Monday, May 2, 2011

Frankel is the real deal

10 good recommendations out of 13 was the result that came out of this week-end. Frankel, Lille, PSG, Borussia, Milan, Napoli, Bayern, Man City, Twente, PSV all won while all 3 that bombed were teams that are still active in the Champions League (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Man Utd). Coincidence or not, it looks as if Champions League involvement does have an impact on the next league match.

Case in point: Man Utd were absolutely dominating against Schalke in mid-week, yet against the Gunners, the Red Devils were uninspiring and devoid of the creativity and flair that made football fans in awe just a few days ago. Hard to think that it was nearly the same starting eleven. As for the Spanish giants, it always looked as if their minds were on the return leg on Tuesday than anything else. A Madrid win earlier during the day would, in my opinion, forced Barcelona to play for the win, but the Madrid loss clearly allowed the Catalans to go easy on the gas pedal and this played in favor of Real Sociedad. So clearly disappointing cases of Champions League impacts but lessons learned.

As for the EPL itself, which seems to be blown wide open, I think Man Utd are still in command. In fact, with their odds creeping higher because of the week-end's turn of events, I think it value to still lump on them. The fact is Chelsea will have to keep having good fortune on their side to go beat the Red Devils at Old Trafford. I'll get to that when I preview next week-end's matches.

The story of the week-end for me was Frankel's stunning display in the 2000 Guineas. Not that he was not expected to win (recommended to win here), but the manner of his win was impressive, at least visually. Not many champions of the past would have been able to display that kind of 'catch me if you can' attitude. Frankel has proven he's versatile enough to either follow the pace, or set it himself, which is a very rare trait even for a champion. I think, horse racing folks, that the Flat season this year could be very special. Imagining a clash among Frankel, Ballydoyle's So You Think (who won today), and last year's champion Workforce, is just mouth-watering at this point.

Finally, as mentioned above, tomorrow is the last of the El Clasico's between Barcelona and Madrid. Hard to think that I'm saying this, but I've gotten enough of these, and I can't wait for the match to be over regardless of who goes through. After the first one that led to a Barcelona 5-0 rout, the promise was there for the remaining 3 to be matches of a lifetime. It turns out that Mourihno's negative tactics, and both team's theatrics and  lack of sportsmanship have made these Clasico matches a bore, a shame. I've seen enough of Marcelo, Alves, Pedro and Sergio's play-acting (yes the same Sergio that got Motta wrongfully dismissed against Inter last year). It's more than annoying to see that every time the referee makes a call, he's senselessly being mobbed. Mourinho plays not to lose and is scared to play Barcelona even with the world-class players in his possession. Barcelona will qualify because they've already struck the decisive blow at the Bernabeu. No need for a recommendation, and no need to watch (at least for me) either.

2 comments:

  1. Do you have P&L surely if your backing teams like Barcelona at silly prices you must be losing money?

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  2. Yes it was a L week-end, and I must say I was lucky to limit the damage with the other 10 winners, particularly with Frankel on which I weighted a lot, which I was mentioning was the main punt for the weekend. Overall, the system works well for me, and it is mainly a case of pick and choose at the right time (you'll see that I don't fancy Barcelona every time at their short odds). It's only when they look certainties, but this week-end the Madrid result was the main factor in their loss, and did my recommendation. It happens, just got to limit it and just got to make sure you are there for their winners. Thanks for stopping by.

    JM.

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