N'Zogbia still eyeing the exit

Wigan midfielder Charles N'Zogbia has once again made it clear that he sees his current club as a springboard in his career.

The Frenchman has however admitted he made a mistake in the summer when he demanded a move from Wigan.

It was a strange move from N'Zogbia, who knows that Wigan's policy is to never stand in the way of any player looking to move to further their career.

All chairman Dave Whelan insists on is that his club get a decent price for their best players and that the players continue to give their all while still at the club.

N'Zogbia admitted he was in the wrong and said: "The club remains a springboard but I made a mistake and was given bad advice, I had a good talk with coach and he relies on me."

"I have the quality to reach a new level but to achieve it I have to play and Wigan offers me this opportunity."

N'Zogbia was close to sealing a move to Birmingham before the season started but couldn't agree personal terms with Alex McLeish's side. Other interest has come from N’Zogbia's homeland, with Marseilles and PSG both interested in taking the midfielder when the January transfer window opens. The Betfair Football rumour mill has linked him with a few clubs.

After another example of N'Zogbia's abrasive attitude, not many teams in England will be overly keen on taking the 24-year-old on despite his obvious talent. If no one matches Wigan's valuation of the player, then N'Zogbia will have to see out the remaining two years of his contract.

Wigan have started this season in dreadful form and many bookies choice have made Wigan betting tips for relegation. If N'Zogbia is sold then Wigan's chances of survival would probably go with him. In the Frenchman's defence, playing for Wigan must be a frustrating occupation. In a town where football takes a back seat to Rugby League, the average attendance for the football team is less than 20,000, way below the majority of Premier League and Championship teams. It must be a little tricky to get motivated for a handful of angry northerners, in an empty stadium.

West Brom have the last laugh

When West Brom signed Peter Odemwingie from Locomotiv Moscow before the transfer window closed, not many would have been overly excited. Those with a keen eye will have seen Odemwingie represent Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations as well as this summer's World Cup but not a great deal more. The Uzbekistan born forward who has earned over 47 caps for Nigeria, the nation of his father's birth, had been in Moscow for three years after a big money move from Lille.

The 29-year-old's time in Russia was far from a happy experience and racism was an issue for Odemwingie during his time in Moscow. After Odemwingie had secured his move to England, the Locomotiv fans displayed an offensive banner aimed at the player. Well it's fair to say West Brom and Odemwingie are the ones chuckling now.

Odemwingie has been West Brom's best player so far this season, scoring three goals in his five appearances in the Premier League. The Nigerian spent much of his career as a winger but has been used as a striker by Roberto Di Matteo and showed he is more than capable of doing a job up front. Odemwingie opened his account with a goal on his debut against Sunderland before netting another at Birmingham. Odemwingie's most important goal for his new team came in last weekend's shock win over Arsenal at the Emirates. It certainly wasn't a result the Betfair Specialists predicted.

Despite his slender build, Odemwingie has shown an ability to play as a target man. His ability to hold the ball up as a lone striker as well as pull the strings just behind the front man will give West Brom welcome options this season. West Brom will be desperate to avoid their usual fate of yo-yoing between the Premier League and the Championship. Although many people made West Brom betting tips to go down before the start of the season, they have performed well so far.

In their previous efforts to cement themselves in the top flight, West Brom have often struggled to find enough goals in their team. If Odemwingie can carry on his early season form then the Baggies will have their best chance in recent years of staying in this league.

With the fee paid for Odemwingie believed to be in the region of £2 million, West Brom have picked up one of the bargains of the season.

Misery on Merseyside

The loud protests echoing round Anfield on Saturday said it all - Liverpool fans are not happy and a quick glance at the results this season tells you why.
A lowly 16th in the league and dumped out of the cup against Northampton, the 2-2 draw with Sunderland was just another in a string of unacceptable results for a club of their stature and the fans made sure everyone knew about it.

But it wasn't the players or manager who faced the wrath of the Reds supporters, it was the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

After arriving full of grand promises two years ago things have only gone downhill for a club considered a rightful member of the Premier League big four. But instead the club is now saddled with debt, the Europa League has replaced the more lucrative Champions League and the ground move is as far away as ever. The Premier League betting also suggests they will really struggle this season.

But Liverpool fans will not take such downturns lying down. The Spirit of Shankley group is already an organised force against the American duo and Saturdays protest is just the latest in a long line of vocal acts against the owners.

Hicks and Gillett have so far doggedly refused to cave into the fans pleas, but with a deadline on the repayment of a debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland imminent, things could soon come to a head.

One option is for the club to sell on the cheap, with Hicks and Gillett walking away without a significant loss. Though this would see a fresh regime in charge many fans loathe to see Hicks and Gillett walk away with so much cash after such a disastrous tenure.

However, that could be the easy option compared to what else could happen. The RBS could seize control of the club which could quickly lead them falling into administration, leading to a nine point deduction and a fire sale of players.

It seems the fans are between a rock and a hard place as the future of the club reaches a decisive point, no one would make them football betting tips for this season.

And while the lawyers do their stuff off the field the fans will hope the likes of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, once again the best players on the pitch against the Black Cats, will help the club pick up form and lift some of the gloom lingering over Anfield this autumn.

Bolton v United offers tempting opportunities for bettors

Bolton v Manchester United is normally a Premier League fixture that sees the Old Trafford outfit come away with all three points. However, with Owen Coyle once again making Bolton a tough place to visit since his controversial arrival, Sir Alex Ferguson will know all too well that his side will simply have to be at their best if they are to finish the next round of fixtures with all three points and keep up the pressure on league leaders, Chelsea.

However, with the match odds market for this game offering very little to bettors, with United's thumping Carling Cup win last night perhaps influencing the current odds, it may well be worth thinking about using this fixture in a weekend accumulator. This kind of bet can see investments of as little as a pound producing fantastic returns for bettors prepared to look at the wider fixture list, rather than just the match their team is involved in.

If you're not entirely sure how to gamble or you're one of those bettors who likes to focus solely upon one game and one market, rather than waiting until all the results come in to calculate any profit or loss, take a look at either the anytime or first goalscorer markets. With fringe United players such as Bebe and last night's star Michael Owen likely to be on offer at tempting prices, you might want to take a chance.

You might think the recommended bets so far have been relatively risky. If risk and betting are two words that don't fit well in your mind, don't despair. A relatively safe option, if you know how Betfair works, is to lay a Bolton win this weekend. Unless Bolton pull off what would surely be one of the shocks of the recent fixtures and beat the title-chasing outfit, this is a bet that can only bring a decent return.

Sevilla’s struggle again

Sevilla’s Europa League Odds suffered another set-back as they lost their opening Group J game of the tournament. The Spanish side are playing in this competition after losing to Portuguese club Braga, in the Champions League qualifying round.

If Sevilla thought the Europa League would provide a much easier proposition then they were mistaken. Sevilla were put in a tricky group which features PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Ukrainian side Kaparty Lviv. The Spanish side are going to need to improve on their opening performance if they are going to stand a chance of progressing out of this group.

PSG went to Seville as massive underdogs with Europa League betting to get anything out of the game. The beginning of the first half saw the French club coming under pressure from the hosts, who couldn’t find a way past the Paris defence. Centre back Alexis was making his debut for Sevilla and came close to opening his account in the sixth minute, only to see his effort saved by PSG keeper Apoula Edel.

As the opening half wore on, the French visitors grew in confidence and mounted their own pressure. Brazilian Nene looked lively from the off and he set up Clement Chantome only for the midfielder to blast over. Sevilla’s keeper Andres Palop was being kept busy by the Paris attack, saving again from Turkish striker Mevlut Erdinc.

Although Sevilla got back into the game in the second half, after introducing Freddie Kanoute and Diego from the bench. The Spaniards had the majority of possession in the second half but still couldn’t really threaten Edel’s goal. Despite the pressure, PSG broke the deadlock with 15 minutes remaining. After breaking from the back, Nene found himself in space and finished past Palop, via a deflection. Sevilla couldn’t find a reply and PSG took the points and the advantage in Group J.

Brazilian Wellington heads back to Brazil, will join Arsenal in January 2011

Arsenal's Samba acquisition Wellington just concluded a month of training with some friendly matches included as he gears up to make an impact with the club in 2011.

He will return to Brazil and Fluminese, who agreed to a £3.5million transfer in early 2010. The 17-year old cannot join the Gunners until January 2011 at which point he will be 18.

The Daily Mirror recently quoted Wellington as he spoke about his training with Arsenal.

"The experience in London was perfect. I can now dream of playing in the Premier League and I don't think it will be hard for me to adapt."

Back...

Looking forward to writing again as we had to take a six-month break from the majority of our Internet obligations. Hope you have enjoyed our excellent posts by Tom Mallows but look forward to increased content once again.

Thank you.

Rooney saga shows the tabloid's true intentions

Just as it looked like England were recovering from their disaster at last summer's World Cup another sordid kiss-and-tell story looks set to disrupt their preparations and potentially force their star player out of the game.
Whatever Wayne Rooney did or didn't do, it is clear the press have been digging for stories ever since the side's failure in South Africa and are determined to throw as much mud as the players as possible.

The timing once again is awful, with Rooney's mental state being assessed before the Switzerland game on Tuesday. The football odds suggest he is likely to score if he plays, but this will just add further weight on his shoulders.

On one side Rooney and the three other players who allegedly took out super injunctions to stop stories reaching print should watch their behaviour and be aware of their status as role models.

But I can't help but get annoyed at the media who on one hand claim to support the England side and crave success as much as the supporters, yet seek to disrupt the team as much as possible by exposing the players private lives days before a game.

Modern day footballers lack a moral compass, it is hardly shocking news, and something the FA and PFA need to look at when it comes to educating young players about how to deal with the money and fame that comes with life at the top.

I'm sure most fans also take a poor view of the players' off-field antics, but they also want the team to win. I'm sure there is a way of bringing playing away footballers to account without ruining our chances of success. The side are most people's Euro 2012 betting tips to make the finals of the tournament, but these developments won't help.

Or maybe it is as many people suspect - the press prefer England to fail as it gives them more to write about.

We can only hope this scandal doesn't ruin the Three Lions chances in Switzerland on Tuesday. The 4-0 over Bulgaria was the perfect way to begin their quest to reach Euro 2012 and a win over Ottmar Hitzfeld's side would put them in pole position.

But the way the tabloids are working, you wonder which player they are going to get next.