Carling Cup Review

Carling Cup is but a wake up call to all the Chelsea players. It is disgusting to be knocked out so early despite being Cup winners last season. Our strikers are firing blanks but they created some problems for the Charlton defence. But Robben had been painfully selfish.

He loves to dribble. But whenever he feels he has lost it, he would pass at the last minute thus deceiving both opponents and team mates. Joe Cole is a much better player... a team player. At least when he is selfish he is effective. Robben pales in comparison to his 1st season here. And he is seldom involved with defensive duties unlike Cole, SWP and Duff. Probably for fear of injuries: which is very poor attitude in my opinion. Geremi was not effective as well playing in the midfield role. Playing RB suits him better. Crespo does not have any physical presence unlike Drogba who pisses off opponents. Gudjohnsen had some good play, dropping deep to collect (like Lampard) and tries to create something. But Charlton defended solidly. And a solid defence is what gets you to the top of the table. Huth single-handedly lost the game for us. Although the final penalty was always 50:50 and not entirely his fault, his back header to Cudicini was a nightmare. Although one can argue that we could not break down Charlton's defence for 2 hours, mistakes like this should not happen at this level. This is not the display to show the world after Everton's draw.

My 2nd concern is that now that there is no Carling Cup to play for, Geremi, Glen, Gudjohnsen, Huth, Cudicini, Diarra, Bridge and Carlton Cole might have less playing time. My only hope is that we would progress far in the FA Cup to give them a chance to prove themselves. To be realistic I do not think much of the FA Cup. Give me the EPL League Trophy and the Champions League title any day.

I'm too moody for any further analysis. Let's win at Blackburn and break Dickov's legs.

Bet Smart: Week 11

A brilliant bet on both a 1-1 scoreline and a draw on the Man United game last week saw a huge payout and boosted my capital to $114.50. Chelsea drew with Everton and lost to Charlton in the Carling Cup thus completing a truly moody week for me. A win against Rovers this week would definitely cheer me up.

This week Newcastle is level ball (again!) against West Brom. I think however this round they will overcome the odds. But I detest Newcastle entirely because of Souness. And I can't wait to see them get relegated together with Liverpool.

Feeling chirpy after the windfall last week, I would be so bold as to predict a 1-2 (13.00) Fulham away win against Wigan. At 13/1 it is too tempting to ignore. This bet would be $10. Wigan has won enough. The fairytale of being at the top half of the table for a newly promoted team will end soon and it will begin this week.

Boring boring Arsenal is without Henry. And probably has to rely on a penalty to get any points. Spurs will park a goddamn bus in front of goal so a sensible bet would be $5 on a draw (3.08) My gut tells me Arsenal will win it though. And the goal will come from Bergkamp.

Rovers will suffer a backlash from Chelsea. Makelele returns with Del Horno so losing is out of the question. I think a 1-0 win would do but feeling overly-adventurous I will go for a $5 bet on a 2-1 (8.50) win. And Drogba to score and assist (ie. fall over easily and kio free kicks).

Am I insane? Well I'm $14.50 above my original capital and I have every right to be.

Liverpool sucks. And this time it is real.

Bet Smart: Week 10

The problem with putting all the money from the pot in a single ang pow for good luck is that money will be prone to go missing. Somehow I managed to lose $10. It is inexcusable. What the hell. It means I have to manually feed in from my own pocket.

Last week was a disaster. Despite correctly predicting a Wigan upset, I still lost everything. A lousy deflected Man United goal, a single Cisse strike and Everton failing to score condemned the official pot to a sad $82. I expected a 3-0 rampage against Bolton but it ended up 5-1. But in this case I'm not complaining.

This week, after careful analysis, I've decided on the following bets to try and salvage some pride:

1. Birmingham has yet to win in their last few games despite several draws. Rather uninventive going forward. A draw is favourable but I'm going to be brave. So based on absolutely nothing at all, I will place a $5 on a 2-1 Rovers win (7.50).

2. Aston Villa has won enough in my opinion. Wigan is beginning to find some form but they will fall into mid-table mediocrity soon. Plus both will feature in the Carling Cup matches in a few days time so a $5 draw (3.00) is likely to provide some returns.

2. Spurs has no Carling Cup game in mid-week. Man United lost Giggs to some foul play in Europe. Roy Keane has given up (so has Henry). Spurs are finding form but Man United still has Silvestre to save Ferdinand's ass everytime. Plus 2 Koreans fighting it out should be entertaining. So it will be $5 each on a draw (3.33) and a 1-1 outcome ($7.20). The 1-2 scoreline is at a tempting 1:16. If I find $5 on the floor later I will bet on this.

I need a new place to store my winnings. I will visit Daiso in IMM soon to kio some cheap containers.

Bet Smart: Week 9

And we're back. Let's face it: international week was boring. Kezman and Torres were in hot scoring form... and I think the Serbs are gonna go far this World Cup together with Ivory Coast, Ghana and Germany. I'm backing the Germans to win the World Cup because: 1. They are the host country so a quarter final place is guaranteed and 2. I'm sure their odds as winners will pay well, much better than Spain, Argentina or Holland.

On to the weekend's bets. At current time Newcastle vs Wigan is level ball. A deadly trap going on there (after suffering at Lyon vs Real Madrid). I will avoid at all cost.

Bet A: Man United will win Sunderland as Arca is likely to be out. I will put a $5 on a 1-2 scoreline (9.00) although a 0-1 is more likely.

Bet B: Next, Everton is crap now. I will dump a $5 on Spurs 2-1 win (7.50). Moyes is fucked. I remember Ipswich were in the same Champions league-cum-relegation position a while back. No Intertoto Cup for you as well.

Bet C: International week might have been our downfall for past seasons. But we have the depth in squad to cope (or according to TNP: shitloads of money). Carlton Cole will be on the bench to add firepower and height to our strikeforce. I smell a 3-0 victory (I'm delirious I know. What the hell it is just $5 and the odds are 7.00). I'm fucking pissed as well to find out that this game will be on delayed telecast. I suppose watching Arsenal crap all over West Brom is entertaining to the cable operators. Our game against Villa was also not shown. I don't get it at all. These fools are pissing all over our league trophy.

Bet D: $5 on a Liverpool draw (3.50). Rovers are strong as demonstrated by their win over Man United. And they are dirty fighters. Liverpool has scored only 4 so far. Cisse on the right flank? I want what Rafa is smoking. I think Will Mellor will score more than Crouch if given the chance. European champions eh? Suck my ballz.

I'm going for high returns and barely sane choices this round. I'm feeling adventurous and fortune always favors the brave.

Forza Crespo!

Learn Respect

After beating the shit out of the Liverpool scum admist their famous Anfield atmosphere, the remaining title rival yet to taste some Blue vengence is Man United, whose fans and manager are well respected by Chelsea's as well. 8 wins in 8 games. 18 goals scored. 2 conceded. Mourinho demands respect from Johan Cryuff, the media and the rest of the world. And rightfully, though grudgingly, we are given our due credit.

Chelsea has been blamed for everything: from killing entertainment in football to upsetting the transfer market to global warming. It never ends. It does bewilder me that scoring the most goals in the league can be condemned as boring. Negative tactics that bore audience? True fans don't give a damn even if we play an 8-1-1 formation. What matters is a win at the end of the day. Soccer journalists and punters bore me with their biased bullshit in the papers and if they had bothered to take their noses out of Wenger's ass they might actually see that Chelsea actually plays very good football. There is still one jabroni in the papers who lives in the past (a likely Liverpool supporter) and still refers to us as 'Chelski'. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! We are in 2005 not 2002, can someone please wake him up.

It is not Chelsea's fault that:
Liverpool scored 4 goals thus far.
Arsenal lost to Middlesbrough.
Man United cannot hold on to their skipper.
Charlton is on fire with Darren Bent and Danny Murphy.

Does it puzzle people that Peter Crouch has yet to score a damn thing this season yet he is automatic selection against Austria? Rooney is suspended but there is still red-hot Darren Bent. Or even Carlton Cole who is scoring for fun in the U21s? Why is Terry still not captain of England? What is Sven smoking and can I have some?

Chelsea are leading the race and minding our own business. As long as we do not slip up, the league trophy will go to Stamford Bridge once again.


P.S. Duff injured. So Joe Cole will make more appearances. The international week is so boring.

Bet Smart: Week 8

In a few words:

$5 on Arsenal scoreline 2-0 (4.90).
90 minutes against 10-men Birmingham only score 1 lousy goal.
Arsenal screw me again.
Pot left $102.
Tulan.

End.