Stoke City still favoured for relegation

The relegation market has drastically seen a shake-up after the weeeknd with Tottenham the big movers now at 14/1 to go down with Boylesports, who offered 11/4 (3.75) just one week ago.

Tottenham are now the same price as Portsmouth to go down, as Harry Redknapp's former club suffered a 1-2 loss at home to Wigan.

Stoke are still favourites for the drop, but after beating Arsenal 2-1 at home they are now 8/15 following their 4th home of the season.

RELATED LINK :
Live betting odds for relegation from the English Premier League.

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Aston Villa shorten to lift the UEFA Cup.

Aston Villa have been cut for UEFA Cup glory after winning in midweek while Spurs and Portsmouth are on the drift.

Aston Villa kicked off their Group F campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ajax at Villa Park and Ladbrokes have cut them to 11/1 to lift the trophy after goals from Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry secured victory over the Dutch visitors.

However, with the knockout stages still to come, there are plenty of challenges left and Villa can still be backed at 13.00 with PaddyPower.

Tottenham's miserable start to the season continued with a 2-0 defeat away to Udinese.

Spurs mixed passages of promising play with a defensive howler from goalkeeper Gomes and then an unnecessary red card to leave manager Juande Ramos even more uncertain about his future.

Spurs are 25/1 shots at BetFred for UEFA Cup glory - if you fancy their chances of getting sorted out.

Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth crashed to a 3-0 away defeat to Braga of Portugal and now Pompey are down at 40/1 in the betting ahead of their next fixture - a home clash with tournament favourites AC Milan.

AC Milan left some big names on the bench for their Group E opener away to Heerenveen but still cruised to a 3-1 win and have been cut to 7/2 by Ladbrokes.

Manchester City, who didn't have a fixture this week, are 14/1 to lift the cup.

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Spurs defeat shortens relegation odds

Spurs are now as short as 5/1 for relegation after their latest defeat - a 1-0 home loss to Hull - left them rooted to the foot of the Premier League.

Spurs have made their worst start to a season in 96 years and have just two points from the opening seven games.

And although the bookies still rate Stoke (1/5), Hull (13/8), West Brom (7/4), Bolton (9/4), Fulham (3/1) and Newcastle (7/2) as more likely candidates for the drop, it's still an surprising price crash for the White Hart Lane side, who were quoted at 1000/1 to go down by totesport before the season started.

VC Bet, and BoyleSports are the firms going 5/1 about Spurs dropping to the Championship.

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Saturday's Premier League Results Round-up

Hull celebrated a Premier League victory at the first time of asking with a 2-1 win over Fulham at the KC Stadium.

It was an inauspicious start for the new boys as Seol Ki-hyeon put the visitors ahead in the eighth minute from Jimmy Bullard's cross.

But Geovanni had already forced Mark Schwarzer into a good save and he beat the Australian with a fizzing left-footer (22) to level matters.

The former Manchester City man turned villain at the start of the second half, however, missing an open goal, but Caleb Folan ensured it would be Hull's day after Craig Fagan robbed Paul Konchesky (81).

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Arsenal kicked off the season with a 1-0 victory over promoted West Brom at the Emirates Stadium.

Gunners new boy Samir Nasri opened his account after only four minutes, finding the bottom corner following a lay-off from Denilson.

The home side could easily have extended their lead with Emmanuel Adebayor missing a one-on-one and having a goal disallowed for offside midway through the second half.

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Fernando Torres fired Liverpool to a scarcely deserved 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The striker was anonymous for much of the evening as his partnership with £20m new boy Robbie Keane continued to stutter, but he produced a vicious drive eight minutes from time to claim the points.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for a Sunderland side who had enjoyed the best of the play and all but negated the return of the Reds' fit-again skipper Steven Gerrard.

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Dean Ashton did his chances of being included in Fabio Capello's England squad to face the Czech Republic on Wednesday no harm with two goals for West Ham in a 2-1 victory against Wigan.

He opened the scoring after only three minutes at Upton Park, latching onto Julien Faubert's cross before turning and smashing a shot into the top corner.

He had a much easier task seven minutes later after Calum Davenport's hook towards goal left the former Norwich man with a tap-in.

Two minutes into the second half, Latics debutant Amr Zaki smashed in Emile Heskey's flick-on to give the visitors hope, but they could not find the equaliser.

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Andre Ooijer piled the pressure on Everton boss David Moyes with a last-gasp winner for Blackburn in a 3-2 victory at Goodison Park.

David Dunn turned away from Phil Jagielka before curling a brilliant shot into the corner (22) to put Blackburn ahead.

But Moyes, who has been unable to bolster his squad this summer, was smiling on the stroke of half-time as Mikel Arteta beat Paul Robinson with a 20-yard free-kick.

The home fans were celebrating again when Ayegbeni Yakubu headed home Arteta's cross to put them ahead (64), only for Blackburn to draw level through Roque Santa Cruz two minutes later. And Ooijer stabbed home the winner after Ryan Nelsen hit the post

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Newly-promoted Stoke were brought down to earth with a bump at the Reebok Stadium.

They found themselves behind thanks to a stroke of fortune for Bolton defender Gretar Steinsson, whose cross flew over Thomas Sorensen and into the top corner (34).

The Trotters' second goal was a lot more conventional, Kevin Davies outmuscling two defenders and heading in a long ball (41), and the Potters' Premier League bow was certain to end in defeat when Johan Elmander grabbed a debut goal (45) to make it 3-0.

Ricardo Fuller gave the Potters something to smile about with an injury-time goal.

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Tottenham will be hoping for a better start than last season but their opening match ended in defeat as Middlesbrough recorded a 2-1 win at the Riverside.

David Wheater had a header harshly disallowed in the first half so it was fitting the defender should open the scoring from close range after Afonso Alves' effort came off the bar. Mido then sealed matters four minutes from time.

However, there was still time for Robert Huth to halve the deficit by heading a David Bentley free-kick into his own net (90).

Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov, who is rumoured to be closing in on a move to Manchester United, came on as a substitute.

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Robbie Keane moves to Liverpool for £19m

Liverpool sign Robbie Keane from Spurs

English Premier League giant Liverpool have completed the signing of striker Robbie Keane from Tottenham for a fee that could rise to £20.3m.

Keane who is 28, underwent a medical on Monday after agreeing personal terms on a four-year contract worth around £80,000 a week.

The arrival of Keane takes Liverpool's spending to about £32m since the end of last season. Liverpool have already drafted in Degen, fellow full-back Andrea Dossena, goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri and teenagers David Ngog and Emmanuel Mendy.

About £20m has been raised by selling Crouch, John Arne Riise, Scott Carson and Danny Guthrie.

Spurs said they agreed an initial fee of £19m plus a potential further £1.3m. Tottenham have also agreed to drop their official complaint to the Premier League after Liverpool apologised for their conduct in pursuing the Irishman.

Liverpool will now become Keane's sixth club after spells at Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan and Leeds, before his switch to Tottenham in 2002 for £7m.

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Football transfer rumours

Another in the (almost) regular transfer rumour round-up series, with Spurs in the spot light today.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Robbie Keane is set to complete an £18m transfer to Liverpool within the next 48 hours.
(Source = Daily Telegraph)

Tottenham have accepted a bid of around £3m from Blackburn Rovers for their goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
(Source = The Independent)

Andrei Arshavin's agent has insisted the Russian would be interested in leaving Zenit St Petersburg for Tottenham. Although remember that he's also claimed that both Barcelona and Arsenal would be ideal places for his player.
(Source = Daily Mail)

But Arshavin risks pricing himself out of any move to England with wage demands of £100,000+ a week - that's £5.2 million a year.
(Source = Daily Mirror)

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has refused to rule out making offers for Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor and/or Chelsea's Didier Drogba.
(Source = Daily Mail)

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has told Liverpool to get on with their move for Gareth Barry or they will be barred from signing him.
(Source = Daily Mirror)

While others say that O'Neill has offered Gareth Barry a truce - along with a place in Villa's Intertoto Cup squad for the Odense match - and is ready to bury the hatchet after telling the England midfielder: "I want you to stay".
(Source = The Sun)

GOONER : We should know if this is true by Sunday as playing inn the Intertoto will make Barry ineligible for Europe any other club in 2008-09 and make him far less saleable.

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Spurs report Liverpool & Man Utd for poaching

Tottenham have complained to the Premier League over Manchester United and Liverpool's pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane.

Sir Alex Ferguson's comments that he expects a deal to go through for Berbatov have infuriated Spurs as has Rafael Benitez's interest in Keane with the Spurs chairman Daniel Levy singled out United boss Ferguson for criticism.

"It is unbelievably hypocritical given his comments in respect of Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid," Levy said.

"The behaviour of both clubs has been disgraceful. We told both clubs very early on that we had no interest in selling Robbie or Dimitar, respectively, and that they should refrain from pursuing the player.

I have absolutely no wish to sell either player and to date we have not accepted any offer for either"

"Both clubs arrogantly chose to ignore this request and we now have evidence that both clubs have systematically been working to prise the players away from us, outside of Premier League rules of conduct."

Ferguson announced on Friday that United had made Tottenham an offer for 27-year-old Berbatov and that he was confident that the deal would go through. Benitez admitted earlier this month that he was interested in bringing Keane, 28, to Anfield this summer.

But it was Ferguson's comments that prompted Levy to speak out about the attempts to unsettle his strikers.

"Today's public comments by Manchester United's manager, announcing that he has made an offer for Dimitar and is confident that the deal will go through with time working in their favour, is a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference with one of our players.

"It is also probably one of the worst offences by any manager in the Premier League to date. As a result, we have today made an official complaint to the Premier League about the conduct of Manchester United."

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Man United have Spurs' Berbatov in their sights

Manchester United are prepared to play a waiting game in the pursuit of want-away Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov.

United leave for their pre-season tour of South Africa on Thursday but are not going to be rushed into paying silly money for the 27-year-old.

It is understood United have made a bid for the Bulgarian striker worth £20million plus add-ons and given Berbatov's barely-disguised desire to move to Old Trafford and Champions League football, United are hopeful an agreement will be reached at some stage.

United have previous experience of protracted transfer dealings with Tottenham when Michael Carrick moved to Manchester in 2006.

That saga lasted several weeks and that situation could be repeated given Spurs have valued Berbatov at £28million and United are adamant they will not pay anything like that sum for the striker.

Berbatov's arrival would be likely to lead to the departure of Louis Saha - the Frenchman could even travel the other way if Tottenham are interested.

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Premier League Wages and Profits

The Premier League is generating more money than ever but only eight clubs are actually turning a profit says a Deloitte study of the 2006-07 season.

In 2006-07 Premier League clubs' salaries rose 13% - slightly ahead of a median 11% rise in revenue - and the situation is worse in the Championship as average wage increases of 14% outstripped median revenue growth of 3%.

There are startling disparities between the important wages-to-turnover ratios at clubs in England's top two divisions.

The average Premier League figure stood at 63% and the Championship level at 79% but there was a lot of variance. Tottenham had the lowest wages/turnover ratio or just 42%, followed by ManYoo (44%), Arsenal (50%) and then the two Sheffield clubs.

Liverpool stood at 58% and Chelsea was a high 70% - but then with a Russian sugar-daddy normal financial metrics mean little to the Blues at present.


There were high figures figures of 80% and 85% at Middlesbrough and Blackburn respectively. Alarmingly, Sunderland's ratio was 90% and Derby's 125%. But the latter two probably reflect the payment of performance-related bonuses to players for winning promotion.

Overall, only eight Premier League clubs showed operating profits, namely Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle, Reading, Sheffield United and Watford.

If your club isn't on this list then they're spending beyond their earnings - and any downturn in fotoball revenues could hit home hard ...

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EPL : Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool

Andriy Voronin opened the scoring at White Hart Lane as Liverpool ended their season on a high, while Spurs season fizzled to the disappointing conclusion as it has done since winning the Carling Cup.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres wrapped up victory at Tottenham with his 24th goal of the season better Ruud van Nistelrooy's first season total when he arrived at Manchester United.

Both managers will want to improve their respective teams league performances with Ramos wanting to gatecrash the top four with Spurs, while Benitez wants a title challenge rather than playing in end-of-season sideshows when the main events of the day are elsewhere.

Liverpool side finish the season on the 4th place while the Spurs can be found in mid-table in 11th place.

VIDEO LINK :
Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 2 Liverpool
69 [0 - 1] A. Voronin
74 [0 - 2] F. Torres

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UEFA Cup Outright winner bets.

The UEFA Cup resumes this week for the round of 32 with 24 qualifiers plus the eight Champions League dropouts hoping to win Europe's lessor competition.

According to the bookies, these eight teams can generally be regarded as outside shots a long way behind hot favourites Bayern Munich with strong sides like Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, Everton and Villarreal, who all battled through the group stages of this competition, are seen as the other leading contenders at prices ranging from 8.00 to 15.00

Last year's semi-finalists Werder Bremen are the best priced out of those to have fallen from this season's Champions League at a best of 17.00 at BoyleSports.

In regards to the other UK sides, Bolton have been written off at prices as long as 100/1 while Glasgow Rangers have a quote at 50/1 with Paddy Power while Aberdeen, who face Bayern Munich in the next round, are way out at 500/1.

BEST PRICES :
Bayern Munich 4.35 @ VCBet
Athletico Madrid 10.00 @ Interwetten
Tottenham Hotspur 12.00 @ Interwetten
Everton 14.00 @ Interwetten
Fiorentina 17.00 @ Canbet
Villarreal 17.00 @ VCBet
Werder Bremen 17.00 @ BoyleSports

or get the latest UEFA Cup odds at BookieLabRat.com

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Spurs heading to Wembley

Tottenham are off to Wembley for the Carling Cup final after hammering Arsenal 5-1 (6-2 on aggregate) in their semi-final.

Goals from Jermaine Jenas, Nicklas Bendtner (own goal), Robbie Keane, Aaron Lennon and Steed Malbranque earnt Spurs the victory with substitute Emmanuel Adebayor grabbing a consolation for the Gunners.

Betfred are facing a £500,000 payout after Spurs' victory.

"We were hoping that the Gunners would have blasted the Spurs defence apart." said Betfred spokesman Dave Metcalf.

"It was the worst result imaginable for us as we have laid Spurs heavily at 4-1 to win the competition outright, including one single bet of £50,000 to win £200,000. If Spurs go on to land the Carling Cup it will be us who are needing a few drinks to drown our sorrows!, " added Dave.

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Carling Cup Semi-final Draw

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham will meet in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup for the second season in a row.

Chelsea, the last team in the draw after beating Liverpool 2-0 on Wednesday evening, will play Everton.

The two-legged semi-finals take place in the weeks starting 7 and 21 January.

OUTRIGHT ODDS (all from Bet365) :
Chelsea 2.38, - Arsenal 3.50, - Tottenham 5.00, - Everton 6.00

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Carling Cup Outright Betting

Chelsea remain favourites to win the Carling Cup after overcoming a mighty scare to beat Leicester 4-3 at Stamford Bridge this week.

Frank Lampard completed a hat-trick with an injury-time winner to put the holders into the quarter-finals and Chelsea are 11/4 favourites (3.75) with Ladbrokes to defend the trophy.

Arsenal's latest batch of young Gunners cruised into the last eight with a 3-0 win at Sheffield United. Last season's runners-up were comfortable victors at Bramall Lane thanks to Eduardo da Silva's brilliant double and a deflected third from Denilson.

Liverpool were made to work harder as they overcame Cardiff 2-1 at Anfield. But a Steven Gerrard winner soon after proved good enough for the Reds.

Spurs are fourth favourites after Juande Ramos' first game in charge ended in a 2-0 home win over Blackpool. Robbie Keane and Pascal Chimbonda got the goals.

Manchester City (1-0 winners at Bolton), Blackburn (2-1 winners at Portsmouth) and Everton (1-0 extra-time winners at Luton) are all 11/1 at bet365 while West Ham are the 14/1 outsiders of the all-Premier League quarter-final line-up.

The draw for the quarterfinals takes place on Saturday.

ODDS :
Chelsea 3.75 @ Ladbrokes
Arsenal 4.50 @ Bet365
Liverpool 5.50 @ BetFred
Tottenham 10.00 @ Ladbrokes
Manchester City 12.00 @ Bet365

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Spurs sack boss - It's Jol Over

Tottenham have confirmed the departure of Martin Jol as manager following the UEFA Cup defeat to Getafe.

Spurs have issued a statement revealing the board asked Jol and assistant Chris Hughton to stand down, although there were reports earlier in the evening that the Dutchman had resigned.

A statement from the club read: "We can confirm that the board has this evening asked Martin Jol, club manager and Chris Hughton, first-team coach to stand down from their positions with immediate effect."

Jol added: "I can understand the position of the club in light of the results. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. Tottenham Hotspur is a special club and I want to thank the terrific staff and players.

"For me the fans were always amazing with their support so I would also like to say thank you - I shall never forget them."

Development coach Clive Allen and youth team boss Alex Inglethorpe will take charge of the first team for the time being, with Juande Ramos the overwhelming favourite to take over in the long term. Gus Poyet, the former Spurs midfielder, has been linked with an assistant-boss role.

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EPL Outrights : Liverpool losing ground

Liverpool are drifting in the betting after dropping more points at home in a 2-2 result with struggling Tottenham on Sunday.

The Reds needed a last-minute equaliser from Fernando Torres just to rescue a point after two goals from Robbie Keane either side of the break had put Spurs in front to wipe out Andriy Voronin's 12th minute opener.

Liverpool are now out to 6/1 (7.00) to finally win the Premier League.

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EPL : Tottenham v Aston Villa

Tottenham take on Aston Villa tonight (Monday night) in a "feature" Premier League game and to be honest there does not look to be a lot to choose from in this one.

Spurs are hovering around the relegation zone - a false position for them - they'll surely click eventually - but winning games is proving hard to do right now.

Spurs have lost 1-3 to both Everton and Arsenal here at the Lane - although the did thrash Derby 4-0 here (then again everyone beats Derby) - and it's just not going right for the desperate Martin Jol right now.

And Aston Villa are an improved outfit this season - impressing with home wins over Chelsea and Everton (both 2-0) and a 0-0 draw at St James's Park too.

The overwhelming feeling I get about Martin O'Neill's side is that they're very tough to break down - they've only conceded 4 goals in 6 games - so I'm not really expecting a goal-fest for the TV cameras.

A tough game to handicap - I'm thinking scores of 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1, so the DRAW probably looks the value option at prices of 3.35 to 3.50 depending on the generousity of your bookmaker or the betting exchange.

PICK : 0-0 DRAW.
ODDS : 3.49 at PinnacleSports or 3.30 at Ladbrokes

RELATED LINK :
Cruiser has his preview of the Spurs v Villa game up on the main site now too.

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Jose Mourinho to manage Portugal in Euro2008?

Jose Mourinho looks likely to be the next manager of the Portuguese national side if the weight of punters money is to be believed.

The job of the Portuguese manager is obviously one that might appeal to the ego of Mourinho - and returning as a "national hero" of sorts will surely appeal to the self titled SPECIAL ONE.

Also remember that with Big Phil Scolari getting into trouble recently - trying to punch a Serbian player after a 1-1 draw in qualifying - that the Portuguese FA may well be looking for a popular way to cut the ties.

The Portugal national side is the outstanding favourite at 1.50 (after starting at 14.00 at some bookmakers) and the next two contenders are Tottenham and AC Milan at 6.00 and 6.50 repectively.

While AC Milan would be a good fit for Mourinho they seem to be in a good solid position and not looking for a change so I can't see that happening - while the Tottenham link is surely just a reaction to the instability of Martin Jol's job - as I also cannot imagine Mourinho being happy to settle for 5th best !!

One club job that might be worth a tickle could be the Barcelona role where boss Frank Rikkard is under pressure again after a slow start by Barcelona in this seasons La Liga - and Barca may simnply think that it's time for a change.

But as mentioned the overwhelming favourite is manager of Portugal - and the challenge of the task of finally leading Portugal to international success must surely appeal to Mourinho.

JOSE MOURINHO NEXT JOB ODDS -- BET AT BET365
1.50 Portugal
6.00 Tottenham
6.50 Milan
11.00 Valencia
15.00 Porto
15.00 Real Madrid
21.00 Barcelona
21.00 England
21.00 Juventus
41.00 Man Utd

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Football Review - Spurs 1-3 Arsenal w. video.

Arsenal come from behind to win the North London derby 3-1 with Adebayor scoring twice.

Highlights video showing all four goals ...



UPDATE :
Apologies - YouTube gestapo have removed the video already - but you can still see two goal videos down below - and more over on this Spurs site - Harry Hotspur.

(He's a good sort so don't go taunting and crapping all over his site eh?)
:-)

Post match interviews from the BBC.
------------------------------------
Interview: Tottenham boss Martin Jol
Interview: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger
Interview: Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas

Tottenham 1-3 Arsenal
Spurs --: Bale 15.
Arsenal : Adebayor 65, Fabregas 80, Adebayor 90.

Two goals by Emmanuel Adebayor, with a brilliant long-range shot by Cesc Fabregas in between, gave Arsenal the three points after Gareth Bale had put Spurs ahead.

But for long spells it had seemed Arsenal's careless finishing would lead to Spurs beating Arsenal - as the Gunners opened up the Spurs' defence time and time with quick, incisive passing - but couldn't find the right touch in the opening 45 minutes.

Spurs went to the break 1-0 up, and Berbatov should have doubled Spurs' lead when he raced through on goal and rounded a stranded Almunia, who had left his area, but the Bulgarian attempted to trick Toure rather than shoot into an unguarded net and was dispossessed.

Yet if that was a bad miss, Adebayor quickly matched it as he blasted over from eight yards following a great run and pull-back by Bacary Sagna.

However in the 65th minute Fabregas' free-kick came in from the right - after the Spaniard had been fouled by Steed Malbranque - and Adebayor finally demonstrated he has a striker's touch by powerfully heading home.

ADEBAYOR CELEBRATES HIS EQUALISER IN THE DERBY

Berbatov had a shot cleared off the line by Gael Clichy. But Arsenal delivered the crushing blow when Fabregas set his aim from distance and crashed in a fierce strike to put Arsenal ahead 2-1.

Tottenham substitute Darren Bent then scuffed his shot horribly wide when clear through on goal - demonstating a touch that puts a huge question mark over the value of his 16.5m transfer fee last summer.

And, remarkably, there was still time for Arsenal to score a third goal when Adebayor flipped up the ball on the edge of the box, swivelled and crashed a magnificent volley into the top corner.

(much like T.Henry v ManYoo a few seasons ago - see this video at MegaVideo - hopefully it will last longer)



AND A BONUS VIDEO :
Here is Fabregas's strike to put Arsenal 2-1 up ... WOW!

It's now 19 games over eight years since Tottenham last won this derby in League or cup.

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CHELSEA CLEAR FAVOURITES FOR TITLE

Manchester United may have finally won a league game - but Chelsea are still clear favourites at the bookmakers to win the English Premier league title.

Chelsea are at a best priced 2.20 at BetFred to win the title - with Manchester United second favourites at 3.75 at Bet365 after their poor start to the season which leaves them five points behind the Blues.

The Red Devils are also a couple of points behind Liverpool and Arsenal despite having played a game more.

Liverpool are considered 3rd favourite with Ladbrokes offering a big 4.50 on the Reds, while Arsenal are considered the longest shots of the "big four" at 9.00 - also at Ladbrokes.

If you are looking for a fairytale season from someone outside this group then you can get huge prices with Spurs at 151.00 (PaddyPower), Newcastle at 201.00 (PaddyPower) and Manchester City at 301.00 (BetFred)

RELATED LINKS :
As always you can read our English Football betting previews up on the main Gambling Guide site.

And you can find the lastest odds and prices on all the English Premier league betting lines at Bookielabrat.com.

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Midweek football - a chance to atone?

The first few weeks of the new season are always full on and for a couple of sides (Tottenham and ManYoo) the midweek series of domestic league fixtures gives tem an early chance to atone for weekend disappointment.

See our English football previews page for more.

WE also have the hugely important 3rd qualifying round of the champinos League, and there is as much as Euro 20m at stake for Liverpool and Arsenal as they strive to reeach the lucrative Group stages.

See the UEFA Champions League preview page on the main site for tips and picks now.

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Preseason results : Arsenal, Spurs, Barca win - Chelsea slump

A busy Saturday afternoon for European clubs as the pre-season takes on a more serious turn - especially for those clubs who are building to qualifying matches in the Champions League.

In North London, Arsenal beat PSG 2-1 with goals from Mathieu Flamini and Niklas Bendtner in the Emirates Cup, while Valencia beat Inter Milan 2-0 perhaps showing their more advanced focus on results.

In Scotland, English clubs found it tough to get a result as Rangers upset Chelsea 2-0 with two late goals to Nacho Novo (86) and Filip Sebo (87) - which will be a great boost to the Glasgow club as they face a Champions League 2nd round match against FK Zeta this week.

And Hiberian beat Middlesbrough 1-0 thanks to a last minute winner from Ross Campbell - as Hibs added another scalp to the 3-0 win over Bolton on Wednesday.

Spanish giants Barcelona had no such problems, with Barca beating Hearts 3-1 in front6 of over 57,000 fans at Murrayfield with Ronaldinho scoring twice in the first half.

In Belgium, Charleroi beat Manchester City 2-0 as Sven found it harder to win outside Sweden, although in truth City bossed much of the match but lacked sharpness in front of goal.

Other games saw Premier league clubs stroll to wins against lowly opposition with Sunderland beating Bohemians 1-0, West Ham winning 3-1 at Southend, Birmingham scoring a 2-0 win over Walsall and Spurs beat Orlando Pirates 3-0 somewhere in Africa.

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Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham (AET) With Video

Arsenal have squeezed through to the final of the Carling Cup - after having to go to extra-time before finally dealing to a dogged Spurs side.

While it's been a story of "Young Arsenal" throughout the preliminary rounds - it was a more senior team tonight - with only Thierry Henry given the night off (although that is a very LARGE only).

We had Gilberto back and Adebayor on up front - and this team dominated Spurs in the first half but were unable to make a breakthrough.

DENILSON IS CLASS ...
The standout player for me was the young Brazilian Denilson (18yo) who seemed inspired by playing alongside his world cup winning countryman and really dominated the show from start to finish.

WALCOTT IS .. WELL .. NOT
By comparison the English wonderkid Theo Walcott had another effort to forget, showing an appaulling touch on many occasions, and he was very wasteful with both passing and crossing. He may be fast - but he's constantly choosing to attempt balls that he doesn't have the skill to complete.

SCORELESS AT THE BREAK
Walcott was substituted in the 63rd minute for Tomas Rosicky and Arsenal instantly looked a much more dangerous outfit - and it was no surprise when Adebayor finally gave the Gunners a 1-0 lead in the 77th minute.



But Spurs boss Martin Jol reacted - bringing on the transfer-bound Mido who almost immediately popped up with a set-piece goal and it was 1-1 with 5 minutes left and extra-time loomed.

EXTRA TIME REQUIRED
But Arsenal were dominant now - with Cesc Febregas (who had replaced Diaby) and Denilson running the middle or the park and a goal just before the extra-time break from Aliadiere gave Arsenal an advantage that looked to be enough.



Spurs had top chase the game, and Arsenal's lead was extended 4 minutes later when a Rosicky shot went in off a post and the unlucky Tottenham defender Chimbonda ... and at 3-1 on the night the game was done.



Arsenal ended the night showboating with a display of possession and Tottenham were chasing shadows ... and not getting close.

Bizarrely Spurs fans started chanting "England, England, England ..." which seemed a little xenophobic and certainly made a rather weak point. (except perhaps that England don't win many trophies either?)

Arsenal through to the final then - to face Chelsea's expensively assembled squad of veterens ...
---------

THE KIDS ARE OK - BUT EXPERIENCE WAS NEEDED ...
All in all - an interesting encounter - and another derby win for Arsenal over Spurs - but despite the headlines it was NOT the kids who won the game as by the end of the match it was Silva, Denilson, Fabregas and Rosicky who were the difference - and three of that quartet are first choice players.

So I wonder if Arsene Wenger will play "the kids" or whether the team that finished at the end will be closer to the team that plays the last English trophy in Cardiff ?

We will see ...

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Arsenal Odds on for Carling Cup Final

Two goals from Julio Baptisa - who was obviously motivated by scoring an own-goal earlier - enabled the Arsenal kids to battle back for a 2-2 result in the first leg ot the Carling Cup final at White Hart Lane.

The bookmakers have reacted by slashing the odds on Arsenal reaching the final of the Carling cup with Will Hill making the Gunners 2/5 (1.40) favourites while Spurs have drifted out to 7/4 (2.75).

In the overall market Chelsea are 1.66 at BetFair and are strong favourites while Arsenal are best priced 3.75 at SportingOdds and Spurs a staggering 11.00 at VCBet.

As usual there is wide variation at the bookmakers, with Arsenal as low as 2.50 and Spurs quoted at 5.50 at one bookie, so make sure that your getting the top prices as indicated if you're having a punt.

I've taken a slice of that SportingOdds price - as I'm sure it won't last.

Good luck.

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Spirit of 1987 : The Littlewoods Cup Victory

Blood hell - is it really 20 years since The Arse beat Liverpool in the Littlewoods Cup thanks to a pair of goals from Champagne Charlie Nicolas?

The League Cup was a big thing back in the 80's of course. English Clubs had been kicked out of Europe and so only had the three domestic competitions to play for and both knockout competitions were full on.

ARSENAL BEAT MIGHTY LIVERPOOL
And I remember that the win over Liverpool in the final was a big thing - maybe not a massive event - but it was Arsenal's first trophy since the FA Cup in 1979 - it was done on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Wembley on national TV (still a novelty back then) and it was enough to convince Gooners that George Graham was on the right path.

Remember that Liverpool were the domiant side of the 70's and 80's and seemed to have an iron grip on this competition - winning it four seasons running - and they'd never lost when Ian Rush had scored for them ... until Perry Groves and Charlie Nicholas conjured up the winner.

Two years later Arsenal delivered the League Championship to the Highbury faithful in the most dramatic of circumstances at Anfield (see the post below) - and later on the players said that the confidence and belief stemmed at least in part from that particular day at Wembley.

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But of course that all may not have happened if Arsenal had not got past Spurs in the semi-finals.

YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT QUIET CHAS !!
Tottenham won the first leg at Highbury 2-1, and were leading 1-0 in the second leg at halftime for a 3-1 aggregate lead ... it all seemed over for Arsenal until a cheeky Tottenham stadium announcer decided to fill in the silence during halftime telling supporters where they could queue for final tickets after the game.

Big mistake. The players heard it. That insult helped launch an Arsenal comeback, with the Gunners winning 2-1 to force a 3rd replay three days later - which Arsenal also won at White Hart Lane with two goals in the last 7 minutes.

There were scenes of wild celebration after that semi-final win .... yes that's right - for a league Cup semi-final - it was seen as a major win.

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So think about it, the 1987 Littlewoods Cup win, then the 1989 Anfield Miracle, followed by the 1991 Championship and the 1993 Cup double. It all might never have happened.

Dennis Bergkamp might never have been enticed over, Arsene Wenger might never have joined and we may never have seen Theirry Henry playing in the red and white shirt ...

If only that Spurs announcer had kept his trap shut ...

Hmmmmmmm - It makes you think ...
:-))))

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Arsenal v Spurs (only the good results)

Spurs fans should click their |BACK| button now - because you're not going to like anything in the rest of this post.

Here is a selection of recent North London derbies - where the Gooners win.

2006.12.02 Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham


2005.04.25 Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham


2004.11.13 Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal


2003.11.08 Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham


2002.11.16 Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham

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The Sheet - England - Dec 9/10/11

( Click the image to see the full sheet )

The sheet is back for the weekend - and we will be hoping that it can follow last weeks example when it went 3-0. (see Forum thread )

This week the sheet picks as many as five games to have a punt in - and all the picks seem to be around fair value or better.

Manchester United vs Manchester City
The first game is the lunchtime derby game with Manchester United given a huge edge in home/away form - and although City have traditionally done very well in avoid defeat in this fixture (4 draws in the last 5 seasons) they've never had to overcome such a large ranking difference of +474.

The sheet takes Manchester United to win and probably by a 2+ goal margin.

Liverpool v Fulham
Less controversy about the next pick as Liverpool have been very good at Anfield this season and Fulham always seem to struggle when travelling.

Again the sheet says Liverpool are likely to be big winners by a 2+ goal margin.

Tottenham v Charlton
Also favoured is North London side Tottenham who have been pretty good at the Lane this season - and there is not reason to think that they won't beat relegation threatened Charlton. The price of 1.60 at Interwetten is very good.

Bolton v West Ham
Home comforts is the key to pick number four - although this one is only expected to be by a one goal margin - but the best price of 1.85 at Canbet is well worth chasing as good value.

The final pick is one that I personally did not want to see - but cannot disagree with as it looks at the Sunday game:

Chelsea v Arsenal
Chelsea have gone 2.5 seasons in the league without a home defeat (Arsenal won 2-1 there in 2004) and it's hard to see the Blues being beaten this time either.

The sheet says that this will be the tightest of the 5 picks this weekend in England but still sees enough in the numbers to make Chelsea a 56% favourite to win and the price of 1.75 (available generally) is fair value.

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OK - lets see if we can get 4 out of 5 and ensure a profit - you'll understand if I say that I'm personally hoping that Sunday's game DOES NOT go to form.

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Tuesday Football

There is a wee bit to choose from on Tuesday, with the Champions League and the Premier League playing at the same time as fixture congestion (due to a late start after the World Cup) starts to bit.

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In England we have Blackburn travelling to Charlton is a game that they COULD win - but it's hard to be confident about a Blackburn side that are just 1-2-3 so far on their travels.

Consider taking Blackburn on the level ball asian handicap bet which works like a Draw-No-Bet option - return your stake if it finishes all-square.

Best Price is at PinnacleSports (as usual) here you can get Blackburn at 2.04

We also have Tottenham hosting Middlesbro and I'm more confident about going for a winner there as Spurs should have enough firepower and desire to get past Boro team that does not travel well.

Take Tottenham at any price over 1.70.
Best price is 1.75 @ Austrian bookmaker Interwetten.

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In Europe both Barcelona and Chelsea should win - but you don't need me to tell you that or find you prices although you can read Cruiser's preview of the Barcelona v Werder Bremen game here.

Perhaps Olympiakos are worth a shot in their game with Shaktar Donetsk? The Greek side need to win - and the Ukrainian side has lost all 8 of their previous away games in the Champions League.

Take a look at RedLine's preview of this game as see what you think.

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Good luck with whatever you're betting on tonight.

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Arsenal beat Tottenham 3-0 : VIDEO

Arsenal put an awful week behind them with a 3-0 win over Tottenahm in the first North London derby to be played at the Emirates Stadium.

A 20th minute goal from Adebeyor put the Gunners on their way, followed by 2 penalties from stand-in captain Gilberto Silva.

Here's a video of the Gooner highlights that I found online.

It was a result borne out of hard work from the Arsenal side - rather than a stunning passing display - but that seems to be true of all derby games these days eh?

And after the disappointment at both Bolton and Fulham it was good to get back to winning ways.

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