To pay £35m for Andy Carroll – now that is a punt and a half.

Kenny and his American bosses are relying on Carroll to become a new Kop hero in the wake of Fernando Torres rapid conversion to the bright lights of west London.

The lad can certainly play. But he’s no world beater at the moment and could easily be a poor man’s Mark Hateley rather than the next Ian Rush.

Some pundits have described Carroll as “unplayable” on his day. I’m not so sure.

I puffed around a bit in my playing days as a centre half and described the odd striker as unplayable whenever they scored.

My manager soon deemed me unpickable if I didn’t find a way to stop them next time and the same could be true of Premiership defenders with Carroll.

The surprise factor is now over and from here on in is the real test of whether he’s a real Liverpool number nine or the latest in a series of Merseyside disappointments.

Enough of the analysis – how can we make cash out of the whole transfer merry go-round?

Well Chelsea take on Liverpool on Sunday and it seems written that Torres will pop-up to torment his old team and should be backed at 11/10 with Paddy Power to score any time and infuriate the travelling fans with a bout of apres-goal badge kissing.

This week’s other football matches look a bit tricky to call so let’s turn to rugby to make a few bob.

The Six Nations kicks of Friday night and I fancy England to get off to a winning start and cover the -3 handicap with Paddy Power at 10/11.

Put them in a win double with Ireland to beat Italy at -13 on the handicap at 10/11 for a linked bet which pays 3.64/1.

It’s been a blank few weeks for Betting Spy, but the striking Spaniard and England and Ireland’s finest can get us back to winning ways.

Running Total for all bets to a £10 stake:   +£95.75

Betting Spy has joined forces with Paddy Power to offer all readers a free bet when they open an account. Just click on the link below to visit construction’s favourite bookmaker to find out all the latest prices and follow the easy steps to setting-up an online, telephone or mobile account