Before I begin, please accept my sincere apology for the unexpected break in your weekly betting entertainment, but the life of a sports analyst (sounds better than degenerate gambler) is sometimes not their own.
Last week I spent a couple of days in Birmingham on a work trip. Birmingham is a big city with big buildings and more canals than Venice. The conference I was attending was located on the sixteenth floor of a hotel offering panoramic views of England’s second city, but we live in strange times and at street level Birmingham had a shabby feel to it that I wasn’t expecting. A round in the hotel bar cost £145, which tells you everything about the state of the country at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. A conference highlight was looking out of the window at a nearby hotel and seeing a naked man climb into bed. There are usually a couple of perks to be had on a work’s jolly, but full-frontal male nudity was not the lagniappe (I'm not having a stroke, google it) I was hoping for.
In the time I have been away, the Nottingham Goose Fair has also come and gone and for the first time this century I rocked up with Mrs. Punter and the sprogs along for the ride(s). On the way, I chuckled to myself at what they would make of Mouse Town, the Wall of Death, the boxing booth, George the Gentle Giant, Tiny Tim and that girl with a snake draped around her. Well, well, well, talk about political correctness gone mad…!
Whilst I knew beforehand that none of those attractions would be present, the Goose Fair of the 21st Century is a far cry from the Goose Fair of my youth and it left me feeling like a remnant from another age. I lasted three rides before I needed an ambulance. If you are sixteen with unlimited funds and think vertigo is just a fear of heights, it must be the greatest place on earth. But, as the song goes, these days “I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine” (doesn’t quite work, hopefully insert better song lyric if time allows) and that kick (maybe it does) is the quixotic pursuit of making betting pay. People think gambling is throwing good money after bad? I must have dropped at least £150 at Goose Fair in the course of a few hours with no prospect of seeing any of it back. And yet, if I stick a “hypothetical” £20 on two football teams in a win double, people think I’m crazy. But, as that song goes, “In a world full of people, only some want to bet, isn’t that crazy?" (Mm. Not quite there. Something by Billy Joel perhaps?)
As betting months go, September was one to forget and I am now £26 in the red on the season. But, compared to that round in Birmingham or my trip to the Goose Fair, that seems quite reasonable for a month’s entertainment. I am also in this for long term profit, so a dodgy month at the start of the season is not the reason to call GambleAware just yet. But, if your betting is no longer entertaining and you do need help, just click the link.
The first leg of this weekend’s “hypothetical” £20 win double is Stockport County (4/9), who after their typically slow start to the season are now motoring in League One. On Saturday at 3 pm they welcome Exeter City to Edgeley Park, who have only managed to accumulate four points from the last eighteen available. I don't see any reason for them to add to that tally this weekend.
My second selection is Rochdale (4/9), who are currently top of the National League. Their opponents on Saturday are Yeovil Town, who are doing quite nicely themselves, although their last game was a 3-0 defeat to Boreham Wood which hopefully bodes well for The Dale. Kick off is at 3 pm in a game that has 1-0 home win written all over it.
My double on Stockport and Rochdale currently returns £41.72 with Sky Bet at combined odds of 1.09/1 for a profit of £21.72 after deduction of stake. You never know.
I hope to see you next time.
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