Free Bets

A recent injection of rumour in the close-season transfer market has at last sparked some movement in which has been a very quiet affair - Roanldo of Man Unt and Lampard of Chelsea aside. Perhaps it’s the current economic climate that is playing its part but for your average football betting punter scanning the back pages of the newspaper or online sports channels looking for some transfer gossip has been hard work as of late.

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Its been a turbulent summer off the park for Cristiano Ronaldo as he debates his football future – Real Madrid or Manchester United? The press have been loving the will-he-wont-he debate filling up sports column inches in which has been a surprising quiet transfer market this summer. Now, big Luiz Felipe Scolari, the new Chelsea boss and Ronaldo’s former international manager has been caught up in the hulabaloo. Rumours have started that he was dishing out ‘career advise’ to Ronaldo about taking his trade to the spanish giants Real Madrid while he was still gaffer at Portugal knowing full well he had Chelsea courting him at this years Euro 2008. Now, who would bet big Phil would do such a thing?

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Tonight hosts the second semi-final of the Euro 2008 Championship with Germany just squeezing past Turkey last night in a gripping 3 – 2 encounter. Latest Euro 2008 Betting for the Spain vs Russia match has it in the favour of the spanish giants.

Both teams met in their first group match and Spain thumped Russia that day 4 : 1. However, Russia has since gone on to beat Greece, Sweden and Holland. Spain won their group with ease then were held by the Italians 0 : 0 and proceeded from the quarters in a 4 – 2 penalty shoot-out win.

Spain vs Russia Team Analysis

You can still great great deals for the remaining matches at our Euro 2008 betting page where you can pick from a whole host of free online betting offers.

The Euros have not failed to deliver and for football fans everywhere we have witnessed some great games and fantastic goals. Online betting has been in full swing for the Euro 2008 Championships and keeping with the momentum here is a quick run-down on the latest quarter final matches and their betting odds.

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One of the fantastic things that is currently happening concerning the Euro 2008 Championships is the great free bet updates from the top on-line bookies. Signing up for these free Euro 2008 betting offers is as straight forward as they come and it also adds that personal interest to get more involved with the matches still to play considering none of the home nations made it to the final.

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Euro 2008 betting is well under way now and who would have thought? The sheer luxury of neutrality for English Football betting enthusiasts now able to sit back and watch without the emotional grind of England persistently underachieving and then performing fabulously and then finally blowing it is something I for one certainly didn’t expect. In my new, laid-back state, all of a sudden I’m an expert on every aspect of team selection and tactics and look on managerial and player incompetence with the scorn they deserve.

Of course, a wager or two helps to promote interest and there’s been no shortage of those. In fact, I’ve been banging on for ages about how online betting has totally transformed our approach to betting on a match but it’s only just now that I’ve fully realised the possibilities. There are just such a vast amount of things you can bet on now. I won’t ramble on about the range – just go to any of the many online betting sites and you’ll see for yourself. Right now I’m dead keen on predicting who’s in the lead at half time and full time and, if I get it wrong at any point in the game, I can compensate by going for a score prediction based on what I’ve seen of the teams so far. It’s worked for me so far.

Let’s say, for example, you reckon France will beat Romania but won’t score until the second half. Romania have never beaten France in a competitive match nor have they ever won their opening match in the Euros. Admittedly, half the French team are injured but there’s plenty to draw on including Anelka if Henry is crocked for the duration of the game. So, you’d go Draw/France on the match and, if France scores in the first half then go for a score prediction of 2-0 after 90 minutes. Welcome back, adrenalin!

The other match this evening, Netherlands v. Italy is harder to call. The Dutch have a good range of players to choose from but have yet to gel as a team. The Italians are beginning a return to form after a period in the doldrums but it’s mostly happening in mid-field and their defensive strength is doubtful. Then again, they are Italy and you never know what they’ve got up their sleeve. This will be an interesting match and very revealing for the group and the latter stages of the competition.

It’s almost upon us, The Euro 2008 Championship and for the first time in a long time none of the home nations will be represented at one of footballs most spectacular events. This year we’ll all be watching the 22 day extravaganza from the comfort of our armchairs. So another way to get involved is by having a hand in the Euro 2008 Betting.

We thought here at the free betting blog we would give you a run down of the nations participating and their chances of qualifying from their prospective groups.

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The BBC has released research figures which show that the number of English players starting in matches in the 2007-8 Premier League season has reached a new low. Only 170 of the 498 players who started matches in the top flight were English. This represents only 34.1% of the total. Sports betting fans might look back to our poor showing in the qualifying for Euro 2008 and wonder if a broader choice of players might not have yielded a better result.

Admittedly, the quality of the players is high but there can be no doubt that the grass roots level of the game must be energised so that no football talent is overlooked. The academies do a good job but perhaps they could do better. Sepp Blatter, President of Fifa, believes that restricting the number of foreign player starters to five in each premiership match would resolve the problem. Undoubtedly, the more pressure placed on the clubs to rear home talent the more likely they are to do so, but, unfortunately for Sepp, his idea breaches EU employment law. He remains adamant that he press on with his six-plus-five plan. Good luck to him, I say.

If he succeeds, his plan will present a considerable challenge to some of our top clubs and may even level the playing field somewhat. Arsenal averaged 0.34 English starting players last season while Manchester United had 4.48. The top four finishers in the Premiership League table managed an average of just 2.64 per game. Cynics might think Sepp’s move is a ploy by the jealous Europeans to shrink the dominance of the Premiership but fair-minded fans of international football betting will have to admit to a sneaking feeling that something needs to be done.

On Thursday 22nd May the winners of the SPL Title race will be decided. With both Rangers and Celtic neck and neck on points its going to be a nervy end to the season. As usual the Free Bets Blog will be watching the outcome carefully.

Celtic travel to Dundee United while Rangers head even further north to Aberdeen. With both sides tied on 86pts apiece, Celtic are favourites because they have 4 goals superior goal difference than their Old Firm counterparts.

In an almost a mirror image of the 2002 / 03 SPL season when the pair went into the last game with Celtic shattered after their Uefa Cup Final defeat against Porto. Rangers won that Title by one goal. This time its Rangers who are shattered after a long and arduous season that saw them beaten finalists to Zenit St.Petersburgh in the City of Manchester stadium.

The Free Bets Blog offer great SPL Betting offers as these two Glasgow giants battle it out once again to claim bragging rights for another season.

As both Manchester United and Chelsea fans arrive in Moscow for the Champions League Final with no place to stay and many without tickets, online betting fans sit at home stroking their beards and wondering which way this one is going to go. Manchester United, with great breadth and depth to their team, are the obvious favourites with prices around the 13/8 mark on various online betting sites. The snag is, it’s difficult to overlook the fact that they were beaten by Chelsea less than a month ago.

Foreign turf might make the difference. The Chelsea win was at the Bridge and the equalisation brought to both teams by the Moscow venue might justify the bookies underdog offer of 9/4 on Chelsea. Certainly, Alex Ferguson is brimming with theatrical confidence while Avram Grant is approximately an ant’s nostril away from picking up his P45 if things go awry at the Luzhniki Stadium tonight. Especially with Roman there in front of all his Russian mates for the crowning glory of his expensive football adventure.

Chelsea has had a couple of lucky breaks to get to the final, not least against Liverpool while Manchester United has improved with each season in the Champions League. The Chelsea team is said to pick itself at the moment and, while that might sound like a good thing, Alex Ferguson has to make some shrewd choices, not because he is strapped for talent but more because he is spoiled for choice. Drogba will be the key for Chelsea. If he’s in the mood he is more than a match for Lampard and hunger from him could prove decisive.