Oh Dear

Yes, 2 more managers have left their posts. 1 of these managers was typically El Nacional’s manager who frankly deserved for the abysmal result they suffered the other night. Then again, this does emphasise the temporary nature of hispanic football. The second manager to leave was Huub Stevens from PSV Eindhoven. I like his reasoning best of all – “I didn’t feel a link between myself and the players” is effectively what he said. I like the honesty and integrity of this man! Either that or his lack of ability to be able to even see AZ Alkmaar (or the cloud of dust that follows them) who are coincidentally some 15 points ahead of PSV Eindhoven. What does this tell us? Well, you either believe in new-manager syndrome i.e. the team in question will win their first game against whoever they play or you believe the complete opposite. I choose to believe they will win at De Graafschap at weekend but nonetheless, be careful when betting on this game.

What did we learn today? We found out that Spanish football has no concept of tactics. Barcelona lead 3-0 at home to local rivals Espanyol in the Copa del Rey. Ordinarly, any side with a grain of sense would knock the ball around, maybe venture forward for another goal at a slow pace and basically see the game out. Barcelona don’t seem to grasp that and promptly conceded 2 goals. They then had a brainwave, however – utilising the 3-3-4 formation they could protect their lead! So this was enforced, which bamboozled Espanyol, who swiftly had Daniel Jarque dismissed, presumably through confusion or some kind of Spanish counter-attacking method against the defensive 3-3-4 formation. The match finished 3-2, but God only knows how.

Friday’s Picks

My tips:

For a treble, you may wish to look at RKC Waalwijk, Cambuur Leeuwarden and FC Haarlem in Holland’s Eerste Divisie. Alternatively, you can look at a treble including Metz, Lens and Doncaster Rovers. Bargain of the day has to be Bastia to win against an out-of-sorts Strasbourg.

For the rest of the picks, see below!

English Championship:

Doncaster Rovers vs Norwich City (6)

Finnish Liiga Cup:

Mariehamn vs TPS Turku (5)

French Ligue 2:

Chateauroux vs Lens (8)
Stade de Reims vs Guingamp (5)
Bastia vs Strasbourg (4)
Brest vs Troyes (5)
Dijon FCO vs AC Ajaccio (6)
Metz vs Amiens (7)
Nimes vs Clermont Foot (6)
Sedan-Ardennes vs Angers (7)
Vannes OC vs Tours (5)

German Bundesliga:

Hamburg vs Bayern Munich (8)

Italian Serie B:

Modena vs Rimini (6)

Dutch Eredivisie:

Roda JC vs Heracles (7)

Dutch Eerste Divisie:

AGOVV Appeldoorn vs FC Den Bosch (6)
Cambuur Leeuwarden vs FC Zwolle (7)
Dordrecht ’90 vs Emmen (5)
Go Ahead Eagles vs RKC Waalwijk (7)
Haarlem FC vs RBC Roosendaal (7)
Helmond Sport vs MVV Maastricht (5)
Fortuna Sittard vs Excelsior (6)
Top Oss vs Stormvogels Telstar (5)
BV Veendam vs Omniworld (8)
VVV Venlo vs FC Eindhoven (10)

Portuguese Liga:

Vitoria Setubal vs Vitoria Guimaraes (5)

Enjoy your free betting tips!