Multiples

If you were to go back and read the football rumours of November 2019 and early December 2019, the talk was of more excess. More club record signings. More billions being spent on footballers. However, in the age of the COVID-19 virus, we are looking at a whole new landscape for football. It’s likely that one of three things will take place:

1. Players who were previously set for a major move will stick around for a year, hoping for normality to resume.
2. Players will get their moves, but at vastly reduced costs for both transfer fees and the wages being earned.
3. Clubs will have to take a look further down their list of targets, with many ‘A’ targets unaffordable compared to previously.

This is likely to produce a massive change to the way that football works. Clubs are already being adjusting to the market and what it means. For example, one fine example comes at Liverpool FC. The would-be/should-be English champions have been linked with a new central defender for some time. The injury-prone Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are fine players but lack reliability. Dejan Lovren is both consistently unfit and inconsistent on the pitch.

For a while there, the Reds were being linked with everyone from Milan Skriniar to Samuel Umtiti. Now, though, the latest links show the likely reality of football finance moving forward; Diego Carlos. The 27-year-old has been solid enough for Sevilla but would mark a significant step down from some of the names being bandied around before this outbreak took place.

So, if Liverpool are having to readjust their targets to a smaller level of financial ambition, will that mean that most of the football world will follow suit? It’s likely to be the case moving forward.

If there’s one sporting event that gets everyone talking it’s the Grand National. Steeped in hundreds of years of rich racing history (the first National took place in 1839), in April of each year it both grips and draws in the nation. Most (up to 10 million in the UK alone) gather around our TV screens or watch with friends in a local pub or bar. Others are lucky enough to attend the Aintree, Liverpool event and soak in every second of this competitive 4 miler. From office sweepstakes to following Grand National tips , and fun bets between friends, it’s one of the few sporting events that nobody wants to miss out on. Edge of your seat stuff from beginning to end. The 2020 Grand National is all but nailed on to be another memorable race, with the cream of the crop of racing all giving it their everything to win. In anticipation of the event, let’s have a recap of some of the unforgettable moments from previous Grand National races.

Neptune’s Nose

Everyone likes a sure thing, and the while the idea of grinding out a win is extremely satisfying after the fact, in the moment it can be a bit like pulling teeth. Still, if you come out on the right side of it ‘all’s well that ends well’. Many pulse raised punters will have been put in that position during the 2012 Grand National. Neptune Collonges, not given much of a hope before the race, put up a storming performance and the grey managed to win by just a nose.

We’re in the money

Second only to eking out a win on the line, is finding that big priced needle in the haystack. We’re not talking a 20-1 outsider here either, instead the real deal, a 100-1 shot. One thing in your favour in the National is that there are countless variables, so I’d be less inclined to rule out a long shot win – even though they are understandably few and far between. One of the only handful of times this occurred was with 100-1 shot Foinavon in the 1967 Grand National. Looking out on its feet in the early stages, several other fell (literally) by the wayside to make way for this unlikely winner. Only in the National!

Third time’s a Charm

Anyone with even a passing interest in racing has heard of Red Rum. The first horse to ever win back to back Grand Nationals he was instantly propelled into the racing history books, where he remains to this day. It was perhaps the gallant, and successful effort to win a third Grand National (this time in 1977 – the 131^st Grand National) that cemented his legacy. Some had ruled out the prospect as far fetched saying that Red Rum was ‘too old’ at 12, especially after coming second in the 1975 and 1976 races. And yet did it he did! To rapturous on-course crowds Red Rum stormed home with a gulf between himself and his closest competitor, Churchtown Boy.

An attempt at a fourth win was floated for the 1978 Grand National, but a hairline fracture in the lead up put pay to that. By that stage though, Red Rum had nothing left to prove, and entered into a well earned retirement. Loved by the nation both then and now, this was a textbook lesson in grit and determination.

Deciding on which teams to put in your accumulator can be a difficult proposition especially if you’re not familiar with the entire football landscape in the United Kingdom. However, the better knowledge you have, the better chance you have of boosting your odds to get that big winner.

The majority of bettors will know the lie of the land in the Premier League and those conscientious enough should be able to decipher between the good and the bad in the Championship. League One and League Two can require more specialist knowledge.

So we’ll now break down two teams that you should be placing in your accumulator on a weekly basis, picking up wins more often than not at home and on the road.

Sunderland

After a sluggish start to the season, which resulted in the sacking of manager Jack Ross, the Black Cats are starting to hit their stride under the tenure of Phil Parkinson. There were calls for Parkinson to follow Ross out the door in December after Sunderland fell to their lowest ebb in their history – 15th place in League One. Since Boxing Day, they’ve turned the corner and are on the charge towards promotion. At the time of writing, they are unbeaten in their last eight matches following a 1-0 win over Tranmere Rovers. Parkinson seems to have found the right balance in his team, especially at the back as the Black Cats now boast the best defensive record in the division.

They’re not the free-scoring team of Peterborough, notching only 37 goals in their 27 matches, but their stout play at the back will allow them to win contests. Their five points off the pace of the automatic promotion places, but are backed in the betting odds at 3/1 to earn a place in the Championship next term. They do have to keep on winning to keep the pressure on their rivals, making them the perfect weekly candidate for the accumulator for value and consistency.

Northampton Town

Northampton also endured an underwhelming start to the season, but have found life in the second half of the campaign under Keith Curle. The Cobblers suffered six defeats in their opening 13 matches of the term to put Curle under pressure in the dugout. However, Town kept the faith and have only been beaten twice since October. At the time of writing, they have charged into the playoff places courtesy of an eight-match unbeaten run, including a 3-0 triumph over Scunthorpe.

Northampton have been consistent at both ends of the pitch, scoring 44 goals in their 29 matches to date and conceding only 31. Therefore they’re good enough to strike with regularity and stout enough to keep teams out at the back. They’re only three points off the pace of the automatic promotion spot and that is more than enough incentive for the Cobblers to keep up their winning form. It has been two years since Northampton graced League One with their presence, but they’re trending in the right direction and Curle’s team are definitely ones to back in your acca.