Lee Dixon: The title stays at Old Trafford

Premier League / Lee Dixon / 05 August 2011 / Leave a Comment

Familiar faces who have been there and done it before

"So it’s Manchester United for me again. The Betfair layers aren’t taking too many chances and have chalked them up as favourites but there’s value in the 2.84 nonetheless and that’s where my money will be going."

In his first-ever column for Betfair, Lee Dixon tells us how he goes about working out the Premier League winner every season and why it's United who will be carrying his money.

When trying to work out who's going to win the Premier League at the start of every season the first question that comes to mind is: can anyone beat Manchester United this year? That may seem like an overly simplistic way of looking at things but such has been their dominance for the best part of two decades that I think that's not the worst approach to take.

Manchester United

Few would argue that Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest managers the game has produced or that he seems to get better with age. The squad at his disposal is clearly world class. Having the background staff who know the football club like the back of their hand helps, as does the fact that Old Trafford is one of the most intimidating venues to come and play at in world football. But the one thing some people overlook is the strength of the dressing room. Big characters like Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney who have been at the club a long time and seen it all before. Natural winners who instil great self-belief within the squad and teach the younger players and the new signings about the Manchester United way.

They've made some good signings, too. David de Gea may take a little time to find his feet in a new league but he looks a good keeper from what I've seen of him. Ashley Young is very much a typical United player, not afraid to put in the hard yards in training and on the pitch and a guy who seems to possess that winning mentality. The most intriguing signing for me though is Phil Jones. It's easy to assume he's been brought into the squad as cover for Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand as a centre-back but I watched him play quite a few times for Blackburn as a holding midfielder and I was highly impressed with his reading of the game and composure in that more advanced position. Sir Alex may yet spring a surprise and have him pencilled in for a similar role, but we'll have to wait and see.

Chelsea

Chelsea have a good chance of course. Their fans will feel they really should have won the title last year and are still scratching their heads about why exactly they suffered a mid-season lull after starting brightly. Andre Villas-Boas arrives with fantastic credentials and the comparisons with Jose Mourinho are inevitable. But it's a long old season and winning this league at the first time of asking is a very tough task. I'm pretty sure Chelsea will come very close but I'm going to swerve them at their current price.

Manchester City

I've always felt that since the take-over it was always a question of when City would win the title rather than if. They've made good progress every year since the owners came in and the big cheques were signed off and they've already achieved two of their big objectives by winning some silverware in the form of the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League. I think they'll close the gap to the eventual champions even further this year but I think the City faithful may have to wait just that little bit longer.

The others

Arsenal and Tottenham can never be completely discounted at the off but they're not my idea of potential winners. Liverpool will improve but I can't see them doing it either.

So it's Manchester United for me again. The Betfair layers aren't taking too many chances and have chalked them up as favourites but there's value in the 2.84 nonetheless and that's where my money will be going.

Recommended Bet: 4 pts Manchester United to win the Premier League @ 2.84

The ever-popular Premier League top goalscorer is wide open this year but Lee Dixon likes the look of Wayne Rooney, Darren Bent and the man they're all still talking about....

Alan Pardew and Joey Barton have both hinted at a truce that will keep the midfielder at St James' Park next season....

Kenny Dalglish experimented with several formations last term and three new midfielders have joined since which means trying to predict who will play where isn't easy. But Michael Cox will attempt to do so and thinks Steven Gerard may not...

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Winer Stays On: The return of you know who

Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 05 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Paul Robinson's humble residence

"He didn’t want to play because he didn’t want it to all end up this way. He had entered for fun, for a laugh, to prove to himself he could win a couple of rounds and who knows, come close to winning the £100 prize. But defeat to Paul Robinson? To imagine Paul Robinson cackling away in his castle decorated by human skulls, no. That’s not what it was all about."

This week we 'welcome' back a familiar face to the competition. The truth is no-one is glad to see him back. But Winner Stays On must go on.

It must be truly horrible. You're on a great run, confidence is high and you're starting to believe you can go all the way. But then something happens that makes you realise it's just not going to happen.

It's the sort of sinking feeling that EddieHowedo must be feeling just now. Having won two editions of Winner Stays On he's only gone and drawn the one guy he really didn't want to. Of all the people you didn't want to be up against you've only got to go and play Paul Robinson. The Paul Robinson. The most successful WSO contestant in history. The man people were phoning and e-mailing me up about begging for his address so they could go and hurl abuse and missiles at him, such was the hatred. The hatred of course stemmed from jealously. The man is the best, of that there is no doubt. He's the best at what he does. And winning WSO is what he does best.

The way this works is that we receive e-mails from wannabe contestants and we draw the next one at random. There's nothing in the rules to say you can't play twice and it just so happened Paul Robinson's name came up. EddieHowedo did a Ronnie O'Sullivan and called me up saying he wanted out. He didn't want to play because he didn't want it to all end up this way. He had entered for fun, for a laugh, to prove to himself he could win a couple of rounds and who knows, come close to winning the £100 prize. But defeat to Paul Robinson? To imagine Paul Robinson cackling away in his castle decorated by human skulls, no. That's not what it was all about.

I had a hell of a job convincing him not all was lost. Paul Robinson could be beaten. He'd been beaten before. And EddieHowedo reluctantly, much like Ronnie, withdrew his request to be withdrawn. I hope you win mate, I really do. Because it's not just a football tipping comp at the end of the day. Beating Paul Robinson would be a triumph of good over evil.

This week's Matches

Man Utd v Chelsea
Schalke v Mainz
Lecce v Napoli

Conspiracy theories are the name of Mourinho's game. But what does Winner Stays On make of it all?...

We have two new contestants this week battling it out to stay on. Find out why......

It wasn't always the case that footballers were millionaires. Had they been born in another era this might have happened......

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Winner Stays On: What if Mourinho is right?

Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 29 April 2011 / Leave a Comment

Jose Mourinho can't believe what's going on at the moment

"Real players are sent off when they shouldn't have been, Barca's get away with murder, penalties aren't awarded to his team but they're awarded against his sides. It's all engineered to stop him on his tracks and prevent him from winning yet another Champions League title."

Conspiracy theories are the name of Mourinho's game. But what does Winner Stays On make of it all?

So Jose Mourinho has complained that it's all a conspiracy.

Everyone wants Barcelona to win and for whichever club he's in charge of to lose. Barca are in on it and UEFA are pulling the strings to ensure that every decision goes against them. Real players are sent off when they shouldn't have been, Barca's get away with murder, penalties aren't awarded to his team but they're awarded against his sides. It's all engineered to stop him on his tracks and prevent him from winning yet another Champions League title.

We're fair people here at Winner Stays On and for what it's worth that sending off of Pepe did look a little harsh in the context of the match given the referee had been pretty lenient up to that point with the way he'd gone about officiating the match. But if it is all a conspiracy as he suggests and they really are all out to get him we were just wondering: given how he's conducted himself over the past eight years or so - could you blame anyone if it was all true?

Searching for glory in a fair and equitable way this week are this week's two contestants.

EddieHoweDo?'s selections

Toulouse v Lyon - Back Lyon HT/FT at 3.5
Setabal v Porto - Back Over 2.5 goals at 1.76
Bayern Munich v Schalke - Back Bayern Munich to win at 1.36

Johnyrambo's selections

Toulouse v Lyon - Back Toulouse to win at 4.1
Setubal v Porto - Back the Draw at 4.0
Bayern Munich v Schalke - Back Under 2.5 goals at 2.58

We have two new contestants this week battling it out to stay on. Find out why......

It wasn't always the case that footballers were millionaires. Had they been born in another era this might have happened......

We give you the Top 5 ways not to spend £100 should you win that by playing Winner Stays On....

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Winner Stays On: Making your own luck

Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 30 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

"Here at WSO we feel we have more in common with the Bobster. Sick of If Only and his attitude, strut and general contempt for his opponents, we decided to do something about it. After all, if these were characteristics we condoned, we would be fans of Paul Robinson. Which we’re not."

If Only has finally been knocked out and we here at Betfair Towers are taking all the credit for it.

I once had a housemate who was a tad lazy.

He'd walk into the hall where there were two light switches separated by about ten feet. The first was the one for the kitchen, a room in the house that he had no need for (he didn't cook). The second switch was for the lounge where he spent the vast majority of each and every day (he didn't work) watching TV, playing Playstation and occasionally looking at the pictures in the newspaper (he didn't like to read). He could never remember which switch was which so if he turned one on and it was the one for the kitchen, which he didn't want, he'd sit down on the sofa in darkness for the rest of the day.

When this happened I'd occasionally ask him why he didn't walk over to the other light switch, turn it on, and in the process turn off the light in the kitchen.

His response was generally something quite philosophical, along the lines of "it wasn't meant to be", "destiny decided that I should be paired with darkness" or "we can't decide our own fate. That's for someone Else to do". The latter phrase was normally accompanied with a raising of the eyebrows and a rolling of his eyes towards the ceiling.

This attitude is of course is in sharp contrast to Robert the Bruce and his spider mate. Bob felt we made our own destiny and if things went wrong the first time, it was us and not some higher being, who could rectify that.

Here at WSO we feel we have more in common with the Bobster. Sick of If Only and his attitude, strut and general contempt for his opponents, we decided to do something about it. After all, if these were characteristics we condoned, we would be fans of Paul Robinson. Which we're not.

Hence, you'll remember we strategically placed black cats and ladders in his path and warned our readers of the consequences of him carrying on winning WSO every week. He'd become Prime Minister with Paul Robinson as his Deputy, you'll recall.

And it worked. FFormigal responded to our plea and took him out. Not for dinner. Nor did he "take him out" in the Tony Soprano sort of way, you understand. He eliminated him from our family-friendly competition and in the process restored the values that are the cornerstone of this wonderful contest. And for that, we thank him.

This week's matches

Napoli v Lazio
Rennes v Auxerre
Benfica v Porto

Fformigal's selections

Napoli v Lazio - Back Lazio to win at [5.9]
Rennes v Auxerre- Back Rennes to win at [1.77]
Benfica v Porto- Back Benfica to win at [2.4]

Paulscholes18's selections

Napoli v Lazio- Napoli to win 1-0 at [6.4]
Rennes v Auxerre- Back 1-1 draw at [7.8]
Benfica v Porto- Back both teams to score at [1.9]

The consequences of If Only's incredibly fortunate win last week could end up being disastrous. Read on to find out why....

If Only keeps on winning and quite frankly, we're pretty sick of him......

Reigning champ If Only tries to make it six in a row with Arenal's trip to Old Trafford amongst this week's matches....

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Winner Stays On: Conspiracy theories and chaos theory

Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 25 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

"David Cameron, himself a keen cyclist, sees If Only as his natural successor when he decides to call it a day and support of his recommendation is unanimous. If Only becomes Prime Minister."

The consequences of If Only's incredibly fortunate win last week could end up being disastrous. Read on to find out why.

Here at Betfair Towers we don't really believe in conspiracy theories. As far as we're concerned they're just wacky ideas of a conspiratorial nature envisaged by paranoid people with far too much time on their hands.

But when the CEO of Winner Stays On (that would be me) received a phonecall during his roast goose dinner last Saturday from a very anxious stammering minion, he wasn't amused. Firstly, because tepid goose isn't as tasty as warm goose and secondly because of the nature of the phonecall.

There had been a 90th minute goal in Iraklios v Panionios that had resulted in a draw, which in turn resulted in persona non grata If Only winning Winner Stays On (WSO) for a seventh successive week as a result of that scoreline. Was it just a stroke of luck that had saved him? We weren't so sure so carried out a full-on investigation into the matter and asked our crack team made up of analysts, researchers, psychologists, Uri Geller, soothsayers and an advisor to the Slovakian Minister of Finance to try to predict what the consequences of that goal would be. This is what they came up with.

If Only wins WSO for a tenth time and is rewarded with another £100. Here at Betfair a vacancy pops up for a consultant on European football and someone remembers that If Only was pretty knowledgeable on that after becoming the first 10-time winner and he's told he's the right candidate- he accepts the role.

A few months into his Betfair career a position becomes available at the Gambling Commission for an expert on football betting who has experience of working for a major bookmaker. A member of the Board at the Gambling Commission (who happens to be the uncle of Paul Robinson) recalls his nephew telling him about If Only and how he was the sole contestant to have enjoyed more success than him at WSO. With If Only's recent experience of working for Betfair allied to his reputation as a master of football tipping competitions, he's offered the job.

A couple of months later the Minister For Sport resigns in protest at Niklas Bendtner being awarded three bonus points in Fantasy Football after Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League in which the Dane poked in the winner from three yards. David Cameron decides that the new Minister Of Sport must have a strong background in the organisation of sporting competitions because the Olympics are coming up as well as experience of working for a governmental body, or something similar. A senior member of the Cabinet who is a huge betting.betfair fan recalls someone who was a great winner of sporting competitions after following If Only's WSO success and asks if that is a transferable skill. David Cameron says it's fine and If Only is appointed Minister For Sport.

The Olympics are a huge success and If Only is recognised as the brains behind the whole operation. He's given credit for having won the bid to start with and for Team GB picking up every gold medal going in the cycling events; apparently If Only once mentioned he used to cycle to work.

David Cameron, himself a keen cyclist, sees If Only as his natural successor when he decides to call it a day and after a vote on whether If Only is the best candidate, the decison is unanimous. If Only becomes Prime Minister. If Only needs a worthy number two to become Deputy Prime Minister and decides that as the second most successful contestant of WSO, Paul Robinson is the right guy for the job. Paul Robinson is appointed.

Please don't let this happen. Please knock out If Only. For a shot at playing WSO send an e-mail to winnerstayson@betfair.com stating which name you'd like to play under.

This week's matches

Slovenia v Italy
Norway v Denmark
Bulgaria v Switzerland

If Only's selections:

Slovenia v Italy - Back Italy to score 2 goals or more at 2.66
Norway v Denmark - Back Under 2.5 goals at 1.72
Bulgaria v Swizerland - Back Bulgaria/Bulgaria at 4.9

FFormigal's selections

Slovenia v Italy - Back Italy to win at 2.36
Norway v Denmark - Back Norway to win 2-1 at 11.0
Bulgaria v Switzerland - Half time/Full time Bulgaria/Bulgaria at 4.9

If Only keeps on winning and quite frankly, we're pretty sick of him......

Reigning champ If Only tries to make it six in a row with Arenal's trip to Old Trafford amongst this week's matches....

If Only did the business and is now £100 richer. Read on for your chance to knock'em out and win the money yourself....

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Winner Stays On: Is beating Baby child's play?

Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 26 February 2011 / Leave a Comment

Dirty Dancings' baby alongside the late Patrick Swayze

"So If Only has another shot at the £100 prize and is once more up against Baby Birch. Baby Birch comes from a long line of people who call themselves Baby but aren’t actually babies."

If Only is trying to beat Baby Birch and become the second winner of £100. But what has he gone for this week and what's all this Baby malarkey?

Last week's edition of Winner Stays On has been void due to an administrative error. That's the posh way of saying 'we made a bit of a hash of things'. It's a bit like Janet Jackson's infamous flash going down as a 'wardrobe malfunction' or an out-of-control band member who can't stand up on stage leaving his bandmates due to 'musical differences'.

So If Only has another shot at the £100 prize and is once more up against Baby Birch. Baby Birch comes from a long line of people who call themselves Baby but aren't actually babies. If he was a Baby he wouldn't be particularly up to date with Lille's home form this season and perhaps more to the point, he wouldn't be allowed to have a Betfair account.

For the record, other babies who weren't really babies include: Baby Spice and Baby from Dirty Dancing. Quite why someone would want to pretend to be a baby is pretty unclear. You don't get served in pubs, you go to bed too early to be able to watch The Ashes when it's played in Australia and you don't have enough money to go to the River Cafe because...well, you don't have any need for it. As we always say here at WSO, we're not judgemental people. Because if we were we'd say: it's time to grow up and act your age, you muppet.

This week's matches:

Arsenal v Birmingham
Lille v Lyon
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund

If Only's Selections

Arsenal v Birmingham - Back an Arsenal clean sheet at 2.1
Lille v Lyon - Back 'yes' on both teams to score at 1.88
Bayern Munich v Dortmund - Back under 2.5 goals at 2.26

Baby Birch's selections

Arsenal v Birmingham - Back under 2.5 goals at 2.0
Lille v Lyon - Back 'no' on both teams to score at 2.04
Bayern v Dortmund - Back the draw at 3.8

If Only is trying to beat Baby Birch and become the second winner of £100. But what has he gone for this week and what's all this Baby malarkey?...

If Only is on the brink of major Winner Stays On success but history is riddled with tales of what might have been. Has our man got what it takes to go all the way?...

WSO isn't just about being the best tipster in the business. It's also about winning dosh. Here are WSO's selections as the best things to do with the £100 prize....

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Winner Stays On: The best things to do with £100

Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 11 February 2011 / Leave a Comment

From right to left: Jerry, Kramer and Newman, three gods of comedy.

"Back Bangladesh to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup at 2.1. This is probably the strongest ODI team they’ve ever had and play all their group matches on home soil. Soil which turns square and will suit their army of spinners I may add."

WSO isn't just about being the best tipster in the business. It's also about winning dosh. Here are WSO's selections as the best things to do with the £100 prize.

If Only has now won three editions of Winner Stays On. If he wins this week and the one after that he'll follow in the footsteps of the great Paul Robinson in winning five in a row and the £100 prize that comes with that. Paul Robinson decided to spend the dosh on a couple of pre-Christmas boozy nights. That was his prerogative. It was his money, he earned it. We're not judgemental types here at Betfair Towers. But we've had a think about the best things to do with £100 and this is what we've decided on.

1)Take the woman of your dreams/girlfriend/wife to the River Cafe by the banks of the River Thames, a stone's throw away from Betfair HQ. You won't get much change from £100 (and this is assuming you go for lunch rather than dinner or it will be even more) for the pair of you but the food is wonderful, the decor impeccable and the service immaculate. They've also got something called a Chocolate Nemesis, the mother of all desserts. It's not cheap, it's not for the faint-hearted but it's 1800 calories of chocolate heaven.

2)Buy a showcourt ticket(s) to Wimbledon. There are few commodities in life whose value can go up as dramatically as a Wimbledon ticket, especially if some bloke called Andy Murray starts doing well. After all, his supporters haven't watched tennis for the rest of the year so they're all desperate to finally catch a game. Sell it to the highest bidder.

3)Buy the Seinfeld Box collection containing every episode. The last episode ever made was filmed over a decade and a half ago but the gags still hold strong today whereas Newman and Kramer are two of the best characters ever to have graced our TV screens. Pure quality, a hundred odd hours of comic genius.

4)Back Bangladesh to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup at 2.1. This is probably the strongest ODI team they've ever had and play all their group matches on home soil. Soil which turns square and will suit their army of spinners I may add. If they manage to make it to the quarters you'll have a grand total of £210. If that happens I'll write a new list of things to do with £210.

Trying to deprive If Only of winning £100 this week is DoubleD.

This week's matches:

Wolsburg v Hamburg
Blackpool v Aston Villa
Deportivo v Villarreal

If Only's Selections:

Wolsburg v Hamburg- Back Under 2.5 goals at 2.0
Blackpool v Aston Villa- Back Aston Villa to win at 2.24
Deportivo v Villarreal- Under 2.5 goals at 1.86

DoubleD's selections

Wolsburg v Hamburg- Back Wolfsburg at 2.56
Blackpool v Aston Villa- Back Blackpool at 3.45
Deportivo v Villarreal- Back Villarreal at 2.16

WSO isn't just about being the best tipster in the business. It's also about winning dosh. Here are WSO's selections as the best things to do with the £100 prize....

It's FA Cup this weekend so WSO has come up with a few suggestions as to how to make the competition interesting again, plus the small matter of the selections of our two contestants....

Read on to find out why Dave is more Dangerous than he at first seemed, this week's selections and why the vet bill for the dead budgie was so big....

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