court case hasn't started yet, but the farce continues.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"An article on 30 January incorrectly stated that Graham Westley, manager of Preston North End, had sent a bizarre late-night text telling players to prepare for a 9/11 style terror attack and encouraging reaction to it. We accept that Mr Westley sent no such text to players or otherwise" - the Sun says sorry.

BACK FOR GOOD?

Hooray! Luis Suarez is back! Finally, after a month and a half of enforced inactivity for the toothy Uruguayan, we can go back to watching televised Liverpool matches safe in the knowledge that the camera will no longer be able to cut to him sitting in the stands and burying as much of his head as possible into an excessively padded anorak. Better still, we will no longer be forced to think about the problem whose name we dare not speak, and can get on with pretending it has gone away just like we always used to.

But not only is this great news for humanity, or at least some of it, it's also great news for Liverpool, who will finally be able to call upon the services of their South American silk-toed supremo. But hang on, Liverpool had won 12 out of 22 matches this season before Suarez's ban, which mathematicians (or, in our case, a calculator) will know amounts to a 54.55% win ratio. And they have won five of nine matches since, a ratio of 55.55%. This means that, allowing for a very slender margin of statistical variance of, say, 1%, they have done precisely as well without him as they did when he was in the team. We'll skip merrily over the humiliating aberration at Bolton to observe that this 55.55% wasn't just any old 55.55%, either – the've booted Manchester City out of the Carling Cup and dumped Manchester United out of the FA Cup along the way.

Clearly his enforced absence was not the season-ending disaster that it first appeared. And, with Tottenham visiting Anfield tonight in the hope of repeating the 4-0 smasheroo they inflicted on Kenny Dalglish's men at White Hart Lane (when a certain Uruguayan was named in Liverpool's starting line-up), it prompts a fairly obvious thought: if Liverpool really want to make something out of this season, could it be that what they really need is something that will simultaneously fuel their peevish yet productive sense of injustice and deny them the wizardlike services of their cultured but apparently not that important after all No7 on a long-term basis?

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E SUNDAY 29th JANUARY

2012-01-22T18:15:00.017Z

A CLUE TO THE NEXT PREMIER CHAMP'S ?

Manchester United are well known for winning many important games in the dying minutes of a game. In fact it has been expressed many times as one of the main reasons for their success . Well it does not come any later than it did for Man City who scored in the ninety fifth minute to beat Spurs 3 - 2. With only seconds remaining Balotelli was brought down in the penalty area and a penalty was duly awarded. Up stepped Mario to take the spot kick. No blasting at the ball for this guy but a superbly well placed ball which in the end gave City all three points. This was penalty taking at its very best.

It was a pulsating game of football. City were two goals up fifteen minutes after the half time restart and looked like coasting to a crucial and in my opinion a well deserved three points. Then just ten minutes later it was 2 - 2 . Goals from Defoe and Bale shocked City and suddenly it was game on. Stunned City must have been but they knuckled down and dug deep.Nip and tuck this match went, all the way up to Balotelli's deserved penalty kick when he was brought down by Ledley King. This was a terrific result in more ways than one for City.Two up then all square they never stopped competing and dare I say it they finished the game looking like true champions elect. I have said before that I fancied them for the title. This magnificent result only confirms my belief in them being champions come season's end.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN : W/E 22nd JANUARY

Slow but sure and another winning week in the bag. I have to be honest and admit to thinking that Saturday was going to show a loss when Cardiff scored almost at the final whistle to give me two wins from the three tips I had given. So many times it seems that a last minute goal either giveth or taketh away. Like many others I have had my fair share of seeing a winning punt snatched from my grasp in the dying moments .It can be a total sickener but when it goes in for a chap it is fantastic and makes this game that we love what it is.The greatest game in the world , bar none. Anyway with two from three Saturday and my mid-week tip winning as well it turned out another profitable week. It has also further reduced what at one time was an over all loss of several hundred quid over the season to £42.00.This I am sure can be turned into a profit and not before time. As always there will be setbacks but I do think that given the steady statistic over the last couple of months of 70% of tips winning does show I am on the right track.After what was a horrendous start to this season.

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP GIVEN : TIP WON - UP £13.00

SATURDAY 3 TIPS GIVEN : TWO WON :- UP £18.00

SUNDAY BEST : NO TIP GIVEN

TOTAL LAID : £120.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £151.00

£31.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK = 26%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN DECEMBER

14 Tips from 20 Won : Laid £600 Returned £696

Profit £96.00 = 16%

PROFIT/LOSS OF TIPS GIVEN JANUARY

12Tips from 16 Won : Laid £480 Returned £575
Profit £95.00 = 20%

TARGET RETURN 20%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 19

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 15

  NO 3 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 14

   NO 4 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 13

  NO 5 : YAKUBA - BLACKBURN :- 12

WEEK-DAY TIPS

LEAGUE 2 TUESDAY
-------------------------
8/11 TORQUAY win v DAG & RED

RESULT :- TORQUAY 1 - 0 DAG/REDBRIDGE

LAID :-£30.00 : RETURNED :-£52.00

SATURDAY : 3 x £30 WIN SINGLES

10/11 HULL win v CRAWLEY (FA CUP)

  RESULT :- HULL 0 - 1 CRAWLEY

8/11 TORQUAY win v N/HAMPTON (DIV. 2)

  RESULT :- TORQUAY 1 - 0 NORTHAMPTON

4/6 COWDENBEATH win v ALBION (SCOT'S DIV. 2)

  RESULT :- GAME POSTPONED : NO BET

LAID :- £60.00 : RETURNED :- £52.00

SUNDAY BEST

NO TIP

RESULT :-

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,835.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,807.00

LOSS TO-DATE £28.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

STAMPING IT OUT; AND A LAZY RUSSIAN

For 54 minutes yesterday, the most thrilling thing about what was shaping up to be a decidedly anti-climactic Super Sunday was Sky co-commentator Chris Coleman's insistence on referring to Joleon Lescott as "Julian", David Silva as "Dasilva" and Mario Balotelli – who wasn't even on the field at that point - as "Mario Bolacetti". But on the 55-minute mark, Manchester City's match against Tottenham lit up like a young Italian footballer's bathroom on Bonfire night, with Bolacetti himself making quite an impression, both on Scott Parker's head and the scoreline, hanging around long enough to dispatch the winner from the spot despite having wiped his feet on the prone Parker's face some minutes previously.

"He's backheeled him straight in the head," said 'Arry Redknapp, who along with his former boss Milan Mandaric appeared before the beak for the start of their trial on charges of tax-knack this morning. "I don't like talking about people kicking players in the head but when you see that, it's wrong." While the Fiver concurs and agrees that stamping should be … er, stamped out, we don't like talking about people kicking players in the head either, which is why we're moving swiftly on to Super Sunday's second match, in which Manchester United committed a smash-and-grab on Arsenal in their own backyard. Like the game that preceded it, it could have gone either way, but Arsenal, ravaged by both injury and the introduction of Andrey Arshavin after 74 minutes, came a cropper for the third league match in succession.

In a rare show of passionate disgruntlement of the kind last heard at the Emirates when Arsene Wenger spent £15m on some unproven, posh-sounding teenager from Southampton, Arsenal fans booed loudly when Wenger sent on his lazy Russian in place of the impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who Wenger said was suffering from lactic acid-knack. "I've been 30 years in this job and have made 50,000 substitutions and I have to justify every time I make a decision?" asked Wenger. As you can imagine, his comment prompted the Fiver to reach for its trusty abacus and work out that in an average 60-match season, this means the Arsenal manager uses 27.77 substitutes per game, although it would flatter Russia captain Arshavin no end to describe him as even 0.77 of the player he used to be.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The reason why he is always injured is because we have $ex seven to 10 times a week. I hate foreplay, I want to get straight to the point. My favourite position is on top so I can take control" - Sports Illustrated model Melissa Satta offers an explanation for Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng's run of 'bad' luck with injuries, albeit an unconvincing one considering the jammy sod doesn't appear to have to do anything that would account for his litany of strains and niggles.

FIVER LETTERS

"I've no doubts on the validity of Matt Bassett's Dunga-in-Exeter anecdote (Friday's Fiver letters). However, labelling Timepiece as a 'trendy nightspot' really is stretching the truth" - Mark Hayman.

"I must take exception with your description of the 8-2 game at Old Trafford. Shellac is traditionally used to strengthen and protect fragile wooden items - like Szczesny! Not much sign of 'a good shellacking' from Arsenal's defence, then" - Declan Hackett.

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver.

BITS AND BOBS

Alan Pardew has rewarded his Newcastle squad with a holiday after their 5-2 defeat to Fulham. "We won't be drinking, but it is a kind of 'let's see where we are and analyse everything,'" trilled Pardew, making a week in the Canaries sound about as much fun as a quarterly job-evaluation meeting.

A man has been arrested in connection with alleged r@cist chanting by a group of Chelsea fans on a train back from the club's 0-0 draw with Norwich.

A Russian-led investment company have agreed to take a large stake in Reading and want to strengthen the squad in the transfer window.

Sepp Blatter reckons Michel Platini "is ready" to succeed him as Fifa president. "He will be a good president of course. He will not be the same president as me," parped Blatter.

The Scottish Cup final will be played on Sunday instead of Saturday in 2013 due to regulations that prohibit any other TV scheduling clashing with Big Cup final coverage. Yes, even Scottish fitba.

And Preston North End players haven't reacted well to a rambling text sent by manager Graham Westley at 2.15am on Saturday, in which four players were dropped. "My aim is my next medal. My aim is my next win. My commitment is every ounce of sweat, brain and blood. I am sure you are with me," read an extract of Westley's text, making him sound a bit like a cross between Kool G Rap, Glenn Hoddle and Hannibal Lecter.

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E 22nd JANUARY

2012-01-16T12:16:00.011Z

SOMETIMES IT CAN BE VERY HARD

Most times I am in all honesty quite envious of those guys doing a top job in football.Whether as a manager or a player what fan would not give his eye teeth to be in that position. Certainly I would, even though I am a wee bit away from having a complete set of the old pearly white's. There are times though and this is one such time when I would not swap place with for example the following three.

1) That fantastic player Thierry Henri who is back for a few weeks on loan to the club he once graced so very well .In fact he was held in such esteem that a statue was erected in his honour. There he was just a week ago brought on as a sub and duly scored the only and winning goal on his first game back. A hero returned. Fast forward to this week and once more he is brought on as a sub with about 30 minutes left to play in the game against Swansea. O.K. he was partly to blame in giving the ball away when Swansea ,who had come from behind went on and scored the winning goal. After the match was finished Henry went to applaud the fans who had travelled and was berated by an angry fan. From hero to villain in no time at all. That fan must have been a complete idiot but it still must have been quite a shock to a man who has just had a statue erected in his honour at the Emirates for past services to the Arsenal. Those services may I add that will take some beating.

2) Mark Hughes the new manager of Q.P.R. No way would I wish to swap places with him especially under the regime that has just got rid of a very decent manager. I just cannot see him doing a "Martin O'Neill " and I think that just like his predecessor it will end in tears.Possibly even before this year comes to an end.

3) Last but not least is there anyone out there who does not feel sympathy for striker Andy Carroll of Liverpool ? Bought for £35 million and just not looking like scoring any time soon. He really must be regretting moving from Newcastle.Yet how many of us in his position would have knocked back the chance of being set up for life with just putting pen to paper and moving to a club with Liverpool's history. Not many I suggest.

So there you are. Yes it must be a great life playing or managing a club and the rewards are fantastic. Just sometimes however it does pay to look at the other side of the coin. Right enough though all that money must take some of the pain out of it and hand on heart yes I suppose I would like to swap places......mmmmm..well maybe most of the time !

REVUE OF TIPS W/E 15th JANUARY

Another winning week .So like the week before there was no tip on Sunday as I was showing a decent profit and nothing was a real stand out. The week before if I had to go for something on the Sunday it would have been Man City and in fact they lost. This past Sunday it would have been Newcastle and they won 1 - 0. Fact is that I was not sufficiently convinced by either of them.This is why I think that if a decent profit has been made by Saturday evening and there is no stand out team that I fancy discretion should always be the better part of valour.It is when a bad week has been had that it is hard to stick to that rule.Yet that is what must be done. Absolutely no use in having a flutter just on the off chance that you might make good.As our Mickey Mouse Chancellor would say "discipline old boy" This is one thing that posh Gideon Osborne has indeed got right.

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP GIVEN : TIP WON - UP £17.00

SATURDAY 3 TIPS GIVEN : TWO WON :- UP £16.00

SUNDAY BEST : NO TIP GIVEN

TOTAL LAID : £120.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £153.00

£33.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK = 27.5%

TIPS GIVEN MONTH OF DECEMBER

14 TIPS FROM 20 WON : Laid £600 -Returned £696

PROFIT :- £96.00 / 16%

TIPS GIVEN JANUARY UP TO DATE

9TIPS FROM 13 WON : Laid £390.00 -Returned £470.00

PROFIT : £80.00 / 20.5%

TARGET RETURN 20%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 18

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 15

  NO 3 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 14

   NO 4 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 13

  NO 5 : YAKUBA - BLACKBURN :- 12

WEEK-DAY TIPS : MONDAY

4/9 MAN. CITY (a) win v WIGAN

RESULT :- MAN CITY 1 - 0 WIGAN

LAID :-£30.00 : RETURNED :-£43.00

   SATURDAY : 3 x £30 win SINGLES

8/11 BIRMINGHAM win v WATFORD

RESULT :- BIRMINGHAM 3 - 0 WATFORD

13/15 CARDIFF win v PORTSMOUTH

RESULT :-   CARDIFF 3 - 2 PORTSMOUTH

4/5 CHELTENHAM win v BRISTOL ROVERS

RESULT :-  CHELTENHAM 0 - 2 BR/ROVERS

LAID :- £90.00 : RETURNED :-£107.00

SUNDAY BEST

NO TIP

RESULT :-

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,745.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,703.00

LOSS TO-DATE £42.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

SOMETHING FOR AMERICAN MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCERBALL TO LOOK DOWN ON

When the Fiver's turban-wearing, curry-eating, snake-charming Indian cousin Slumdog Ganguly Fakir Fiver told us his country was on the verge of setting up a high-profile football league modelled on cricket's Indian Premier League, we cynically presumed it would be just another excuse for over-the-hill superstar mercenaries to make an extra few quid before retiring to the comparative obscurity of the Sky Masters indoor six-a-side league. You can imagine our surprise, then, upon discovering that, rather than signing up overweight wheezing has-beens trading on past glories, the big-name superstars who'll be up for auction in Kolkata for the eight-week, six-team league will include such svelte young tyros as Jay-Jay Okocha, Robert Pires, Hernan Crespo and Robbie Fowler.

"We have signed seven 'icon' players for the auction and each of the six teams will have one such player with a $600,000 salary cap," said Bhaswar Goswami, executive director of Celebrity Management Group, the company behind the wheeze. "Every team will have $2.5m to spend in the first year. They will have a maximum of four foreigners and a compulsory six under-21 Indian players in their squad," he continued, explaining the nuts and bolts of a tournament that, if nothing else, will give American Major League Soccerball and the Australian A-League something to look down on.

But with no shortage of football fans in West Bengal, these Indian league matches are likely to be well attended, and it is the prospect of showcasing his silky skills in front of passionate local crowds that has enticed Pires out of limbo. "If my club president likes me it could be 790,000 euros," he trilled. "It's a lot of money. I'm not going to complain about that, am I? But I'm not going there as a tourist. It's a new adventure." Also signing up for an intriguing adventure set to unfold from 25 February are English managerial icons John Barnes and Peter Reid, which ought to ensure no shortage of fancy-dan style tikka-taka as their players strive to get the ball in the onion bhaji.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Once again our travelling fans were absolutely fantastic. They gave us tremendous support in Wales and it makes us even more sorry for them because we didn't get the right result" – After last week's sickeningly sincere love-in, Arsene Wenger wastes no time in finding something he can disagree on with Thierry Henry.

AN ACE WITH A CALENDAR AND A DIARY

Despite sometimes overwhelming evidence to the contrary the Fiver feels like it understands football. To want to STOP FOOTBALL you have to first BE FOOTBALL, or something like that, and so we have paid some attention to what has been happening over the years, even if it has often appeared otherwise.

Roberto Mancini knows football too, which is handy as he manages a real-life professional football club in Manchester City, who can re-establish a three-point lead at the top of the table if they win at bottom side Wigan tonight. But it's not just football, the sport Mancini has devoted most of his life to, that he understands. It would appear he is also an ace with a calendar and a diary and has somehow managed to look at the dates of the Africa Cup of Nations and cross-check them against the Premier League fixture list to spot when his squad may be tested the most.

No wonder he earns the big bucks. "When I said one month ago that December and January would be the crucial months it was because I know football," Mancini said of the traditional busy months of the season: December and January. Mancini believes that such are the problems he is facing (three players missing – one of whom is Kolo Toure) that only one side in the world could cope with such a dire situation and that's the tiki-taka swigging aristocrats from Catalonia. "Maybe Barcelona could [cope]. Manchester City no," he said, implicitly implying that Lionel Messi and co are the only club who could do it on a cold Monday night in Wigan.

One other player whom Mancini is missing (though he refuses to go away – why won't he go away?) is Carlos Tevez. Inter have offered £21m for the striker in a bid to put us all out of our misery, but the Fiver knows that as sure as night follows day and being escorted from the premises in handcuffs immediately follows happy hour, this will not be the end of the Tevezzzzzzzzzzz saga. It will never end. That much is obvious. It's the hope we can't handle.

FIVER LETTERS

"Darron Gibson's tweet (Friday's Fiver) allows me to ask a question long on my mind: what's with footballers and 'facilities'? Whether expounding on a new club or an off-season US tour, they're always on about 'facilities'. Are they that dim and/or bored that the most worthwhile theme to comment on involves square footage and construction techniques? Or are they cleverly punking us to satirise the media's absurd obsession with guys who kick a ball for cash? What? Ah, OK" – Edward Lovett.

"So Inter currently lie in fifth place having failed to beat any of the top seven this season. Remarkable. Did they lose a game against their own reserves?" – Keith Lambourne.

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E SUNDAY 15th JANUARY

2012-01-10T04:47:00.005Z

CITY LOOKING VERY GOOD

Manchester City lost this match by three goals to two but in my opinion they have come out victors in everything else except the result. Now of course the winning result is the biggie yet the manner of City's combined tactical and spirited fight back was most impressive. Three goals down and playing with ten men after Kompany was sent off they very nearly got the draw they undoubtedly deserved. They did not crumble and give in like United when they had just ten men and went on to get hammered 6-1 by this same City team ,more or less.

This looked like a United team bereft of ideas and were very lucky to hold on. I have consistently said that Ferdinand was passed it and this game proved it. Too slow old boy and time to go is my advice to Rio.I would also add that Scholes making an appearance says more about United than it does about him.He was a tremendous player in his day but that has gone now and he should be left retired with his dignity and reputation intact.

Now then to man of the match Rooney,not my favourite player it has to be said. You may agree or disagree with that award to him as we are all entitled to do. However his actions in running towards the ref gesticulating furiously in my opinion helped get Kompany sent off . This from a man who kicked an opponent from behind then had the cheek to appeal when he was quite rightly banned for
this cowardly attack and certainly he has no shortage of form in this nasty behaviour.I think I am right in saying that there was no or very little contact in the tackle by Kompany and after the match most pundits agreed that it was a harsh decision by the referee. I also have to add that the sight of Rooney running about kissing his shirt badge was a bit of a joke. Think back to his Everton days when he swore his loyalty to the blues, just before wads of dosh changed his mind. Then came the episode of him possibly crossing the City to Man U's great rivals. This he denied but funny enough a matter of weeks later he was granted a huge rise and of course this was nothing to do with the rumours of him going to the blue half of Manchester. Red till dead ? Well believe that if you will but no amount of badge kissing will convince me. This guy will be off maybe not now but it will happen as Manchester United I honestly think are a team in decline. If I am proved correct Rooney will be off like a shot and it will not be too long until he is kissing another badge or should I say wallet instead.

REVUE OF TIPS W/E 8th JANUARY

A very decent week indeed with three from four tips winning. Overall it produced a very creditable £47.00 profit from an outlay of £120.00.The most satisfying tip was undoubtedly Manchester City who beat Liverpool at a canter. This was particularly satisfying as City had gone down on new year's day when tipped against a resurgent Sunderland side . I was also very pleased to know just when to hold on to accrued profit and avoided giving a Sunday Best Tip where in all honesty I was leaning towards the blues once again . Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Sound advice.

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP GIVEN : TIP WON - UP £27.00

SATURDAY 3 TIPS GIVEN : TWO WON :- UP £20.00

SUNDAY BEST : NO TIP GIVEN

TOTAL LAID : £120.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £167.00

£47.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK - 39%

TIPS GIVEN MONTH OF DECEMBER

14 TIPS FROM 20 WON : Laid £600 -Returned £696

PROFIT :- £96.00 / 16%

TIPS GIVEN JANUARY UP TO DATE

6 TIPS FROM 9 WON : Laid £270.00 -Returned £320.00

PROFIT : £50.00 / 18.5%

TARGET RETURN 20%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 17

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 15

  NO 3 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 14

   NO 4 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 13

  NO 5 : YAKUBA - BLACKBURN :- 12

WEEK-DAY TIPS : WEDNESDAY

4/7 TOTTENHAM win v EVERTON

RESULT :- TOTTENHAM 2 - 0 EVERTON

LAID :-£30.00 : RETURNED :-£47.00
PROFIT :- £17.00

*** SATURDAY 3 x £30 win SINGLES ***

8/13 HUDDERSFIELD win v OLDHAM

RESULT :-    HUDDERSFIELD 1 - 0 OLDHAM

15/16 DERBY win v COVENTRY

RESULT :-    DERBY 1 - 0 COVENTRY

4/5 ACC/STANLEY win v BARNET

RESULT :- ACCRINGTON STANLEY 0 - 3 BARNET

LAID :- £90.00 : RETURNED :- £106.00
PROFIT :- £16.00

SUNDAY BEST

NO TIP

RESULT :-

LAID :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,625.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,553.00

LOSS TO-DATE £72.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

A MAN WHO TELLS IT LIKE IT WAS

The Fiver has always liked Neil Warnock. Actually come to think of it, maybe that should be the Fiver has always hated Neil Warnock. The Fiver has always been having feelings of either a positive or negative nature about Neil Warnock because it is of course impossible not to hold a powerful opinion on football's feistiest impresario of the touchline, the man they love to actually really hate, a manager who emanates charisma from every fold of his zingy nylon shell-suit trousers, a man who tells it like it was every time whether you want it or not. And so naturally enough after some prompting the Fiver was alarmed with a thrill of joyful rage yesterday to hear that Warnock had been sacked by QPR overlord West Ham's Tony Fernandes - and all this just six months after Warnock took his team to an easily-deserved promotion to the promised land of broken promises.
Still, as the Fiver always says when one man finally leaves another door always seems to open for some reason - and so it has proved today with Mark Hughes set to make a sensational return to the west London hinterlands, perhaps even before Rangers' next game against Newcastle. Having walked away from a billionaire-backed mid-ranking suburban west London bantamweight in the summer, it seems Hughes is finally ready for a return to the right billionaire-backed mid-ranking suburban west London bantamweight. It has after all been a peculiar old time for Hughes who, having resigned in order to further his personal ambitions, has instead spent the last few months toting his vast granite-hewn head from TV stool to punditry sofa emitting grudging clench-jawed semi-blurts of football bleat in the hope that a chance glimpse of his visage will awaken some eager and covetous spirit in one of the Premier League's status-appropriate footballing overlords.
And no doubt this would be a fine move for all concerned. Hughes would get to stuff his oversized club-like ankles into a pair of leather loafers and parade the Loftus Road touchline chest-puffed like a squawking Grecian warrior-beast. QPR supporters get a vaguely Premier League, top-tier-style, big-time-ish if you squint manager-shape person, to be toted about the place like an empty leather gold-clasped briefcase bought for that new job in a moment of deluded optimism.
In fact for the Fiver - tearing its adoring gaze from the departing brouhaha of the irresistible Warnock - the most interesting person in all of this is perhaps West Ham's Fernandes himself, the mercurial Malaysian honcho-supremo who, for reasons that remain unclear, has 152,798 followers on Twitter and who seems to have created a new template for the ambient-managerial-sacking-drive by tweeting his way up to it:
23 December "Good call with Neil, mick and phil beard … Wished I had started in qpr a few months earlier."
1 January "Spoke to Neil and some of the players … Need a bit of luck."
6 January "Its important to note no one job is safe."
7 January "Driving back to london. Lots to think about."
8 January "There is no doubt Neil was a good man. A great man …"

To the Fiver's mind the only missing update in all of the above would be something along the lines of "7 January: Am currently strangling Neil with dressing gown cord while repeatedly forcing his head into a bucket of water. It is for the best." But Fernandes is clearly one to watch, and given that Hughes has already been sacked by the oil nabobs of Manchester and dismissed as "a strange man" by chairman Mo of Fulham, it almost looks like the perfect match.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"This is a dreadful draw - the last things the two clubs need. It will be a really nasty atmosphere. It will be a new level, beyond what we have seen before … I can't even look forward to this game … If people thought the tension and spite between City and United fans was bad this weekend then they haven't seen anything yet" - Paddy Crerand reacts to news that Manchester United and Liverpool will face each other at Anfield in the FA Cup fourth round by doing the verbal equivalent of donning a tin hat and running for the hills.

HOORAY HENRY
Considering how little Thierry Henry expects to have to do during his two-month loan-spell at Arsenal from American soccerball franchise the Big Apple Energy Drinks, the Fiver can't help but wonder why Arsene Wenger didn't just unscrew the recently unveiled statue of the Frenchman from its plinth outside the Emirates and put that sitting in the dug-out instead*. "It looks more like I'm going to be a bench player," he said, before deciding that sounded too much like hard work and quickly revising his opinion. "Or maybe not on the bench but more of an 'out of the side' type of player."
Of course considering how famously astute a tactical innovator Wenger is, there's always the possibility he may use Henry as a false 'out of the side player', which could involve the Frenchman being in the side while simultaneously being out of the side - a state of affairs that ought to bamboozle Nasty Leeds for long enough at the Emirates in tonight's FA Cup third-round tie for Arsenal to put the tie to bed before their visitors from Yorkshire have figured out what foul chicanery is afoot.
Now aged 34 and having been in retirement in the USA for the past year, Arsenal's non-playing player was quick to reassure Gooners concerned that he might not be quick enough to play at the highest level, or against Nasty Leeds, any more. "If you have the awareness to see things before other players, you can get away with not having your legs," he sniffed, as Arsenal doctors gulped nervously and finally realised why he'd looked so much shorter than they remembered in his medical.
* In the interests of pre-empting inevitable reader pedantry, the Fiver would like it to be known that we are aware that the recently unveiled statue of Thierry Henry portrays him in celebratory knee-slide pose, which would render it difficult, if not impossible, to put it 'sitting' in the dugout. However, it could be hung upside down by its calves on an elevated common-or-garden dugout seat, even if this would leave the statue with its back to the action and unable to follow the game as it unfolds**. This problem could be overcome by the strategic placement of mirrors in front of the statue's upside-down face.

** In the interests of pre-empting inevitable reader pedantry, the Fiver would like it to be known that we are aware the recently unveiled statue of Thierry Henry was fashioned from bronze, a metal alloy comprised mainly of copper, and is therefore incapable of seeing anything as it is not equipped with the necessary organs to detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons.

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E SUNDAY 8th JANUARY

2012-01-03T06:23:00.022Z

NEXT POST TUESDAY 10th JANUARY

SHOCK UPON SHOCK IN PREMIERSHIP

What is happening in the English Premiership? Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal all getting beat in the past few days. Now either the league is dumbing down or some of these very expensive players need to pull the finger out. I just cannot see how teams at the bottom of the league with limited resources such as Sunderland and Blackburn can beat the top two . the two Manchester clubs at the top of the league have everything in their favour. Perhaps they lack the one great thing that Martin's lads at Sunderland showed. The spirit and desire to win. Something that money just cannot buy. Maybe these superstars should be made watch how the Sunderland lads took all that was thrown at them and still had the temerity to fight back. Yes I do know that it probably was an aberration but well done you guys at Blackburn,Sunderland and Villa and many thanks for the spirited lesson that you handed out to your supposedly much better fellow footballers.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN LAST WEEK.

A losing week with that shock result on Sunday . Sunderland most certainly did not give me the start to the new year that I thought was a near good thing. Oh the pain of it . Still on the positive side December ended up a decent enough month with a 16% profit overall .Yes the new year has got off to a bad start but as the old saying goes " a bad start makes for a good finish. Here's hoping and may I wish you all a very prosperous punting year..

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : NO TIPS :

SATURDAY 2 TIPS WON FROM 3 :- UP £9.00

SUNDAY BEST ONE TIP LOST :- DOWN £30.00

TOTAL LAID : £120.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £99.00

£21.00 LOSS OVER THE WEEK

TIPS GIVEN MONTH OF DECEMBER

14 TIPS FROM 20 WON : Laid £600 -Returned £696

PROFIT :- £96.00 / 16%

TIPS GIVEN JANUARY TO - DATE

3 TIPS FROM 5 WON : Laid £150.00 -Returned £167.00

PROFIT : £17.00 / 9%

TARGET RETURN 20%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

WEEK-DAY TIPS / TUESDAY

10/11 MANCHESTER CITY win v LIVERPOOL

RESULT :- MAN CITY 3 - 0 LIVERPOOL

LAID :-£30.00 / RETURNED :-£57.00

*** SATURDAY SINGLES ***

ENGLISH FA CUP
-----------------------
5/6 W.B.A. win v CARDIFF

RESULT :-   W.B.A. 4 - 2 CARDIFF

----------------------------------------------------------------

SCOTTISH FA CUP
-------------------------
4/5 I.C.T. win v DUNFERMLINE

RESULT :- I.C.T. 1 - 1 DUNFERMLINE

5/6 HIBERNIAN (a) win v C/BEATH

RESULT :-    HIBERNIAN 3 - 2 COWDENBEATH

SATURDAY LAID OUT :- £90.00 : RETURNED :- £110.00

SUNDAY BEST

NO TIP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS WEEK SEEN THREE TIPS FROM FOUR WIN.

Laid £120 : Return £167 : Profit of £47 = 39%

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,505.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,400.00

LOSS TO-DATE £105.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED …

Hello readers. The Fiver will refrain from wishing you a happy new year because we know how wrong it is to hear such cheer on your first day back at work, a bit like receiving a "get well soon" card at your funeral. Instead we'll press straight on with a … review of all the wild stuff that happened during the western world's annual homage to the pig-gods of obesity and usury.

For those who had their heads too immersed in ale and pudding to notice, here's a quick round-up of what occurred just after our end-of-year review, an excuse to give you an extra end-of-year review. Because there's never enough of them, eh? We tried to hire some pompous irritating no-mark to serve as a talking head but we couldn't find anyone so the Fiver will provide the commentary instead. What? Ah.

So anyway. Just after 25 December, as the entire Liverpool squad were about to set out on a pilgrimage to FA HQ with makeshift stigmata on their hands and crowns of thorns on their confused bonces, it emerged that their idol, Luis Suarez, may not have been such an unlucky martyr after all, and was really a very naughty boy. The disciplinary panel that banned the Liverpool striker, whom the Anfield faithful have proclaimed as one of the best strikers in the Premier League on the grounds that he has scored the same number of league goals this season as Franco Di Santo and England's Brave John Terry, issued a 115-page document in which it declared that Suarez's defence during the investigation into his racial abuse of Patrice Evra was about as reliable as his finishing. The document was so emphatic and comprehensive that some legal observers have suggested it would be a bitter act of foolishness to appeal against the eight-game ban imposed on the Uruguayan. An appeal is surely imminent, then …

Before that, though, Suarez, who missed Liverpool's win over Newcastle because of another ban – for flipping the bird at Fulham fans – will return to action tonight as Liverpool seek to do Manchester United a favour by winning against Manchester City, who were on the wrong end of a belated miracle of Christmas when they were beaten by Sunderland last weekend, 24 hours after Lord Ferg helped Blackeye Rovers to win at Old Trafford by tampering with his team on top of dropping Wayne Rooney for going to a restaurant with his wife (Rooney's wife, not Ferg's).

So it was a strange festive period, made all the more bizarre by moribund Aston Villa going goal-crazy at Chelsea. Happily, there were some seasonal staples to help us all keep our bearings: Joey Barton got sent off yesterday and blamed the opposition and the ref; and Arsenal bottled it, and blamed the opposition and the ref. All that remains for 2012 to complete a familiar hat-trick is for England to be eliminated from the Euros and blame the opposition, ref and foreign manager.

• Join Paul Doyle from 8pm for MBM coverage of Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We sent the creative to the health ministry and they then cleared it and circulated it. But how [his] picture got to be used is not clear" - KS Dhatwalia, additional secretary of the Directorate of Visual Publicity, attempts to explain how an image of England's Brave John Terry turned up on cigarette packs as part of an anti-smoking campaign in India.

FIVER LETTERS

"I surely can't have been alone in noticing that Peter Crouch celebrated his 100th league goal, against Blackeye Rovers, by raising one finger on his left hand, using his gob as a 0 and his right hand as another 0. I'm sure it looked good as he spent hours practising in a mirror but to those facing him it read 001. Bless" - Tony Gaunt.

"On January 4 2011 , the Fiver wrote: 'We've only received two letters since Christmas, one which wasn't even remotely funny and the other - a whinge from a Liverpool fan - which was, but for all the wrong reasons'. Why am I thinking that last bit might just happen again, but on a much larger scale?" - Olivier Tremblay.

"Re: the Fiver Christmas Awards (22 December). I would like to make a complaint. I received it on my smartphone and hastily read and thought it must be time to go home. I thought my day in work must have gone particularly fast (in fairness it was dark outside) and, as it was Christmas week, wasn't about to question it. I shut down my computer and put my coat on, then my eye caught the clock on a colleague's desk which read 11.08am, to my sheer dismay. In future I would prefer non-tea-timely Fiver emails to come with aforementioned warning. Thanks" - David McKee.

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver.

BITS AND BOBS

FC Twente have sacked boss Co Adriaanse, with - and you'll like this - Shecond-Shoish Shteve set to take charge for a second time.

David Beckham is set to extend his stay in LA after PSG ended their bid to sign his image rights. "I met him and it's bad luck we didn't reach an agreement," sighed president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

The FA may charge Joey Barton and Neil Warnock for their comments in the aftermath of QPR's defeat to Norwich. Barton was sent off for headbutting Bradley Johnson and wrote on Twitter that Johnson had "conned" the referee. Johnson responded by writing 'Barton your breath stinks' on a banner at last night's world darts championship final.

Barnsley director Don Rowing has rejected claims that some of the club's fans taunted Doncaster striker Billy Sharp over the death of his two-day-old son during Monday's Championship game. "I don't think people are cruel enough to have actually made those comments," said Rowing.

Blue Square Bet Premier side Darlington are 10 points worse off after being placed in administration again.

And good news for Stephen Ireland: France international Franck Ribery intends to open an Arabic-themed shisha bar in his home town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. "I wanted a concept that's a little different from the ordinary," said Ribery, sounding like he knows a thing or two about hookahs.

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E MONDAY 2nd JANUARY

2011-12-29T08:14:00.026Z

CELTIC STORM TO TOP SCOTTISH PREMIER

What an amazing turnaround by Glasgow Celtic in the last couple of months. There they were a massive 15 points behind run away leaders Rangers. Now after putting together nine straight wins ,including last nights 1-0 win over Rangers, they are sitting two points clear at the top of the league. They say that miracles do not happen . Well I think that even the staunchest Celtic supporter if asked seven or eight weeks ago could not have seen their club going into 2012 out in front and looking good to stay there.
As for Rangers it does look like they will need a miracle and not only on the pitch. It would not be exaggerating at all to say that their very future is at stake. The problem that the club has is quite simple . They are in dispute with the Inland Revenue over monies that may be owed. These I believe are enormous sums and could possibly put the club at risk of penury. How could a well supported and some may even say a Scottish Institution come to be so skint. Surely this cash shortage must have been obvious. Were their bank or banks unaware of the situation ,and if they were aware where was the advice that could and should have been given to prevent the club sinking to this pitiful state of affairs.
The outcome to the tax problem will be revealed I believe in the early part of next year. The thing is how many other skeletons are rattling about in the background. A very sorry state of affairs for a club who prided themselves on up holding the highest values. Lessons must be learned not just in Scottish football but professional football in general

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN LAST WEEK.

A winning week and I bet not many were able to say that. Have you ever seen a week with so many draws in the Premiership. It did seem that most of the clubs had a pact to share the spoils in order to give the Bookmakers a huge prezzie in the form of rakes o cash and and making for them a truly happy and rich Xmas. It certainly seemed that way. So all in all I am chuffed that I got out of the week with a profit of £17.00. As I said earlier I do have the feeling given the results that I was in the minority. So one up for the Blog and I hope its readers..

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP : WON :- UP £23.00

SATURDAY : 2 TIPS : 1 WON :1 LOST :- DOWN £6.00

SUNDAY BEST : NO TIP

TOTAL LAID : £90.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £107.00

£17.00 WIN OVER THE WEEK

TIPS GIVEN : DECEMBER ACCOUNT

TARGET :- 20% RETURN ON MONIES LAID

W/E 4th - LAID £120.00 - RETURN £150.00

PROFIT OF £30.00 - 3 WINS FROM 4 TIPS = 25% PROFIT

@

W/E 11th - LAID £150.00 - RETURN £191.00

PROFIT OF £41.00 - 4 WINS FROM 5 TIPS = 27% PROFIT

@

W/E 18th - LAID £150.00 - RETURN £149.00

LOSS OF £1.00 - 3 WINS FROM 5 TIPS = 0.66% LOSS

@

W/E 26th - LAID £90.00 - RETURN £107.00

PROFIT OF £17.00 - 2 WINS FROM 3 TIPS = 19% PROFIT

@

W/E 31st - LAID £90.00 - RETURN £99.00

PROFIT OF £9.00 - 2 WINS FROM 3 TIPS = 10% PROFIT

DECEMBER TO 31st LAID £600 : RETURN £696 = 16%

14 WINNING TIPS FROM 20 GIVEN = 70%

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 16

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 14

  NO 3 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 13

   NO 3 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 13

  NO 4 : EDIN DZEKO - MAN CITY :- 10

WEEK-DAY TIPS

NONE THIS WEEK

RESULT :-

LAID :- / RETURNED :-

*** SATURDAY SINGLES ***

8/11 STOKE CITY win v WIGAN

RESULT :- STOKE CITY  2 - 2 WIGAN

8/11 READING win v IPSWICH

RESULT :- READING 1 - 0 IPSWICH

4/7 SHEFFIELD UTD win v HARTLEPOOL

RESULT :- SHEFFIELD UTD 3 - 1 HARTLEPOOL

LAID OUT :- £90.00 : RETURNED :- £99.00

* SUNDAY BEST / NEW YEARS DAY

11/17 MAN CITY (a) win v SUNDERLAND

RESULT :- MAN CITY 0 - 1 SUNDERLAND

LAID OUT :- £30.00 : RETURNED :- £00.00

PROFIT / LOSS FOR SEASON TO DATE

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,385.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,233.00

LOSS TO-DATE £152.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

"DEAR PREMIER LEAGUE LEADERS

With the passing of Kim Jong-il, who once claimed to have scored 38 under-par in a round of golf – 10 off the Fiver's best score, but a dubious boast nonetheless – the age of the unhinged billionaire lurches towards an end. In the past, billionaires were all about fiendish plots to take over Jupiter with an army of flying sharks but nowadays they give their fortunes away to charity or provide the children of Britain with innocent chuckles by signing malfunctioning strikers for £50m. Manchester City are the latest from the ranks of the super-rich to become grounded: instead of imploding following their loss to Chelsea, they went out and beat a feisty Arsenal side 1-0 to re-establish their lead at the top of the table.

"It was very important for us after the Chelsea game," warbled Roberto Mancini. "In football every team loses eventually and it is the reaction to losing that separates good teams from others. We wanted to go back to the top but we also know that the season is long, and we can't win the title without having a fight with United," he added, briefly summoning up the zingy image of Gunnar Nielsen and Ezekiel Fryers having a dust-up outside Yates's Wine Lodge, before the Fiver realised it was one of those boring metaphorical fights, like those against child poverty or hunger.

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger beat 683 football hacks to the punch by declaring Arsenal's title challenge is all but over. "It was a game we couldn't afford to lose," Wenger said, after losing the match. "If we had won, the gap would have come down to six points and we would have players coming back from injury for the second half of the season. It will be difficult to close the gap but we will keep trying."

Over in the Midlands, the people of Birmingham were up in arms at the news that Nikola Zigic wants to stay at St Andr ... sorry, that a knacked Darren Bent decided to go on a shopping trip while his team were losing to Liverpool. Nevermind that scientists have proven that any individual with at least three senses intact can only watch an Alex McLeish side for a maximum of 38 minutes, the people wanted blood and Bent went on to Twitter to deliver his apology. "Nothing is more important to me than playing football, sadly injury meant I wasn't able to do that today. Gutted not to be involved. I hope to be back very soon. Watched the majority of the game on TV. Never knew popping out would cause an issue and for that I apologise."

The majority of the game? The man's a saint.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

23 November: "Mangia can be calm? Of course, I don't see why people always say I have problems with the coach … Mangia is doing well, he has to be calm, I'm satisfied. I hope he remains the next two-three years to build a project" - Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini insists boss Devis Mangia is going nowhere.

19 December: "Palermo announces it has dismissed Devis Mangia and his staff" - project put on ice.

FIVER LETTERS

"Now that Darren Bent has apologised for his shopping trip during Villa's defeat at the weekend, will John W Henry apologise to Liverpool fans for his shopping trip to Newcastle last January?" – Matthew Clemmo.

"I'm going to stick my neck out here and guess that I'm one of possibly, let's say, about 1,057 Chelsea-supporting pedants who are slightly miffed that you neglected to count Chelsea's 1998 Cup Winners' Cup victory in the Premiership Era's European Gong haul (Friday's Fiver). It's also possible that the same 1,057 of us are slightly less miffed that you didn't count the same year's Super Cup victory, or some other London team's 1993 CWC win" - Neal Butler (and no other Chelsea-supporting pedants).

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver.

BITS AND BOBS

Blackeye Rovers' Scott Dann has joined the mercifully short list of footballers who have suffered sack-knack: he will be out for six weeks with a ruptured testicle.

Chelsea say Jay-T should be fit for Thursday's game at Tottenham, even though he twanged his achilles during an open training session this morning.

Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido has been given seven-and-a-half years in the Big House after being convicted of fraud, corruption, embezzlement and employing Juande Ramos.

Italian dibble have arrested 17 people in their ongoing investigation into match-fixing and illegal betting, including the former Italy international Cristiano Doni.

And Rochdale have fired manager Steve Eyre and his assistant Frankie Bunn after six months in charge. "They are really nice people" said chairman Chris Dunphy, a split-second after ruining their Christmas.

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E 26th DECEMBER

2011-12-21T05:44:00.024Z

POST FOR W/E 1st JAN:- THURSDAY

THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD BY FAR

Surely now even the most xenophobic football journalists based in Britain must see that Barcelona are without doubt the best footballing team in the world, Their four nil win against Santos to make them World Club Champions must have dispelled any lingering doubt. Even the coach of Santos Muricy Ramalho accepted just how good they were describing Barca as brilliant and just unbeatable at this moment in time. Now this from a man who's team has just been beaten 4 - 0 showed as much credit on him and his team as it did to Pep Guardiola and the trulymagnificent Barcelona.

Speaking of great teams. Is it possible that we just might have one in the making leading the English Premiership at this moment in time ? Manchester City took a giant step forward when they beat a resurgent Arsenal at home last Sunday. This was a very important win and it does seem that they could possibly remain unbeaten there for the rest of this season.In fact it looks like they will go into the new year top of the league for the first time in over eighty years. They have it has to be said the advantage of huge resources behind them and some are already saying that they are buying their way to the title. Well ,what is new then? I for one wish them well as they have certainly brought more competition to the top teams that are usually battling it at the head of the premiership. Namely Arsenal,Chelsea and Man Utd . This is no bad thing and has added to the excitement and drama that makes the English Premier League one of the best in the world.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN LAST WEEK.

It turned out a neutral week on the tipping front with an overall loss of just a single pound. With three tips winning out of the five it was an exciting week even though it ended up showing a very small loss.It would be nice if every losing week was like this one and every winning one showed big profit. So that my friends is my wish to Santa this Xmas. Thing is though I will not hold my breath and nor should you . Have a great Xmas and lets hope my tips this week will bring a bit of good cheer. .

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP : WON :- UP £17.00

SATURDAY : 3 TIPS : 1 WON :2 LOST :- DOWN £30.00

SUNDAY.BEST : ONE TIP : WON :- UP £12.00

TOTAL LAID : £150.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £149.00

£1.00 LOSS OVER THE WEEK

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 16

  NO 2 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 13

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 13

   NO 2 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 13

  NO 5 : EDIN DZEKO - MAN CITY :- 10

PREMIER LEAGUE WEDNESDAY

10/13 ARSENAL (a) win v ASTON VILLA

RESULT :- ARSENAL 2 - 1 ASTON VILLA

LAID :-£30.00 / RETURNED :- £53.00

BOXING DAY SINGLES

1/2 MAN CITY (a) win v WEST BROMWICH

RESULT :- MAN. CITY 0 - 0 WEST BROM

4/5 BURNLEY win v DONCASTER

RESULT :- BURNLEY 3 - 0 DONCASTER

LAID OUT :- £60.00 : RETURNED :-£54.00

   ****** SUNDAY BEST *****

NONE THIS WEEK : MERRY XMAS TO ALL

     RESULT :-

LAID OUT :- : RETURNED :-

PROFIT / LOSS TO DECEMBER 28th

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,265.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £3,134.00

LOSS TO-DATE £131.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

FOOTBALL TIPS AND COMMENT W/E 18th DECEMBER

2011-12-13T11:43:00.014Z

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS SHOWS HIS METTLE

O.K.it was a close run game ultimately decided by a late penalty goal.Man City were down to ten men for most of the second half as well, but make no mistake this was a great win for Chelsea and their manager Villas-Boas. I do not know what he has done to some English sports journalists but they have been having a right go at him this past few days. This manager and his team have just beaten Valencia in the Champions league as well as a flying Newcastle in the premiership and now to cap it all the league leaders Man City 2 - 1. Why are they having a pop ? Is it because he has given one of their golden boys Frank Lampard a lesson on who is the boss now at Chelsea ? Frank was substituted and was not a happy camper, next game against Valencia he was on the bench. Then to cap it all his manager had him on the subs bench for this huge match against City . This shows the sort of guts that this manager has. Make no mistake Villas-Boas was a man under fantastic pressure in this game.Anyway he then brought on Lampard with eighteen minutes left to go and ( you could write the script yourselves ) Lampard scored the winning penalty a few minutes later. I think that there was no way Lamps was going to miss that penalty and show not just the fans but also his manager what he is still made off. It also showed the rest of us just what Villas-Boas is made off as well and also that the old brigade at Chelsea are now about finished and on the way out.They have done their club proud in the past, but that was in the past and this new manager is the future. I for one think that he will lead his Chelsea team to great things despite what some of the English football journalists think. This guy is the business so you had better get used to it.

REVUE OF TIPS GIVEN LAST WEEK.

It was a turbulent week but none the less a very exciting one and ultimately a winning one for the blog's tips. I had an over all profit of £11.00 with four from the six tips coming in . Not a fortune I must admit but a profit none the less . I have always maintained that what goes round comes around. So it was with the "SUNDAY BEST" tip Sunderland. One nil down with six minutes to go and ended up winning 2 - 1. An absolutely fantastic result for the return of one of the best managers in football Martin O' Neill and not a bad one for me either. Right enough I could also point out the other side of the coin with my tip Barnsley. Two nil up at half time and coasting. Second half seen them concede five goals and get thumped 3 - 5 . You just could not make it up. This is exactly what makes football a fantastic game to watch, and when you do have a punt it can be heart stopping stuff indeed. Long may my old ticker allow me to stick with it and enjoy games such as that one at Sunderland .

LAST WEEKS BREAKDOWN

MID-WEEK : ONE TIP : LOST :- DOWN £30.00

SATURDAY : 4 TIPS : 3 WON :1 LOST :- UP £14.00

SUNDAY.BEST : ONE TIP : WON :- UP £27.00

TOTAL LAID : £180.00 : TOTAL RETURNED £191.00

£11.00 PROFIT OVER THE WEEK.

PREMIER LEAGUE'S TOP SCORERS

NO 1 : ROBIN VAN ( THE MAN ) PERSIE - ARSENAL :- 15

  NO 2 : SERGIO AGUERO - MAN CITY :- 11

NO 2 : DEMBA BA - NEWCASTLE UTD :- 11

  NO 2 : WAYNE ROONEY - MAN UTD :- 11

  NO 5 : EDIN DZEKO - MAN CITY :- 10

EUROPA LEAGUE WEDNESDAY

4/7 STEAUA BUCHAREST win v AEK LARNACA

RESULT :- STEAUA BUCHAREST 3 - 1 AEK LARNACA

LAID :- £30.00 / RETURNED :- £47 00

SATURDAY : 3 x £30.00 WIN SINGLES

8/11 MK DONS win v PRESTON

RESULT :- MK DONS 0 - 1 PRESTON

1/1 STEVENAGE win v TRANMERE

  RESULT :- STEVENAGE 2 - 1 TRANMERE

4/5 BURTON win v DAGENHAM and RED

RESULT :- BURTON 1 - 1 DAG and RED

LAID OUT :- £90.00 : RETURNED :- £60.00

****** SUNDAY BEST *****

2/5 TOTTENHAM win v SUNDERLAND

RESULT :- TOTTENHAM 1 - 0 SUNDERLAND

LAID OUT :- £30.00 : RETURNED :- £42.00

PROFIT / LOSS TO-DATE : SEASON 11/12

TOTAL MONEY STAKED = £3,025.00

TOTAL MONEY RETURNED = £2,877.00

LOSS TO-DATE £1,148.00

TAKEN FROM THE GUARDIAN'S FIVER

"THE BIG RICH PETROL-SPLURGING TWO

The Fiver is of course a massive fan of football. All things to do with football - not just one small bit, or only half of the things to do with football, or even a quarter or 75%. The Fiver is a fan of it all, all the time, without exception. When it comes to mad-keen football fandom it goes like this. Tim Lovejoy. Prince William. That Portsmouth bell-ringing man with great bouncing tattooed man-belly. Then the Fiver. Then fresh air. Then everyone else.

One of the many things that makes the Fiver one of the world's top all-football fans - rather than, say, someone who just happened to get into writing snarky things about people involved in football as a laughable, quite temporary-seeming but in fact horribly persistent so-called "career" option - is the Fiver's love of the great club games. Those timeless match-ups that seem to be a vehicle for wider forces. For example Spain's El Clasico, which pits the tiny, loveable non-corporate, sustainable wooden shoe-wearing Steve Jobs-style ewoks of Barcelona against Real Madrid's evil Franco-worshipping Death Star-building Microsoft-esque Fourth Reich. Or the Glasgow derby, which gives the hate-crazed nutcases of [insert Glasgow team here] the opportunity to shout complex historical abuse at the hate-crazed nutcases of [other Glasgow team].

So many great games, such a rich sense of cultural history - and the good news is the Premier League now finally has one to compete with the best of them. Yes, this evening Chelsea will host Manchester City in the latest, and most frothingly exciting, clash of the Big Rich Petrol-Splurging Two, a match the Fiver is confident will soon be routinely referred to as El Carbonco. Like all the great games it's very much a meeting of ideological opposites: the fossil-fuel powered newbie against the fossil-fuel powered slightly olderbie; the overpaid squad of hardened Euro-mercenaries against the overpaid squad of Euro-mercenaries; the ones in blue against the ones in blue. So many points of contrast. It's like E.ON versus npower. Do you like your transformative oil money extracted from Persian Gulf state wells? Or do you prepare Siberian natural gas?

For City this is a chance to re-establish a 19-point league at the top of table [note: Fiver's extreme football fandom prevents it from checking the exact number of points involved here]. They will have to do so without marauding Micah Richards, who has calf-knack. Plus it's also defiant T-shirt time for Mario Balotelli who is in trouble after being spotted in the wee hours of Sunday in a city-centre restaurant called, for some reason, Zouk. Chelsea must cope without David Luiz who is banned for passing 500 domestic bookings for the season.

And with that, all that remains is to settle in for the season's first El Carbonco. Will it be victory for the ones with the handsome thrusting young manager in the nice suit? The ones who used to be a slightly boring, annihilating force but are now a bit more exciting? Or the ones who have affected a destabilising mini-boom on an entire league structure in the past few years? All that seems certain is that the Fiver will be hoping for a match full of raw passion, men being angry at referees, pictures of Frank Lampard sitting down looking glum and both clubs put in a sack at the end and thrown into the Thames from the Wandsworth Embankment. The Fiver is fairly confident that it only thought that last bit inside its head.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Gary has been fantastic - he has impressed everybody. People like listening to him - I know I certainly do. The hour on a Monday night before the game is always fascinating, hearing someone talk who knows what they're talking about. I don't think he has been outspoken at all - that's the one thing he hasn't been. He has done Manchester City games, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and I think he has given a fair account of what has been happening. Even though he is a die-hard United fan I don't think anyone can label what he has said. Since he's been on Sky I think he has been pretty impartial" - Phil Neville offers a completely impartial verdict on his brother's punditry skills.

FIVER LETTERS

"Re: Friday's last line. After falling for the first drop of his shoulder five times, and guessing his first movement wrong, I gave up. What chance did Peter Reid et al have?" - Jack Millington.

"Am I drunk? I just read a joke in the Fiver and had to explain to colleagues why I was laughing out loud in the office" - Jon Clark.

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver.

BITS AND BOBS

Yet more proof that football fans aren't always Mensa-botherers: after some controversial decisions from the referee Chris Foy in their match at Stoke, Tottenham fans have bombarded Sir Chris Hoy with sour nothings on social-networking travesty Twitter.

Nicolas Anelka has signed a two-year-deal to accept loads of coin from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, whom he will join in January. Shanghai also want to throw money at Didier Drogba.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle ain't 'fraid of no P45. "I have never ran from a fight in my life," he said, "but if someone felt there was a better solution for the football club, I have no problem with that."

Arsenal fans have received a boost with the news that Andre Santos will be out for around three months. There was more good news when Marouane Chamakh announced he may leave the club next summer in pursuit of regular football.

Football club in principled behaviour shock: Sydney have fined their defender Shannon Cole for diving against Gold Coast United on Sunday.

And Johan Cruyff's latest tedious bid to control absolutely everything within a 500-mile radius received a boost when a judge temporarily suspended Louis van Gaal's appointment as Ajax director. Cruyff says the appointment clashes with his plan, some pompous-sounding youth project called The Future.