Pundits/Experts/Ex footballers

[Neal]

Was listening to talksport on the last day of the transfer window this week, utter garbage. I will explain. I think it was Tony Cascarino. he was talking about Arsenal in the transfer market. He started off by saying that they would not win the premiership without a new forward, holding midfielder and a central defender. They needed to get in quality and spend some of the 200m they have. After about 5 mins of talking utter sh*te he said that when you spend money you cannot be sure of success, couldn't believe it. And that some clubs had spent 30m (he quoted a Chelsea player, cant remember who) who hadn't even started in the first team. The whole interview actually said nothing at all.

My point here is that so called "experts" have actually no more idea of the future than any of us. If they did they would go home, sell the house and go down the bookies, they obviously wont do that. Its all bollocks. I have listened to some of the podcasts and Im through with those too, nothing of interest at all. Yes these journalists get paid for "their opinion" but listen carefully, its really just bollocks.

Ok I know football is opinions, and that's why we all come on here I guess, but actually none of us knows much at all, its all bloody guess work and ONLY opinion.

I had a little dig at Brucie about him saying we would never score until Xmas. I would bet we have all said things like that, only to find the next minute exactly the opposite happens. But its the tone more than the wording for me, if you say it as fact you will soon look rather stupid, because you will not get it right much.

[A Realist]

Talksport is a joke of a station and its not really designed for informed opinion. Its designed to get people to call a pretty expensive phone line and be put on hold for ages, still racking up a bill. The show that Adrian Durham is on is the perfect example of this. He talks utter shite but folk still fall for it.

[brucie]

Cascarino is a pro pundit and does provide football tips for a betting site. I have no idea whether he's profitable or not, I wouldn't follow him.

What I said about the Eastleigh match actually came from my two sons who were at the game. Sure we scored two late goals but apparently hadn't created anything before that so it probably was fair comment at the time. However as we know anything can happen in football and normally does.

However to suggest that there are no "experts" when it comes to forecasting the outcome of football matches is just so way off the mark, that you don't really know what you are talking about.

I have been at the home of a professional football trader in Yorkshire - he had a massive house, paid for predominantly out of what he had won betting on football.

I spent an afternoon watching him trade the correct score market (in play) on seven or eight football matches. He won a three figure sum on each of these matches and his total profit for his afternoon of trading was around the 1k mark.

My best football system consists of betting on the match odds, half time market, both teams to score and next goal markets (plus one or two other markets)

I bet purely on matches where the betfair odds are in excess of the true odds of the outcome. This system has been in operation for 11 months and the total profit currently stands at 206.47 points. The systems has a strike rate of 49.01 %.

Does this mean that I can confidently predict the result of the Torquay v Guiseley match? - no of course not only a lunatic would say that. There are too many variables.

But if you gave me a 100 matches with value prices to be had I would show a profit at the end of it.

[Gullscorer]

Years ago, before Littlewoods football pools was replaced by the National Lottery in the public consciousness, I had (like most people) very little luck in forecasting eight draws for the jackpot, but I often made a nice little profit (though nothing earth-shattering) on the fixed odds. However, I was never really a betting man, so I was never interested enough to work out any kind of system for myself.

I live in a very small house..

[Gloomy Gull]

I see that Hargreaves is punditing (if that is a word!) again on BT Sport Welling v Tranmere.

Presumably the income he receives from this will be offset against what we are having to pay him for sitting on his arse?

Does 2 TV appearances in 2 weeks constitute a new job !!??