Hartlepool

Charlton‘s squad looks to have a bit of quality about it this season and the Addicks look a decent bet at William Hill‘s 9/1 to grab the League 1 crown and start edging back towards a position in the Football League to which their support are more accustomed. It’s been a barren few years for Charlton fans and last season’s 13th place was another new low, but rookie manager Chris Powell has addressed several problems over the summer and made a few shrewd signings which suggests the Londoners should do a lot better this term. Danny Hollands and Rhoys Wiggins both did well for Bournemouth last season and will have learned from their play-off experience with the Cherries, while Paul Hayes should score goals for funs at this level and former Exeter captain Matt Taylor is a good man to have around when the going gets tough. Bradley Wright-Phillips should be all the better with a proper pre-season behind him and adds further quality and Charlton can make a major impact this term.

Another side that catches the eye at bigger odds are Carlisle. No side relishes a trip to Brunton Park in the depths of winter and it’s unlikely the Cumbrians will forfeit many points again this season in front of their own fans. Greg Abbott was obviously fairly happy with last season’s squad because he hasn’t added much to it but the Cumbrians have impressed in pre-season victories over higher-ranked opposition and did win the Johnston’s Paint Trophy last season, which has proved a surprisingly good indicator for the following year on occasion. United can be backed at 50/1 with bwin and William Hill, and get a generous 24 points start on the handicap (18/1) with the latter.

Given last year’s near miss, Huddersfield Town are favourites with most layers, Willam Hill again best at 6/1. Losing a play-off final can be a demoralising blow to a club but Lee Clark‘s squad has plenty of strong characters and the fact that the manager has just spent £1million on Bolton’s Danny Ward suggests he still has the backing of the board for now. The Terriers shouldn’t be far away but I’m yet to be convinced that Sheffield Wednesday are ready to make a title push, despite Gary Megson‘s heavy investment in power over panache. They are 7/1 with William Hill. For once, it’s easy to pick holes in the merits of relegated sides Preston, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe, while the promoted teams could also struggle to acclimatise to a higher level. Last season’s League 2 champions Chesterfield, for example, have lost their best two strikers. 

At the bottom, Bury may find it tough to survive and can be backed for an immedaite return to League 2 at 11/4 with Skybet and Victor Chandler, while Hartlepool also look set for another season of struggle and are the same price with Betfred and totesport for the drop. Oldham’s summer signings have been collectively underwhelming and it would be no surprise if they were to also be looking down rather than up for most of the campaign. Paul Dickov‘s side are 3/1 with Betfred and totesport for relegation.

Saturday 30^th January

English Premier League

West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers

Both West Ham and Blackburn will be looking to move themselves further away from the relegation zone when they meet at Upton park tomorrow afternoon.

It will be the club’s first match at Upton Park since new owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, took over earlier this month. Manager Gianfranco Zola has been able to keep his star players because of this and has also started to bring in players to bolster his options, especially upfront. Benni McCarthy has joined from, ironically enough, tomorrow’s opponents but a work permit issue means he’ll be unable to go straight into the side. There are numerous rumours going around about another couple of signings but it’s unlikely anyone else will be brought in on time to feature tomorrow afternoon. The Hammers still sit perilously close to the bottom on 3 as they remain level on points with 18^th placed Burnley. They know that games against sides in the lower half at home are exactly the kind of games they need to win in order to survive. As hard as it is to believe, they have only won 4 games all season so it’s no wonder they are in the position they’re in. They have picked up two valuable points in their last two away games against Aston Villa and most recently, at Portsmouth last midweek. 3 of their 4 wins this season have come at home and two of them have been against sides close to them in the table. They have lost 4 matches at Upton Park in the league but none of these defeats have been inflicted by sides in the lower half of the Premier League.  

Rovers have improved their form of late and after sticking a couple of wins together find themselves in 11^th position, 7 points clear of the relegation zone. Wins against Wigan Fulham at Ewood Park has alleviated a lot of the pressure from manager Sam Allardyce and his players. The manager is actively seeking to improve his squad before the close of the transfer window on Monday but he’ll go with what is currently available tomorrow. In order to continue their recent good form, Rovers will have do something they’ve only managed once this season – win away from home. They have lost 8 of their 11 matches on the road already this season, conceding 28 goals in the process. The positives for Allardyce seem to be outweighing the negatives at the moment though, as his big players are beginning to perform to their best. Morten Gamst Pedersen is beginning to find the form of a couple of seasons ago, David Dunn is back fit and proving to be pivotal whilst £6m Niko Kalanic scored his first Premier League goal in the win over Wigan.

West Ham have Carlton Cole back fit and that is a massive bonus. Cole is easily the most improved player in the league over the last 18 months and is certainly Zola’s most important player. He is fundamental to West Ham’s success as he’s their main goalscorer and is a real leader on the park. He leads the line fantastically well so after getting a 20 minute run-out on Tuesday, it’s likely he’ll start tomorrow for the first time since November. Blackburn will be looking to end a massive hoodoo when they travel south tomorrow. They have not won at Upton Park in the league since 1994. They’ve not even picked up as much as a point in this fixture since 1995 so they know how hard it will be to leave East London with anything.

Blackburn’s two wins have given them breathing space so it’s probably fair to say that tomorrow’s match is more important for the home side. I honestly think this is a must win for Zola’s side as they have a tough set of fixtures coming up in the nest 6 weeks so these type of home games are the kind of games they will be targeting. The home crowd will be on a high after the takeover so the atmosphere will be even better than it normally as at the old stadium. Their main man is back from injury and they also have history on their side. I expect it to be an entertaining game and there will be a couple of goals as well. West Ham have only lost 1 of their last 5 and I believe they are good enough to win tomorrow afternoon.

My selection: West Ham to beat Blackburn at a best priced 6/5 with Totesport

English League 1

Norwich City v Hartlepool United

League leaders Norwich City entertain a Hartlepool side who are on a poor run of form so a visit to Carrow Road is probably not a match they are looking forward to.

Paul Lambert has done a terrific job since taken charge back in August. He has guided Norwich from the relegation zone right to the top of the table and with an excellent chance of going straight back into the Championship. The former Colchester and Wycombe boss has not done a lot to the playing staff but he has instilled a system and discipline which has reaped it’s won rewards. He’s played under some of the best managers in World football, including Omar Hitzfeld and Martin O’Neill so he’ll have picked up plenty from those two individuals. Both were proper man managers and Lambo seems to be exactly that type of coach as well. His side are on a superb run of form having won their last 7 games and unbeaten in their last 15. Their home form under Lambert is very strong, he’s not lost a game at Carrow road since taking the hot seat.

Hartlepool have had a wee stutter of late having lost 3 of their last 4 in the league and with just two win’s in their last 12 matches. Their away form is also something of a concern and they look weak defensively on their travels. They’ve lost their last 6 away games and have conceded 15 goals in the process. Pool will be boosted by the absence of Norwich captain Grant Holt. The striker is not only their top scorer, he’s also their best and most important player. He will miss tomorrow’s match due to suspension after being sent off last weekend. They’ll also welcome the return of Ritchie Humphrey’s who has been an important player for them this season.

Norwich are flying at the moment and their strikers are bang in form. There good end has to end at some point but I think it will take a better side than the current Hartlepool team to disrupt their promotion charge. The 1/3 generally on offer for a Norwich win may appeal to some of the big hitters but I think that the home side are more than capable of covering the handicap the form they are in at the moment. They’re not only scoring a lot of goals at home they’re not conceding many either, when you consider the fact that the visitors tomorrow are conceding goals and not scoring too many on their travels, the 10/11 on Norwich minus a goal is value for me.

My selection: Norwich (-1) to beat Hartlepool at a best priced 10/11 available with Bet365