Betting.Betfair

The Betfair Contrarian has said some pretty outrageous things over the years but this one might top the lot. How can Manchester City, the best team in England right now, and fresh from shredding last season's Champions League runners-up, possibly exit Europe's premier competition at the group stage? Allow him to try to convince you to join him in laying the Premier League leaders to progress at 1.87... 

 [u]The outlook is fairly bleak [/u] If you didn't know the team names and were simply told that Club A were a point clear of Club B, had held them away and were soon to host them, you would fancy Club A to qualify. Manchester City (Club B) are 1.87 to go through at the expense of Napoli (Club A) purely due to their reputation, a reputation that they haven't once lived up to in...

[b]He's at it again - The Betfair Contrarian is repeating a claim made before the whole Premier League season kicked off - that moneybags Manchester City are going to fail in their pursuit of the holy grail that is finishing in the Champions League qualification places. The Contrarian has been strutting his stuff for years now but very few of his arguments attracted the same level of criticism that his pre-season claim that Manchester City would miss out on Champions League qualification provoked. Earlier in the campaign, it looked like he might be shown up badly but their inability to win away in 2011 has kept the vacancy open, and the Contrarian still recommends snapping up the lay price of 1.39 offered on them failing to finish in the top four...[/b] [i]There's a feeling of déjà...

Roberto Mancini claims to remain unaffected by Manchester City's growing status as one of the most disliked clubs in the country. His assertion is that the widespread opprobrium is born of envy and that, "everyone is so afraid because City in the next two years will be one of the top teams in Europe and it will be a problem for the other teams". Mancini should probably focus more on ensuring he does actually qualify for the Champions League next season - the minimum requirement for someone who has spent over £150m in his 14 months in charge - before he starts talking in such lofty tones, but while he insisted on Friday that the criticism of his side was "not important to me," he did nonetheless suggest that a nerve had been struck when he said that City's treatment has been "unfair"....

This season has been a right old rollercoaster ride for Manchester City backers. Matched as low as 5.9 on the eve of the start of the season, they drifted out to 40.0 at one stage but are now right back in business according to the market, trading at 9.0. If anyone can explain to me why they're almost twice the price Chelsea are (even if Carlo Ancelotti's side won their two games in hand they'd still be a point behind) I'd love to hear their explanation by the way, but my advice to anyone who hasn't yet had a bet on the Premier League winner market is to take a punt on Roberto Mancini's side. The Italian has a really good chance of guiding this motley crew to Premier League glory but....only if he follow these five golden rules. [b]1) Get rid of everyone who doesn't want to be there[/b]...

A week is a long time in politics, said Harold Wilson. A week in football is an eternity. Even 45 minutes is long enough to get through most of War and Peace. At half-time in the North London derby on Saturday, [b]Spurs[/b] looked like they were going to crash to defeat against an Arsenal side that held a 2-0 lead. Had Tottenham lost, then they would have had won just once in the last six games. Instead, Arsenal went to pieces and Spurs picked up their second consecutive victory. After the match,[b] Harry Redknapp[/b] said that his team could win the title. The current odds of 60.0 for Spurs to win the Premier League, suggests that the Betfair punters have less faith in his side. Another team to be hailed as title contenders after winning this weekend was Manchester City. The former...

Sackings in the Premier League have fallen since the top division's clubs signed up to a binding arbitration process that determines compensation in instances where settlements cannot be agreed. That said it would be a significant shock if at least two Premier League managers were not sacked before the January transfer window opens. Those most in danger are reflected in Betfair's latest prices for Premier League Relegation 2010/11: Blackpool 1.78, Wigan 1.94, West Ham 2.12, Wolves 2.14, Birmingham 3.4, WBA 7.4, Stoke 7.6, Fulham 9.4, Bar 12.5. [b]Avram Grant[/b] of West Ham, [b]Roberto Martinez[/b] of Wigan and [b]Roberto Mancini[/b] of Manchester City seem closest to the exit door, but should they be? One understands the clamour for success but expectations are not always realistic...

I recently read an interview in which the actor [b]Danny Dyer[/b] was moaning about being typecast in roles as gangsters and [b]football hooligans[/b]. You'd be sympathetic towards him, apart from the fact that when he's not acting, Dyer constantly fronts documentaries in which he meets gangsters and football hooligans. If you always play to type, then you can't expect people to think of you in any other way. Which is why [b]Mario Balotelli[/b] can't complain when people label him as a nutter. 'Super Mario' is stereotyped as a bad boy footballer, with an explosive talent that is entirely in keeping with such a loose cannon. The Italian striker certainly lived up to his reputation by scoring two goals and getting sent off in Manchester City's win over West Brom. City are appealing...

If the tabloids are to be believed, and God help us if they are (Arsène Wenger doing what? I don't believe it), there is mutiny in the air at [b]Manchester City[/b]. Roberto Mancini, not 11 months into the job, is a week away from getting the sack if results at Eastlands don't change as dramatically as Wayne Rooney's opinion of Manchester United's "ambition". In many ways [b]Mancini[/b] has created a rod for his own back. There is nothing wrong with casting yourself as a no-nonsense, single-minded authority figure. In the cut-throat world of top-flight football you are only as good as your next game and it is the manager alone who takes the rap for results. Indeed, in the era of the celebrity footballer it is quite refreshing to see managers putting pampered players in their place by...