ElDiablo

Anyone used the new skybet beta site? Much better.

Also, Donovan.

Just about to post that. So it begins. Lampard then Rooney next.

Arsenal draw no bet West Ham draw no bet Hibernian Inter £10

Friedel Heitinga Hangeland Shawcross Belhadj Lennon Fabregas Gerrard Valencia Tevez Drogba

They've played Forest twice. They've got Cardiff away next Tuesday though.

Portsmouth goal won me £34, didn't register at the time as I was raging at Darlington.

These are my unsettled bets from the last week. Darlington conceded in the last minute so that one is fucked. http://i50.tinypic.com/28aum2o.jpg

I've won on one I didn't post before too. I've let you all down, might post it when Skybet finally pay up.

Cheers. Slightly encouraging at least. The bit about the officiating sounds familiar.

Disappointing but never mind. Only 4 losses all season up to this point isn't bad at all. Home form will see us up. Can see a draw against Swansea, he'll almost definitely go back to Smith and Nolan in the middle now.

Pompey equalising won me a few quid though.

At least Forest are losing and we have a game in hand over Forest and WBA.

CHicken

£8 on Newcastle, Reading, Leicester. £5 on Bury and Darlington. And some smaller ones.

I think it's Brazil's to lose. Spain are quite weak at the back, certainly weaker than Brazil.

£13.05

Think this came off, not sure if Havant won, can't find the score anywhere. Apparently they were 2-1 up though...

No idea, I do have one memory of me asking my Grandad if Newcastle were still top when he picked me up from school, so that must have been 96ish when I was 6. Probably about then.

I know what you're saying. I think Capello will stick with 442 though and with Barry an almost certain starter we need more than Lampard and Gerrard getting forward to support Rooney. Heskey looks alright in qualifying because we play a pile of shit mostly. Anyone with an ounce of ability and nouse will nullify Heskey and what he supposedly brings to the team. A genuine threat on goal (Defoe) will give as much space to Rooney as Heskey with runs down the channel etc. Different shakes and all that but Heskey up against a decent defence is hilarious.

The alternative that has been anywhere near as successful? The one that has even worked at all? What?

He wasn't doing it a year ago because he was playing off a front man. Rooney is our best player but we shouldn't be basing the whole thing around him. Defoe is on fire this season and deserves to start. I would like 2 players up front who are capable of scoring please. If Heskey needs to come off the bench (I'd bring Crouch on ahead of him) then so be it. He shouldn't be starting.

Rooney never needed Heskey, it was Owen who benefited from having him in the side. But much like the modern defensive midfielder obsession, a lot of people feel the need to have 'presence' up front when it isn't needed.