Betting Spy: Wolves and West Ham to be slain

Grant Prior 16 years ago
Share

It’s FA cup weekend and time to play up our Ashes winnings with a couple of punts on giant killers as the “big” clubs continue to look vulnerable against lower league teams.

Only three Premiership sides – Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal  – have reached the magic 40 points mark which guarantees survival.

That leaves the majority of the top flight concentrating on the league with the FA Cup as an unwelcome distraction.

That means value for us punters and let’s start with Doncaster to down Wolves.

Rovers have only lost once at home while Wolves are fairly woeful on their travels and have just had a run of energy-sapping Premiership battles.

Wolves were worthy winners against Chelsea in the week but this has the classic look of down to earth with a bump.

Mick McCarthy will be focusing purely on Premiership survival with the FA Cup as a mere sideshow. That makes the 9/5 on offer from Stan James for a Doncaster win look very attractive so get on.

Next on the giant killing list are West Ham who simply have to be opposed while Avram Grant is still picking the team.

Any man that still thinks Radoslav Kovac and Freddie Sears are Premiership midfielders has no business wearing a manager’s tracksuit.

The Hammers do have a new defensive coach in Wally Downes. But the back four shipped five against Newcastle and consisted of four centre halves and no full-backs.

Barnsley are 5/1 with Paddy Power which is almost an insult to Mark Robins’ men when you consider how bad West ham are playing and their history of cup upsets.

The whole situation at West Ham is becoming sad as the owners continue to back Avram Grant despite his very obvious failings.

Davids Gold and Sullivan don’t like to sack managers and don’t want to admit they made a mistake because Grant was their man.

But the choice is simple now:

A) Keep Grant. Get relegated. Suffer financial meltdown and lose the Olympic Stadium to Spurs.

B) Sack Grant. Find a manager who can pick the right team and motivate the players. Win a few games and stay in the Premiership because it is so tight at the bottom. Secure the Olympic Stadium and go on to become the club the fans deserve.

From where I sit in the West Side lower  it’s a fairly obvious choice. But proud men make daft decisions.

The one thing I, and thousands of fans, won’t forgive the owners for is if we go down then watch Spurs get the Olympic stadium by default.

The thought of traveling to another friendly local derby at Millwall while watching Tottenham fans flood into their new east end “home” in Stratford is too depressing to think about.

Running Total for all bets to a £10 stake:   +£155.75

Latest news

Worker died under two tonnes of soil in trench collapse

Two firms fined £1.1m and contracts manager given suspended jail sentence
7 hours ago

Infrastructure demand helps Clancy to record results

Strong work pipeline and cash position boosts investment in training and plant
11 hours ago

McGee boss Fossey takes top job at Permasteelisa

Specialist engineering chief moves to lead global façade giant
13 hours ago

Torsion Construction went down owing suppliers £15m

Hundreds of subcontractors left holding unpaid invoices
15 hours ago

London Mayor backs 3,000-home Beckton gasworks regeneration

Approval unlocks £250m enabling programme at east London riverside site
14 hours ago

Plan lodged to turn BT Tower into 400-room hotel

Landmark retrofit will create 1,000 construction jobs and reopen tower to public
15 hours ago

£1bn heatwave hit sparks resilience spending call

Civil engineers push for national review to put hard numbers on benefits of climate adaptation
15 hours ago

Vistry pitches plan to unlock 30,000 homes a year

Choice-led shared ownership model would combine buyer mortgages with institutional capital
1 day ago

Contractor hunt for £50m South Wales link road

Council to start procurement for 1.2km Cynon Gateway route near Aberdare
1 day ago

Plans lodged for one of Europe’s tallest student towers

Scape's 851-bed Elephant & Castle scheme rises to 45 storeys
2 days ago

Wales housing giant to start race for £750m contractor deal

Codi Group seeks builder line-up for new homes and refurbishment pipeline
2 days ago

Conlon lands £18m Wigan SEND school

Employee-owned firm secures one of its biggest education jobs to date
2 days ago

London Square lands homes role on major Waterloo scheme

Developer picked for Royal Street scheme in planned life sciences district
2 days ago

Security patrols stepped-up to fight cable theft

Pro-active patrols on East Coast Main Line to deter thieves
2 days ago

Kier storms August contracts league with £530m haul

Thames Water job helps contractor sweep to top of monthly rankings
3 days ago

Building safety Gateway 2 applications soar as levy looms

Building Safety Regulator workload jumps by more than 100 live cases ahead of October levy
3 days ago

McLaughlin & Harvey lands £70m Holborn Circus office job

Main works to start later this year after Erith completes demolition
3 days ago

Tilbury Douglas gets green light for £30m Leeds SEND school

Firm is in line for Broomfield specialist learning centre job
3 days ago

Plans to slash paperwork for company reports

Government looks at cutting "nonsensical" corporate reporting rules
3 days ago

Housing slump sees output fall at faster pace in August

Buyers report continuing drag from residential sector
6 days ago

Ascot brickwork specialist Harlequin falls into administration

Firm worked on landmark London schemes after growing turnover to more than £20m
6 days ago

Creditors back Ardmore CVA rescue plan

CVAs protect seven group companies ahead of key Building Liability Order appeal
6 days ago

Applebridge buys housing civils contractor Hughes Bros

Construction group acquires £35m-turnover groundworks specialist
6 days ago

Demolition go-ahead for Derby city centre regeneration

Site clearance to begin in early 2027 ahead of Market Place redevelopment
6 days ago

Mace and Arcadis land lead role on £2.5bn Luton Airport expansion

Consultants brought in to shape delivery plan for new terminal and airfield expansion
6 days ago

Trio win £208m Karbon Homes extra care framework

Robertson, Caddick and Esh appointed to North East and Yorkshire programme
6 days ago

Crest Nicholson issues profit warning as lender talks slip

House builder now expects £10m operating loss after weak summer sales
7 days ago

Galliford Try wins £110m Leicestershire pipeline job

Severn Trent awards major 23km treated foul water transfer scheme to River Tame
7 days ago

Graham gets Gateway 2 OK for Manchester student scheme

Work to start on first phase of £286m Cambridge Halls redevelopment
1 week ago

Go-ahead for 200 council homes at Battersea Power Station

Wandsworth scheme set to start construction in 2027
1 week ago