goodens
-
Posts
200 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by goodens
-
-
Re: US Open 25th August - 8th September
Tennis Event Jelena Jankovic - Serena Williams Selection Serena Williams 2-0 Strength 10/10 Date 08/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 1.72 (Back) Reasoning After the final at Wimbledon once again the Williams sister have dominated the last Grand Slam tournament from this year. But bad luck made them meet each other in the quarter finals despite they've been the best players in US Open. Great serving, powerfull shots and having won as many important titles as they have gives them a cold blood when having to deal with dangerous moments in the match. In her way Serena defeated Bondarenko, Vesnina, Sugiyama, Bremond and Safina in 2 easy and short sets. Jankovic may be world number 2, but she definetly isn't playing as good as the Williams sister. So far she encountered problems with 4 of her 6 opponents on the road to the final. Arvidsson and Wozniacki 2 scandinavic players who base their game mainly on force won a set against her. Consider Williams a more improved version of the 2 and you'll get the idea. Also Zheng, and Dementieva had their chances but failed under pressure. Like I said this won't be a problem for Serena who knows how to conserve her serve. Especially Dementieva in the semi-finals showed in the opening games she has more than enough to play the final, but unexpectedly her game went down and Jankovic deservedly won. In my eyes there's no stopping Serena here, and I consider the tournament being won by her after the Quarter Final match with Venus. Bookies know this and understandably give low odds on her to win on home soil. Things should finish quick, and a set won by Jankovic would be a great achievement for her, but really not something realistic. -
Re: US Open 25th August - 7th September
Tennis Event A.Murray - R.Nadal Selection A.Murray Strength 10/10 Date 07/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 1.61 (Back) Reasoning The match was intrerupted in the 3rd set at the score of 3-2 for Nadal who has a break advantage. The first 2 sets were easily won by Murray, who outclassed the World No.1 with his annoying style of playing of returning every single ball in the opponents court. The first set ended 6-2, pretty quickly, and in the second they reached 6-6 and he won in tie-break after having at a moment 5-0 in the tie-break. Also Murray won more easily his own serves. Nadal never really preffered thistype of surface, he never won a Gran Slam tournament on hard, and right Murray looks more than he can handle. I saw the match the British player played against Del Potro and is seemed his calm and patience is inexhausting. Nadal alo doesn't posses quite a powerfull serve and Murray can return most of his services back. The odds are a little bit high for Murray, as he showed in yesterday he is the better player and already is 2 stes up. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Malta - Portugal Selection Over 4.5 goals Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 3.05 (Back) Reasoning Portugal played its first match with new coach Queiroz 2 weeks ago and won 5-0 at home with Faroes Isles. They meet Malta, one of the weaker football nations from Europe, but with some surprise results in the past especially at home ground. a 3-2 win with hungary or a 2-2 draw with Turkey are most notable results. Despite Portugal miss Ronaldo for this match I expect them to respect their name and score a fiest of goals, and also I'm counting on Malta to score. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Belgium - Estonia Selection Belgium(-2.5) (Asian Handicap) Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 3.00 (Back) Reasoning Belgium has a good team for future competitions. They have many talented young players who made it to the Olympics till the quarter finals. Kompany, Feillani are just 2 examples. Estonia is mainly composed from players from the Estonian League, the team isn't like San Marino or Malta but certainly not good enough to compete with teams like Belgium is now. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Cyprus - Italy Selection Draw Strength 5/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price BetandWin @ 6.50 (Back) Reasoning Current world champions italy start this new campaign with Lippi on the bench. The first match since his return wasn't a succesful one, as Italy only managed to draw 2-2 with Austria after being twice led. Cyprus is a hardnut to crack especiall in the Isle of Afrodite. Italy players usually are overconfident in the start of a campaign and often underestimate their opponents, while Cyprus even managed to draw with Germany on previous campaigns. I believe a draw is more than just possible. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Israel - Switzerland Selection Switzerland Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Betfair @ 3.45 (Back) Reasoning Israel is a tough nut to crack whe playing at home. They have in Ben-Haim one of the most experienced and talented Israelian player and he usually leads a good defense. But recently the team encountered some problems, goalkeeper Dudu Aouate is without club and they also miss some of their first choice defenders. Strikers and midfielders at the team aren't of a high quality and Switzerland now led by Hitzfeld can take advantage. They already won a friendly 4-1 while Israel lost the last friendly game 2-0 in Finland. Normally it is tough to play in Israel but circumstances changed and I believe Switzerland led by Hitzfeld has what it takes to take the win -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Hungary - Denmark Selection Denmark Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Betfair @ 2.42 (Back) Reasoning Denmark didn't manage to qualify for the Euro competition and since than the team has been reconstructed. They met Spain 2 weeks ago and lost 3-0 after keeping a draw at half tim. it is clear reserves aren't as good as the first choices. Hungary has become a mediocre/poor team in recent years. Althoughthey have talent in midfield with pleyrs like Hajnal or Dzsudzsák,the defence choices and strikers are limited for the coach. They cant compete with the bigger teams and certainly have the second chance in these meetings. Denmark has some good players playing abroad, Tomasson or Bednter are 2 strikers, also they have a good home league and choices for the national team are enough to make a competitive side. I choose Denmark to win here. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Norway - Iceland Selection Over 3.5 Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Unibet @ 3.00 (Back) Reasoning Match between 2 scandinavic nations. Norway should be a contender for reaching the final tournament, while Iceland is definetly an outsider and should be enjoying playing the bigger teams. Still Iceland has some interesting players, like Gudjohnsen, Helgasson, players who spent most of their careers in Premiership or smaller England Leagues. Overall the quality of their team is not bad. Norway is of course a higher class than their neighbours, and of course they are favorites in this match. Matches between these 2 sides usually end up in high scoring games, both will play offensive and I expect goals. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Ukraine - Belarus Selection Ukraine Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Nordicbet @ 1.57 (Back) Reasoning Ukraine start the campaign against neighbours Belarus. Both teams consist mainly of players playing in their won league but have some exception like Hleb playing for Barcelona and Shevchemko for Ac Milan. Ukraine changed coach after not reaching Euro 2008, and the new coach seems to have made a better defensive team. Their only loss came at Rotterdam 3-0, but besides that result they won Serbia 2-0, Poland 1-0 at home and Sweden 1-0 away. So impressive results if we keep in mind Sheva is out of form. Belarus had a good draw with Argentina at their own stadium but the South Americans missed some players who were at the Olympics. There is a difference of class between the 2 sides and I trust this new Ukraine team. -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 )
Football (Internationals) Event Moldova - Latvia Selection Draw Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Betfair @ 3.35 (Back) Reasoning Moldova recently played a friendly game at Lithuania, which they lost 4-0. The team mostly consists of players from their own league and from Russia. Epureanu who plays for Fc Moscow is their playmaker. Latvia also recently played a friendly away in Romania and they had a good performance narrowly losing 1-0. Their defence was good and they proved dangerous on counters. Their team also consists of players playing in Russia or in their own league with rare exceptions. I see a balanced game. -
Re: U21 Euro Qual
Football (Internationals) Event Bosnia U21 - Romania U21 Selection Bosnia U21 or Draw Strength 10/10 Date 06/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 2.62 (Back) Reasoning The Romania U21 team needs 4 points from the last 2 games to qualify for the Euro U21 tournament. Their results in away matches have't been convincing though as they drew 0-0 in France in a match in which they were dominated from start to finish, they won 1-0 in Wales in a match where they also should thank goalkeeper Tatarusanu for magnificent interventions and a lucky free kick goal from Torje brought Romania an undeserved win. For this match Romania miss very important central defender Radu Stean who will play for the big national team. This is a good team for Romania U21 level but so far their results were more than they deserved. Bosnia is a Balkan country and they are known for their fighting spirit. If even Malta was able to hold Romania a draw until the dying minutes of the match why couldn't Bosnia get something out of this match. Motivation is high on the Romania team, they want to finish the qualification mather as soon as possible, but honestly speaking 1.45 when playing in Bosnia is more than they deserve. :dude -
Re: World Cup 2010: Matches ( 05/06/07-10/11 09 2008 ) Romania - Lithuania - on the mainsite I took Lithuania straight win for the incredible value the odds have, but more realisticly this is a better choice, and the Lithuania(+1.5) is even surer at 1.80 odds. Lithuania not to lose - odds over 3.00 There is a lot of pressure on the Romanian National team to get a good result here. Just yesterday some players lost their nerves and hustled some paparazzis :). The absence of Mutu is really a great lossfor this team which has few attacking options. Romanian doesn't have good wingers, they don't have creative midfielders except for Dica bur right now he is simply too slow to create danger against a nice settled defensive side. Marica returns to the national team and this is maybe the best news for Romania, as Bratu or Costea didn't prove they have quality for this level. The defence of Romania, the most valuable part of this team suffers a big blow with the absences of Chivu and Rat, and also Tamas has been inconsistent lately making some uncharacteristic mistakes and even though I believe there are much better options he will still be a first minute starter. Lithuania is usually a mediocre team in these Qualifiers, and they can make surprises anytime .Players like Stankhevicius or Danilevicius, or Russian League player Semberas are all good enough to play at this level. They also have a legion of players in Scotland, with Rangers striker Velicka. Their last friendly match was a 4-0 win against Moldova, also Romania struggled to win 1-0 against Latvia with the only goal coming after a penalty and with mostly the same players as they will use today. Romania is overrated and really not a great team right now.
-
Re: Romania - 29 Aug - 1 Sep thanks, the Romanian League is my specialty... nice to be here:cheers
-
Re: US Open 25th August - 7th September
:dudeTennis Event Roger Federer - Gilles Muller Selection Gilles Muller(+6.5) Strength 10/10 Date 04/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price BetandWin @ 2.23 (Back) Reasoning Roger Federer is past his good form. He didn't win a single Grand Slam tournament this year and US Open is his last chance. Also at the Olympics he failed to win a medal at the singles event, but won in the doubles with fellow compatriot Wawrinka. On the hard surphace tournaments he played this summer he lost at Toronto in the second round against Gilles Simon in 3 sets, and at Cincinatti he lost in the quarter finals against Ivo Karlovic also in 3 sets, but could have left the tournament even earlier if Ginepri would have won his serve at 6-5 in the second set after winning the first. So far at the US Open he didn't impress, winning in the first 3 rounds against opponents like Maximiliano Gonzales, Thiago Alves and Radek Stepanek isn't that big of a performance, and he had problems with Alves. In the last round he showed his true form, narrowly winning against Igor Andreev in 5 long and hard sets. Gilles Muller is a 25 years old Luxembourg tennis player, who had good results in youth tournaments but failed to confirm until now in the ATP ranks. This is his best performance at an Grand Slam tournament, and he fully deserves his performances coming from qualifycation and defeating big names in the process. Watching the match against Haas, and especially the first set I was thinking, it will be a 3-0 win for the German and what is this kid doing here anyway. I've got it right until the 3rd set when something snapped and suddenly Gilles was the one controlling the game. It ended 3-2 and in the next round another high rated player awaited. Almagro was his name, and again he recovered from 0-2 at sets and won 3-2 showing great fighting spirit. And in the last round he defeated Davydenko 3-1 at sets, a really impressing win if you consider the Russian played good tennis in the opening round and didn't lost a single set. So what to expect from this match... certainly more than a non-historic 3-0 Federer win, though I'm not entirely excluding the Swiss to win 3-0, he will have a harder time than the 129th place in the rankings for Muller shows. -
Re: US Open 25th August - 7th September
:dudeTennis Event J.M.Del Potro - A.Murray Selection Over 40.5 games Strength 10/10 Date 03/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price BetandWin @ 1.85 (Back) Reasoning This is IMO the most balanced clash of the quarter finals. J.M.DelPotro showed good form in last months winning 2 ATP tournaments on hard surface at Washington and Los Angeles. But his mission was made easier by the absence of most of the top 64 ranked players who were competing at the Olympics. Still DelPotro had to compete against the likes of Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas or John Isner and he disposed of them in 2 sets with ease. Actually the only player who managed to take a set from the Argentinian in these 2 tournaments was Dudi Sela. In US Open he won 3-1 with Canas in the first round, and 3-1 with Belluci in the next round, in both matches he lost the first set but recovered well. The firsd round announce the greatest challenge for DelPotro so far as he disposed of Gilles Simon in 5 long sets to win the acces to the last 16. But it is no surprise as Simon showed in Toronto by defeating Federer on the same surface he is in good form. The last round was also the most easiest match for DelPotro so far winning in 3 short sets against Japanese player Nikishori. Now he has a difficult task as he meets the winner of the Cincinnatii tournament British player A.Murray. He showed good form winning that tournament, defeating in the process Karlovic and Djokovic but afterwards he lost inexplicabily in 2 sets against a low placed Asian player in the Olympics. In the US Open so far he showed some good skills, defeating in 3 easy sets Roitman in the opening round, winning a hard match against Llodra 3-1 and recovering from a 2-0 set deficit against Melzer in the third round. The 4th round he had an easy task defeating a somehow tired and out of form Wawrinka who didn't pose a problem to Murray. If I were to choose from the 2, given the current level they show I would go for DelPotro as he is more consistent has a good play from the back of the line and makes few unforced errors. Also when he is on top of his game he is hard to beat. Still I believe we shall see at least 4 sets in this game and hopefully more than 40 games. -
Re: Romania - 29 Aug - 1 Sep
:dudeFootball (Romania) Event Steaua - Pandurii Selection Under 2.5 Strength 10/10 Date 01/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Interwetten @ 2.00 (Back) Reasoning Steaua is in the Champions League group stage after the double leg with Galatasaray and every thought goes to those future matches. But until than they have a league game against Pandurii, which the team consider less important. Steaua will miss Szekely, Golansky and Emeghara still injured, but their opponents have many problems of their own. Pandurii miss striker Piturca suspended, Orac and Vancea have few chances to play, while Thiago and Cardoso will try to shake off some knocks and start in this game. Also long term absences striker Arrieta and Liviu Mihai are still out. The game comes at a good time for Pandurii as they just managed to get their first league win but need to add more points if they are to have a safe season. Pandurii in the last 3 seasons have managed to make close games at Steaua's stadium with the same coach. First there was a 0-0 draw, followed by 2 1-0 losses. Both losses came after late goals, and my point is proved that Neagoe is capable of keeping Steaua into a stalemate game. Steaua's defence of course is impressive but their attack is certainly not. I don't expect Pandurii to score,but if they will it would be a lucky one and if Steaua won't score in the first quarter of an hour my bet is safe. Under all the way. -
Re: Sas league 30'th of August - 1'st of September
Football (Denmark) Event Midtjylland - Vejle Selection Midtjylland Strength 10/10 Date 01/09/2008 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 1.50 (Back) Reasoning Midtjylland finished last season in second place, behind Aalborg, and the main reason for being higher on the table than bigger names like Kobenhavn or Brondby was their home record, as they won 13 games draw 4 and lost none. They have the only youth academy between the Danish sides, and an excellent scouting system, as they bring unknown players for small fees and they prove good players, like Egyptian international Zidan who played here. Romanian Florescu is one example. I saw the match they played at home with Manchester City and I was impressed by the level of football they showed, they were superior to the more famous English side and should have deserved to go through the doule leg, but they were unlucky 2 first conceding in the 88th minute through an own goal when nothing predicted Manchester could score and second by losing on penalties. but now they can focus better on their own league. So far they are on the 5th position and have a 100% record at home winning both matches and have a 6-1 goal average. Vejle is a mediocre team at most, they have so far 4 points from 2 away games but won't stay unbeaten after this match. Chances are slim for Vejle to get something on this match and I trust Midtjylland to do the job and get the win. :dude :window.close()'>Close Window
US Open 25th August - 8th September
in Other Sports & Novelty Predictions
Posted
Re: US Open 25th August - 8th September