Ref Watch - Stevenage 0-1 Orient

I've not had to single out an officiating performance for a while now, and whilst we got a well-fought victory at Stevenage today, I still wanted to get these few points across while they were fresh in my head.

Today's refereeing performance started off as an annoying but oft expected "homer", with the man in the middle seemingly walking in fear of Stevenage's many brutish ball-hoofers, but descended into farce in the second half, when both sides had reason to be aggrieved with Darren Sheldrake. 

 

Only Orient, however, had cause to bemoan fourth official Ian Crouch (right). Crouch was apparently scrutinising Ben Chorley's 45th minute challenge with such an eagle eye, whilst at the same time operating the electronic board on which he was simultaneously holding aloft a signal of a minute's additional play, that he was able to advise Sheldrake (left) to produce the red card.

This added insult to injury as Orient had been trying to outplay Borough for the first 45 minutes - a task about as difficult finding the bald spot on Russell Slade's head - and were regularly frustrated by Sheldrake's inconsistent decision making.

A few memorable examples:

Within minutes of kick-off, Stevenage's 6-foot 2-inch centre-half half-wit Jon Ashton was mouthing off at David Mooney, right in his face, physically accosting our lone striker and clearly using excessively aggressive intimidation tactics.  This was allowed to continue and set the tone for Stevenage's gameplan, which Sheldrake was happy to tolerate.  http://www.stevenagefc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10839~9840,00.html

On the left-side, the fourth official's side, our goalscoring midfielder Lee Cook was subjected to a stud-showing high boot from 6-foot 4-inch non-league graduate Michael Bostwick http://www.stevenagefc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10839~36331,00.html and again, Sheldrake didn't penalise him.

Most annoyingly, 6-foot (are you sensing a pattern here) Chris Beardsley, who plays a brand of "football" about as beautiful as his Geordie namesake, left a foot in on Leon McSweeney, and got a friendly talking-to from the referee and a loving touch on the arm... but nothing more than a free kick for us.  Beardo then went down clutching his face after an innocuous tussle with Ben Chorley, which gave fourth official Ian Crouch his cue to interfere and point the finger of doom at our centre-back, who along with Scott Cuthbert [MOTM], was doing a great job in a makeshift back four.  http://www.stevenagefc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10839~23260,00.html

To even it all up after the break (Darren had obviously been thinking deeply about his many mistakes), Sheldrake gave SBFC sub Chuks Aneke a straight red for a high foot that in the first half would probably not have even caused him to draw breath, let alone blow his whistle.  That, as per usual, was the main issue with the officiating today - inconsistency - it's just so annoying for the spectators, and even though both teams finished the match with 10 men, both sets of fans would not have been happy with the refereeing performance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16331495.stm

http://www.leytonorient.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10439~59336,00.html

Do you remember any other shocking decisions from the match?  Lisbie's booking near the end of the match perhaps?  Your comments and thoughts are welcome and appreciated!

All-Time Monster Chaser - the Star may never be Kaut

The Festive Season & a Retrospective Glance at 2011

Did any of you heed my Boxing Day treble?

"Why not back the following in a triple.. all PF Nicholls runners at Kempton on Boxing Day:

Silviniaco Conti 4/1
Rock on Ruby 15/8
Kauto Star 4/1"

Hope not - as it would not have paid out - but it was mightily close on a Boxing Day that will long live in the memory for reasons other than bubble & squeak and turkey sandwiches.

The three Grade 1 races were all fiercely contested, treating the packed galleries to spine-tingling finishes in the very short run-in to home after the last flight.

Grands Crus rewarded those of us who have stuck with him this season (http://palphabet.blogspot.com/2011/11/crus-ing-into-jump-season.html), showing that the step up from Novice Hurdling to Novice Chasing is not asking too much of this powerful grey, who jumped gracefully under Tom Scu and held off Silviniaco Conti.  I backed the 1-2 in this race with a toteexacta and a reverse at the track, and also had profitable returns using the same tactic in the Christmas Hurdle.

AP gave Binocular a vintage ride, switching from out wide of Rock on Ruby and Overturn, who looked strong three from home, and turned the former Champion Hurdler towards the rail, where he just had enough to beat Ruby Walsh on a mount bearing his name, but not named after him.  “Ruby” actually refers to a Ladies’ Shop in Sherbourne:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-1343274/Captains-log-Emerging-star-Rock-On-Rubys-Newbury-success-music-Festival-Goers-ears.html




The highlight of the day (and arguably, year) was obviously seeing Kauto Star regain his King George title.  Column inches in national newspapers and racing press alike have done more justice to l ‘Extraterrestrial than I could here, so I’ll just post a few pictures and direct you to this tweet of mine (right).  It shows Kauto leaping eight from home like a gazelle on springs and the collective intake of breath from the packed Kempton gallery will ring in my ears for many a year.





For readers not familiar with the greatest chaser of our generation, have a look at this excellent piece from “Honest” Frank Keogh:  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/8425970.stm

 Finally, I’m going to use this blog to summarise some personal highlights of 2011, many of which I have experienced first-hand.  They’re in no particular order, and are subject to debate, but for one reason or another they have heightened my emotions throughout this memorable year of sport, betting and betting on sport:

Frankel – The Freak was the feature on the flat in 2011 and I had increasingly large stakes and ever diminishing odds in the Guineas, the Sussex “Duel on the Downs” and on Champions’ Day at Ascot, which was one of my best days out of all time! There are loads of pics from the day here: http://palphabet.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

Nice & close to the action at Champs Day

Denman – we got a cat this year and named him after “The Tank”  - seeing him finishing a gallant second to Long Run in the Gold Cup was a beautiful sight.  The horse that is, not my cat.

Denman enjoying his retirement

Kauto Star – as mentioned above – what a fantastic return for this high class chaser –  he may be less of a “horse for the people” when compared to his next door neighbour, but Kauto paid for Christmas!

Don't fret, Mr Christie, I'm sure you'll be seeing me again

The Gold Cup at Cheltenham featuring the above two Ditcheat superstars was a classic, and seeing those two bomb up the home straight, albeit behind the Dentist & Long Run, left all the respective connections feeling like winners on the day.  We’ve already booked our tickets and accommodation for the 2012 festival, which is only a few months away.

The honours board at Cheltenham - this McCoy cha(m)p seems fine

Barzalona – his celebration on Pour Moi was so iconic that Ruby Walsh replicated it on board Kauto Star on Boxing Day!  I listened to this race on the wireless whilst at Lord’s watching England v Sri Lanka’s test match and it sounded like Andre Fabre’s colt was out of the picture.  He touched over 30-1 in running and came from the back to steal it, but Mickael’s arrogant fist-punch, standing up in the stirrups would’ve left most thinking he’d romped home.  He’s obviously had his fair share of photo finishes in the past.

We all know "that picture" of Mickael but I like this shot, from Edward Whitaker's superb "Beyond the Frame"  

Barcelona V Man United – Barcelona available at evens to win this contest in 90 minutes still looks like a great shout if you were on.  I enjoyed it in a Spanish bar in Shoreditch with my Barcelona shirt on – a masterclass in football, firmly putting Fergie et al in their place again.



Journalists beware...

I will find you

Meeting Henry Winter & Guillem Balague at The Emirates v Barcelona – two doyens of sporting journalism took the time to pose with me – I don’t know how often they get stopped by fans of their work!

Djokovic – in 2010, I failed to lay Roger Federer as he had two match points over the Serbian in the semi-final of the US Open, and Nolé made me pay.  I lost £425.  This year, I didn’t make the same mistake, and was more able to savour a great year for the likeable powerhouse. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/sep/11/us-open-2011-federer-djokovic

Yes, RFed went on to LOSE this match - look at those numbers!

Darren Clarke – my first experience of live golf was down on the Kent coast – live links golf.  I backed Clarke on my way down from St Pancras with £100 at 4s on Betfair, and was on the 18^th green as he lifted the Claret Jug.  No phones allowed on course, but I bought a lovely branded radio to listen to events unfold whilst following DC, Mickelson, Jiménez and the Yank in orange around the undulating countryside.

A-FORE-mentioned Open branded wireless radio

Ashes – this seems so long ago now but the start of the year was characterised by late nights and red eyes as Essex boy-wonder Cookie showed the Aussies how to bat.

Sachin – I honestly thought that I would see him get his 100^th ton this summer, and was sure, with tickets booked for Lord’s, the Oval and Edgbaston, that I would witness it in the flesh.  He was looking in great shape in the midlands with an ominous strike rate of 66.66 before stepping on his stumps for 40.   http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/aug/13/sachin-tendulkar-india-england

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2011/engine/match/474474.html

Tendulkar takes guard at Edgbaston.  Little did those stumps know what he would do to them later.

Orient 1-1 Sheffield United http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15319619.stm it may have just been a relatively early-in-the-season league fixture to most, but to this blogger it represented a confirmation that our poor start to the campaign was unfortunate, rather than indicative of a deep malaise.   Down to 10 men, having had left-back “Champagne” Charlie Daniels sent off by idiotic official Oliver Langford, veteran striker Kevin Lisbie snatched the draw for the Os in the 6^th minute of 2^nd half stoppage-time.  A pitch invasion nearly ensued; saliva was allegedly projected in the direction of the Blades’ dugout.  As savoury as one of Brisbane Road’s infamous Chicken Balti Pies, I’m not going to defend that behaviour, but I leapt out of my seat and jumped around like a maniac and gyrated in a way reminiscent of the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, May 6^th 2006, when I was chased off of the pitch by a police horse.

"He's got no hair but we don't care" - Slade celebrates the point against Sheffield United as it all kicks off in E10

http://www.leytonorient.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10439~57712,00.html

http://www.leytonorient.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10439~29206,00.html

Judd Trump – OK, so my punt on him to win Sports Personality of the Year was foiled by all except those nice nominators from Nuts magazine (or was it Zoo?) but I had sizeable returns from him making the final of the World Championship in 2011 and going on to claim the UK title just a few weeks ago, beating Rocket Ronnie on the way.  This playboi is one for the future, no doubt, and yes, I’m talking about SPOTY.

Palphabet finds itself in the rarest of scenarios - a green book

Phew - I have enjoyed one hell of a sporting year!  Finally, a cursory mention for a) Hamilton v Massa – I just found their episodes this year mildly amusing; and b) David Silva – for me, the 2^nd best thing in the Premier League after Mario Balotelli, but certainly the best player on any pitch in England throughout 2011, apart from Paul-José M’Poku.

M'Posing with Belgian wonderkid PJ M'Poku.  I do miss him terribly.

I wish all Palphabet readers a happy new year and the best of luck during 2012.

Mwah!

Nightmare end to a Whirlwind Week

Wow. Yesterday’s Super Sunday was a day of sport that would have warranted a national holiday, had Sunday not already been designated as a day of rest for most of the western world.  Messi putting Neymar in his place, Villa unable to defend corners, Phil Jones showing a good turn of foot but a suspect temperament in front of goal, City responding to United’s lunchtime pressure in a way befitting the champions elect.  Add to that Big Buck’s performance on Saturday, Raya Star franking Rock on Ruby’s form over hurdles and RVB crashing out of the PDC last night, and it’s been a weekend for sports fans to savour.

Unless you were laying bets on the exchanges that saw you in this position by Sunday night:

Period: Last 3 Hours Last 6 Hours Just For Today From Yesterday Last 7 days Last 30 days Last 3 Months Download to Spreadsheet ? (relates to event settlement date) (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm) to (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm)

Golf: -£167.53 | Horse Racing: -£124.17 | Snooker: £177.78 | Soccer: -£655.57 | Special Bets: -£25.52 | Tennis: -£58.81 | Tote: | Total P&L: -£853.82

I am deliberately looking back over the past 30 days rather than the past 24 hours – I’d like to think this is because I take a long-term view of my trading and focus on moving averages rather than short-term fluctuations. The truth is I daren’t look at my isolated weekend P&L for fear that it may result in my Christmas having an outlook of pessimism similar to that of a battery turkey.

The Australian wallet returned just over a ton of profit thanks to IJP prevailing down under, returning some solace off a £17 stake at just a couple of points shy of 9-1 but that has done little to lift my spirits during this supposed time of good will to all men.

I have, however, got some bets on for the yuletide period, and I want to carry on testing my hypothesis that you see a higher than average number of red cards in mid-week televised football matches played under poor weather conditions featuring teams at opposite ends of the skill spectrum or with something significant to play for.  My optimism for profit has been boosted by this schedule of televised fixtures:

Mon 19	Crystal Palace v Birmingham (7.45pm)	7.30pm	Championship
Tue 20	Blackburn v Bolton (8.00pm)	7.30pm	Premier League
Wed 21	Wigan v Liverpool (8.00pm)	7.30pm	Premier League
Thu 22	Tottenham v Chelsea (8.00pm)	7.30pm	Premier League

The odds offered against a sending off in those matches are all between 3/1 and 5/1, and as such, I will be looking closely at tonight’s match.  Crystal Palace and Birmingham have just one red card between them so far this season and are separated by just one place and one point in the league so far this season.   Birmingham’s sole sending off came, however, in a match away to Cardiff, who are above them in the Championship and will have tested their defence enough to draw Curtis Davies into a last-man challenge that denied Kenny Miller a goalscoring opportunity [despite replays proving the decision made by referee Anthony Taylor to be incorrect]. 

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2011/12/05/birmingham-city-boss-blames-curtis-davies-sending-off-for-defeat-97319-29894224/ 

Whether or not Crystal Palace’s attack will cause the same problems is a moot point.  A swift glance at the prowess of these teams in front of goal does not reveal a potent strike rate for either side and a red card is currently trading at fairly priced 9/2 on Betfair. 

http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/ClubShooting/0,,10794~20117,00.html

Might leave this one alone and wait for some more clear indicators in the other mid-week fixtures.  The biggest danger after a weekend of losses like I’ve just had is to dive straight back in... isn’t it?!

Finally, thanks to radio 5 Live, who had me on their racing show last week - it was an honour to be on the airwaves amongst such exalted company as Cornelius Lysaght and Mick Fitzgerald with Mark Pougatch.  Thanks also to Chris Graham and the www.sportingbet.com podcast boys for the plug - looking forward to more media appearances in the new year!

For those that didn't catch me on the Denman show - here's the audio http://tvider.com/view/73280 

Palphabet Relishes the Pressure of High-Profile Personality Props

Since my last post, celebrities have flocked to follow my Twitter handle at an alarming rate that has left me honoured, humbled and hopeful for a future in full time micro blogging.  I must say that I use the term “celebrities” with a looseness normally associated with the lips of wartime ship-sinkers.   These tweeters are household names only in the houses of men who probably live on their own, watching sport and staring at numbers on screens looking for value bets, but their encouragement has still done wonders to boost my enthusiasm for and dedication to the Palphabet cause: to move full-time into a life dominated by nothing but sporting enjoyment. 

I am also grateful for the kind comments from other readers who might not edit a national newspaper or represent the views of a multinational bookmaker!

The facts and figures on my account over the past couple of weeks seem to reflect the additional vigour I have for that cause.  Here's my P&L for December so far:

(yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm) to (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm)

Football: £850.86 | Golf: -£123.87 | Horse Racing: -£383.97 | Snooker: £177.78 | Tote: | Total P&L: £520.80

The football has centred around backing red cards in high-octane, wet-weathered, midweek games (Fulham v Liverpool and Chelsea v Manchester City), and the racing, despite delivering inauspicious losses, includes a significant win on Gauvain last week who, tipped by both Pricewise AND James Boyle (http://betbuddy.mobi/ ), duly obliged with a Huntingdon victory at nearly 7-1.  As I said at the time, when those two tipsters agree on something, and given that Boyle's mission is to out-tip Segal, you just have to take note!

Horse Racing > : 2m4f Grd2 Chs > Gauvain Showing 1 - 1 of 1 Bets

Selection Odds Stake (£) Liability (£) Bid type Placed Matched (GMT) Profit/loss (£) Gauvain 7.6 51.39 Back 08-Dec-11 10:20 08-Dec-11 10:20 339.17

Let’s face it, those who risk thousands of pounds on the financial markets, researching the FTSE100 and AIM market movements, studying the 12-month moving averages of share prices and making decisions based around P/E ratios, EPS figures and director deals still very often end up losing their hard-earned dosh.  Yet these people are permitted, nay encouraged, to sit in pubs and at dinner parties, waxing lyrical about their investment portfolio and diversified strategies whilst those of us with a penchant for punting on sport are looked upon with pity and disdain by those who are convinced we should be attending GA meetings on a weekly basis.  

*****

A few things have made me happy to be flying the Palphabet flag over the past couple of weeks:

·         Denman – yes, I may have placed a couple of small antepost wagers on the Lexus and next year’s Gold Cup on The Tank – but I’m glad he’s been retired healthy, and his memory lives on both in the stables at Ditcheat and in my own household through my cat, who we named after the gorgeous gelding.

The Tank in feline form, wearing the famous colours of the planey2k stable

·         Matt Chapman – I’ve developed a man-crush on the ATR presenter – he’s articulate, amusing and handles live television with more aplomb than X-Factor, I’m a Celeb and BB presenters put together.

Chapman driving the girls wild

·         Judd Trump – Man-Crush subject #2.  I tipped him on Twitter and backed him with £30 at 14.5 on Betfair, but I also like his playboi banter off the baize and his happy-go-lucky attitude to life.

Judd Trumps them all with his playboi potting

·         George Porter – the final object of my homoerotic man-crush desires – his drop of the shoulder against the dumbfounded Exeter City defence was a joy to behold, and I hope he’s able to stay with Orient for a while longer yet.

Georgeous George ...phwooaarrr

·         Gary Neville – no, I don’t have a crush on him, but his scutiny of Barcelona’s footballing philosophy on last night’s MNF had me reaching for the tissues – truly insightful stuff that makes Andy Gray’s analysis look as modern as his view on women.  If he can learn how to stand still whilst presenting the show, he will have it all.

Gary Neville looking uncharacteristically still...in a still photograph

These little things in life make me happy, and keep me focused on my pursuit of a world dominated by alrightness.   It’s out there somewhere!