Start as you mean to go on and all that: the Tenner Bet made a triumphant return to the saddle (yes, it's a laboured post-honeymoon joke) last weekend with 4.7/1 treble that yielded a winner from the first column of the football season.
Start as you mean to go on and all that: the Tenner Bet made a triumphant return to the saddle (yes, it's a laboured post-honeymoon joke) last weekend with 4.7/1 treble that yielded a winner from the first column of the football season.
The significance of such a win cannot be underestimated. As I have pointed out repeatedly, the secret to any successful betting system rests solely on level-staking, hence the reason for the name of this column. That said, I'm not entirely certain that when I started writing the Tenner Bet a year ago, I knew what level-staking was. Nevertheless, somewhere in the recesses of my mind I must have understood the concept since it is a rule I have always stuck to . . . more or less.
Last weekend's treble seemed so obvious at the time that I speculated as to whether it was something of a curate's egg. To that end, in my own private selections I added Birmingham City at home to Doncaster Rovers, in place of Queen's Park Rangers. As it transpired, both gambles paid off.
With that memory still fresh, I am recommending Birmingham at home to Blackpool this afternoon. Alex McLeish's side have won all three of their games at St Andrews thus far and a trawl through their squad reveals much about their strength in depth. City are easily one of the strongest outfits in the Championship and their 1-0 win with 10 men against Doncaster last weekend indicates a togetherness among the players.
The statistical comparison between the two teams reads favourably too. Birmingham have scored first in 83.3% of matches in comparison with Blackpool's 33.3%. Both sides read 50% for their clean-sheet average.
Value seems to abound right through this weekend's coupon but since Arsenal proved such a sound bet away to Blackburn last Saturday, it would be foolish to ignore them again this afternoon, when they return to the north-west of England to face Bolton Wanderers.
In times past, Arsenal have struggled at the Reebok, but that was against a Bolton of a different vintage and Gary Megson's variety is far less daunting than that of Sam Allardyce. Arsene Wenger's team have the best score-first and clean-sheet records in the division and at 5/8 are very lively contenders again.
That leaves Aston Villa to complete the selection when they make the short trip across the Midlands to take on West Bromwich Albion tomorrow. It may be a derby but Villa have won their past two away games, most notably an impressive dismantling of Tottenham at White Hart Lane, and should record another at the Hawthorns.
Most observers had Spurs as second rate but that did a disservice to the non-stop work ethic that Martin O'Neill has instilled in his players. Furthermore, the pace of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young is exceptional, a crucial factor if away games are to be won in England's top flight.
Selection Arsenal (5/8, canbet), Aston Villa (7/5, William Hill), Birmingham City (1/2, canbet).
Treble: 4.85/1. Season's profit: £47.00
