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Betting and the referees (part 7)

I’m looking at foreign referees who we might well see in the remaining Champions League and UEFA Cup games.

ROBERTO  ROSETTI. (ITALY).
Roberto is probably the Top Honcho in Italian refereeing circles. However, just think who he has to follow. Easily recognizable, as he is 6ft 3in tall.
Aged 41 he will be around for some time yet.
His home town is Turin. Away from the football field he is a Hospital (Physiotherapist) Director.
He began refereeing in 1983 and gradually made his way up to Serie A in 1996.
He was awarded his FIFA badge in 2002.
He was  chosen  as a replacement for Massimo de Santis for the 2006 World Cup. de Santis being implicated in the bribery scandal that shook the soccer world. In addition he was amongst the "Chosen" for the Euro 2008. In fact he was the "Man in the Middle for the final. He is also pre-selected for the 2010 World Cup Finals.
It’s no good swearing under your breath, either. He’s fluent also in English and French. Before looking at his "figures" it should be remembered that the Italian League have a larger pool of referees than the Premiership, so the refrees aren’t used as regularly as they are over here.
His 4 year mark-up average wouldn’t be out of place at the top of the Premiership 4 year table. In fact it would be "top of the pile".  31 games 135 yellows 9 reds for a mark-up of 50.8. His yellow card average this season is 5.08 against  5.15 for last  season. He is fairly consistent with the red cards averaging a little under 2 cards every 7 games. His "cards per game" in this seasons Champions League stands at 8.1
His reputation for being "firm but fair" is clearly borne-out by his statistics.

FRANK de BLEECKERE. (BELGIUM).
Frank had ambitions to be a professional footballer until, aged 18 he was badly injured. he then decided that he’d do the next best thing.
He was born in 1966 in Oudenaard. His main occupation is that of public Relations Manager. What could be more appropriate?
His hobbies include, golf, tennis, running and squash. So fitness is never a problem for him.
He worked his way up the ladder until making it onto the FIFA List in 1998.
His first International match was a WORLD CUP qualifier in 2001.
Since then he has established himself as one of the top referees in Europe. he had officiated in all the major European tournaments.
He has been preselected for 2010 World Cup.
His style is similar to that of an old favourite of mine, Gordon Hill (‘66-’75). Sounds like All our Yesterdays, doesn’t it?
Gordon loved to chat with the players rather than keep using his whistle Of course the players would have things to say to him. So he would wait until the player made a mistake and then he’d really rub bit in. Naturally he was a favourite with the player. Frank has the same outlook
Unfortunately, up-to-date figures are not available. The only stats at hand are 2006 World Cup.
4 games – 19 yellows and 0 reds.

I am going to leave this topic for now and try to find out just who will actually be refereeing the Champions League and UEFA Cup quarter-finals.
Instead I hope this little discourse may be of interest.
During my too many years as a betting shop manager, I came to look forward to the middle of March as it was the time when settling football coupons became decidedly easier. Until this time in the season football coupons were a real chore. You’d check thru’ maybe eight or nine results and just as you were thinking you might have a winner, the loser would pop up. All that work for nothing. It really became a bore when you had forty or more coupons to check.
Then came the change around. Suddenly the loser would pop up within the first three or four selections. When this happened with almost every coupon, it saved a vast amount of time. The reason for this sudden change was the totally unexpected, on recent form, results. There were two this weekend. Fulham and ‘Spurs. I’ll bet they put out some 95% of football bets. The funny thing is it happens every season, yet the punters "miss" it almost every time.
This is the time of the season when you should NOT be backing the teams in the TOP or the BOTTOM six places in the table. Those at the top become a little complacent whilst those at the other end are fighting for their lives to stay up. Stick to the middle of the table were teams are playing with nothing more at stake than a bit of pride.
While it may make selection a little harder, the odds on offer will be a little bigger. Don’t forget, in these circumstances it’s always wise to check the Head-to-Head stats.They will often give you an "edge".
A good place to look is www.h2hstats.com
it’s a good site with plenty to offer.

Betting and the referees (part 6)

PHIL DOWD.
Phil is a Black Country Man. His place of birth being Staffordshire.
He had his 46th birthday just two months back.
He followed the time honoured route from junior league, starting in 1984, through to the Premiership List in 2001. The only thing missing is the call-up to FIFA. This attributed to his late start in the top flight and unfortunately it probably won’t happen, due to his drawing near to the accepted retirement age. Although FIFA no longer have an official retirement age.
Like most members of his profession he has come in for the usual criticisms. Usually from the losing teams staff. After one such outburst, Paul Jewell, then Wigan manager, was " hauled before the beak" relating to comments he was alleged to have made in the press. The charges were "not proven".
He’s not afraid to show a card when he thinks it’s merited. Being that he seems quite keen on getting the yellow card out rather frequently, he must be getting the message across, as he has only issued a second yellow eigth times in eight seasons.
Another interesting point. Phil has never, during his eight up years in the top flight, issued a RED card during an F.A. Cup-tie.
His liking to show yellow cards, 645 over 8 seasons goes a long way to giving him 6th place in the four years average table, with a mark-up of 39.92.  

ANDRE MARRINER.
Andre has the distinction of being a New Years Baby. This occuring in 1971. Although his name may conjure up dreams of sunnier climes, Andre is actually a Brummie from Sheldon.
From Birmingham amateur fotball he has climbed the ladder to the Football League List in 2003. he was given his first Premiership match in 13th November the following year, before being added to the Select list the following year.
He was fourth official for this seasons Community Shield, in which Peter Walton replaced the suspended Mark Clattenberg.
Andre is 16th in the four year mark-up table with an average of 34.07.
In general his "card" figures are quite interesting. In the last two seasons  in 39 Premiership matches he has issued 3 straight reds and 5 yellow/reds. Whereas in ALL games over the past two seasons he has shown 7 reds and 6 yellow/reds. That equates to 4.87 and 5.38 red cards respectively.
So whilst he’s one of the newer boys in the top flight, he’s not someone to mess  with.

LEE PROBERT.
Lee is one of the newer recruits to the Premiership Select group. His first season was 2007/08.
Born in the South Gloucestershire area, in 1972, he now resides in Wiltshire.
He began his refereeing career in local Bristol leagues in 1986. Which would make him just 14 years old at the time. Twelve years later he was promoted the Football Leagues Assistants list.
His elevation to Full Referee Status came five years later. Four years later he was added to PGMOL’s Select Group. Not surprising as he had already handled two Premiership games with some skill.
His first full season in the Premiership saw him take charge of ten games. He gave out just nineteen yellows. In his other twenty seven games that season he only showed sixty two yellows,two yellow/reds  and one straight  red. His record for the current season is equally impressive. In all twenty eight games his tally is seventy two yellows, two yellow/reds and two reds. it seems fairly clear that he has a firm hold when he’s in charge. Surely one to look at when "selling" cards.  

.
Another Footnote.
Our old friend Stuart Attwell found himself "doing time" in the lower reaches of the footballing hierarchy, this weekend. He took charge of the Stevenage v Ebbsfleet Trophy match. Quite a comedown from the Premiership. It will be interesting to see how long he has to "serve".
Another whistler that I’ve mentioned recently is Peter Walton. It was rumoured that he would take over from Keith Hackett as the referees Supremo. However that must now be unlikely as he has been granted an extension to his Select Group contract. to enable him to carry on for at least one more season. This takes him over the normally accepted retirement age of 49. This must be a good move. Keep on an experienced man who knows his trade or promote another untried like Mr Attwell. It’s a no-brainer.
Next time I’ll look at some of the foreign referees and see what comparisons can be made.

Betting and the referees (part 5)

C. J. FOY.
Chris hails from St Helens, Lancashire.(Well it was when he was born).
Credit for Chris making it as far has he has, is down to his dad’s support and help when he first became a whistler. Dad still keeps an eye on him with ‘phone calls before and after his games.
He was promted to the Football League referees List in 1996. After five year he progressed to the "big time". From 2002 until 2007 he as on the UEFA List. From which he retired aged 45 years (Compuslary Retirement Age).  He has had his share of "highlights".  At Chester in August ‘99 he was wrestled to the ground by a supporter who didn’t exactly agree with his decisions. Just over a year ago, he "sent off" the Fulham mascot, Billy the Badger for break-dancing in the playing area. More recently, Sunday of last week actually, he suffered a blast for booking Cristiano Ronaldo for "diving", in the Carling Cup Final.
He’ll probably remember the game on Boxing Day ‘06 for some time. His Xmas presents to Stoke City and Sheff. Wed amounted to 10 Yellow Cards.
His mark-ups have been somewhat up and down.His last two years before promotion to the Premiership his figures were 40.0 and 40.8.
They have shortened since then. His lowest being 19.82 04/05 season. Over the last four seasons they’ve levelled out a little into the low thirties.
his four year average is 29.72. That includes his 04/05 figures. His cards per game during this period was 2.67. Obviously a guy who now only uses cards as a last resort.    260

PETER WALTON.
One of the refereeing elders, Peter will be fifty in October.
His first aspiration was to be a footballer and he played in the United Counties League for Long Buckby, Northants. His birthplace.
His refereeing career began in 1986, in local leagues. He obviously caught the eye as he was promoted to Assistants List of the Football League in ‘93 and the Premier List the following year.His first "big" game was the ‘96 Cup Final were he was one of the Assistants.In the same year he joined FIFA’s Assistants list and officiated in Euro ‘96 in England.
He was added to the Select Group (PGMOL) in 2003. his first ever Premiership match being Wolves 4-3 home win over Leicester City on 25th October.
January 2007 saw him travel to Ecuador as part of a team of Advanced Instructors who ran workshops on behalf of the Ecuadorian F.A.
At present he represents referees within PROSPECT the trades union which speaks for referees within the Premier League.
If as expected, referees Supremo, Keith Hacket, retires from his present position within the PGMOL this summer, Peter is one of the favourites to take his place. As is Steve Bennett. Not being one to flash the cards around it’s no surprise that this season he averages 2.38 cards per game. Seldom has he been much over the 3 cards per game average per season.His four season average is 3.3 per game and his mark-up. 34.86.
Quiet and unassuming, he lets the players take the limelight.

ROB STYLES.
Rob will be forty five next month. He hails from Waterlooville in Hampshire. His "DAY JOB" is that of a Surveyor.
His career in refereeing began in the Wessex League and then moved up to the Isthmian League. He was promoted to the Football League in 1996 and to the Premiership List in 2000. .
He has never shirked dishing out cards.In his first season as a Football League referee he showed 10 yellows and 2 reds during the Bristol R v Reading game and 10 yellows and 1 red in a Man City v Villa game. A couple of seasons later he had another 10/2 when Everton hosted Newcastle Utd.
He has on occasions had his decisions queried  and been found wanting. On four occasions there have been repercussions following his penalty awards. Following on from one such gaffe when he awarded Chelsea (at Liverpool) an unbelievable penalty for a tackle that "never was", he was removed from the following weeks matches. It was also reputed that he apologised to Rafa Benitez for his mistake. Controversey does appear to follow him around.
His four year mark-up puts him in seventh position with 39.13.His general, cards per game figure, a touch over 3.6.
Perhaps he’ll be worth "buying" when he’s in charge of two of the more volatile sides. 753

Footnote to part 4.
As I noted last time, Stuart Attwell had his first Premiership game for quite some time.
Obviously his time in the lower leagues do not appear to have helped him improve too much.
It appears he flashed two unwarranted yellows at Carlton Cole, which of course earned him an early bath. This would seem to be the least of his worries as he was slated by almost every hack for not giving at least one more red over and about the one he did give out. Lucas Neill was more than lucky not to go for his studs-up on Lee Cattermole. Cattermole then decided to put himself about somewhat and duly joined Cole in the dressing room.
Whilst Attwell must take some blame for not stamping his authority from the outset, you can feel a little for him, or any other referee, when the players obviously decide to virtually ignore the most basic of rules. how it came about the there were not any serious injuries in this game, would appear to be down to Good Luck.

Betting and the referees (part 4)

Steve Tanner, is one of the newer members of the Premiership List.
In 2006/07 he was given three "trial" games to referee in the Premiership. The second of which he abandoned after just ten minutes due to incessant rain. In those three games he gave just one card, a yellow. He was invited to join PGMOL for the following season.He obviously made a big impression as he was added to FIFA’s list in January 2008, as replacement for Graham Poll. Hardly had time to get his feet wet, so to speak, and he was up there with the big guys.
Steve comes from "Zomerset were the zider apples grow", but he certainly isn’t a country bumpkin.
His first full season on the List, he had thirty four games of which thirteen were in the Premiership.
He gave 110 yellows and just 3 reds. A mark-up of 34.55. A little below his 4 year average mark-up of 37.25.His current season figures are 23 games 68 yellows and 6 reds.Mark-up 36.00 probably tells us he thinks before reaching into his pocket. Definitely one to watch for future honours.. All in all, a fairly consistent set of figures.

Martin Atkinson.
Another young starter. This Leeds born lad was just 16 when he began the long long climb to where he is today. Joined the Football League as an Assistant in ‘98 and two years later found himself on the Premier League list of Assistants. In 2004 he refereed four Premier League games and joined the "List Proper" the following year..
He doesn’t get the cards out as some do, however he isn’t afraid to dish them out when necessary. This season he has aready issued some large match totals of Yellows. Five cards in a game, twice. Six cards in each of three games and SEVEN in each of two games. In one of the six card games he also showed two REDS. His style has obviously caught the eye of the people who matter, as he was added to the FIFA referees List in 2006.
His 4 year mark up average is 28.97.His current figures are slightly higher at 31.47. just a tad over three cards per game.
He celebrates his 38th Birthday next month, so we’ll see him for quite some time to come.

Stuart Attwell.
This name probably sends shivers down the backs of WATFORD FANS. I’m sure you all know about the Phantom Goal awarded to Reading.
This guy is the yongest ever Premiership Referee. being included in their LIST from June 2008 at the age of TWENTY FIVE.
In December of the same year he was asked to join the International List for the following year. Talk about FAST-TRACKING !!
Controversy might appear to bet dogging him as he was accused by one manager of losing control of a game. He was then carpetted by the Referee’s Chief, Keith Hackett and was "Stood Down" for the following weeks fixtures.
In the above mentioned game he booked eight players and also gave a straight Red.
His figures for the two seasons show a vast difference to each other. Last season,  This average mark-up was 23.28 and just 1.90 cards per game. The current seasons figures might well be something to ponder over. His average mark-up is 36.66 and cards per game 3.29. This from fewer games, too.
With his figures in a state of flux, it might well be the thing to do is steer well clear of any games he’s in charge of. At least until some sort of pattern emerges.
A little up to date news. Stuart Attwell appears to have vindicated himself with his displays in the lower reaches of the football ladder as he has been awarded Wigan’s home game against West Ham United on Wednesday of this week. This is his first Premiership game since 13th December last year.

Also of interest. FIFA have been discussing amendments to the games laws. One accepted is the siting of an Assistant behind each goal. The Championship appears the likely place for it to be tried out, next season.All being well it will be in operation for EURO 2012.
They also discussed extending the half-time interval to twenty minutes. However it would appear that they were beaten to this by Messrs Gallas and Toure. Toure entered the field of play late and without the referees permission. After being booked he had the audacity to say, "I didn’t know the rules". The mind boggles. And we call the poor old Ref.

More Refs to come.

Betting and the referees (part 3)

Howard Webb.
This is the referee that once elicited approvel from, of all people, Alex Ferguson. After his usual, after match rant, he prophesied that Mr Webb would become our top referee.
Since then he has moved on at quite a pace. Some will say that he has reached the top of the tree.
37 years old, 6′ 3" and 15 stones, he hails from Rotherham, South Yorkshire. His "day job" is that of a Police Sergeant. So no problem handling prima-donna footballers.
His early ambition, like many of us, was to be a professional footballer. As that wasn’t to be he didn’t turn his back but took tuition as a would-be referee. The rest is history.
He began in local leagues in 1989 an worked his way up the ladder to find himself on the Premiership List in 2003/04. In 2005 he was added to the FIFA list of match officials.
Amongst his "highlights" is a TEN CARD GAME at Craven Cottage, Fulham V Arsenal November 2006. Four yellows to Fulham and five yellows and a red to Arsenal. Another occurred between 17th February and 17th of March 2007, when he issued five RED cards. All in different matches and ALL in the 90th minute.The only one in the premiership was David Bentley (Blackburn). He was number five. Whilst keeping a firm hold on games, he’s not afraid to dish out cards.This season he has had 22 games and given out 80 yellows together with 5 reds. All for second bookable offences. Mark-up average 42.04.  
His four season figures are ………….67 games….225 yellows and ….11 reds. His average mark-up of 37.68 puts him in 8th place in the table.   
It appears that he will continue his upward moves. His latest "honour" being to take charge of the recent Brazil v Italy match.
Perhaps he will follow in the footsteps of another follicly challenged giant. Pierluigi Collina. Who can forget him?
Recently, Howard’s car was broken in to. Taken were a number of souveniers and his yellow and red cards. Everything was recovered except for the CARDS. Maybe a conspiracy by disgruntled players? Hardly likely, but WHY only keep the cards?
 
Now might be a good time to look at, "in the news" Mark Clattenburg.
Mark took-up refereeing as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award.  At the age of 18 he was an assistant Referee in the Northern League. He refereed his first competitive game, in that  league the following year. 1999 saw him refereeing in the Conference league and acting as an "assistant" in the Football league. His first match in the Football League was in August 2000. Promotion to the Select List of Premiership Referees came in 2004. Followed two years later by inclusion on the FIFA list. Aged thirty, he became the youngest Englishman to reach such dizzy heights.
From 2004 he certainly seemed to be "flavour of the month" as hardly a cup match or play-off didn’t have him featured in some respect. He did appear to be the golden boy of refereeing.
Unfortunately he fell foul of the PMGOL and in August 2008 he was suspended from all games, including that years Community Shield. His private and business life gave cause for concern and eventually he was removed from the List by PMGOL.  He appealed this decision, successfully and was suspended for 8 months, back dated to August 2008. This means he will be put back on the List from this April.
His Premier League stats are nothing out of the ordinary, except for 2006/07 season. He issued more yellows than anyone else, …………110. But amazingly not one red card.
His four year (three, actually ) mark-up is 42.28. Taking fifth place in the table.
His last full season 2007/08 was fairly mundane,  26 games 94 yellows and 8 reds. A mark-up of 43.84. just a touch ahead of his average.
It will be interesting to see just how well he progresses on his return.
 
Time for a laff.
 
The club dance was in full swing. Three latecomers tried to get in without paying. The bouncer would have none of it. "But" one of them explained, " we’re friends of the ref". "Who are you trying to kid" said the bouncer, "whoever heard of a ref with three friends?"
 
Steve  Bennett.
Steve comes from the noisiest town in Kent, Farnborough.
Aged 48 this could well be his last season. If that is so, he could be going out with a bang.
His recent allegations in a Sunday ‘paper have led to the Authorities asking him to furnish facts and details. His article in the ‘paper alleged players were getting themselves booked on purpose, in order to spend Bank Holidays and such, at home with their families. One player is alleged to have made such a request in person. it will be interesting to watch any outcome to this little episode.
He made his way up the refereeing ladder until he was added to the Football League list in 1995. Promotion to the Premier League Select List came in 1999/2000 season when he handled 12 games with 38 yellows and 1 red. A rather inauspicious start.
In 2001 he was promoted to the FIFA REFEREES LIST after a number of years on the Assistants List. He retired from the FIFA LIST in 2006.
Whilst tending to let games flow, he does have a tendency to issue cards in bunches. During the 2007 Chelsea – Man U Cup Final he issued seven yellows.Three times he’s given out three Reds in a game. Four times he’s given a total of ten cards in a match. Of the forty, five were Red.   .
Steve’s four year average mark-up is 42.89 putting him in 4th place in the table.This season so far has seen him give 64 yellows in 18 games, but no reds.
 
Something to think about. The four year average mark-up for Serie A, has 28 refs showing 50 pts or more. The "Top" place is held by D.Preschem with a figure of 85. and we call our refs "card happy".

Betting and the referees (part 2)

Where the term Mark-up appears it will be collated as follows. Yellow Card = 10pts. Red Card = 25pts.
 
Averages will be rounded to the nearest whole figure.(where appropriate).
 
Four season stats include all leagues between Conference League and Premiership.
 
Mike Riley.
A 44 year old hailing from Leeds. He has a reputation, well earned in my opinion, of being card-happy. Compared to some other referees, he’s prepared to book at every chance. He’s been a Premiership referee since 1996.
He has accrued some colourful statistics since then.
2000/01 he issued an average of 3.92 Yellow Cards per game. The 2005/06 season  saw him hit the heights with his largest ever haul of 147 Yellows.
2001/02 was his "Red" season. Issuing 19 such cards at an average of 0.61 per game.   
More recently he appears to have calmed down somewhat. His current season average mark-up compares very favourably with his last four seasons which average a touch over 48 pts.
 
Mike Dean.
He comes from the Wirral, a fact that cost him the 2006 Liverpool – West  Ham Cup Final. He did gain recompense when he officiated at the 2008 Cup Final. In 2005 he found himself in trouble with the PMGOL for his help in advertising a horseracing syndicate. He was eventually suspended until 31st May that year.He also had to sever all connections with the syndicate. This apart he doesn’t appear to court controversy.
He’s not one to mess with on the pitch, as his record shows. In all games so far this season he’ s given out 103 yellows and 10 reds for an average mark-up of  45.7pts. In Premiership games, he’s  second only to Mr Riley in average match mark-up. With 51.6pts.  He is at present batting above his four season average mark-up of 43.89pts. 
Hoping to see a penalty at the game? Then Mike Dean is your man. He averages one every five games. His total of ten, so far this season, is double his nearest rival.   
 
Laff Time.
Heard about the player who took the referee’s daughter out. She cautioned him three times. For handling, for interference and trying to take a shirt off.
 
Alan Wiley.
Age 49, Alan is one of the elder statesmen of referees and hails from Burntwood, Staffs.
He was promoted to the Premiership list in 1999.
His stats are at the opposite end of the scale to the two guys mentioned above.
Looking for someone who tries to let the game flow? Who likes to let the players take the limelight. This is your man. Although he did come into the spotlight April last year when he awarded Chelsea a penalty at…….OLD TRAFFORD of all places.You can imagine Alec Ferguson’s reaction.
Red Card-wise his worst season were 2004/05 and 2005/06. Five in the first mentioned and seven in the second. In each of these seasons his average was 0.16  per game.
His four season mark-up averages out at 36.49 His current season mark-up being just over four points fewer.            
His Premiership only stats for this season are, as usual impressive, for the best reasons. In 17 games he’s shown 42 yellows and just 1 red. Also just one penalty has been awarded.  
 
Mark Halsey.
A former native of Hertfordshire but now domiciled in Bolton. At 47, one of our more experienced whistlers. Also one of the most respected on any list. Perhaps the fact that he was no mean player in his younger days may have something to do with his refereeing style. He had spells with both Barnet and St Albans City as a player.
He joined the Premiership list in 1999 and was promoted to FIFA’s list the following year. He officiated in many of FIFA’s minor tournements until his first full international in 2004. Belgium v France.
He certainly  knows how to keep good order on the pitch. His stats are without comparison.
Four year mark-up of 24.50 sees him at the bottom (or should that be top) of the table.This season, although not having too many games, his mark-up average is only 14pts.
He consistently averages below three yellows per game. His red card average is a miserly 0.168 per game. 
With him in the middle, you would certainly consider going "short" on bookings.
 
These are just four of "the people we love to hate". More next time.

Betting and the referees

I’d like to have a good look at the Referees Panel for this season and for a few previous seasons. However I think it would be a good idea to have a little look at the history of the whistle blowers first. In the early part of the 1800’s games were played without any kind of decision maker.

October 1863 saw the birth of the Football Association and two months later they published their Laws of Football. It was by now obvious that an arbiter of some kind was needed and it became normal practise to have two umpires. (Official records first mention them in 1874). One in each half of the field. Now they worked very much as cricket umpires. The players would have to make an appeal to try to get a free kick. How they appealed would be nice to know. I just can’t see eleven hulking brutes throwing their arms up and shouting "Howzat?" plus here was always the chance that the umpire might be a little bit biased, as each team would normally select one each. Like they used to choose linesmen in my younger days. As you can imagine, as the game grew in popularity, matches became more intense.

The referee

He gradually assumed more and more authority and in 1891 he took ultimate control, (complete with whistle) and was given the power to AWARD free kicks. Appealing was no longer necessary. (I wonder if we could convince today’s players to abide by this ruling?).

The umpires were banished to the touchline and became …….. Linesmen. At this point many officials were appointed by the partcipating clubs. Not an ideal situation, until 1908 when officials who didn’t have any club allegience set up the Referees’ Union. The rest, really is history.

Today’s version of the Union is the Professional Games Match Officials Limited. (PGMO). They are a very professional body with a management team of Keith Hackett, Neale Barry and Dave Allison. They are very scientific in their approach to the fitness of the referees, especially the Premier League Panel of 20 Hand chosen whistlers. They even have an optician. Called a Vision Scientist. A rose by any other name? The present day match team all have a heart monitering system attached to their bodies during the game. They have an excellent back-up team, who will find an answer to any problems that they need to receive advise about. The Referees in the Panel are paid an annual retainer and also receive a generous match fee. They in turn must commit to the fitness and other training programmes laid down by the management team.
 
A little light relief, I "lifted" this from the web.
 
You love football, but cannot understand the rules.
You have a strange desire to run around aimlessly in the wind, rain and snow.
You love the sound of verbal abuse.
You find it hard to make decisions and when you do, you’re always wrong.
 
Sound familiar? Who’d be a referee?  
 
This seasons Premier League Panel contains a couple of new names but also some old "friends".  Some have been on the panel for quite some time and include M.L. Dean, C.J. Foy, S.Bennett  and card happy M. Riley. We’ll have a look at their stats next time.

SPREAD BETTING. THE PRINCIPALS.
 
The firms offering Spread Betting to the public are few but all are experts in their field.
They all have similar operating methods. i.e. They all have excellent websites. You can bet online or by phone and they all have staff who know their business and are helpful in the extreme.
The firms  I will deal with are those who have held their positions in the market and can be trusted. Contrary to many thoughts some bookmakers do over reach themselves and go too the wall. The same could happen with Spread firms. However they are so tightly regulated by the Financial Services Authority that their clients are very unlikely to suffer.
 
 
SPORTING INDEX
 
Founded in 1992 with a handful of staff and not many more clients. They have progressed steadily to their present position were their clients number in their tens of thousands and half of their large staff work on the trading desk.
So successful have they been that they now have a website for the sole use of  their Irish clients.
Progress in other avenues have been consistent. An interactive website that handles over 75% of all it’s trade. A mobile ‘phone facility that is as good as being online. 2004 saw a world first, with Spread Betting Games being added to there lengthening portfolio. Their clients can now enjoy casino and many sports betting games with a Spread Betting flavour.
2007 saw them win "Mobile Operator of the Year" with their Bet on the Move, mobile facility.
They accept all major credit cards and a variety of currencies. Aussie dollar, Euro .Yankee Dollar and of course the GBP. 
 
 www.sportingindex.com
 
 
SPREADEX
 
They have a reputation for having a very friendly and most helpful staff.
"Born" 1999 they have built up a fine client base.
Their Sports Betting portfolio is as you would expect of a market leader. Whatever your chosen sport Spreadex will have something to offer you to trade on.
In addition to Sports Betting they  operate financial spreads on all the commercial markets, including equities bonds and currencies.
Their chosen currency is the Great Britain Pound. (GBP). The usual credit cards are accepted.
Check regularly to see what incentives they are offering, even to existing clients.
They also have a nice gimmick, "Hide me now". Just hit this but when the "enemy" are around and you have a nice blank screen.
 
www.spreadex.com
 
 
I. G. SPORT
 
Their parent company can be considered as the inventors of Spread Betting as we know it.  They had been operating for almost 20 years when their "Sports Child" was spawned in 1993.
They specialise with, "in-running" markets. If there’s live action of some kind going on, you can bet I. G. have an "in-running" market operating on it.
Their online tutorial is very easy to understand and ideal for "newbies". Take a look.
They offer almost identical facilities to their competitors.
Currencies of choice are The Euro and GBP. All the usual credit cards are accepted.
 
www.igsport.com
 
   
 
BETHILO
 
For me, the Jewel in the Crown.
To me this is a "lite" version of Sporting Index, it’s parent company.
Ideal for the newcome, but also a haven for the accomplished "SPREADER".
You don’t need to have a bulging bank account to bet here. £10.00 should open your account. Some markets start as low as a penny a point.  As with it’s parent company, if there’s action going on, you’ll find a market for it here.
Six years old this month, (January), the youngster is growing into a strapping individual. It doesn’t have any pretentions of being the shy youngster either. It accepts The Euro, GBP, US Dollar and Australian Dollar, as well as the usual credit cards.
Like it’s parent, you can place bets  on the Website, Telephone and Mobile.
Telephone and mobile betting can be accessed whenever there is a live event being covered. Access via the internet is 24/7.
Bethilo also runs some unique markets. Soccer Shootout and Cricket Roulette being quite popular. Fancy a flutter on the gee-gees, to get you thru’ the half-time break. Well there’s virtual racing waiting for you.  They run nineteen virtual games as well as Poker and the Casino. Surely something for everybody.
Bethilo is very innovative in many ways. It’s new customer incentive is  quite novel. Place five bets with the potential to win or lose at least five pounds each bet  and receive £30.00 cashback. They’ll also refund your first losing stake up to a maximum of 10. 
 
www.bethilo.com
 

That about sums it up for an intro’ into Spread Betting.

As a reference find the links here to the 5 previous parts of this series:

Spread Betting (part 1)

Spread Betting Markets – Shirt Numbers, Corners (part 2)

Spread Betting Markets 2 – Goal Minutes (part 3)

Spread Betting Markets 3 – Bookings (part 4)

Spread Betting Markets 4 – Win, Lose or Draw, Performance (part 5)

Be certain to read the rules for each firm and the rules for each market that you bet on.
Don’t bet blind. There’s bags of help online.
Do bet responsibly. 

Spread Betting Markets ( Cont’d).
 
Win, lose or draw. (or 25 – 10 – 0).
 
Probably the easiest market to make friends with.
You also know what your maximum liability will amount to, before the game starts.
This market has a few names. As well as those above it’s known as, The Win Index, the Pony, the "25". Probably a few more as well.

The market is set up as, Win = 25pts. Draw = 10pts Lose = 0pts. Each team in the match has it’s own "spread".
You know the "make-up" for each possible result before the game starts. An ideal spread for each team would be 12 – 13.     
Let’s assume your teams spread is 11.5 – 12.5. If you BUY you’re profit will be 12.5 if your team win. You BUY @ 12.5 and the win makes-up @ 25. Difference 12.5 times your stake unit
Should the game be a draw you would lose 2.5 times your stake unit. BUY @ 12.5, make-up @ 10 = – 2.5 stakes.
Should your team have an off day and get beaten the make-up would be 0. Your lose would be 12.5 times your stake unit.
 A recent game was Burnley  v  ‘Spurs. Burnley’s spread is 10  – 11.5  ‘Spurs’ 12 – 13.5. From these  spreads it can be assumed that a tight game was anticipated. In fact you couldn’t make money on Burnley, as their spread started at the Draw Mark-up of 10. A shrew move by the bookies. It didn’t come off though. In this game the "make-up" was Burnley 25, ‘Spurs 0. 
 
A good market in which to find your betting legs. Plus, you won’t lose too much, as the minimum stake is normally £1.
 
PERFORMANCE.
 Another market to test your knowledge of the teams abiltiy. You can stick with either team or depend on a "joint" effort.
 
INDIVIDUAL TEAMS PERFORMANCE.
 Points are awarded for Winning or Drawing. For goals, clean sheets and even corners. Yellow and red cards cause a deduction from any accrued points. 
Points awarded for various criteria are often different  bookie to bookie.
 
PERFORMANCE SUPERIORITY.
This is based on the PERFORMANCE figure of each team. The spread offers you the opportunity to decide which will be the better performing side.
With both the above markets, stake units start at only 50p.
 
MATCH PERFORMANCE.
The criteria awards are usually different to the last two markets. In addition there are points awarded for penalties being given.  Minimum stake for this market is usually 25p.
 
One word of warning. NEGATIVITY.
The performance markets can have a negative score.  Imagine your team are outplayed. Fail to even get one corner, never mind score a goal. Things get desperate and two yellows are followed by a red. In team Performance markets that would leave you MINUS 25pts but in Match Performance, MINUS 45pts. So beware.
 
There are so many markets that you really should take a look for yourself. You might just find one that really appeals to you way of betting.
 
Next time I’ll end this mini series by looking at the firms that offer these markets. There’s one little beauty that has real appeal for value for money.
 
Spread betting firms Sporting Index and I.G. Index have some "too good to miss" offers on at the present.
Sporting Index will give you £300 worth of football bets or £100 cash back. But hurry this offer ends 2nd February.
I.G.Index offers two x 100 bets.
To make full use of these offers, may I suggest you visit www.bet72.com  bags of help there for you to maximise your winnings.
Again, I must stress I DO NOT receive any referral "!kick-back" from any links I suggest.
 
Betdaq are back on normal commision terms. However, a little bird whispers that a nicely worded e-mail asking if there is any possibilty of a reduced rate, may not go amiss. But no promises.

Spread Betting Markets. (Cont’d).
 
Bookings.
 
Yet another popular market with the punters.
Most firms allot 10 points for a Yellow card and 25 points for a Red card. Anyone getting two yellow cards 
in the game, thus earning a Red card will count as 35pts. 
 
The "normal" spread for a match is usually set between three and four Yellows. Say 35 – 38. Some games will be set higher. A "local derby" would be such a game.  Setting at around 55 – 59. Expecting, or a least allowing for, one Red card.
Many games have the SPREAD set according to past performances. Arsenal and Man. Utd have been known to have the odd set to on-field and this will be taken into account when the Spread is set. Can you imagine what some of the old, Old Firm derbies must have made up at. The influx of foreign players to both teams has somewhat dampened down the fiery exchanges. Now a Sell of, say, 76 would be considered rather high.  
A very important factor is the Referee. Some as we know are card happy. Why does Mike Riley’s name spring to mind? As early as 2001/2 season he was averaging 55pts per game. Although he does appear to have "quietened down" recently. Last season his average was 40pts per game. This season, so far it’s 42pts per game. Compare him with Mark Halsey. 2001/2 his average was 36pts and his average this season is a little in excess of 17pts per game. Perhaps experience  brings forth a mellowing in the referee’s attitude to the players. Or it could be that the players are not as bad as they are made out to be. This may be born-out by the figures so far this season. The average make-up being just below 30pts per game. So it does pay to "know your referee". Always have a look at the referee’s current "booking form". Especially if he’s refereed the two sides before. Lightening can strike twice is these cases.

In the early years of this market., the spread was often set too high. Mainly because, human nature being what it is, we all like to see a bit of rough and tumble on the pitch. As you will imagine, the Professional Punters were in their element and Sold at every opportunity. Obviously the market spreads were adjusted downwards. There are still many occasions when the Buy is set a bit on the high side. This can happen when the two sides are middle of the table, not much to play for, on a nice spring afternoon being policed by a known "lenient" referee.  
In general just under half of all games see no more than three Yellows. If you can Sell under 40pts you will be on the right side of the fence more often than not.
However do bear in mind that this season average points per game are slightly down.
Foreign leagues tend to have a higher average per game than the Premiership.