New Premier League Season Begins! 2008 / 2009

Wow. What an excellent summer.

The European championships, even without England were absolutely thrilling, and it was the team that played the best football that eventually grabbed the trophy! Worthy winners Spain destroying the hapless Germany in the final!

The Olympics are in full swing too, and have been excellent so far. Most of the major events are still to come and there is a chance that Great Britain can bash the Ozzies, which would be awesome.

Distractions apart though, the bread and butter of sport in the UK is the football league season. It is 96 days since Man Utd lifted their 10th Premier league title and everyone from players to fans has been waiting for it all to begin again.

Last weekend the football league kicked off in style with unexpected results for teams such as Doncaster, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End, and I am certain there will be some surprise results in the Premiership this afternoon too!

On the betting front, I have yet to decide whether my rules are adequate for the forthcoming season. Luckily I had no intention of making any bets in the first couple of weeks anyway. I want to let a couple of results roll in before I start putting my money where my mouth is.

If I were to bet, I am sure Arsenal v West Brom will result in a home win, but first day nerves are not something I want to be cursing later on.

Man Utd v Newcastle also looks like a home banker, but I know someone who would love it if it went the other way!

I hope there are a couple of bankers ready for me when I get back on it, what date is Man Utd v Hull City?

Season ends on a high - Man Utd Victory!

Alex Ferguson's 10th premier league title and win over Wigan means I add £2.60 to the account on the final day.

Final balance £107.51

In the end, I succeeded in my goal to make more than my ISA. A 7.5% return is slightly better than the 6% offered in most banks, however, it could have been much more.

On two occasions I had a surplus of more than £25 meaning a 25% return on my investment. Maybe I should have a look at how I manage my money so that I can take stock when I get to such levels in the future.

Man Utd and Chelsea go for the Premier League title!

Since mid April this blog has been taking a breather. The loss of £18.50 when Chelsea drew with Wigan caused a lot of disappointment and made me realise that it was going to be very difficult to beat my target of a 6% return over the year.

Currntly at 4.5%, I think it would be a shame to not even try to get over the 6% tagrget with a bet on the final league games of the season.

Looking at the Premiership, the most obvious games are Chelsea v Bolton and Man Utd v Wigan.

Although I don't usually bet on away games, I can't see a problem with this one, as Man Utd need a win to gurantee them the Premier League title. Chelsea too need a win and face Bolton at Stamford Bridge.

Wigan are also safe from the drop, however Bolton could get relegated if they concede a lot of goals against Chelsea while the teams around them get good results. Therefore I expect bolton to defend doggedly.

Man Utd have odds of 1/4 to beat Wigan. But it will be my first ever bet on an away side.

I am going to put £10 on a Man Utd win and hope for the best!

Disaster - and so close to the end of the season!

£123.41 - £18.50 = £104.91

What are Chelsea thinking? Do they realise that they have messed up their title chances and in the process, made my project drop to a measly 4.9% return?

There are now 4 rounds of premiership matches to go before the end of the season. I am probably going to have to win at least 2 more bets to take me comfortably above the 6% return an ISA would have provided.

Arsenal play Reading on Saturday. maybe that will be the start of it?

31 - Finally! A game to bet on

After what seems like an age, the project now has a game set firmly in it's sights.

Chelsea to beat Wigan. Monday night. Plenty of time to recover after the Champions league. Only slight issue is the Everton game 3 days after.

But Avram wouldn't risk losing this one when he needs to keep up the pressure on Man Utd!

I'll bet 15%, which means £18.50 on a home win and a £4.40 profit if it comes in.

Come on you blues!

30 - Tough choice again!

Rather than put money on a predictable football match, this week I am going to bet my whole account on the Grand National!

Not really, but in some ways I could, because at least I would have bet to make. Two weeks without is very frustrating!

This weekend is another tough week for predictions. I regretted not betting on Man Utd when they ended up thrashing Villa comfortably, so am eager to place a bet this time.

This weekend I can see Villa bouncing back to beat Bolton and Newcastle getting 3 points v Reading, however, I can't go as far to say that they are certainties. Man Utd are in irrepressible form, but are away from home at the Riverside in Middlesbrough and also have just had a tough game against Roma in midweek.

I will have to further consider my options before 3pm and post what I have decided.

29 - Man Utd

After watching the performance of Man Utd against Villa I take back everything I said about there being 'nothing clear cut'.

On this kind of form, betting on the Red Devils is an assured win, no matter who they are playing.

If they can keep playing like that, this project will find it very easy to find a match to bet on each weekend.