Chelsea are 11/10 with Paddy Power to beat Man City to nil

Chelsea/Man City, Sunday 1.30pm, SetSpts1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Last season Chelsea annihilated Manchester City 6-0 in Avram Grant’s second home league match in charge. Here’s why Guus Hiddink should feel confident of winning to nil in his second league game at Stamford Bridge:

» Manchester City haven’t scored on any of their last six visits to the Bridge and have gone home defeated on five of those occasions.

» Chelsea have scored nine goals in their last two home matches against the Citizens and have fired an over seventeen past City on their last six visits.

» The Blues have won three of their four domestic matches (four out of six in all competitions) to nil under Hiddink’s leadership.

» Manchester City have scored just once in their last four away league games.

Paddy Power are offering 11/10 on Chelsea winning to nil. Click here to claim a free matched bet of up to £25 when opening an account with them.

Posted: March 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Keane emerges as a contender to take charge of Portsmouth

Former Sunderland boss is priced as low as 4/1 with Bet365

Roy Keane has overtaken Alan Curbishley to become the third favourite to become Portsmouth’s third manager of the season.

Avram Grant and Sven-Goran Eriksson still head the betting but the Irishman has gone from not having much involvement in the market before today to being priced between 4/1 and 5/1 with most bookmakers.

Posted: February 11th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Who are the media expecting to take charge at the Bridge?

Click here for all the prices in the next Chelsea manager market

chickendinner have our ears locked firmly to the ground in order to pass on all the latest whispers about who will succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge. However, as our round-up below shows, it’s hard to rule anyone out:

Sky Sports say that either Guus Hiddink or Avram Grant will be hired within 24 hours
[Sky Sports]

But in Russia they are “200 percent” certain Hiddink will stay put
[Setanta Sports]

Elsewhere there are reports Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke will be appointed by this afternoon
[sport.co.uk]

Former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard will consider any approach from the Blues
[Sporting Life]

While Roberto Mancini was spotted boarding a tube near Chelsea recently
[The Spoiler]

Posted: February 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Guus Hiddink is the favourite once more for the Chelsea job

Click here for all the latest odds on who will succeed Scolari

Anyone who followed chickendinner’s coverage of the next Chelsea manager market in the summer will remember how volatile it is and that about a dozen different men spent time as favourite before Luiz Felipe Scolari was appointed. This time round it’s no different.

Guus Hiddink and Avram Grant started as joint 2/1 favourites and since then Sven-Goran Eriksson’s odds were briefly suspended, Gianfranco Zola closed as favourite last night and Frank Rijkaard emerged as the frontrunner early this morning. However, Hiddink has now re-emerged as favourite closely followed by Grant after claims from Sky Sports that Chelsea will decide between one of them in the next 24 hours.

Posted: February 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Portsmouth are expected to choose Curbishley or Grant

There are two clear leaders in the races to succeed Tony Adams

(Photo Credit: Chris Ison, PA)

Alan Curbishley and Avram Grant got off on the wrong foot last season when the former West Ham boss said that Manchester United deserved the title more than Chelsea. Now they will lock horns again after being installed as the clear frontrunners to succeed Tony Adams at Portsmouth:

Avram Grant (4/7 with Paddy Power)
Bizarrely, the best job offer a manager who came within a John Terry slip-up of winning the Champions League last season is now offered is at a team locked in a relegation battle after selling two of their star players. However, Grant has made it clear he has unfinished business in England and he has previous with Portsmouth after spending a season there as a technical director before moving to Chelsea.

Alan Curbishley (6/1 with Sky Bet)
In many ways Curbishley seems like the perfect fit at Portsmouth, considering the way he saved West Ham from relegation and solidified their position in the Premier League. But Curbs quit there because George McCartney was sold without his agreement so the sale of Jermain Defoe might not have sat too well with him. Portsmouth might also feel awkward appointing Curbishley now after threatening legal action last week against a newspaper who claimed he was being sounded out about the job while Adams was still in charge.

Posted: February 9th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Does Chelsea’s recent record vindicate the fans who want Steve Clarke as manager?

The stats suggest it’s all gone downhill since the number two quit

Last month chickendinner examined the theory held by some Chelsea fans that their season entered a decline when assistant manager Steve Clarke left for West Ham in September. At that stage, our research showed that while their home form was far worse without the number two, Chelsea’s respectable away form dented the theory somewhat. However, we suggested that their record on the road was boosted by the fact they had yet to play any of last season’s top six so after recent visits to Everton and Manchester United, it seems like a good time to re-examine the state of play:

Steve Clarke’s last seventeen league games at Chelsea
Wins: 11
Draws: 6
Losses: 0
Points per game: 2.29

The seventeen league games since Steve Clarke left
Wins: 9
Draws: 5
Losses: 3
Points per game: 1.88

*For these statistics, the away game against Manchester City that occurred two days after Steve Clarke’s resignation was tendered has been ignored. The reason for this is that he wasn’t involved on the matchday but was almost certainly involved in the preparation.*

Posted: January 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment