Kenton Schweppes

Are countries going to take these games more seriously now there is a competitive competition to it? I'll be honest bit confused about the format but from what I can tell there appears to be a mini 4 team finals next summer from the group A league, which contains England and somekind of qualification for the next European Championships.

Today 4/4 ✔️

Anyone thinking of back my team Huddersfield, don't, our record in this competition is lousy and we've had a woeful start to the season. I genuinely think we'll probably lose to Stoke, although I hope we don't, we're desperate for somekind of positive result. Back Stoke.

Called in the bookies on my way home from work but my god have they reigned in a few of them prices, Ebbsfleet in to 10/11, Chorley in to 10/11 too.

Darron, you say you were expecting Salford to be around 11/10, were you looking to back them as Sky Bet are offering them at 13/8? Havant are strangely are favourites here at 6/4, which as Salford have started to find some form but still shipping goals, they need to stop shipping that many goals if they want to win promotion, I find strange  but I'd expect a bit better price on them. It could go either way could this one.
Two other good prices are Halifax at 11/5 and Chesterfield at 11/10 against Barnet. I'm not overly convinced by Halifax but that's a big price for a team who are early pacesetters.
 

Yeah I was hoping to back Havant at around 15/8 or 2/1 as I can see amy of the three results happening and was expecting Salford to be put in short so they would be decent value. At the prices though that over 2.5 goals looks a really good bet 

@Kenton Schweppes I think @Darran was looking to back Havant but was hoping that Salford would be shorter so he could get an acceptable price. With it being closer to a coin toss in terms of the prices, he's preferred the overs bet.
Might be worth using the "@" option as I have above to improve the chances of you getting a response (e.g. someone might not see the post in time otherwise). Only just cottoned onto it myself! 

Another good day last Saturday with 4 of the 7 winning although there were a couple of very close misses with Slough and Welling. On the other side of the coin though Hartley Witney scored a very late winner. I have 6 bets for Saturday.
Maidenhead v Maidstone (National League)
A bit of a strange choice for a live game by BT Sport this, but I think the away team offer value. I don't think either team are that good and can see both being involved in a relegation scrap, but I do think that Maidstone have shown more than their hosts so far this season. Maidenhead have only got 1 point so far and that was in a draw against Dagenham who also have only picked up a point. That sums both teams up for me and Maidenhead were again comfortably beaten by Hartlepool on Saturday 2-1. I took on Maidstone last week, but they did well to see off an in form Barrow 1-0 and they managed to beat Dagenham earlier in the season as well as picking up a point against Hartlepool. For me Maidstone have the edge here and I am surprised they are as big as 57/25 for this. It probably wont be a classic, but hopefully we can come away with a profit.
Dagenham & Redbridge v Hartlepool (National League)
Ironically given these two teams feature heavily in the above preview they also play each other this weekend and again I fancy the away team. It isn't a great surprise to see Dagenham struggling given they have no money and I have my doubts about manager Peter Taylor. They will do well to stay up this season whereas Hartlepool should really be looking at trying to get into the play-offs. They have had a frustrating start, but they have only lost one of their first five games (to Ebbsfleet) so it hasn't been a total disaster. They also hadn't won until that win over Maidenhead last weekend though which will disappoint the fans. They do however look a better side than their hosts and I would make them favourites for this so the 191/100 with Marathon makes plenty of appeal.
Ebbsfleet v Aldershot (National League)
Aldershot look a long way from the teams who reached the play-offs in the last couple of seasons. They have only scored twice this term and both of those came in their only victory against Dagenham. I am sure Gary Waddock will turn it around, but it may take a bit longer yet and I think Ebbsfleet can beat them on Saturday. I put Ebbsfleet up last week and they beat Barnet 3-0 and Barnet have been every bit as disappointing as Aldershot. Ebbsfleet have lost their two home games so far, but they came against Chesterfield and Sutton and they probably deserved something from both matches. This match should be easier and on current form you would make them odds on to win this so the 11/10 with Betfred is fair enough.
Havant & Waterlooville v Salford (National League)
Regular readers will know it is fairly rare to look outside of the win/draw/win market and I don't often tip up at odds on either. I am however doing both with this game. I did have Havant down on my shortlist to back as they can score goals and Salford still look ropey at the back. However I thought Salford would be around 11/10 and they aren't so it makes it a no bet for me on that side of things. What does appeal though is over 2.5 goals at 5/6 with Marathon. Both teams have scored in all of Salford's games so far and they look rather suspect in defence at the moment. 3 of their games have finished 2-1 and they were the right side of a 5 goal thriller against Chesterfield last week. Havant on the other hand have been involved in two 4-3 games the last twice as well as a 3-0 defeat on the opening day of the season. Both sides have goals in them and both sides concede for fun thus I think the over 2.5 goals price should be shorter (cue a goalless draw!).
Blyth Spartans v Chorley (National League North)
Chorley are now favourites for the title and I am not surprised.They have been really impressive so far winning 5/5 and they are yet to concede a goal. Apart from beating Chester 8-1 Blyth have really struggled this season and have only picked up a point from their other 4 games. They lost 3-1 at Alfreton last week and they have a bit of an injury crisis in defence at the moment. Given Chorley's defence you would think 1 would be enough and Blyth have already conceded 10 goals this season. 133/100 with Marathon looks a very attractive bet.
Wealdstone v Concord (National League South)
Probably the game of the day in the division and although the Concord price has come in I still think the current price is attractive enough. Sportingbet are 31/10 and then Bet365 are 14/5. Obviously we are talking about two really good sides and the home side did us a big favour last week when beating Dartford 3-0. Concord though have won 4 and drawn 1 of their five games and that draw came against Billericay. It obviously is no gimmie, but Concord should be more like 15/8 so in a game they are more than capable of winning I have to back them.
Maidstone 1pt @ 57/25 with Marathon
Hartlepool 1.5pts @ 191/100 with Marathon
Ebbsfleet 2pts @ 11/10 with Betfred
Havant v Salford over 2.5 goals 2.5pts @ 5/6 with Marathon
Chorely 2pts @ 133/100 with Marathon
Concord 1pt @ 31/10 with Sportingbet

So the mid-week action was superb with 5 out of 6 winners. Obviously it was frustrating to be so close to all 6 winning given Havant were 3-1 up at one stage, but at the end of the day singles are were the day to day money is to be made and anything else is just a very nice bonus. Hopefully the good start to the season can be continued on Saturday and I have 7 bets across 3 of the 7 leagues.
Barnet v Ebbsfleet (National League)
Two teams I put up ante-post and I have been really disappointed with how Barnet have performed so far. They should be doing better than they are and as much as I think John Still will turn it around at some stage, I don't see how they can be odds on to win this game. Ebbslfeet have had a solid start to the season and have been playing better than their results suggest. They have only won one of their first 4 games, but they have been a bit unfortunate not to add to their points tally and they look in better shape than their hosts on Saturday. Marathon have an away win at 147/50 and that looks value to me.
Maidstone v Barrow (National League)
Barrow have had a superb start to the season especially given they were one of the market leaders to go down this season. To beat Chesterfield 3-2 on Tuesday night was a superb result even allowing for the fact Chesterfield went down to 10 men when they were 2-1 up. Their other 3 games have seen them beat Havant 3-0, get a fully deserved 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient and the one blip so far was a defeat at Halifax. Given that form I am not surprised to see they have been backed already for this, but at 13/5 (Marathon) I still think there is plenty of value to be had. I opposed Maidstone on Tuesday night with Orient and although they got 1 back late on to make it nervy, Orient were very comfortable for most of the evening. Barrow have certainly been the better of the two sides so far this season and they should be at least 74-15/8 for this in my view.
Dartford v Wealdstone (National League South)
Wealdstone may have needed a late penalty to see off Woking on Monday night, but they were good value for the victory and I am going to continue backing them at the weekend because they look a big price at Dartford. It will be a tough game, but for me there is noway they should be as big as 14/5 with Marathon as the teams are much closer together than the prices suggest. Dartford have had a tough start to the season fixture list wise and have done well enough to come away with 2 wins, a draw and a defeat. That defeat came on Tuesday night against Concord who have started the season in really good shape, but it showed that Dartford might not be quite up to the heights they achieved last season and with Wealdstone looking stronger I think they are more than up to picking up another 3 points here.
Truro v Welling (National League South)
To be fair to Truro they haven't done quite as badly as I thought they would after their management team left just before they played their 2nd game. They suffered their 2nd defeat of the season on Tuesday against Chippenham and they are yet to win this season, but picking up a couple of points is a fair achievement given all the off the field issues. Welling are favourites for this, but they should be. They did loose 3-0 against Billericay on Tuesday night, but they played better than the result suggests and they were playing the best team in the division. Truro are going to be in a relegation scrap this season and Welling should be looking at the play-offs and they should be up to winning this. Marathon go 131/100 about an away win.
Slough v Torquay (National League South)
Torquay were unbeaten in their first 3 games, but then lost on Tuesday night when losing to Oxford City 1-0. That is not a good result and as I wrote on here last weekend, they had been lucky to beat Bath in their 2nd game of the season. Beating East Thurrock in between those two games doesn't say a great deal given they have lost 4/4 and I think Slough can beat them. Slough made slightly harder work of it than I was hoping for when beating Weston on Tuesday, but crucially once they got 1 they added the 2nd pretty quickly to turn things around. This game will be tougher, but I think Slough have enough to see off a Torquay side who I think might be looking at mid-table obscurity this season.
Hartley Wintney v Frome Town (Southern League South)
The home side have got off to a cracking start in their first ever season at this level and it seems for now they are continuing on their form from last season when winning promotion. They have already beaten Poole and Gosport and this would look an easier game on paper. Frome drew with Hendon on the opening day and then lost to Tiverton on Tuesday. They were in all sorts of issues at the back end of last season and although they aren't as bad as that I certainly don't expect them to be in the top half of the table. The home side might drop away as the season progresses, but at the moment they are looking strong and Marathon's 27/20 is well worth taking.
Kings Langley v Taunton (Southern League South)
Taunton were only beaten late on by Weymouth on Tuesday night and that is a good effort against the favourites for promotion. As I wrote in my ante-post preview Taunton were really impressive when winning the league last season and they should be up there this time around as well. Kings Langley struggled badly last season and I fully expect them to be near the relegation zone this time around. Taunton at 11/8 with Marathon looks worth taking.
Ebbsfleet 1pt @ 147/50 with Marathon
Barrow 1pt @ 13/5 with Marathon
Wealdstone 1pt @14/5 with Marathon
Welling 2pts @ 131/100 with Marathon
Slough 1pt @ 29/20 with Marathon
Hartley Wintney 1pt @27/20 with Marathon
Taunton 1pt @ 11/8 with Marathon

Apologies for my lack of etiquette. I am a small stakes gambler myself and my use of monetary amounts was not meant to cause offence. Apologies.

Cheers everyone always nice to make people money and as much as we were all close to a big pay day at least we all made money and that it the important thing. Things won’t always go as well as that so important to enjoy it when it does. Saturdays stuff should be up tomorrow evening.

I'd avoid out right betting in these games, it's got to be over 2.5 goals. Which ones? Take your pick, probably the higher league teams over the lower league ones.

had the 4 folds and 5 folds.
Top work Darran

I had £2.50 on the 6 fold and at 3-1, although Slough hadn't turned it round at that point, I thought my £485 was in my pocket. Just have to make do with the £125 off the 4 fold.
A great nights betting and excellent tipping there Darran.

How ironic after writing this that I probably go the closest I have ever been to the big payout. Havant seemed comfortable at 3-1 and then Dover got a penalty and that woke them up and they were all over them after that.

FT 2:1
Also great bet´s - as allways - from @Darran

i was just using them as examples Kenton.
What i'm looking for is overachieving underdogs-i'm considering peterboro and luton

Strange thing is in all the time I have been tipping on Non-League I have never landed a massive pay-out. Gone close a few times to landing a bet when I have put up 5 or more, but never hit the jackpot. Shows how hard it is and that singles are the way to go, but I always use 0.5pt to cover the acca and what even is one down from the amount of selections. At the very least I usually hit a couple of one losing and that usually covers those bets for the season.

A good day on Saturday although Dorking and AFC Telford both failing to hold onto their 1 goal leads stopped it from being an excellent afternoon. Like last mid-week I have 6 bets with 1 on Monday night and the other 5 all on Tuesday.
Dover v Havant & Waterlooville
Havant were surprisingly well beaten by Barrow on the opening day of the season, but they have improved massively on that in their following two games. A goalless draw against Boreham Wood was followed up with a 1-1 draw against Fylde on Saturday where they outplayed their opponents and should have won. They have clearly got over the shock of their first game at this level and I think they have a great chance to get their first win of the season on the board on Tuesday night. Dover have only picked up a point so far in a 2-2 draw against Bromley last Tuesday and they weren't great when losing to Gateshead on Saturday. They only managed a couple of shots on Saturday and it seems like the new team might need a bit of time to get going. I think the away side are over priced at 113/50 with Marathon.
Maidenhead v Wrexham
I am a big fan of Alan Devonshire as a manager, but it looks like he could have his work cut out keeping Maidenhead in the league this season. They were bad against Gateshead and then lost to Solihull. They drew with Dagenham on Saturday and although they ended up with only 9 men on the pitch I don't think the form is anything to write home about as Dagenham have struggled themselves early doors. Thanks to leaving my iPod on the train on Saturday afternoon I didn't end up watching the Wrexham game on BT Sport as I had hoped, but they ran out 3-0 winners over Boreham Wood. Now the report suggests it was a little against the run of play, but crucially they were able to put the ball in the back of the net and I suspect that was a game that would have ended 0-0 last season. They haven't conceded a goal in their first 3 games and I can't believe they aren't shorter than they are. Marathon's 93/50 makes plenty of appeal.
Maidstone v Leyton Orient
Orient have started the season with 3 draws against Salford, Ebbsfleet and Barrow, but this looks a good chance to get that first win on the board. They didn't sound like they were at their best on Saturday when drawing 2-2 with Barrow, but they more than have the class to see off a Maidstone side who were very poor at the weekend. They do have a win on the board after beating Dagenham last week, but as mentioned above I am not sure that says a lot and losing 3-0 to Halifax on Saturday was not a great result. I would make Orient favourites for this so the 193/100 with Marathon looks big.
AFC Telford v Brackley
Into the National League North now. Telford were unfortunate not to win for us at the weekend with the late Guieseley equaliser a deflected effort. It continues their unbeaten start to the season though and I was amazed to see them as big as 15/8 (Marathon) to overcome a Brackley side who have had an indifferent start. A win against Alfreton last Tuesday was a good effort, but either side of that they have lost to Bradford Park Avenue and then on Saturday 4-2 to Darlington. Given they are at home I was surprised not to see Telford as the favourites for this and they have to be a bet at the prices.
Wealdstone v Woking
Two bets in the National League South starting with this game on Monday night. Woking are 3/3, but I am not sure that tells the full story. A dubious penalty in injury time got them a win at East Thurrock and then sending offs for their opponents have played a big part in them winning their other two matches. East Thurrock and Oxford City (who they beat on Saturday) are games against teams likely to be battling against relegation and they shouldn't really have to be relying on men getting sent off. Wealdstone have had a solid start to the season and they pushed Billericay hard on Saturday despite losing 1-0. If they can back that performance up here I think they have a great chance of adding to their opening day win against Weston. Marathon are 17/10 and I think that is on the right side of value.
Slough v Weston-Super-Mare
Speaking of Weston I am more than happy to oppose them again on Tuesday night. They were 2 up against St Albans and then ended up losing 3-2 and that makes it 8 goals conceded in just 3 games. Slough got their first win of the season on Saturday and as much as Gloucester were really bad, Slough should have won more easily than the 2-1 scoreline suggests. They should get plenty of chances in front of goal again on Tuesday night given Weston's shaky defence and I think they can follow up Saturday's win. Marathon's 34/25 looks a cracking price.
Havant 1pt @ 113/50 with Marathon
Wrexham 1pt @ 93/50 with Marathon
Leyton Orient 1pt @ 193/100 with Marthon
AFC Telford 1pt @ 15/8 with Marthon
Wealdstone 1pt @ 17/10 with Marathon
Slough 2pts @ 34/25 with Marathon

Cheers. A pleasing afternoon which wasn't far away from being an excellent afternoon as the two losing bets were both in front until fairly late on in their games. 

Tuesday was disappointing and I think we were a little unlucky not to pick up another couple of winners with the performances some of the picks put in. I am avoiding the National League this weekend. Nothing really stands out and there have been some strange results over the first couple of weekend's. Salford have not started well and are back out to 7/2 and can be backed at over 2/1 to beat Sutton tomorrow which was I price you wouldn't have predicted a week ago. I have 5 bets though and 3 of the 4 Step 3 leagues get underway on Saturday.
Guiseley v AFC Telford
The away side have started the season very strongly beating Southport 1-0 on the opening day and then getting a 0-0 draw at Kidderminster on Tuesday. They look set for a better season than last time around and I think they look a big price at 5/2 (188bet) to win this. The home side have lost both their opening two games and I think Marcus Bignot has got a very tough task to turn the relegated side around. If Telford can continue their good form from their first two games they have a decent chance of winning this.
Nuneaton v Chorley
I am going to oppose Nuneaton again on Saturday. It didn't quite pay off on Tuesday night as they held Hereford to a 0-0 draw, but Chorley have started the season in really strong fashion. An opening day victory over York was backed up when the beat Guiseley on Tuesday. They weren't far away from being one of my picks to win the league so I am not surprised they have got off to a flying start and I would make them favourites to win this. The 2/1 with Marathon on an away win makes plenty of appeal.
Hampton & Richmond v Bath City
I have been in Devon for a few days and have picked up the local paper so have been reading a fair bit about Torquay and all the goings on at Truro. Bath may have lost to Torquay 1-0 on Tuesday night, but even the Torquay manager and one of the players suggested they had been fortuante to pick up the 3 points as Bath had played really well. They will surely get their first win of the season on the board sooner rather than later and this game could well be it. Hampton pushed Hemel closer than I thought they would on Tuesday, but thankfully for us Hemel picked up the three points. I certainly think Bath have the stronger squad and they look over priced at 11/5 with Bet365.
Weston-Super-Mare v St Albans
The home side have started the season poorly. A 4-1 defeat to Wealdstone was followed up by a 1-1 against Truro on Tuesday night. Before Tuesday's game Truro's management team told the players they were quitting and although the players might have wanted to put in a performance for them the fact Weston couldn't take full advatange says a lot to me. They don't look in great defensive shape at all based on their first two games and St Albans should be able to punish them. A 3-2 win on the opening day to Hungerford was a fair effort and then they had a man sent off when a goal up at Woking on Tuesday and ended up losing 2-1. This game could well be easier than either of them so I will be backing them at 163/100 with Marathon.
Bishops Stortford v Dorking
Oddschecker is a mess as regards for Step 3 prices at the moment so I have only looked at Marathon's prices as chances are they will be biggest anyway. Dorking have been a big market mover in the title market which I think is more than down to the fact I have put them up and I think the vibes are really strong around the club this season that they can go very close. Now they do have a few injuries going into this game, but I think they have some strength in depth and they should still have too much for the home side. As you know I don't pay too much attention to friendly results but the home side lost all 7 of theirs and only scored twice. I am happy to take the 61/50 about the away side getting off to a strong start.
AFC Telford 1pt @ 5/2 with 188bet
Chorley 1pt @ 2/1 with Marathon
Bath 1pt @ 11/5 with Bet365
St Albans 1pt @ 163/100 with Marathon
Dorking 2pts @ 61/50 with Marathon
 

Aston Villa vs Wigan
The first preview I have picked this week in the Championship is an intriguing one indeed. Losing play-off finalists from last season Aston Villa host Championship new boys Wigan at Villa Park in a 3pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon. Both teams started their campaign with a win and both teams scored three goals in their victories.
Steve Bruce defied the odds by guiding his team to a convincing 3-1 win away to Hull last weekend. His former stomping ground delivered much needed relief from a turbulent summer. The news that highly-rated midfielder Jack Grealish is set to stay at the club for the time being was also a welcome boost. A return to home turf now has them down as favourites but will it be an easy three points?
In Paul Cook, I believe Wigan have one of the most talented managers in the Football League. He's added experience to what was already a capable side over the summer. Their opening day 3-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday at home took some by surprise but it showed how they could be play-off dark horses this season.
The Villains will provide stern opposition for the Latics here. Villa have only lost 3 of their last 25 league matches at home. It was the foundation for their play-off push last season. Yes, they've not been able to bring in any players to strengthen the squad but I think John Terry leaving will allow Tommy Elphick to shine and if Bruce can keep things settled behind the scenes then Villa could emerge as promotion contenders.
For this game, I think Wigan will give it a good go but Villa will likely have too much. Both teams showed they have attacking prowess and I think we could see goals once again here. If I had to take a punt on correct score then I'd go for a 2-1 win for Villa in what could be an enthralling Championship match.
Aston Villa to Win @ 2.10 with BetVictor
BTTS @ 1.90 with SportingBet
@waynecoyne, @sajtion, @arvee, @canaries91, @Mindfulness, @betcatalog, @Magic0024, @malabgd, @CloughandTaylor, @Tiffy, @PokerWolf1, @teddybear3011, @skyblues88, @allyhibs, @Icongene, @KikoCy, @willie82, @Neubs, @Papa Lazarou, @kulikTS, @Valkovets, @harry_rag, @Pipoca, @padman, @Marek76, @silver fox, @neilovan, @HastGill1, @jazzman02, @andypaps28, @Kenton Schweppes, @Xcout, @Wanderer89, and @the bastardian, what bets are you guys lining up for this weekend?

It was a solid start to the new season with 3 winning bets out of the 5. As always there were some really interesting results across the 3 leagues and I am pretty sure very few people would have said that Barrow, Gateshead and Halifax would have been the top 3 in the National League at the end of day 1. I have 6 bets for the mid-week action with 1 on Monday and the others on Tuesday.
Barnet v Braintree
The National League fixture list on Tuesday night looks really tough from a punting point of view and I don't think it is worth getting involved bar this game. I was tempted by Solihull again given Maidenhead were disappointing in their opening game, but Solihull sounded like they were a bit lucky to win on Saturday and the price is only slight value. Onto this game and Barnet did everything but score against Aldershot on Saturday. They managed 8 shots off target and had 9 on target whilst getting 11 corners. Not surprisingly the Aldershot keeper Jake Coles was man of the match. Another keeper who was man of the match was Braintree's. They lost 2-0 to Halifax but Ben Killip kept it 2 when it really should have been more. I know it is dangerous to make assumptions based on one game, but it is fair to say that my pre-season thoughts that Braintree look a weak team for this level were backed up. Given I think Barnet will go close to winning the league they will surely be capable of beating the keeper on Tuesday night. I think they can cover the -1 handicap and 888's 9/5 about them doing so makes plenty of appeal.
Eastbourne v Welling
I think the home side will struggle this season. Regular readers will know I opposed them a fair bit last time around and it proved quite profitable. They look like they might have a weaker team this time around and a goalless draw against Oxford City, another team who look set to struggle, is hardly great. Welling got their season off to a great start beating Dulwich 2-0. It was very hot in London on Saturday and so that didn't help the entertainment value of the game, but it was a decent effort nonetheless. Steve King has got a strong looking squad and I think they should be more than capable of beating Eastbourne. Marathon go 161/100 and it looks a solid bet.
Hampton & Richmond v Hemel Hempsted
I really couldn't understand the logic in the Racing Post tipping up Hampton to win the title. They seemed to think that McCann getting a load of Hendon players in will help them, but that is a flawed logic for me given they couldn't win promotion from the league below. Only one player who played in the play-off final against Braintree started against Slough on Saturday and I think it showed in the performance. Granted they got a draw, but Slough deserved a victory and I struggle to see how Hampton can reach the play-offs this season. Hemel got their season off to the perfect start in beating Chippenham 4-2. They look set to go well again and I certianly think they can finish above their hosts on Tuesday night. 17/10 with Boylesports looks a good price to me.
Curzon Ashton v Chester
The home side got off to a winning start on Saturday when beating Darlington which was a decent effort although they were gifted their equaliser thanks to the Darlington keeper. I think this game will be tougher and Chester look a big price. They drew 0-0 on Saturday against Spennymoor, but the reports suggest it was a really good game between two decent sides. If Chester can take that performance into this game on Monday night then I think the 11/5 with Betfred will look a very big price.
Brackley v Alfreton
So I dodged a bullet by missing the price on Alfreton on Saturday as they drew 3-3 against Kidderminster in a game they were 2-1 up at half time, but then had to come from 3-2 down. Attacking wise they clearly don't have an issue although the defence didn't look strong especially in that 2nd half where they conceded twice. Even so a point against Kiddie isn't a bad result by any means and I think at over 3/1 they are over priced again here. Brackley got their season off with a defeat at Bradford Park Avenue and they didn't really get going until it was too late in that match. I just wonder if they can go as well as they did last season and although this is a tricky fixture for Alfreton if they can certainly trouble Brackley and the price is too big.
Nuneaton v Hereford
I make Hereford the best bet of the mid-week fixtures. They put in a superb performance on Saturday to beat Blyth 3-0 and they dominated the game throughout. They should be capable of challenging for promotion again this season and I think they can make it back to back victories here. Nuneaton could only draw 0-0 at Ashton on the opening day and this match will be much tougher. I can't really work out why Nuneaton are even favourites for this and the 9/4 about an away win with BetVictor looks a huge price.
Barnet -1 1pt @ 9/5 with 888
Welling 1pt @ 161/100 with Marathon
Hemel Hempsted 1pt @ 17/10 with Boylesports
Chester 1pt @ 11/5 with Betfred
Alfreton 1pt @ 31/10 with BetVictor
Hereford 2pts @ 9/4 with BetVictor

The Halifax and Solihull tips were spot on.

Finally we get to the start of the new season and looking forward to it being another profitable one. The last two season's especially have been very good and it would be nice to continue that into this one. Obviously being the first week it is going to be minimum stakes only as we start to feel our way into the season, but I do think there is value to be had. Certainly some people have already got some nice value on Alfreton who were amazingly over 3/1 to beat Kidderminster at home. Not exactly a gimmie, but the price was so wrong I thought it was an error. I didn't think it would go so left it alone and now at the time of writing Alfreton are pushing for favouritism so I certainly got that one wrong. The prices for me are right now so they won't be one of the tips. I have 5 bets though to hopefully get us off to a good start.
Salford v Leyton Orient
I have to take Salford on in the game which gets the season underway on BT Sport at 12.30. Orient were involved in the opening game of last season when I put up Sutton to beat them which they duly did as Orient proved very slow to get acclimatised to Non-League life. Now they have a season under their belts and they have a few months under Justin Edinburgh who improved them a lot when he took over. I think they will be in and around the play-offs and that means this is a very tricky opening fixture for big spending Salford. Graham Alexander is going to come up against some very good Non-League managers this season who know what it takes to win games at this level and Edinburgh is certainly one of them. I think they will be vulnerable in their first game of the season and the value for me is certainly with the away team at 14/5 with Marathon.
Braintree v Halifax
As I have mentioned in my ante-post preview I think Braintree are really going to struggle this season and their team doesn't look strong enough to survive at this level. Halifax are probably a bottom half side, but they at least have a side proven at this level which could be key in this opening game of the season. Granted teams that I think will do badly do sometimes win their opening games as Bognor did on the opening day of last season and they ended up going down, but I do think Halifax should be shorter than the 11/5 they are with Marathon to win this.
Eastleigh v Solihull
Eastleigh don't have the big bucks to spend anymore and there is one school of thought that it could help them as they have flattered to deceive for the last 3 seasons now when they did have the money. I'm not so sure myself and have a feeling they might struggle a bit again. Pretty much everyone thinks Solihull are going to go down and I find it hard to understand why. I do worry a bit about Tim Flowers as manager given his shocking record before, but that was a few years ago and he did well alongside Mark Yates last season to keep Moors up. They look a stronger team this time around and I think they might surprise a few people. With that in mind I will back them here at 23/10 (Skybet, William Hill and Betfair) to win on the opening day.
Boston United v Guiseley
Boston are one of my tips in the National League North and I think they can start the season with a win. I really like the signings they have made and they look especially strong up front and should score plenty of goals this season. Guiseley came down last season and I struggle to see them being capable of mounting a promotion push this time around. With that in mind I think the 67/50 on a home win with Marathon is worth taking.
Bath City v Dartford
Dartford should really have won the league last season, but they were just pipped by Havant and I think they might have blown their best chance for now of going back into the National League. They have a new managerial team in charge and losing Andy Pugh to a double broken leg in pre-season was a big blow. Bath could be in for a good season and look to have strengthened pretty well and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they finished above Saturday's opponents. I would certainly make them favourites to win this one so the 15/8 with Marathon looks a good bet.
Leyton Orient 1pt @ 14/5 with Marathon
Halifax 1pt @ 11/5 with Marathon
Solihull 1pt @ 23/10 with Skybet, William Hill and Betfair
Boston United 1pt @ 67/50 with Marathon
Bath 1pt @ 15/8 with Marathon