Sports Personality 2010

He does qualify...he actually finished 3rd a few years ago

Here's the definition of who is eligible for the award taken from a BBC webpage

Definition of who is eligible

Voted for by the public live during the TV show, this prestigious award will be given to the sportsman or woman whose actions have most captured the public's imagination in 2009. Non-playing coaches or management are not eligible.

People are eligible to win Sports Personality of the Year if:-

They are British or all of the following criteria apply:

- They play a significant amount of their sport in the UK

- Their core achievements that year were achieved in the UK, and not with a non-UK based team (in which case they would more likely qualify for the Overseas award)

- They are residents in the UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/sports_personality_of_the_year/7735134.stm

I would say Mccoy fits the neccesary criteria

Lay McCoy at your peril.  He is almost certain to make the shortlist given the tintenet/McGovern campaign and the upset from last year.  Whether he will win or not, I don't have a clue.

Ryan Giggs won it on ''count-back'' and ''longevity'' last year so unless one of our Golfers wins a Major, then McCoy should have a chance.

Is McDowell in the list ?

or murray wins the us open

Is McDowell in the list ?



Indeed he is.


Pay more attention to tinternet and newspaper campaigns than sporting achievement than this market becomes very easy.

adge     03 Jul 10 10:41 
or murray wins the us open



I don't think that many people live in Linthkow do they?  Spelling is wrong, I have only been there one.

Phil Taylor should get this, disgrace hes never even been on the shortlist before.

$wordfish     05 Jul 10 18:20 
Phil Taylor should get this, disgrace hes never even been on the shortlist before.



Excellent.  You are just the type of punter I like to oppose.  Good luck.

Thanks for the advice, am happy to leave McCoy alone then, I am even going to back Murray for the Us Open as a cover instead!

Personally hoping Lewis Hamilton wins the World Championship, as this time it is on BBC so more profile than when he was runner up (SPOTY) in an olympic year!

This could be anybodys.  All you need to do is develop the mindset that this is a phone betting competition and a concerted campaign could get anybody to be the winner.

It is a market to treat gently to start with, imo.

Ok Everyone back John Fashanu for SPOTY if i get him up should we fix it?

Tony McCoy qualifies for SPOTY on the radical ground that he is born in the UK.

Also Taylor has been on the shortlist (2006) when he was also interviewed as part of the programme.

DHB Joined: 26 Nov 01
Replies: 53 09 Jul 10 03:41   


Also Taylor has been on the shortlist (2006) when he was also interviewed as part of the programme. 


If this is the case then i think hes got to be a realistic contender this year?.

i originally thought McCoy was from Southern Ireland therefore not British! (re Harrington)

Getting stuck into Mr Hamilton b4 the Open, if no brit wins his odds shorten significantly!

I overlooked the most obvious problem for Phil Taylor which is his conviction for indecent assault.

mcoy i think is 15 times unbeaten champion jockey an incredible feat..if he was a boxer he would be the best pound for pound without a doubt.i think this year he should get it but horseracing isnt as glamorous aaaaas other sports.

The short list will be (as it stands) McCoy, Hamilton (world champ?), Williams (Gold Medal), McDowell (US Open), Murray (Semi final and final at major)& Collingwood or Swann (20twenty).

The top 3 now would be McCoy, Williams and McDowell. However if Hamilton wins the World Championship he wins! (See previous)

ok not Swann (drink driving charge)

No move on Hamilton yet, still I suppose until it is likely that he wins SPOTY then won't drop rapidly, but each week there are less and less contenders.

An event to keep well clear of
In 1964 Speedway's Barry Briggs was the clear winner but as Speedway was not a BBC Sport ,the award was given to Mary Rand.So beware on manipulations by the BBC

gollob1     21 Jul 10 18:22 
An event to keep well clear of
In 1964 Speedway's Barry Briggs was the clear winner but as Speedway was not a BBC Sport ,the award was given to Mary Rand.So beware on manipulations by the BBC



It is a phone vote nowadays.

Lee Westwood's odds have dropped, consistency is good enough. Phil Taylor also come in for support.

After another excellent display in France here's hoping that Cav gets on the shortlist again, he doesn't get the credit he deserves, hoping that McCoy and Taylor are in the shortlist too for similar reasons, both have dominated their sports for years and get minimal recognition from this award.

Its as much a personality contest as a sports contest.

kincsem     27 Jul 10 06:41 
Its as much a personality contest as a sports contest.

I think you're confusing "personality" with "popularity" but you have a point.

I'm building positions on less well known people. Had my usual Jess Ennis bets and have a 5 figure green on Lisa Dobriskey and Mo Farah. GOlds at Euros and Commonwealth athletics will get these types into the top 10 in another very poor for British global sports people.

Farah wins a gold live on BBC running with a smile on his face and hamemering a Spaiard into the bargain.

Brilliant chance of the double and then he is a real SPOTY contender.

cant have mo farah. too black and african-looking im afraid. think cav might have a squeak this year. shoo-in for the shortlist and cycling is getting v popular

why tf are there campaigns on behalf of McCoy ?

It's the horse that's the athlete not McCoy !

By all means praise him ... but don't compare him to a world record breaking athlete or even a top sportsman.

Wasn't it won by a show jumper a few years ago?  And what about F1 drivers, would you liken them to jockeys too?

This award has become a bit of a joke in recent years. It's time to change the title for a start...

last year's winner certainly didn't win it for performances in 2009.

You might find that over the last 2-3 years after cheaper phone calls have taken effect that the winners have been regional with tinternet and local press backing.  This has nothing to do with personality and sometimes achievement.  In short it is a hyped up farce.


My little tip.

But I see that the sensible people here know it is a hyped up farce.  I guess it makes it more fun when there are a lot that think that they are punting on different rools.

It's a meaningless title to win these days. Giggs last year proved that.

It is one of the eassiest markets to win on in a year though. All you need is a decent general sports knowledge and a sense of how the voting works. In short, it;s an outstanding betting prospect and one most bookies cannot price properly.

certainly become a bit of farce in years when there's no one's who obviously achieved something outstanding. letting the GBP vote is always gonna lead to ludicrous results. shouldn't be like big brother or the x factor.

i have seen all the comments and unless Hamilton gets the World title he has no chance. So come on Lewis. As for Farah he should be fav now!

Should be fav but the 'refugee come good' thing doesn't work as well in the UK as elsewhere.

One advantage is that the BBC will be showing the pictures of him winning those golds plenty over the next 4 months. I'm happy with my big green at 200's. I also claim credit as the one who asked betfair to put him in the market!

well done pwhite. hope rory doesn't win the major. golfs prestigue on bbc outweighs running me thinks!

On checking this morning I see that the blue book stands at 94.2%.  I guess the market is anticipating a few swimmers to be added, but who else needs to go on the list?

I don't see any swimmers getting there really. Adlington didn't even win when taking two Olympic golds with a world record on route and displaying a very pleasant British persona (albeit with a wanger of a nose).

I can't think of any left field people that will be involved.

Farah just broke Dave Moorcrofts 28 year old British 5000 meters record to finish 5th in the Zurich Diamond League.

If SPOTY is awarded on sporting achievement, he is now a long way ahead of anybody else.

Unfortunately for me this year, it is not awarded on achievement!!

Farah just broke Dave Moorcrofts 28 year old British 5000 meters record to finish 5th in the Zurich Diamond League.

What an achievement!   Get real mate.

"What an achievement!   Get real mate. "

2 European golds followed by comfortably beating a 28 year old national record - how are these not great achievements? 12.57 is a superb time for a clean athlete.

I see Mr Scholes has been added! (after last years farce I have to back him! and he scored at west ham, just like giggs!

Decent shout on Scholes.

You think he will make top 10 though?

Be a crime if graeme mcdowell dosen't win it

My main punt has blown it in the last 2 races. Mr Hamilton.

Be a crime if graeme mcdowell dosen't win it

Good call. now Fav.

This market is open to rational analysis. The top ten are picked mostly by newspapers and their choices are mostly conventional so we know the top ten will include McDowell,McCoy,Ennis,Farah,Williams,Swann,Cavendish and possibly Taylor, Haye, Khan, a racing driver and/or a late performer. There will be  a programme going through the candidates and some sort of pundits' assessment. The pundits will recommend the first five in the list (unless a McLaren driver wins F1)and the public will vote. McCoy and Ennis are likely to make the top 3 on past form and the winner will be one of these or McDowell. Last year's selection of Giggs was not surprising as he did win something that year (player of the year) and he had earnt public respect over previous years.

What is McDowells voting block? Northern Ireland is the one territory which may not offer a big home vote. I'm not certain what they will do.

Giggs had the Welsh vote, Man United supporters vote and the housewife vote.

The other one I may get added to the list is Welsh hurdler Dai Greene. He should win the Commonwealths to add to his European gold and this would give him half a chance of making the top 10. Once he got in, the Welsh vote can play again (Giggs, Calzaghe).

If it was to go to the best performing sports person this year, McDowell would be 1.01 though.

The McDowell voting block will be mainly golfers as the NI vote will be split with McCoy. Not sure if the golf vote is bigger than the jump racing vote.

Incidentally, whilst I agree McD should be fav, it's a bit of a puzzle why his Ryder Cup performance had such an impact, taking him from around 8.0 to 3.0 when he didn't do much more than other team members.

Golf's full of random major winners and given that the significance of majors shouldn't be overrated on cross sport comparisons. If he'd done something remarkable like Yang did last year then I'd accept so but he hit a 74 on the last day from second place while being 3 shots behind and won without a play off.

On trophies collected he'd be 1.01, on sporting performance it's open to interpretation.

also on McDowell it's interesting tha Paul Lawrie didn't make the top 3 despite winning the Open in 1999. And there is a chance his vote will be split with Montgomerie or Westwood if they make the top 10.

I agree on the over-rating of a mjor Lazyramper but we are looking at another very weak year in terms of achievements.

Personally, I am massively green on Farah at 200, standard green on Ennis at 30 or something like that and red the field. I don't think I have the winner but am hoping to have an OK laying position closer to the event.

Could Audley Harrison make the shortlist,if he KO's the Hayemaker

Amy Williams is quite hard to value. She has won something significant and is the only woman with a chance apart from Ennis so might attract some votes.

sausagedog - you have left out the only British woman world champion - Tweddle

come on swann..skittle those dingoes!

I agree but mccoy is a lot more deserving than most..i like to see proper champions winning,like tweddle,gmac,haye,ennis..

Can someone explain to me how winning a Diving Title when you beat just 4 competitors with a partner and 6 on your own gives you not only a nomination for SPOTY but also one for Young SPOTY which you have already won twice....

Just what is the BBC's obsssion with Tom Daley????????????

I just dont get it??..

Can't believe I can lay McCoy on here at 6/5.  Horse racing, it has to be admitted, is very much a minority interest (especially on the BBC!) and surely people aren't going to vote in their droves for a jockey.  I'd much rather lay than back at current odds.

backed mccoy at 50/1x£10 also 38/1x£10 then layed half at 1.96 so happy days