UEFA Sporting vs Sochaux[R]

Sporting was unlucky yesterday. Polga's fvck up costed them the game. I think that Carlos Martins not playing was one of the biggest factors for SCP not being able to do much offensively. Peseiro has to realise that Rochemback is not in form right now. Too much of SCP's game is going through him at the moment. C. Martins has been impressing me very much this year and I think he's one of Sporting's best players. Missing Custodio was also noticeable but I understand Peseiro wanting to save him from possibly picking up another yellow and not being able to play NUFC. Either way, only disaster can eliminate SCP now. Saudacoes Benfiquistas.

 

Panionios accused of match-fixing by bookies:

Bookmakers convinced UEFA Cup betting coup took place

By Nick Mulvenney

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - British bookmakers are convinced a betting coup took place surrounding Tuesday's UEFA Cup match between Greek side Panionios and Georgia's Dinamo Tbilisi.

The extraordinary betting patterns related to the match, which Panionios won 5-2 after trailing 1-0 at halftime, caused several bookmakers to suspend betting.

"I have no doubt that this was a betting coup," said Graham Sharpe at William Hill. "But whether it was a betting coup based on a fixed result is another matter."

"You often see unusual betting patterns that you can subsequently put down to a bandwagon effect."

British bookmakers have increasingly exploited the possibilities offered by the internet to take themselves into new markets.

"This was a worldwide coup," said Caspar Hill at Betfair, an online company that acts as broker for gamblers around the world to bet against each other.

Odds offered on Betfair for Dinamo Tbilisi leading at halftime and going on to lose went from a relatively normal 36-1 down to 5-1 before kickoff, while the odds on Panionios winning came in from 4-7 to 1-4.

Both these patterns indicate heavy betting on those outcomes, although Hill said that in Betfair's case that might not have been just normal gamblers.

"To have so many people calling up asking about a 5-2 result is very unusual to say the least," Hill added.

"My own view is that the traditional bookmakers were getting worried and tried to hedge their positions with Betfair."

The explosion of online gambling in recent years helps explain why British bookmakers were taking bets on a UEFA Cup Group D match played by two unglamorous clubs in front of 2,500 fans in Athens.

"A few years ago this match would have been inconsequential but we now have clients in these markets and feel obliged to offer odds," said Sharpe, who added that his company had lost 10,000 pounds ($19,380).

UEFA officials said on Thursday they were gathering information but had not yet launched an official investigation.

Hill said Betfair, if requested, would share what information they could with European soccer's governing body about the betting patterns.

"Unlike traditional bookmakers, our technology allows us to have an audit trail," he said.

"We have a number of agreements with sporting bodies such as the English FA and Jockey Club which allows us to share the names of the people who have had a bet.

"We were talking to UEFA about signing such an agreement last week.

"We could still show them the graphs of the betting patterns but without the agreement we can't give them the names because of (Britain's) Data Protection Act.

Some bookmakers have criticised the new UEFA Cup group format this season, which has eight sections of five teams with the top three going into the last 32, because it offers greater possibilities of "dead rubbers".

That was not the case in Tuesday's match, however, as Panionios still have a slim chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds.

Panionios and Dinamo Tbilisi have both rejected match-fixing allegations.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_y...-?slug=reu-uefabetting&prov=reuters&type=lgns

 

We feel sorry for him. He started playing for us out of position, wide left midfield, and did well. Then, when Robert was fit again he was put on the bench.

He didn't ever get a good run playing in his true position. When he did start a game he wasn't match fit, so looked slow and clumsy.

He found himself first choice - because of injuries - in the UEFA Cup semi final against Marseilles. Again, he wasn't match fit, because of lack of first team action, and looked a poor player. This made him seem to lose enthusiasm, so some people believed he wasn't trying.

By the time he left, people at Newcastle were glad to see him go; we all hope that a spell playing in his true position will rehabilitate him.

Given that our coach, Souness, was a superb central midfielder when he played, Hugo may decide to return to Newcastle when his loan spell ends.

His overall problem was that Robson signed him without a clear idea of where he wanted him to play. As a result, Hugo became a fringe player, with the consequences outlined above.

 

It was so painfull watching Hugo play for Newcastle. I hope he returns and starts.

 

Thanks for the commentary, as I watched every Newcastle game with interest I could see him struggling abit to adapt. He left SCP on such a high note we [SCP supporters] all looked forward to seeing him excel in the EPL.

With the injuries and the lack of playing time I am sure he was a bit frustrated. He seems to be back on the right track, but he is not were he was before he left. I am not sure if he will ever fullfill his potential, but he is still extremely young and the prospects are good.