The obstacle Man United must overcome to make history

Click here for the latest odds on the new Premier League season

Manchester United remain marginal favourites to win their 19th league title next season despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. To confirm their place as the country’s most successful side in history, they must become the first English team to win four successive titles. How hard can it be?

FOURTH SEASON SYNDROME

Huddersfield (1926-27)
The first ever team to win three successive top-flight titles were toppled by Newcastle when they attempted to win a fourth in 1926-27. The Terriers started poorly, winning just three of their first 12 games but by March they were joint-top. Newcastle had a better goal average and a game in hand but Jack Chaplin’s side were in a good position - they still had to play Newcastle and in the previous three seasons they had saved their best form for the final stages of the season. However, they won just three of their final 11 games and lost 1-0 at Newcastle, meaning they finished the campaign five points behind the Magpies in second. Huddersfield haven’t won the title since.

Arsenal (1935-36)
Herbert Chapman won the first two of Huddersfield’s three straight titles and tragically died while on course to deliver the second of Arsenal’s trio. They sealed the second under Joe Shaw and then the third under George Allison but were slow out of the blocks in season four. A good run in late 1935 saw

Posted: July 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Eight steps to identify this season’s Golden Boot winner

Click here for the latest odds on who will be 2009-10’s top-scorer

The bookmakers seem to agree on who the 15 leading contenders to be next season’s Premier League top-scorer are: Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robinho, Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, Carlos Tevez, Andrey Arshavin, Frank Lampard and Roque Santa Cruz. We’ve used some trends to whittle down the 15 and leave one man standing:

Over the last decade Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-01) is the only player to have won it in his first season with a new club.
That rules out: Michael Owen, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz

The last nine winners were all playing for a Big Four side.
That rules out: Robinho, Jermain Defoe

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have been Premier League top-scorer without always playing as an out-and-out striker.
That rules out: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrey Arshavin

The last British top-scorer was Kevin Phillips in 1999-00.
That rules out: Wayne Rooney

Still standing: Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Robin van

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

Real Madrid’s spending spree fails to impress the bookies

Barcelona remain title favourites despite Kaka and Ronaldo deals

Real Madrid look set to break the world transfer record twice in one month but the arrival of a new wave of galacticos hasn’t intimidated Barcelona.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta taunted their rivals earlier this week by claiming to be “trebly calm” and the bookmakers agree that there is no need for the reigning champions to get flustered.

Paddy Power price Barcelona as 4/5 favourites to retain the title next season, with Real Madrid not too far behind on 5/4. La Liga trends support those odds: Barcelona haven’t had a single season of isolated domestic

Posted: June 12th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Aston Villa haven’t beaten a top ten team at home all season

Six stats about this weekend’s football

1. Aston Villa have played every team in the top-half at home this season and they have failed to win one of those games. Every other club in the Premier League have beaten at least one of the ten.

2. Spurs have lost just one of nineteen home games under Harry Redknapp and are now the sixth-best performing Premier League team since the weekend he arrived.

3. chickendinner felt Tony Adams was unlucky to get the sack two months ago but Portsmouth are flourishing under Paul Hart, losing just one of ten games under the former Nottingham Forest boss.

4. Lyon’s hopes of an eighth straight Ligue 1 title are in jeopardy after a run of two wins in seven, which leaves them four points off top with six to go.

5. Wolfsburg were languishing in eighth at the end of January before a run of ten straight wins propelled them to the Bundesliga top spot.

6. It’s easy to see why Arsene Wenger regrets not signing Didier Drogba when he had the chance; the striker has scored eight goals in his last seven meetings with Arsenal.

Posted: April 20th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

FC Twente could finally get a result on the road in Europe

Schuper Schteve McClaren prepares his troops to face Marseille

The second coming of Steve McClaren, who was written off as a failure and forced to work abroad, has gone from strength to strength and his Dutch side FC Twente are now unbeaten in fourteen domestic games, of which they have won ten, and stand an outside chance of winning the Eredivisie.

The one area where drastic improvement is still required is European away games, of which they have lost their last eight, and the trip to Marseille tonight offers them a good chance of doing that. The visitors can be backed at 5/1 with Sky Bet while the draw is 11/4 with Ladbrokes .

Posted: February 19th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Why Liverpool will finally beat Marseille at Anfield

Liverpool/Marseille, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 2, Best Odds, Free Bets

Rafael Benitez will tonight become Liverpool’s most experienced European boss of all time by taking charge of his 66th game as Reds boss, going one greater than Bill Shankly. The Spaniard can also equal Bob Paisley’s record for most European wins as Liverpool boss with victory and while they have failed to win their last two home games against Marseille, it will be third time lucky tonight:

MARSEILLE DON’T WIN AWAY
Since Marseille won 1-0 at Anfield last October, they have lost six consecutive away games in the Champions League and UEFA Cup (excluding qualifiers). After losing their opening three games in this year’s competition, Marseille appeared to turn the corner by beating PSV 3-0 but since then they have lost at home to Lorient and drawn with Lille in Ligue 1.

FINAL HOME GROUP GAMES

Posted: November 26th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment