Roman Abramovich
FreeThat is the question that sits in my mind when I read his name. I just cannot comprehend his reasoning for being in football. I mean, if I had his kind of money, then fair play, I’d do whatever I wanted as well. But it’s more than apparent already that Abramovich thinks his money can just buy what he wants, which isn’t the case in this game. He thinks he can rule Chelsea as a dictator not an owner and that things will still be good – wrong. For an example of how bad dictatorship can be for a club, look at Hearts in Scotland with owner Romanov. It’s just farcical, it really is. As you’ve probably seen, Abramovich has sacked Scolari, which may have been harsh, but it was a stupid appointment to begin with. Abramovich may as well have appointed me as manager as I’m on a par with Scolari’s experience of management in European club football (prior to his appointment, that is!). I really do think that Abramovich literally just opened his history book to see which managers have won the World Cup, shut his eyes and jabbed wildly at the page! On this basis, I predict the next Chelsea manager will be Marcello Lippi, as he won the last World Cup! I actually do feel sorry for Chelsea now because their club has zero chance of progression for the next few years as they have no youth players emerging, an ageing squad, no manager for longer than 12 months no matter his quality, and no manager good enough to do what Abramovich wants them to do. They made their first mistake letting Mourinho leave – the rest of the mistakes follow this. Yet the man that has caused this chaos is the owner of a massive company making vast amounts of money! Again, the question returns – “Why?”. I guess some things weren’t meant for us mere mortals to understand!
Now, I’d be lying if I said I was troubled by the above, being a Manchester United fan. In fact, in quite a petty way, I’m rather happy about it! That doesn’t make it right though – but what can be done? If Abramovich leaves, Chelsea will be bankrupt and probably sink 2 divisions in a Leeds-esque style. If he stays, Chelsea will win nothing for years. It’s a horrible situation, and one I’m glad I’m not part of!
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
In all honesty, I don’t like betting on International Friendlies because they’re bloody unpredictable for a large part. So if you do decide to back anything below, then I wish you the best. That said, there is one game that intrigues me as I think the odds are great and there’s a good chance. I really fancy Wales to beat Poland and I’ve seen odds floating around of 3/1 at some bookies. Toshack does an incredible job with Wales and Poland are largely unpredictable as to whether they turn up or not.
For the rest of the picks, see below!
Brazilian Campeonato Carioca:
Bangu vs Volta Redonda (6)
Mesquita vs Macae (5)
Vasco da Gama vs Cabofriense (7)
Flamengo vs Boavista Sport Club (7)
Brazilian Campeonato Paulista:
Bragantino vs Santo Andre (8)
Guarani vs Guaratingueta (7)
Noroeste vs Barueri (5)
Sao Caetano vs Oeste (6)
Corinthians vs Mogi Mirim (7)
Mirassol vs Palmeiras (4)
Copa Libertadores:
Lanus vs Guadalajara (6)
San Lorenzo de Almagro vs San Luis (7)
Libertad vs Universitario Lima (5)
Cypriot Division A:
Ethnikos Achnas vs AEK Larnaca (8)
Ecuadorian Primera A:
Espoli vs Deportivo Cuenca (4)
International Friendlies – U21:
Israel U21 vs Moldova U21 (7)
Slovenia U21 vs Romania U21 (5)
Tunisia U21 vs France U21 (7)
Italy U21 vs Sweden U21 (6)
International Friendlies:
Latvia vs Armenia (7) 2-0
Libya vs Uruguay (7) 0-2
Macedonia vs Moldova (8) 2-0
Egypt vs Ghana (6) 2-0
Cameroon vs Guinea (7) 3-1
Burkina Faso vs Togo (5) 1-1
Tanzania vs Zimbabwe (6) 0-1
Algeria vs Benin (6) 2-0
Angola vs Mali (6) 1-1
Mozambique vs Malawi (5) 2-1
Kuwait vs Azerbaijan (5) 0-1
Iceland vs Liechtenstein (5) 1-0
Estonia vs Kazakhstan (7) 1-1
Israel vs Hungary (6) 2-1
Lithuania vs Andorra (10) 4-0
Wales vs Poland (6) 1-0
South Africa vs Chile (7) 2-2
Turkey vs Ivory Coast (6) 2-1
Romania vs Croatia (5) 0-1
Morocco vs Czech Republic (6) 0-2
Greece vs Denmark (7) 3-1
Austria vs Sweden (6) 2-2
Germany vs Norway (8) 2-0
Switzerland vs Bulgaria (5) 1-1
Tunisia vs Netherlands (7) 1-2
Belgium vs Slovenia (6) 3-2
Nigeria vs Jamaica (7) 2-0
France vs Argentina (8) 1-1, penalty in this game
Portugal vs Finland (7) +1.25 handicap for Finland
Spain vs England (5) 1-1
Colombia vs Haiti (9) -1.25 handicap
Venezuela vs Guatemala (7) 2-0
Peru vs Paraguay (6) 1-2
Welsh Premier League:
Newi Cefn Druids vs Caernarfon (7)
World Cup Qualifiers – European section:
Malta vs Albania (6) 0-1
San Marino vs Northern Ireland (8) 0-2
Republic of Ireland vs Georgia (3) 1-1
World Cup Qualifiers – Asian section:
North Korea vs Saudi Arabia (7) 0-1
Japan vs Australia (7) 1-0
Uzbekistan vs Bahrain (8) 3-1
Iran vs South Korea (7) 0-0
World Cup Qualifiers – North American section:
El Salvador vs Trinidad & Tobago (6) 2-1
USA vs Mexico (7) 2-0
Costa Rica vs Honduras (6) 1-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!