Against All Odds: Le Mans to get up to speed

Against All Odds / Paul Robinson / 18 January 2012 / Leave a Comment

Le Mans travel to Sedan this evening for a clash in France's Ligue One. The home side are odds-on but Le Mans have lost just once in their last seven on the road. Paul Robinson thinks they can extend that impressive run today.

Sedan are currently fifth in the table after taking 30 points from their 19 matches so far. Head coach, Lawrence Guyot has his side pushing for promotion and they could go level on points with third-placed Bastia with a win tonight. The Boars are on a decent run at Stade Louis Dugauguez at present as they have won four of their last six. However, they were held to a 0-0 draw by relegation-threatened Arles last time out and suffered a shock 1-4 loss to Boulogne in October.

Le Mans are flirting dangerously with the drop zone at present as they are down in 17th with a one point average of 19 from 19 games. Goals have been the problem for Arnaud Cormier's men as they have only mustered 16 this campaign. This year's form is in stark contrast to last season when they finished fourth. However, they have shown relatively solid away from the MMArena. A single defeat in their last seven on the road has helped Le Mans' cause and while five of them were draws, that would be good enough for us to further our profits this week.

Sedan are available to lay at [1.96] but Le Mans have held the likes of second placed, Reims, and also top half sides Nantes and Le Havre in recent months. I strongly believe that Sedan are far too short at odds-on, so I have to make them my lay of the day.

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Lay Sedan against Le Mans @ [1.96]

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RIP Gary Speed: The first Betting.Betfair star columnist

News / Ralph Ellis / 28 November 2011 / Leave a Comment

Gary Speed was one of football's most loved characters

"He was a fantastic bloke, a person who understood his position in the world of football, but still had time for everybody else."

Gary Speed's untimely death has united the football world in grief. Ralph Ellis pays tribute to the man who, as well as being one of the Premier League's finest ever performers, played no small part in creating the website you read today...

There are times when, however good you think you are with words, there is no way to get across your emotions. I was at Swansea yesterday when news started to spread of the tragic end to Gary Speed's life, and 24 hours later, it's still hard to come to terms with it.

So I make no apologies for swapping the normal Monday morning reflections on the weekend's Premier League results to add my small contribution to the mountain of tributes that have been paid to one of football's genuine legends.

Knowledge

Gary was the first celebrity columnist when Betting.Betfair site was created (see his last column) and it was my absolute privilege to by chosen to work with him to get his thoughts on paper. He knew football from top to bottom, of course. You wouldn't have expected anything else from a man who for a while held the record for the number of Premier League appearances, as well as being his country's most capped outfield player. But his knowledge of, and love for, other sports, was as deep as it was astonishing.

In those days he came up with betting tips on golf, snooker, cricket, horse racing and just about any sport you could think of. His contribution unquestionably helped in pioneering this website, because at the time it was a pretty new and experimental concept for an online betting firm to run its own sports blog.

His insight into situations helped prove that there was a huge desire to read informed opinion and inside knowledge relating to sporting markets, and the excellent Betfair columnists now like Michael Vaughan and Lee Dixon have taken on that original mantle.

Experience

Speed spoke with authority from the experience of a career that had begun with the heartbreak of being forced to leave Everton, the club he had grown up supporting. It continued when he was part of the Leeds side that won the last First Division title before the Premiership was born. And he understood the demands of the Newcastle fans where he had been a legend for both his contribution on the pitch and his willingness to sign autographs and pose for pictures in a part of the country where football was the only thing that mattered. He knew about pressure and expectation and how to handle it. He was steeped in the win-at-all-costs mentality of the top professionals, but had a broader understanding and love for the sport itself too.

Dedication

Apart, possibly, from his great friend Ryan Giggs I can't think of another footballer who best transcended the change in values and culture of the modern game. He began his career in the days of "win or lose, it's on the booze", and ended it embracing sports science, diet, psychology and all the things which kept his body fit enough to play at the peak of the Premier League until little more than a year before his 40th birthday. On plenty of occasions I had to wait to talk to him until he'd finished doing his yoga session at the end of a day's training.

He took that dedication into the start of his management career - and while his early club days at Sheffield United were full of frustration it was as boss of his country that he was beginning to blossom. His greatest success was to convince the committee men at the Welsh FA that they needed to loosen the purse strings to let him provide the very best of infrastructure and sports science to his players, and that was beginning to reap rewards.

A side who had slid out of the world's top 100 and were heading towards 150, whose top players under previous manager John Toshack often developed mystery injuries on the eve of squad get togethers, suddenly looked united and full of purpose. Their 4-1 win over Norway in early November was a thrilling glimpse of the potential that could be unlocked if Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Craig Bellamy were all fired with enthusiasm to bring their best to the international stage.

Generosity

More than that he was a fantastic bloke, a person who understood his position in the world of football, but still had time for everybody else. When I ran the London Marathon a couple of years ago he made a huge donation to my sponsorship fund, just because he could.

We may never know quite why it has all been brought to such a premature end. To be honest I'm not sure I want to. But on my behalf, and on behalf of everybody who reads Betting.Betfair, this is sending thoughts and sympathy to his wife and two sons. He will be missed by us all.

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Gary Speed Big Interview: We'll be going out to beat England

The Big Interview / Gary Speed / 21 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

Tough job. Gary Speed looks on during his first match in charge of Wales, a defeat to the Republic of Ireland

"It’s great to have somebody like Gareth (Bale) involved, but it is a team game. If we are going to achieve anything it has to be as a team because we are a country of small resources."

We went out and spoke to former betting.betfair columnist Gary Speed on life without Ryan Giggs, where Gareth Bale ranks amongst the best in the world and gunning for a big scalp on Saturday.

Hi Gary. So three months since you took over and finally a competitive game! Excited, or does it feel like a job now?

Yes, I am excited, but also there's a lot of work gone into those three months. We've had one match, of course, in Ireland and although the result was disappointing, we found out a lot of things off the pitch.

Such as?

We only had one day's training, and five of them couldn't join in because they'd played the day before, but I got good feedback about the squad in terms of togetherness, structure, and how to use time.

So now it's time to make that work against England. It's a perfect first home fixture, isn't it?

I think so. We're realistic in that given our standing in the group after losing the first three matches, even if we win every game we still might not qualify. So the aim is to look ahead to the next campaign, and make sure by the time it starts we are in a place to compete. All the structure and foundations have got to be done and dusted by that time. But meanwhile it's England, at home, and a great opportunity to do something. We'll be going out to win it.

Do you miss the hustle and bustle of club management?

You'd be surprised the amount of work there is in this job. When I took over I felt it was important we set up a structure throughout the whole of Welsh football, from the senior team through the Under 21s and right down, so we are getting some sort of continuity. I've also been getting out to watch a lot of games, to see the players, and also out to their to speak to their managers and coaching staffs on how they do things. When they do come to us it helps understand how to get them in the right shape and frame of mind to perform.

Lots of detail, then?

That's exactly the difference compared to a club job. You have time to drill into every detail. We've watched the DVD of the Ireland game a lot of times, and a lot of analysis gets done on the opposition too. It's a time of the season where a lot of players have played a lot of games, so you can't take too much out of them on the training pitch. It's a case of planning the time to get the best value..

Wales have had problems with big players not being available. What are you doing to help change that?

I think what we learned from the first squad is that players want to come to an international team and find a bit of structure. They want a goal, and something to strive for. That's what we are trying to give them. It's already been encouraging that a couple of lads have returned to be available again in Danny Collins and Danny Gabbidon, so hopefully that will stand us in good stead for the future.

We saw a young lad playing the other night called Giggs who might have a chance!

(laughs) Yes, I've spoken to Ryan and it's not right for him to come back which I completely accept and understand, but he has been very supportive. It's fantastic how well he's doing for United still. I'm realistic in any case that while this game is exciting, the bigger picture is still the next qualifying campaign.

Fabio Capello says Gareth Bale is the best player in the world at the moment. Is he right?

He's not played for a few weeks, so I don't know, but we all saw his performances against Inter Milan, which were unbelievable. But then I've been watching Wales for four or five years and he's been the best player all that time. When he starts playing well for Tottenham on the Champions League stage it is no surprise to me that everybody is talking about him. It's great to have somebody like Gareth involved, but it is a team game. If we are going to achieve anything it has to be as a team because we are a country of small resources.

Who are the younger players you want to work with?

It would be unfair to name names, but part of why I was so keen to take the job is that there is such a lot of talent coming through.

Aaron Ramsey's an obvious example.

Given the injury he had he's come back very quickly. He was outstanding in some of the games I saw him play for Cardiff on loan, and I'm certainly hoping he can be in good shape to face England.

Who have you talked to for advice?

I've spoken to a lot of people: Mark Hughes, Sam Allardyce, Tony Pulis who is a good friend of mine. You take advice from everyone and then decide which way to go yourself. At the end of it you have to make the tough decisions, and you need to know you did what you believed in.

Now the boots are hung up you can finally assess your playing days. What would be your best memory?

I think winning the League with Leeds. It came very early in my career. In a few years of getting in the team I'd won the old Second Division, come fourth in the First and then lifted the title and the Charity Shield. I maybe didn't appreciate it as much as I should.

And your greatest regret?

I don't think I've got one. I can look back on a fabulous time - after the Leeds days there was Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United. Newcastle especially was a massive highlight. Kenny Dalglish signed me. He was a hero of mine when I was a kid. They say you shouldn't meet your heroes, it's sometimes a disappointment. Mine were Kenny Dalglish and Ian Botham and I've met them both and they are both great people. I've been very lucky.

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