Euro Bet

England have got a reasonably good chance at Euro 2012 but a lot will depend on how they play when they meet the big teams. They are probably going to have to beat two of the big four – Spain, Italy, Germany and France – if they are going to win the tournament and whether they can do this is going to depend more on whether they can muster the attacking creativity necessary that whether they are strong enough defensively. As a nation, our mind set in football has always been based more around defence and our national team is certainly better at keeping the opposition out than breaking the opposition down, which is why the appointment of an Italian as our head coach seemed rather strange. We can do the defending, it’s the attacking we need to work on. A Brazilian may well have made more sense, though in typical English fashion the FA will no doubt revert to an English manager following Capello’s reign with Harry Redknapp looking the most likely contender. (more…)

The fact that Tottenham were playing in the Champions League last year due to the fact that they finished fourth in the league the year before that actually led to their league position suffering and they consequently didn’t qualify for this year’s Champions League. That means that I would imagine they will nick the fourth placed spot this season due to the fact that Arsenal will be competing in this year’s tournament and so will have to divide their attention between their European and domestic campaigns. Also, Arsenal have had their midfield decimated by the departures of their captain – Cesc Fabregas – and their most creative player last season – Samir Nasri – while Spurs were able to hold on to Luka Modric despite a summer of Chelsea attempting to lure him away with the promise of Champions League football and big wages. (more…)

Roberto Mancini inherited a squad of ludicrously talent players when he arrived in January last season and has added to said squad expertly by investing Sheikh Monsoor’s cash billions incredibly wisely. Sergio Aguero has been a revelation since his arrival from Atletico Madrid in the transfer window with nine goals and four assists already this season, while the signing of Samir Nasri means that City are less reliant on the creativity of David Silva in midfield. Gael Clichy is also a quality left back while Owen Hargreaves’ arrival means that City have even more cover in defensive midfield. Dzeko has also been banging in the goals, meaning that Tevez’s recent tantrum in Munich and consequent suspension is no real cause for concern despite him being top scorer and captain last season. (more…)

Chelsea finished as runners up in last year’s Premiership, but I would be surprised if they were able to match this achievement again this season due to the fact that Manchester City have come on leaps and bounds since. Villas-Boas is clearly a supremely gifted manager but it is going to take a while before he can get his new group of players used to working together in the specific style that he demands. That said, they have such quality all over the pitch that they can still beat any team in the league on their day. At the back, John Terry is still showing the kind of form that merits inclusion in the starting eleven week in week out despite the fact that he is starting to get quite old, while Villas-Boas can choose between Alex, Ivanovic and Luiz as his partner at centre back. All three players have serious quality going forward as well as defending – Alex takes a mean free-kick, Luiz has already scored twice this season and Ivanovic is always a danger in the air from set-pieces – while Ashley Cole is still the best left-back in the world despite his pace fading over the last few seasons. (more…)