A Very Merry Gerry

As long as man walks the earth, the battle between the old wrinkly master and the young brash pretender to the throne is as inevitable as tomato sauce on a sausage sandwich.

Stuart Pearce v Alex Ferguson fits perfectly in this category.  He may be a considered a psycho, but you can’t argue with eight Premier League trophies.  Pearce is the up and comer while Sir Alex has been there, done that and banned the t-shirt.  Pearce’s time will come, but for now, the old guard retains the edge.  United are 4/6 to master the Manchester melee; get on.

Now that Roy Keane has left the country, the Manchester derby just won’t be the same without a career threatening challenge or two.  David Sommeil misses the match due to Essiening a Tottenham player, so we’ll have to rely on Alan Smith and Joey Barton to remain true to the memory of the departed Keano.  A player to be sent off is a 5/2 shot.

Graeme Souness threw all his eggs in one basket when he signed Michael Owen, there’s a moral there somewhere; buy more baskets.  Here’s another moral for you; back Newcastle without Owen? A fool and his money are Soun parted.  Fulham receive the nod at 5/4.

What Alan Shearer lacks in pace, he makes up for in elbow piece.  If we accept that Newcastle will lose the match, backing Shearer to be booked is a logical follow up.  Big Al is more likely to connect with a jaw bone than a cross; he’s 4/1 to see yellow, 50/1 to see red.

The arrival of a Russian billionaire has allowed Harry Redknapp to buy himself a big Pole; Emmanuel Olisadebe.  I saw Emmanuel on video a few years ago - a fantastic scoring record.  Portsmouth v Everton is a relegation six pointer, back Pompey to take all six points at 11/10.   

Clyde were 20/1 to beat Celtic and Leyton Orient were 8/1 to beat Fulham; yet both won easily.  Sunderland are 11/1 rags at home to Chelsea; can they make it a treble of upsets?  No.  Conventional wisdom would suggest that you can’t back a Premier League team away to another at 1/5.  I repeatedly slap the bald head of conventional wisdom; Chelsea have the points in the bag.

If Ian Wright was Thierry Henry, he’d have to consider leaving Arsenal.  If I was Mr Henry, I wouldn’t have time to consider a move abroad; I’d be too busy getting Merry.  Take 2/7 on the Gunners beating the Boro, it’s a step on the road to happiness.

 


Quote of the week:

“The pitch wasn’t the best, but I’m not gonna make excuses.”
Steve Bruce after Birmingham were outplayed by Torquay.