Newcastle v Arsenal: Gunners to continue proving their doubters wrong

Amazon Watches Center

Euro 2012 Betting: Is Giovanni Trapattoni's approach is all wrong?

Euro 2012 / Ben Lyttleton / 03 April 2012 / Leave a Comment

Trapattoni's tactics aren't to everyone's liking despite a decent record with Ireland

"After Ireland's recent friendly 1-1 draw with Czech Republic, pundit Eamonn
Dunphy laid into the Italian for being too defensive and dogmatic in his approach."

The experienced Giovanni Trapattoni managed to guide the Republic of Ireland to a major competition for the first time since 2002 but not everyone is happy with his selection policy nor his tactics, says Ben Lyttleton.

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni may be the only coach in the game to have won every major international club title going (including the European Cup/Champions League, European Cup Winners' Cup, Uefa Cup/Europa League, European SuperCup and World Club Cup), and he may have won ten domestic championships in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria), but he has unfinished business as a national team coach.

In 2002, Trapattoni was in charge of Italy at the World Cup, when his side was controversially beaten on penalties by hosts South Korea. "That remains my most bitter moment. The referee [Byron] Moreno laughed at us in the face," he has said. At the 2004 European Championships, Italy fared even worse, failing to get out of a group that contained Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria.

When he was appointed to manage Ireland, the superstitious Italian pointed out that his birthday was on St. Patrick's Day, which proved to him to be a sign. It was a good one: he has now achieved what he was brought in by Ireland to do, which is qualify them for a major tournament for the first time since 2002. (Ireland came close in Trap's first effort, when the controversial play-off defeat to France cost them a place at the World Cup.) But that does not mean everyone is happy with Trapattoni and his work as coach.

After Ireland's recent friendly 1-1 draw with Czech Republic, pundit and former Betting.Betfair columnist Eamonn Dunphy laid into the Italian for being too defensive and dogmatic in his approach. Dunphy told RTE presenter Bill O'Herlihy that Trapattoni's refusal to call up younger talents like James McClean (he played ten minutes against the Czechs, his debut), Wes Hoolahan, and Ciaran Clark amounted to a dereliction of duty.

"He seems to forget that we've got World Cup qualifiers beginning in September and that these young players will be needed for the future of Irish soccer," Dunphy said in this interview.

"I'm very disappointed with the way he's done his job. I think he hasn't been hands-on enough, he hasn't seen enough games, he's not in touch with what talent is available to him. It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong. I don't care if he wins the European Championships.
It's wrong. I feel that he believes the system is more important than the players."

On that last point, Dunphy is certainly correct. Trapattoni is rigid in his adherence to 4-4-2 and his preference for Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews in central midfield ­ ahead of players like Darron Gibson or James McCarthy, both arguably more talented ­ points at safety-first tactic that is perhaps befitting of a nation Ireland's size (it's interesting to note that when Fabio Capello adopted a similar approach in England's game against world champions Spain, they won the game). With full-backs forbidden from crossing the halfway line, and Robbie Keane the only player allowed the freedom to play between the lines, Trap's greatest strength has been making this side hard to beat.

And while he insists he is not a defensive coach, his argument is hard to stand up given that he points to a team from 30 years ago as his evidence:

"It is not about being defensive or offensive, but it is about the attitude
on the pitch," he said.

"Some people say my team always plays defensively but it is a historical lie. When I was at Juventus (1976-86) I used to play with a winger [Domenico Penzo], an attacking midfielder [Marco Tardelli], two forwards [Paolo Rossi and Zbigniew Boniek] plus Michel Platini ­ they were all in the first eleven. I am only still here because I won more than I lost, otherwise I would have been forgotten." Others, like Gianluca Vialli, forced to play as a deep-lying playmaker under Trap at Juventus, would disagree.

The problem with Dunphy¹s argument is that once Ireland, ([5.1]) to qualify
from Group C, were drawn along with Spain ([1.12]), Italy, ([1.71]) and
Croatia ([2.74]), Trap's tactics make more sense. Against bigger and better
teams, as Capello showed, the safety-first tactic can be effective. The end result will probably be that Ireland's games are low on goals, even if their opening game, against Croatia, is their most winnable. That game is ([3.15]) to finish a draw.

Look out for the goalless draw price too, nearer the fixture. A draw is a result that would still leave Trap hopeful of getting past his compatriots and into the knock-out round. You wonder what Dunphy will make of it all if that happens.

He's got them to their first tournament for a decade and yet Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni still has his critics. So can the Italian get his team out of a tough group at Euro 2012?...

After the disaster at the last World Cup, Italy have rebuilt under Cesare Prandelli and are once again looking the composed, disciplined and organised side we expect them to be, says Dave Farrar....

There was plenty of scoffing when Glenn Hoddle declared his interest in the England job, but as the Euros approach the idea is more plausible than ever......

Amazon Watches Center

Wrong Trains and Pokemon

Pud's Poker Progress / Matthew Pitt / 21 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

I polished off my other three cans of ale whilst some fat bird ate the entire menu of a chinese restaurant and then washed it down with a diet coke. It does not work like that love!

Hello boys and girls! I have been back in Blighty for almost a week now and it has just dawned on me that I have not written anything about my ridiculous journey back home from the World Series of Poker Europe so here it is.

Working at the WSOPE was great fun but it was also very hard work. It would not have been too bad had I not had to do my "normal" work too whilst I was there but at least I have work so I should not be moaning. Some people say that reporting on poker tournaments is not "real work" because it is also my hobby and I really enjoy it. This is true to some degree but try being awake for 18-19 hours a day for an entire week and see how easy it is then. Of course there are much worse jobs out there but trust me when I tell you my fellow tournament bloggers and I work damned hard when on the circuit.

I covered Day 1a of the Main Event and that did not get finished until about 0100 in the morning so by the time I had chilled out a bit in my room and chatted to Lee Davy about a project he is working on, it was gone three in the morning before I dropped off to the land of nod, so when I was woken up by my aptly named wake-up call at 0845 I was hardly full of the joys of spring, though a big fat breakfast soon sorted that out.

PokerNews had booked three of us a taxi to the airport and it went without a hitch, in fact the entire journey back to the UK went without a hitch, though the €6.80 beer in the airport stung a little. Who would have thought, a €6.80 lager tastes exactly like one that costs £2.40 in the UK. Anyway, I arrived back in Manchester, picked up my suitcase (which made it this time and was the first off the carousel) and headed off to get my train. Unfortunately for me the next train was not for over an hour so I sat and read a poker magazine on the station, had one of the cans of Kronenberg I had bought (four cans for £4.50) and listened to my iPod. The train then arrived at the platform, was cleaned and I jumped aboard and claimed a seat with a table.

However, unbeknown to me this was a different train and they failed to change the TV screens! Thankfully I realised when we stopped at Manchester Victoria it said "next stop Scunthorpe." I jumped off the train and ran towards a guard who first laughed in my face but then told me the train I was meant to catch was arriving in five minutes time, at the other end of the station of course. So off I run, belly and man boobs bouncing everywhere and when I get there I discover that half of the population of Manchester is wanting this train, I have never seen a platform so full. We all somehow fit on and I managed to force my way into the First Class carriage where at least there was a little more room.

Pikachu

Despite having to stand the entire way home I did have a couple of chuckles to myself, mostly at the expense of some bloke playing a Pokemon game on his Mac. I found it funny there was a character called "IveySaur," which was not based on Phil Ivey but what looked like a knob you would see kids draw on science books! There was another where he was denied entry to some house because his Pikachu was not cute enough and then another where it said "Josh uses old rod," which was the final straw to a belly laugh. Josh you sad, sad gimp.

I polished off my other three cans of ale whilst some fat bird ate the entire menu of a chinese restaurant and then washed it down with a diet coke. It does not work like that love! Anyway, this 70 minute train journey had taken two hours and I was starting to wonder if I had got on the wrong train again but it turns out some little shit had thrown a shopping trolley at the train in front so we were forced to go really slow due to safety regulations. Twelve hours after leaving my hotel room in Cannes I made it back to Dewsbury! I could have driven it much quicker than that!

The great thing is I get to do it all again in a week's time because I am having to travel to Leeds > Amsterdam (wait three hours) > Luxembourg > Taxi to Amneville, I can hardly wait.

Join Betfair Poker Now

Tonight is my last night in Cannes,a city that is steeped in history, has a vibrant nightlife and is soaked class and sophistication. With it being my last night on French soil I thought why not get into the Cannes...

Lady Luck has been a little unfair on the Pudding household over the past week or so but hopeful it is all about to come to an end and we can get on with a bit of normality....

Time continues to absolutely fly by in the Pudding household and October will seem doubly so as I try to fit in work, poker, travelling, family and chilling out into the 744 hours that the tenth month of the year...

Play Casino & Poker here

Follow The Money: Ballerina to make the wrong moves

Follow the Money / Follow The Money / 06 April 2011 / Leave a Comment

"With a respected tipster picking Clearing House and money for Sonny G, our negative Angelina Ballerina has been squeezed out from [4.0] to [5.4] in the 17.30 at Lingfield."

The FTM boys suggest two backs and a lay of the beautifully named Angelina Ballerina. Here's why...

With going concerns clouding the markets of several races at Nottingham, today's Follow The Money selections come from Beverley and Lingfield

One Kool Dude is in from [2.0] to [1.82] in the 14.40, following a promising debut over the water at Dundalk last month. Lily's Angel, who looks the stable's string in this, has attracted some support into second favourite, the rest seemingly unfancied today. With all the opposition unraced as yet, there may be some strength to the opposition but no signs evident this morning. One Kool Dude has the sort of profile of a selection though and should shorten further in price before the off.

Verrazano has proved popular with early backers in the 16.40 market, having been matched at rates from [9.8] into [6.8]. This is a competitive Beverley 7 ½ handicap and we shall see plenty of those in the coming season - today's 14 runner field is a mixture of those making a seasonal debut and others, such as Verrazano, attempting to bring across AW form. Verrazano was a good second at Southwell last time and backers are hopeful that this one can give her trainer a repeat success in this race today.

With a respected tipster picking Clearing House and money for Sonny G, our negative Angelina Ballerina has been squeezed out from [4.0] to [5.4] in the 17.30 at Lingfield. She has won her last two races at Wolverhampton and Southwell but now needs to transfer that form to Lingfield today. All out last time, the 2lb rise in the weights may just be the difference between winning and losing today.

Recommended Bets

Back One Kool Dude @ [1.82] in the 14.40 at Beverley
Back Verrazano @ [6.8] in the 16.40 at Beverley
Lay Angelina Ballerina @ [5.4] in the 17.30 at Lingfield

Today's Follow The Money comes from Pontefract, Kempton and Exeter....

THe FTM boys give us their usual two backs and one lay, the latter a case of opposing Kieren Fallon's mount in the 16:20 at Folkestone....

Today's Follow The Money bets come from Doncaster and Market Rasen...

Play Casino & Poker here