THE BERNIE THE BOOK COLUMN
SEVILLA: NOT JUST GREAT FOR MARMALADE
AUGUST AND THINGS ARE BEGINNING TO RETURN to normality. After months of endless repeats of sport from yesteryear, July has seen the conclusion of a number of events not least all domestic football. And August looks like the beginning of a return to sport. The snooker world championship has just begun (more later), the Eu- ropa and Champions Leagues come to their conclusion in a one-off tournament and the first major of the golf season is just about to start. September sees the launch of the 2020-2021 football season, crowds probably back in November and the NFL returns next month also. But first to the conclusion of the 2019-2020 football season. For those who no longer have an interest, the draw for the Champions League has now been made and one thing you would want is not to be in the top half! Crammed in there are Man City, Real Madrid, Bayern Mu- nich, Barcelona and Juventus which leaves the bottom half as the place to now bet on. Principally this will con- cern perennial under-achievers PSG (at 11/2) and perennial over-achievers Atletico Madrid (at 8/1) and for anybody looking to hedge their bets or place a new bet, ATLETICO at 8/1 seems tremendous value. I have so far largely ignored the Europa League simply because until the knockout stages you never quite knew which teams were actively targeting it. I have previously advocated (and backed) Wolves but at the current odds of 8/1 I think all juice has been taken out of that price. The Europa League predominantly centres on Man United and now they have qualified for the Champions League next season by virtue of finishing in the top four of our Premiership, I am not too sure what appetite they have left for winning the Europa League as the winner gets a ticket for the big game (the Champions League). That said their draw gives them shoe-in to the semi-fi- nals but at 2/1 they are hardly an attractive proposition. In their half of the draw lies SEVILLA at 8/1 and I think they need to be backed. Yes they have to overcome Roma and then Wolves just to play United in the semis but I think 8/1 for a team that constantly does well in this competition is a price too big. The other half of the draw sees Inter Milan play Leverkeusen (too close to call) and Shaktar and Basel and I think 28/1 on the Swiss is a great price. The above double pays 80/1 or £800 profit from a tenner.
AUGUST 2020
Away from football, last month’s headline tip was BRYSON DECHAMBEAU in the PGA in early August. My viewpoint hasn’t changed one iota but to supplement Bryson I would suggest a small interest on RICKIE FOWLER in his native California at a huge 45/1 and also JUSTIN THOMAS at 12/1 purely for his clutch putting. Anyone witnessing the battle with Collin Morikawa at Memorial cannot fail to be impressed despite losing. Fowler is more of a mercurial street player and despite marriage (or because of marriage) his price has lengthened to a juicy double digit. The PGA commences on August 6.
Just started in Sheffield is this year’s snooker World Championship held over from April. A word of caution, there will be a limited audience but that doesn’t equate to the Sheffield Crucible experience and some players just need that adrenalin to give them that extra desire. Others though thrive on the mundane so treat all bets with cau- tion. That said I discount the top two in the betting, Judd Trump and Rocket Ronnie largely for this reason and would concentrate on some value outside. One man who always plays well and whose ability far outweighs his one title is SHAUN MURPHY who can be backed at 18/1. My other pick is the Thunder from Down Under, NEIL ROBERTSON at 8/1 and despite losing in the final last year, the t i m e c o u l d now be right for D I N G JUNHUI
to finally a chi e v e his life- time goal at a massive 22/1 on Betfair these are my three against the field. See you next month for the NFL and the Premiership.
Bernie the Book 109
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
