Weekly Articles "Road to Riches" by Rich 'Tighty' Prew
The Road to Riches Weekend of 1st-2nd December
Coming up this weekend
- Football, the Premier League fixtures include Liverpool v Everton and Arsenal v Tottenham.
- Racing, Over the jumps at Bangor, Doncaster, Newbury and Newcastle. All weather racing at Wolverhampton.
- NFL, Week Thirteen of the 2018 Season
- Golf, on the USPGA The Hero World Tour in the Bahamas and on the European Tour the Australian PGA and Mauritius Open.
NFL 2018 – Neil’s Picks
Seventeen weeks of Neil’s NFL write ups for the 2018 season continues this week costing £100 see here
PDC World Darts Championship (Dec 14th - Jan 1st 2019)
By Nigel Seeley Cost is £50 Sign up here
Free tip
Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons (6pm Sunday)
In this week 13 match up the Atlanta Falcons have a 4-7 record in a season blighted by defensive injuries, the result of which is that they have conceded the fifth most points in the league through 12 weeks. Atlanta is allowing 6.3 yards per play (30th) this season.
The Ravens travel to Georgia with a 6-5 record at a minimum in the hunt for a wild card play-off spot and off the back of consecutive wins. Two weeks ago the rather pedestrian starting quarterback Joe Flacco suffered a hip injury and this lead to the introduction of Heisman trophy winning dual purpose (he runs, he passes) quarterback Lamar Jackson into the side.
In his first two NFL starts Jackson had 192 rushing yards, the most by any QB in those first two starts, Why this should be makes sense a) he is a talented runner b) the Ravens wouldn’t want to emphasise the passing game with an inexperienced quarterback. In the first game he had 26 rushing attempts the most by any NFL QB since 1950
At the same time the Ravens have changed running back starter with Alex Collins injured to the undrafted rookie Gus Edwards. Edwards who is a “north and south” straight ahead runner, unlike Collins who is more of a elusive type but not as powerful has had figures of 17 (attempts)-115 (yards)-1 (touchdowns) and 23-118-0 in the two games, admittedly against the Bengals and Raiders but nevertheless and impressive start.
The pair have completely changed the dynamic of the Ravens offense as they have diverged tremendously from what they were doing with Flacco under center. Baltimore shifted from a high-volume passing attack to a heavily run-centric one without skipping a beat. Through 10 weeks, no team attempted more passes than the Ravens (43.4 per game), who carried the third-lowest run rate (35%) in the league. In the last two weeks, the Ravens ran on 74 percent of their situation-neutral snaps.
What has undoubtedly helped such a quick transformation is that the offensive co-ordinator and the quarterback coach worked with Michael Vick in 2009 and Colin Kaepernick in 2012-13 respectively
Now that the Ravens have confirmed that Jackson will start again on Sunday, with their weakened defense the Falcons will have to “pick their poison” against Jackson and Edwards, with the Baltimore game plan likely to feature the run and ball control again, in part to keep Ryan, Julio and the rest off the field on a quick track inside a dome. As there is only two weeks of Ravens/Jackson film for the Atlanta defense to game plan with and enough wrinkles in the scheme to retain the element of surprise, this could be an opportunity that persists for a few weeks yet for the Ravens
Of course the Bengals and Raiders are two top notch match ups for offenses. Interestingly though the Ravens only had nine offensive possessions last week, as their defense scored two touchdowns. Assuming their volume of Ravens offensive plays normalises, Atlanta have allowed the seventh most rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks and three rushing touchdowns to the position.
Edwards has been dealing with a knee injury this week so lets opt for Jackson in the first and anytime touchdown scorer markets
5 points Lamar Jackson first touchdown scorer 8-1 Betfair Sportsbook/Paddy Power
15 points Lamar Jackson anytime touchdown scorer 11-10 Betfair Sportsbook/Paddy Power
More firms will be up in the 24 hours before the game.
What do points make?
Writing a week after the third highest scoring NFL game in history, the 54-51 Rams/Chiefs Monday night football extravaganza (the highest ever Monday night game and there have been 773 of them), it was perhaps inevitable that there would be a rush of proclamations that the future of the NFL is here now. That game had an over/under of 64 points, which of course was smashed.
That the game is geared more towards offense is obvious from watching and it is exactly what the NFL wants:
For example
Most Total Points Through 11 Weeks – NFL History
2018 7,791
2013 7,581
2016 7,390
Most Total Touchdowns Through 11 Weeks – NFL History
2018 895
2013 844
2014 836
Most viewers people love the increased level of offensive innovation, forward thinkers, aggressive play-callers and, most importantly, entertainment value that this season is providing but it’s not by accident. Several factors have converged to make it happen.
Firstly the NFL is aware that the media for viewing its games is changing and wants entertainment That Chiefs-Rams games was also the third most watched MNF ever
Increased awareness of player safety issues has led to changes in rules that mean that long gone are the days when defences could effectively pummel quarterbacks and manhandle receivers in the act of catching the football. It’s a game geared more to offensive production as a result
The rule changes are not just for safety though there is an NFL management acceptance of the revenue growth avenues from fantasy football and especially legalising sportsbooks and the public craves action, points and loves the over!
Finally College football is an open game with spread offenses and the NFL and the players emerging from those systems is adopting some of that thinking.
In these changes the NFL has a happy coincidence, there is a brand new crop of young quarterbacks such as Mahomes and Goff emerging while all-time greats such as the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees continue to perform exceptionally, to benefit from the changes that boost offensive production.
In due course, the NFL being a cyclical game, defensive thinking will catch up and the game will move to a steadier state again but for now it’s a game of scoring, offensive thinking and for now defenses are doing about the only thing that can be in today’s NFL: try to generate turnovers and points of their own, even while giving up big yards and points.
Brodders Football Analysis
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Bookmaker reviews and advice
Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.
Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.
Betting Emporium results
The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS
If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £43,819 All bets have an ROI +3.37%
The Road to Riches Weekend of 24-25th November
Coming up this weekend
- Football, the Premier League fixtures include Tottenham v CheIsea.
- Racing, Over the jumps at Ascot, Haydock and Huntingdon. All weather racing at Lingfield and Wolverhampton.
- NFL, Week Twelve of the 2018 Season
- Rugby Union, the Autumn Internationals conclude including England v Australia and Wales v South Africa
- Cricket, the third Test between Sri Lanka and England concludes in Colombo
- Formula One, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- Golf, the Melbourne World Cup of Golf and the Hong Kong Open.
- Tennis, the Davis Cup final, France v Croatia in Lille
NFL 2018 – Neil’s Picks
Seventeen weeks of Neil’s NFL write ups for the 2018 season continues this week costing £100 see here
PDC World Darts Championship (Dec 14th - Jan 1st 2019)
By Nigel Seeley Cost is £50 Sign up here
Free tip
Rugby Union Wales v South Africa (Saturday 6.20pm)
Wales finally beat Australia a fortnight ago in a dour match and end their Autumn season with a tough prospect, the rugged South Africans who lost by a point at Twickenham partly through not getting the rub of the green but mainly because they failed to take many opportunities in the first half. Since then they've gone to Paris and won by three points and Edinburgh and won by six and are emerging as genuine World Cup contenders after a year in which they beat New Zealand away and almost them beat them at home.
Wales too will have designs on a deep run in Japan and have more depth than for many years across the back line and in the back row but its areas of the tight five where i think they lack some world class, Alun Wyn-Jones apart. That is a real South African strength and as a result I am struggling with Wales as short as 4/6 outright to win this match. South Africa is another challenge entirely compared to the current Australian side and I like the visitors here to win at over even money (23/20 William Hill best) in what should be a close game. What may make a difference is the absence of the metronomic Welsh kicker Leigh Halfpenny. With Biggar on the bench the goal-kicking will fall to the less experienced Anscombe.
10 points South Africa to win by 1-12 points 3.1 Betfair, 21/10 BetfairSportsbook 2/1 SkyBet,PaddyPower 7/4 Ladbrokes/Coral
Anyone can beat anyone?
As suggestions of a breakaway European Super League come to the fore again, this is against a background that what is now considered the Premier League's 'big six' are pulling further and further away from the 'other 14'.
With the current top three - Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool - all still unbeaten after 12 matches, plus Tottenham and Arsenal within touching distance, it is only Manchester United with four defeats this season that are breaking up the increasing dominance that was only temporarily broken in 2015-16 when four of the above sides all under-performed and helped create the conditions for a surprise league winner.
The statistics, admittedly on a small sample size, certainly suggest that the Premier League is the least competitive it has been for some time, with instances of those 14 beating the six fewer and farther between.
Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have a combined points total of 90 so far and have won 27 of 36 games. With the exception of United all of the big six have increased their average points return against the other 14 this season.
The first reason for this is one of resource. Just taking one example Leicester’s £262 million transfer expenditure over the past three seasons looks eye-watering for a club of their size, but it is only £82 million net. Manchester United’s over the same period is just under £400 million (or £330 million net). The difference in wage bills remains huge.
Meanwhile, a far cry from several years ago when several managerial situations in the top six were sub-optimal, the coaching situations at many of the top clubs are more stable and the approach has changed. Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp do have better players but they’re also very well coached. Everyone can see how good Manchester City are on the ball, sometimes 70-80% of possession, but it’s also the amount of work they put in on the defensive side to make sure that when they lose the ball, a) they try to win it back as quickly as possible, high up the pitch and b) they close down those spaces to stop you hitting them on the counterattack. They execute the trend to high press well.
Of course, there is a long way to go but the early evidence certainly points to a league that is becoming less competitive all the time; of a widening gulf favouring those who compete in Europe and accumulate cash to spend on the best players from around the world.
Unfortunately, as the debate over a breakaway European Super League sparks up again, it is rarely the case that any team can beat any other on any given weekend. Only two non top six sides have won at the top six in 2018. Bournemouth at Chelsea and WBA at Manchester United, with none so far this season. It feels as if competitive balance, supposedly the Premier League’s unique selling point within European football leagues, is in alarmingly short supply.
Brodders Football Analysis
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Bookmaker reviews and advice
Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.
Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.
Betting Emporium results
The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS
If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £43,819 All bets have an ROI +3.37%
A £4000 bank betting £10 a point on all selections would now be worth £47,819 a 1095% increase
The Road to Riches Weekend of 17th-18th November
Coming up this weekend
- Football, the International break including England v Croatia on Sunday.
- Racing, Over the jumps at Cheltenham, Uttoxeter and Wetherby. All weather racing at Lingfield and Wolverhampton.
- NFL, Week Eleven of the 2018 Season
- Rugby Union, the Autumn Internationals continue including England v Japan, Scotland v South Africa and Ireland v New Zealand
- Cricket, the second Test between Sri Lanka and England concludes in Kandy
- Golf, the DP World Championship in Dubai.
- Tennis, the ATP finals conclude in London
NFL 2018 – Neil’s Picks
Seventeen weeks of Neil’s NFL write ups for the 2018 season continues this week costing £100 see here
PDC World Darts Championship (Dec 14th - Jan 1st 2019)
By Nigel Seeley Cost is £50 Sign up here
Free tip
The BetVictor Gold Cup (Saturday Cheltenham 2.25pm) by Neil Channing
The Mackeson is one of the highlights of the National Hunt season, not least because people seem keen to take bets on it, we have "just" twenty runners and some firms still offer the excellent 1/4 1234 terms for each-way bets while Bet365 offer an amazing 1/4 12345.
More than a Feeling
After winning 108 regular-season games, the Boston Red Sox easily disposed of the Yankees and last season’s champions the Astros in the American League play-offs, and the Dodgers in the World Series on the way to its fourth title in the last two decades and 14 years since the first of those which ended an 86 year drought.
For the season overall it was a dominant performance. Since 1969, when each league added a championship series, the 114-win 1998 Yankees are the only team to win a World Series and more regular-season games than Boston did this year. The Red Sox in the play offs won 11 of 14 games against three superstar. No team in the last decade has won the title with so few playoff losses.
With no salary cap in baseball, it is the American sport that most resembles the characteristics of lots of European leagues. Spend more, win more and in one of the biggest TV markets in the US and with the biggest payroll in the MLB the temptation is just to suggest that they’ve achieved what they paid for.
However beyond the star names and huge contracts it was the complementary players on the roster that made the difference in the play-offs. Last year the Astros executed an exemplary roster build and turned the losing record in the league into a title by first trading away stars to then building through the draft and younger players.
This year the Red Sox saw the culmination of several years of huge spending and big trades that saw them trade away key pieces from a completely stacked farm system to acquire marquee players plus a complete overhaul of the front office.
They signed David Price to the largest contract in history for a pitcher in December 2015, then in these play offs he led them to series-clinching wins in both the ALCS and World Series. Chris Sale the star pitcher came over via a trade that sent the then no. 1 prospect in baseball, Yoán Moncada, to the White Sox after Boston had paid $63 million, half of that on a penalty fee for going over budget, to sign Moncada as an amateur.
Boston paid J.D. Martinez $110 million over five years. Martinez proceeded to rank in the top three in the AL in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, home runs, runs, runs batted in, and total bases in his first year in Fenway.
Boston didn’t bide its time waiting for an opportunity to win the title, but rather climbed through a competitive window as quickly and eagerly as it could the moment one opened and it took three seasons to win it.
The best regular-season team in years became the best playoff team in years, and one of the best teams in MLB history.
Brodders Football Analysis
Brodders shows a solid five year proven profitable track record. Betting £10 a point you would be winning over £23,000 with a 3.03% ROI Sign up here
Bookmaker reviews and advice
Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.
Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.
Betting Emporium results
The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS
If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £43,819 All bets have an ROI +3.37%
A £4000 bank betting £10 a point on all selections would now be worth £47,819 a 1095% increase
The Road to Riches Weekend of 10th-11th November
Coming up this weekend
- Football, the Premier League fixtures include Manchester City v Manchester United.
- Racing, On the flat at Doncaster and Chelmsford. Over the jumps at Aintree, Kelso and Wincanton
- NFL, Week Ten of the 2018 Season
- Rugby Union, the Autumn Internationals continue including England v New Zealand, Wales v Australia and France v South Africa
- Cricket, the first Test between Sri Lanka and England concludes in Galle
- Formula One, the Brazilian Grand Prix
- Golf, the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa and on the USPGA the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.
- Tennis, the ATP finals begin in London
NFL 2018 – Neil’s Picks
Seventeen weeks of Neil’s NFL write ups for the 2018 season continues this week costing £100 see here
PDC World Darts Championship (Dec 14th - Jan 1st 2019)
By Nigel Seeley Cost is £50 Sign up here https://www.bettingemporium.com/tips/index/230
Free tip
Rugby Union Wales v Australia Saturday 5.20pm
Wales claimed the inaugural Doddie Weir Cup with a 21-10 win as Scotland's miserable run in Cardiff continued.
It was an ideal warm-up for Wales before their attempt to defeat Australia next Saturday after 13 successive losses against the Wallabies. The two sides are in the same pool in the 2019 Rugby World Cup
Wales were a bit rusty at times. For long periods of the game they were comfortable without the ball and defended well then cored some nice tries and will be better for that.
Essentially Wales have several world class players that keep them competitive in most matches even when they might look over-matched on paper. Leigh Halfpenny is one of the best goal kickers and keeps the scoreboard ticking over, and Davies and North in the three quarters are excellent. Wales’ problem going back several years is the execution has been lacking and results have been mixed but a year out from the World Cup this is a mature team that should be capable of going deep in the tournament
In the short term they are missing key players in the back row but this is still a side that can field Moriarty, Tipuric and Lydiate in their place.
In the last two years Australia have won in Cardiff 32-8 then in 2017 29-21. This time round Wales really should win. In previous years they have met Australia as the first game of the Autumn season with Australia fresh off the rugby championship and Wales a bit cold. Now Wales have had a tune up. Since last year’s match Australia have been in some turmoil and coach Michael Cheika has come under pressure. Australia have won 3 of 10 internationals this year, losing 2-1 at home to Ireland in the summer then losing 4 of six in the Rugby Championship.
For all their talent in the back line and with two world class back rows in Pocock and Hooper their talent pool (especially in the front five) is slim in other areas and the side lacks an identity, The two key questions facing the Wallabies remain whether Cheika is selecting the right team and if they are playing the right style of game, and the answers so far have to be said to be no.
Here in what should be a close game Wales are 5/6 and -1 on the handicap with Bet365 and finally I see them winning here in what should clearly be a close game.
10 points Wales to win by 1-12 points 19/10 Skybet 2.78 Betfair (7/4 Betfair Sportsbook 13/8 PaddyPower6/4 Ladbrokes/Coral)
Missing out
England rugby players risk missing out on selection for the next British Lions tour after the RFU and Premiership rugby unveiled a new framework on Tuesday that will see the domestic season run from September through to late June, with the international window moving to July in what will be an 11-month season.
The 2021 tour has been cut to five weeks from six and eight matches from 10 –and last week it was revealed that pleas from the Lions to be given early access to Premiership players have fallen on deaf ears.
On the face of it, the new season structure, in place from 2019‑2022, varies little from the one Premiership Rugby announced 18 months ago, leading senior England players such as Billy Vunipola, Joe Launchbury and Ben Youngs to voice their concerns and there was talk of going on strike. This time round there are a number of enforced breaks and limits of player workload introduced.
They include the maximum game limit of 32 instances of 80 minutes being reduced to 30 while a new measurement of “match involvements” playing 20 minutes or more has been introduced with a top limit of 35. Significantly, clubs will now face sanctions for any breaches, having escaped punishment in the past
Lions tours have been pushed to the margins to the extent players will not return home until August, but unlike the 2017-18 season they will not be available to start the following campaign with their clubs. They will face a mandatory 10-week rest period as well as an enforced week off during the 2021 autumn internationals.
With the Premiership final scheduled for 26 June 2021, English players will not be available until the following day, with the Lions expected to fly to South Africa on Monday 28 June. While the tour schedule is yet to be determined, it’s widely expected that their first tour match will take place on Saturday 3 July, with the first Test on 17 July and the final Test on 31 July as the schedule will be cut from 10 matches to eight.
The lack of preparation could therefore have a serious effect on how the Lions squad is selected, given that the Pro14 said last August that they are more than willing to change their season once every four years to create extra time for a six-week Lions tour and additional training week. With Irish, Scottish and Welsh internationals potentially available for up to two weeks more than their English counterparts, whoever is named head coach for the tour could easily decide that a Celtic-dominated squad would stand a better chance of success due to the additional preparation time. The reality is why would any Lions coach want a squad that is England heavy now?
Gatland has often stated that by cutting the length and number of matches on a Lions tour, he feared the entire prospect of the touring side could die. Legendary Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan said after the announcement “The Lions will not survive if we shorten tours, it shows the powers that be are ignorant of what it takes to win”
In the various negotiations the Lions have clearly made a sacrifice, the RFU have committed to ditching one summer tour match each year after a Rugby World Cup and international players will forgo their England match in order to get the rest they need during the season and the club/country tension does not currently allow them, Premiership Rugby appear to have given up very little.
Brodders Football Analysis
Brodders shows a solid five year proven profitable track record. Even if you just joined in January 2018 and bet £10 a point you would already be winning £6,521 with a 4.8% ROI. Sign up here
Bookmaker reviews and advice
Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.
Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.
Betting Emporium results
The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS
If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £43,426 All bets have an ROI +3.46%
A £4000 bank betting £10 a point on all selections would now be worth £47,426.30 a 1086% increase
The Road to Riches Weekend of 3rd-4th November
Coming up this weekend
- Football, the Premier League fixtures include Arsenal v Liverpool.
- Racing, On the flat at Newmarket and Newcastle over the jumps at Ascot, Ayr and Wetherby
- NFL, Week Nine of the 2018 Season
- Rugby Union, the start of the Autumn Internationals including England v South Africa
- Golf, the Turkish Airlines Open and on the USPGA the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin.
- Tennis, ATP BNP Paribas Masters in Paris
NFL 2018 – Neil’s Picks
Seventeen weeks of Neil’s NFL write ups for the 2018 season continues this week costing £100 see here
PDC World Darts Championship (Dec 14th - Jan 1st 2019)
By Nigel Seeley Cost is £50 Sign up here
Free tip
Autumn Internationals England v South Africa Saturday 3pm
With a year to go until the 2019 World Cup these Autumn Internationals have significance beyond those of a normal year. There are only two groups of fixtures left: the autumn internationals and the Six Nations. After that we are into the World Cup warm-up games, where it should be a case of honing not continued experimentation.
Unfortunately for England they are heavily injury hit, partly an unfortunate combination of circumstances and partly a result of the relentlessly punishing domestic programme and the lack of agreement between the clubs and RFU to rest players (as the Irish national side has).
Injuries aside England go into this autumn campaign with a lot of question-marks anyway. They lost their last three games in the Six Nations in the spring then the first two tests of the South Africa tour in the summer before winning the dead rubber (inspired by Danny Cipriani who doesn’t even make this squad) in Cape Town. After winning their first 17 Tests under coach Eddie Jones, England have lost six out of their past seven games. The result is that a year out from th World Cup Jones is tinkering and experimenting, at a stage in the major tournament cycle where combinations should be settled. Such fluid plans are normally the preserve of the post world cup 18 months with new players introduced with time to bed in.
Even at full strength the questions about England’s style and particularly the personnel in the back row remain. As it is missing both Vunipola’s, Robshaw, Hughes, Launchbury, Lawes and others is a big loss particularly in experience in the forwards.
South Africa meanwhile are on the up a year out from Japan. They’ve just finished second in the Rugby Championship with a famous win in New Zealand, and then running the close at home, along the way.
Typically South African sides are rugged up front and that applies to this team but they have more flair out wide than recent iterations of the side under newish head coach Rassie Erasmus. Part of their improvement is that the talent pool he can choose from is greater than it was due to the relaxation of a selection policy that previously prevented players playing outside South Africa from being picked.
The differences in the two sides are shown in experience and size in the forward packs where England field 165 total caps against 293 and 10 against 100 specifically in the back row. The eight forward players average almost two stone a man lighter too.
Prices here are England 8/11 and South Africa 5/4 or 6/5 and England are -2 at 10/11 on the point spread. My reaction to South Africa being underdogs here was initially “Are you kidding me?”
A night’s sleep later I still I strongly liked South Africa at 6/4 with Bet365 and 2.46 on the exchanges. They are the better team currently, hardened by a competitive summer and their opponents have lots of question-marks. England's price shortened after the teams were announced, which had me perplexed. Even away from home I can’t have South Africa as underdogs on Saturday.
20 points South Africa to beat England 6/4 Bet365 2.46 Betfair and Matchbook
There are football club owners, and then there are football club owners
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha owned Thailand’s biggest Duty Free stores, King Power. A self made man, he started with a store and his success saw him moved up the ranks of the country’s list of wealthiest people.
Vichai was always a fan of the Premier League. He was a huge fan of Chelsea football club until an incident in 2005. Prior to that, he was a regular with a VIP box at Stamford Bridge. Apart from his frequent appearances at the Bridge. He also supported CFC by spending on an advertising board.
However, in 2005, at a Champions League home game the security at the Bridge was more strict than usual. During security checks a scanner almost hit Vichai’s face in the process. He was unhappy and the situation almost turned nasty until his son had to take him away.
He was extremely disappointed in CFC and how they treated a sponsor and a regular VIP ticket buyer in such manner. Especially when the club did nothing about it. So much so that he submitted letters to the club, but he considered that no real action was taken.Vichai then decided he no longer wanted anything to do with Chelsea. No sponsorship, no tickets. He also told his son this,
“One day, we will buy a football team that will be able to beat Chelsea.”
Everyone thought it was a joke, Vichai didn’t.
In 2007, King Power approached Reading, who were in the Premier League that season. John Madejski was the owner then. He wasn’t interested in Vichai’s offer and said
“If you have no experience in the Football industry, it’s best if you stay out of it, you won’t be successful.”
Three years and many football clubs contacts later, Leicester City approached King Power if they could be their sponsor. So the Thais flew over to discuss this. Only then, something in Vichai’s gut told him that there was something special within this club.
He had his son study Leicester City and the City and analyse the potential. Incidentally, their family once watched Leicester play in 1997 in a league cup final at Wembley. They didn’t believe the sponsorship deal on its own would deliver much value, the club was poorly run and languishing. However Vichai liked LCFC and saw something in it that his advisors didn't.So the first question he asked the then owner, Milan Mandaric, in their meeting was
“Are you interested in selling your football club?”
“Yes” was the response. Mandaric bought LCFC for £25m and sold to Vichai for £37m.
They spent 3 years fixing the organisation of the club, with mistakes made along the way on the field in management and playing staff. LCFC reached the playoffs in 2013. The game where we painfully lost to Watford by a 90+7 min Troy Deeney goal after Knockaert's missed penalty.
The whole football club was in shock, the morale was at its lowest point. Vichai’s son was extremely upset until his father said to him.
“This is life. It’s good that it’s difficult. So we know what it’s like to fail.”
The club took that loss as a lesson.The next season saw Leicester win the Championship. No playoffs required. During their Championship celebration, Vichai told the team.
“Our plan is to be in the top 4 and reach CL in 3 years.”
Everyone laughed.
During the 15/16 season where LCFC won the league the final game of the season was an away game. Traditionally, other team does a Guard of Honour for the title winning side. Guess where the game was at? Stamford Bridge.
In addition to his success, he donated millions to various organisations in the city. The Leicester Royal Infirmary received enormous sums as did the local university for research facilities. Yes, with buying the freehold of the ground, repaying the debt and investment on the field and in managers he spent nearly £200m from day one but that and winning the title is not why you are seeing such an outpouring of grief.
He was loved by the fanbase and widely respected by the City for what he did for the club day to day. Fans would turn up for away trips to see that the owner had given each of them a £5 voucher to use at the away ground at the food kiosks. Home crowds would each be given a beer or a mince pie if it was December. Free scarves were handed out and at all games a word for all sorts of fans were commonplace
Many foreign owners buy teams for financial reasons. Some never get on with the fans. Vichai however, wasn’t one of those owners.The one thing i didn't know I was told after his loss. I had walked past the crash site on my way out of the ground ten minutes before it happened and then on into the City to meet up with a friend. Always on twitter, I was scrolling while i waited and saw the news and refreshed constantly.As various people came in one person, who it turns out was a steward at home games, told those around him of Vichai's regular habit
At each home game, around 2 and half hours before kick off, he would take a decanter of whisky and some glasses and place them in the centre-piece of the club's memorial garden at the back of the West stand for fans to make a toast to lost loved ones. Every single home game. I thought this might be apochryphal so i asked an acquaintance the following day, a local sports journalist. if that might be true? He assured me it was,
Quite the man really.
Brodders Football Analysis
Brodders shows a solid five year proven profitable track record. Even if you just joined in January 2018 and bet £10 a point you would already be winning £6,521 with a 4.8% ROI. Sign up here
Bookmaker reviews and advice
Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.
Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.
Betting Emporium results
The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS
If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £43,426 All bets have an ROI +3.46%
A £4000 bank betting £10 a point on all selections would now be worth £47,426.30 a 1086% increase
