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Darran

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Posts posted by Darran

  1. Re: Blue Square BET Premier » Oct 18

    The Newport County v Kettering game interests me. We've yet to see much progress for Newport under their new manager and they are still hugely inconsistent - not many would have thought that a team that could win 4-1 away at Fleetwood would then lose at home to Tamworth. Kettering won away at FGR on Saturday and whilst it's probably a big call for them to win two games on the spin awy from home I feel that the away side are worth following. 5/2 available for Ketting to win but I'm taking 6/4 Kettering DNB with Hills :hope
    Edinburgh actually said that Saturday's performance was the best since he took over which is surprising given what they did on Tuesday. Sounds like Kettering didnt threaten FGR to much but got the goal when a chance came along and managed to see it out fairly comfortably as FGR didnt threaten much either.
  2. Re: England > Weekend > FA Cup 3rd Qual Rnd > 15 Oct

    Probably not as much as Guiseley cost me today though. Still it's my own fault' date=' I thought they were a banker.[/quote'] Well I always do an acca with all the teams I pick and thats the 3rd time this season Ive missed out on a big payout by 1. Im surprised by Guiseley but they had a poor afternoon by all accounts.
  3. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 14-15

    My bad :wall Mansfield play against Southport' date= not Grimsby :ok
    Lol I knew both teams had a tough game so just thought when you said they were playing each other. Southport are in great form at the moment and although again Id go for a Mansfield win I think the price is on the short side as I can easily see Southport getting something from the game.
  4. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 14-15

    What do you think about double on Mansfield Town and Newport County, both teams plays at home against Grimsby and Tamworth?! Big fan of english football, from Serbia. :cheers
    Im a big fan of Mansfield but Grimsby are much better now than at the start of the season and it will be a tough game for them. I nearly backed Newport myself as now theyve won I sort of think they might go on a run, but Tamworth are a solid enough outfit and I just think I want to see Newport do it again first. If I had to predict a result I would go for a home win in both games but betting wise its not for me, good luck if you play though.
  5. Re: England > Weekend > FA Cup 3rd Qual Rnd > 15 Oct Hednesford v Corby Into the FA Cup now and I think this game has a decent chance of seeing a bit of an upset. This could very easily have been a league fixture this season given how close Hednesford came to promotion and it’s no surprise to see them going very well again this year as they look to get into the Conference set up. Corby have been rather in and out so far and although they have only lost twice in their last ten league and cup matches, they managed just four wins and two of them came against the weakest sides in the league - Blyth Spartans and Eastwood. This will be a tough game for Corby and I would have the prices closer together than they are, with Blue Square biggest at 11/5. Eastleigh v Oxford City City have really managed to turn things around after a tough season last time and they currently sit in second place in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier, just two points off the lead. They have not lost since August, have only been defeated twice all season, and they won 7-1 last weekend. As I have written a few times this term, Eastleigh have got a young side and that means they can put in the odd good performance but more often than not their efforts suggest they are still finding their feet at this level of football. City will really fancy their chances of causing an upset in this game and I think they have a really decent chance of doing so. Blue Square are biggest at 11/4. FA Cup Acca I came close in the previous round, getting five out of six, and this time around I have found four teams who should all progress to the next round. Eastbourne, Dover and Basingstoke should find things comfortable against there much lower ranked opposition, whilst it will be disappointing if Blue Square North side Droylsden did not manage to see struggling Evo-Stik Northern Premier side Stocksbridge. The four-fold pays around 2.2/1 with Blue Square.

  6. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 14-15 Forest Green Rovers v Kettering Mark Stimson has said some very harsh words about his team since he has taken over, but things are changing and clearly his improved training regime is working, with results on the pitch improving. Adam Cunnington has struggled since his move from Solihull in January, but Stimson seems to have found the key to him and he played really well when scoring in the 2-1 win against Braintree on Tuesday night. I am a huge fan of Stimson as a boss and it’s no surprise to me that he has managed to improve the side. Forest Green lost their first game in five on Tuesday at Hayes & Yeading, although they had drawn their previous four matches and winning games remains an issue for them. Rovers are actually only two points in front of their hosts in the table and I think, with that win on Tuesday behind them, Kettering are more than capable of following up here. Ladbrokes are only 9/4 about an away win which is more the price I would have, so Stan James’ 7/2 looks value.

  7. Re: Another stupid idea from racing for change

    I'd say more often than "hardly ever" Every bank holiday probably. Anyway, it's a pointless argument because the fact is that they already have races that they have to show in two screens because they're finishing virtually together so it's blindingly obvious that they can't read out all the finishers. As far as "on track" goes. You can't usually hear the ******* commentators at the finish over the noise of the crowd anyway so it's possibly the most pointless decision I've ever heard in my entire life.
    Yeah because we have lots of bank holiday's in this country. Also unless its a very busy day you can easily hear the end of a race. I have always liked it when I heard an Aussie call and they have done it so its a good thing that our guys are allowed to do it as well.
  8. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 14-15 Im wondering if Ebbsfleet's performance against Luton was more a special effort because of who they were playing as most of the time Liam Diash has been pretty critical of his team. Having said that on my two viewings of them it does surprise me they arent doing better than they are and it was a price that caught my eye as well.

  9. Re: England > Midweek > Non-league Oct 10-12

    Not sure what happened to Luton tonight, looks like they chucked it away GRRR Some strange results about tonight for sure, well done to those who made plenty
    I was there and although Im sure Kev will disagree with me I thought Ebbsfleet played really well and deserved a point. I actually missed the equaliser go in as I wanted to get the earlier train so I cant tell you anything about that, but I thought Luton were pretty lucky to be 2-0 to the good and I apart from the goal they didnt really do a great deal in the second half. They showed the odd glimpse of what they can do but fair play to Ebbsfleet they were always in the game and had chances of their own. If it had of stayed 2-0 I would have felt pretty lucky to have won my bet. Kev will know more than me but I thought it was an odd starting line up. After Fleetwood went 1 up after a minute I thought it was going to be an easy night for them but fair play to Edinburgh he must have really turned them around big time since Saturday.
  10. Re: England > Midweek > Non-league Oct 10-12 Ebbsfleet v Luton

    When I went to see Ebbsfleet play Newport back in August I was quite impressed with the way the home side played against what I thought at the time would be a team near the top. Obviously in hindsight that performance doesn’t look as strong given what Newport have been like this season. Ebbsfleet have been struggling for form themselves and have only a win against Bath and a point against Alfreton as highlights from their last six matches. To be fair to them they have had a pretty hard set of fixtures having played Fleetwood, Wrexham and Gateshead in that spell, but it doesn’t get any easier on Tuesday night as they host a Luton side who are getting stronger by the day. Luton’s long injury list is easing and with two decent wins against Barrow and Kidderminster they seem to be over their little blip. Ebbsfleet are missing vital players at the moment through injury and international duty which is not helping their cause and I find it hard to see them getting anything from this game. Luton can be frustrating at times but they do have it within themselves to go out and score plenty of goals against the weaker teams in the division and I think they can win by at least two clear goals, which is why I am taking Paddy Power’s 15/8 on them overcoming -1 on the handicap.

  11. Re: Form and the new whip rules

    Dave Crosse has a point and i feel sorry for him! I think over the past week or so i have changed my views completely. I was initially in favour of the ruling, but when you dig into the foundations of it, it is quite ludicrous! The BHA are trying to do something good but in the process of doing 1 good thing, they are creating far more problems!
    I think that was the view of the jockeys to start with as well, but then when you think about it it doesnt make sense. Imagine whats going to happen during the time you can get banned for one of the big festivals.
  12. Re: Form and the new whip rules I thought this was very interesting and I think it sums things up well. Its written by jockey Dave Crosse. Last week took a lot of will power as I had 9 pounds to lose to ride my old favourite Snake Charmer at Fontwell. It's not always worth it but it's part of the job and this time it turned out to be well worth it, as he won! He did owe me that one after tripping up with a race at his mercy in Newton Abbot a month previously. It was also great to get a winner on my 2nd ride back from my Hernia operation but also on only my 2nd day wearing my new sponsor's logo, Lovetheraces. In the race itself Snake Charmer travelled ok but his jumping was a bit guessey as he had a few bad experiences recently and as ever took quite a bit of driving which brings me onto the whip debate... As you all must know by now the amount of times we can hit horses in a race from next Monday has over halved with the penalties being five times tougher! We are now only allowed to smack a horse 8 times in total during a race (5 after the last jump) and if we go one over we get a 5 day ban and we lose our prize money and riding fee for that race, whereas before it would be a caution. Some change in rules! Now, although I can see why the BHA are doing this, I feel this is an extremely harsh penalty and jockeys are going to be the big losers with these new rules. We are the ones in this sport, going out risking our neck everyday (don't forget it's the only occupation where you are followed by an ambulance whilst at work) and now if you make one tiny mistake when you are trying your hardest to win a race for the owners and punters, it'll end up costing you your livelihood. Let me explain a bit about race riding. When you are in race and your blood is pumping and it's all about you and your horse getting to the line first, sometimes it's easy to lose count of how many times you've slapped your horse to get there. However, I, like most other jockeys, like to think I know the difference between getting the best out of a horse in a race and beating it too much. Whereas, I am not too sure if the BHA do. You've got to remember that we are professionals and we love our horses (that is why we do this job) and we would never want to see a horse being treated cruelly let alone do it to them ourselves! My win on Snake Charmer last week at Fontwell, under the new rules would have meant that I would have got an 18 day ban. Watch my ride for yourself and see if you think my ride warrants a punishment of 18 days of not being able to work. Imagine if someone took away 18 days of your salary because you tried your best. Now this horse is the perfect example of a horse that will struggle to win from next Monday onwards under the new rules, as he needs a strong ride. I am certainly not being cruel, I am proud of the ride I gave the horse, but without the strong encouragement I gave him he would not have won. I am happy to report that Snake Charmer came out of the race fine with no harm done. If it's a case of one more slap of encouragement to win for what is crap prize money nowadays or a nice holiday where we can't earn any money you are going to see a lot of jockeys not giving horses a proper ride and accepting finishing 2nd. Can this be right? No but it's going to happen and cause a lot more punters turning their back on racing and us jockeys coming in feeling like we have not done our job properly. Is this what we want? We are all trying to get more people into our great sport, but the BHA have, as Ryan Moore put it, been very weak on this matter and have rushed into a decision. It seems that this decision has been made by non-horsey people and by that I mean people who do not fully understand what it is like to ride in a race. Are these people really in the best position to be making such important decisions about our sport? I feel very strong about this as it will affect people like myself who are freelance jockeys and need every ride to make a living. The public don't realise that jockeys work on a freelance basis and we have huge outgoings in order to do our jobs, for example, valets, agents and fuel to put in the car so it's potentially going to cost us money going racing. Can this be right? A lot of the horses I ride take a lot of encouragement and its people like me who the new rules will effect most. If I was riding for Nicky Henderson or Paul Nicholls who have horses that are better than the rest it would be easier as a lot of them won't even come off the bridal. Yesterday again I won on a horse called Justabout who like Snake Charmer may as well retire as of next week!! The bottom line is that the rules take effect as off next week and there is nothing we can do about it. We are going to have to change are styles and accept the punishment if we go over. Win and you get a holiday and no money or finish 2nd and carry on earning??

  13. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 8-9

    York v Braintree Can't resist a small bet on Braintree at 9/2 on Betfair. They've made a brilliant start to life in the BSP since their promotion last season. I'm not in any doubt that this will be a tough game as both teams are in good form but I believe that the prices should be closer than they are - Braintree aren't a 9/2 shot :hope I've also backed Southport and Kidderminster
    Luton have been odds against in 16 games during the time they have been in the BSP and have only won twice.
  14. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 8-9

    Phillips is fit. Bath will probably go 4-4-2 in an effort to find some rythym. Only serious doubt is at RB where Sekani Simpson has a thigh strain. Another poor performance in midweek saw them exit the Somerset Premier Cup at the hands of Taunton Town albeit with a much weakened side. They haven't been playing poorly' date=' just not creating enough chances. I see Darlo as very inconsistent and give Bath a chance. A few shillings with stan james at 2/1 for me.:hope[/quote'] I was trying to find some info about Phillips but couldnt so given they thought it might be quite serious I guessed he would be out. Whatever they havent exactly scored many goals with him in the side anyway.
  15. Re: England > Weekend > Northern, Southern & Ryman Prem Oct 8 As I mentioned in the other thread Ships is away again this weekend and like last time I am with Hendon Hastings v Hendon Hendon let us down badly a couple of weeks ago when they lost for the first time this season against Kingstonian. Considering Kingstonian then followed up that with a great win against Lewes I think it’s fairly safe to say they managed to improve whilst Hendon did throw in a bit of a stinker as well. Hastings on the other hand are pretty dire, a kind run of fixtures masks how bad they are, and as soon as they faced a tough test against Billericay on Tuesday night they were easily beaten. Hendon had a good win in midweek at Wealdstone and look the best bet of the weekend at 11/10 with Coral.

  16. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Bet North & South October 8 Ships is away again this weekend so nothing from him for those of you follow his tips. Truro v Basingstoke Into the Blue Square South and I thought long and hard about including this tip but I am really keen to take Truro on so I will take a risk that Basingstoke can improve their away form. Truro have only lost once in their last four league games but performances have been poor since the news came out that they face being wound up for an unpaid tax bill. Their captain Jake Ash has admitted that it is having a detrimental effect on the players, which is certainly showing. They faced step 5 side Bournemouth in the FA Cup last Saturday and were held to a 0-0 draw before being very lucky when scraping through 3-2 in the replay on Tuesday night. Basingstoke also needed a replay to see off Frome Town but at least they are only a step below and they did beat them easily in the replay. They have only lost twice this season to Woking and Sutton who are both above them in the table, where they currently lie in fifth place. They were unbeaten in September but have only actually scored four goals away from home this season and drawn three of five on their travels. It’s those stats which concern me but given how well they are performing, and that I want to take Truro on, I am pretty hopeful they can, at the very least, nick a 1-0 win. Coral are biggest at 13/8. Welling v Dover I have seen both of these sides this season and despite the fact Welling are currently eight points in front of their visitors, on what I have witnessed I reckon Dover will finish above them. Dover have only actually lost twice but it is their six draws which led to Martin Hayes getting the sack. Nicky Forster is the new man in charge and they had a comfortable success in the FA Cup last Saturday in his first match. I don’t think too much needs changing and am sure they will be shooting up the table soon. I accept that Welling’s home form has been strong with four wins and a draw in five games but their performances seem to have taken a turn for the worse and although they all came on their travels I still get the feeling they aren’t as good as their position suggests. Dover have already had some tough away fixtures and like last year have been performing strongly on the road. William Hill are biggest on Dover at 11/5 and I think that is well worth taking.

  17. Re: England > Weekend > BlueSQ Prem October 8-9 Given how busy the thread for just two games in mid week was I am surprised nothing has been posted here yet. Anyway heres my two tips. Bath v Darlington Bath are yet to gain a victory and with striker Lee Phillips picking up injury against Lincoln last week things are getting harder for them, especially as a lack of goals has been a massive problem. City have only scored five so far and have not found the net in their last three. I opposed Darlington last week but with Newport feeling sorry for themselves they were able to take full advantage and win 2-0, easing the pressure for manager Mark Cooper. That win should boost confidence after some poor results and I find it hard to see Bath getting anything from this given the state they are currently in. Victor Chandler go 13/10 about an away win and that seems a fair price to me. Newport v Southport Speaking of Newport, having backed them in three of their last four games I have to oppose them after last week’s effort. I know Justin Edinburgh has come in as the new manager and I am sure he will do a good job turning things around, but perhaps it could take longer than a few days. The fact remains that Newport are a side who have only won once all season and now host a Southport side who, bar a blip against Braintree, have been in superb form, winning four of their last six matches. Last season their away form was a concern but that doesn’t seem to be the case this time around as they have won three on their travels already. I find it hard to understand the prices in this game with Newport as short as even money to gain the three points, but current form doesn’t make them that price at all and I am happy to back Southport at 12/5 with VC and Coral as, even with the new manager effect, that has to be value

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