Betting Spy: Wolves and West Ham to be slain

Grant Prior 15 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

New law to force tower block cladding fix by 2029

Jail threat looms as £1bn fund launched to fix unsafe social housing
10 hours ago

Infrastructure Pipeline published with 780 projects worth £530bn

New online tool to provide live updates on hundreds of schemes
15 hours ago

BAM boots Danny Sullivan off £100m HS2 bat tunnel

Contractor terminates labour supply deal on controversial project
20 hours ago

World’s largest crane lifts Hinkley dome: Video

Construction times cut by 30% on nuclear site
13 hours ago

Flannery invests £22m with JCB to boost fleet

Plant hirer strikes latest deal with machinery giant as fleet investment continues
15 hours ago

Mace confirmed for £200m Paddington overstation job

Helical JV also sets start date for 429-room student job over Southwark station
21 hours ago

Kier names new construction boss for clients and markets

Rebecca Boundy promoted to lead sector teams after year of framework wins
21 hours ago

Elements Europe went down owing supply chain £8.7m

Korean owner kept offsite specialist afloat with £71.8m of loans in bid to stem losses
2 days ago

Bristol awards £288m civils and highways framework

Eurovia, Tarmac, Colas and regional SMEs share 10-lot deal
22 hours ago

Kier seals PCSA deal for £55m Bridgend school

Heronbridge special school move back on track after cost hike and delay
22 hours ago

Mobile crane fire closes M11 motorway

City Lifting machine catches fire in Essex
22 hours ago

Altius and Erith win landmark London tower rebuild

Westminster council advances Huguenot House redevelopment
2 days ago

Corbyn suppliers left £4.4m out-of-pocket

£33m-turnover civils contractor only employed eight staff
3 days ago

McAlpine to restore England’s largest Victorian water tower

Colchester’s iconic ‘Jumbo’ to be reborn as visitor destination
2 days ago

Andrew Scott lands £20m Grand Pavilion revamp in Porthcawl

Restoration of landmark Art Deco building gets underway with 2027 finish target
2 days ago

Keepmoat profit drops 35% as completions slide

Land pipeline expands to 24,400 plots as firm eyes rebound
2 days ago

Bid race begins for £425m water transfer scheme

Contractors invited to help shape Affinity Water project
2 days ago

Legacy building defects return to haunt Barratt Redrow

House builder sets aside £248m for Redrow fire and concrete frame fixes
3 days ago

Skanska agrees £153m price to revamp A47 Thickthorn junction

New link roads and underpasses to ease traffic near Norwich
3 days ago

First tower plans go in for £1bn Liverpool Pier Head site

First design will "set tone" of scheme which could contain 60-storey tower
3 days ago

Barhale creates new low-carbon chief board role

Haddon takes board seat while Solomon becomes eastern regional director
3 days ago

Met Police preps £300m framework for estate upgrade

Early market talks start ahead of October bid contest
3 days ago

Raft of SME firms win £94m framework places

More than 50 demolition and asbestos specialists chosen: Full list
3 days ago

GRAHAM gets go-ahead for £110m Boddingtons Brewery revamp

Work to start this summer after Gateway 2 approval secured
4 days ago

Thames Water finance chief joins BAM UK & Ireland

Abigail Farrell-Black joins contractor as new finance head after senior roles at Thames and Southern Water
4 days ago

FM Conway profit jumps to £33m under Vinci

Turnover hits £608m and cash surges £68m just two months into new ownership
4 days ago

McAlpine breaks ground at £1.25bn Port Talbot green steel job

Port Talbot switch to scrap-powered production by 2027
4 days ago

Cappagh lands £136m Portsmouth Water deals

Utility specialist wins AMP8 contracts for infrastructure and smart meters
4 days ago

Rethink over “anti-dumping” tariffs on Chinese diggers

Fair trade body reconsiders ruling after lobbying by manufacturers
4 days ago

Sparks agree near 4% wage increase from 2026

Top hourly rate in London to rise to £26.70 under JIB deal
4 days ago