Hi °C | Lo °C Alan Curbishley, the new West Ham manager, has his eye on Darren Bent come next month's transfer window.
No surprise there as Curbishley knows all about the Charlton striker.
The only surprise is that such a move is a generous 6-1 with Bet365 and must be taken.
Also Nigel Reo-Coker could be on his way out and Boylesports' 10-1 for the skipper to be gone in January, is much too big and must be backed.
There will be plenty of opportunities to lay back on that bet as Reo-Coker will be a lot shorter come Christmas.
Of course there will be plenty of comparison with Charlton as both struggle to avoid the drop.
Curbs was a West Ham player for five years and Ladbrokes quote 100-30 that he will surpass that time as a manager.
Forget it.
If West Ham drop through the safety net, he will not be in charge next August, never mind be around for five years.
The Hammers are 2-5 to finish above Charlton in the league while the latter's manager Les Reed is 6-4 to be the next Premiership boss to be give the big -E.
Paddy Power's 13-2 for both West Ham and Charlton to be relegated will attract a lot of attention while 5-6 for the Hammers to finish 16th or lower, is another tempting prospect.
Much will depend of course on who Curbishley brings in but they will do well just to survive the drop.
Bet365: 6-1 Darren Bent to join West Ham in January.
Boylesports: 10-1 Reo-Coker to leave in January.
Coral: Players signed from Charlton in January - 10-11 none; 11-8 one; 5-1 two or more.
Ladbrokes: Curbishley to be manager at West Ham longer than he was a player (five years) - 100-30 yes; 1-5 no; 100-1 to manage West Ham longer than he managed Charlton (15 years).
Paddy Power: Finishing position - 5-6 15th or higher; 16th or lower.
United now a safe bet in premiership race
Those who took the 5-1 advised about Manchester United pre-season to win the Premiership, have their money in the bag.
And that's not saying Fergie's boys are home and hosed.
Mind, you they nearly were before Didier Drogba's later winner against Newcastle in midweek to put Chelsea within five points of the Red Devils.
Chelsea were far from impressive and any slip up on Wednesday night, and the red and white ribbons would have been decorating the trophy even with five months to go.
But with United and Chelsea 5-6 joint favourites with William Hill, there is an opportunity for punters already on United to arbitrage as there can only be one of two winners.
The rest of the teams are out with the washing and it is 50-1 bar the two.
And even now, there is still an opportunity to arbitrage to a degree.
Back Chelsea at 5-6 along with the 5-2 offered on United, Chelsea and Arsenal to finish 1,23 in that order.
The Gunners should be third and the other two outcomes are certain one way or another.
Unless Arsenal mess up, it is certainly a money-making gift.
Meanwhile, United are expected to make new signings in the next transfer window but how many?
Totesport have opened a market on this and make two the 20-21 favourite - why not just call evens - while it is 7-4 that only Henrik Larsson becomes a Red Devil in January.
Larsson is already in and there is strong speculation that Owen Hargreaves will come to Old Trafford.
The firm offer 12-1 on four or more but that is extremely unlikely.
The price is short but two looks about right.
Paul Petrie, totesport spokesman commented: " This is the best chance that Manchester United have had to win the title in a long time and I am sure that Sir Alex Ferguson will be telling the Glazer family that he needs to add to his squad.
"However, it is never easy to sign players that are eligible for Europe and that is why we favour just one more signing."
How Many signings will Man U make in transfer window - loan or permanent: 20-21 two; 7-4 one; 4-1 three; 4-1 four or more.
Thommo left with a red-face after gaff
Backers on the exchanges were furious with race commentator Derek Thompson this week. He got it badly wrong in a race at Lingfield, calling the wrong horse in the closing stages of a race.
Mistakes happen and while it was a bad day for Thommo, punters have only themselves to blame for not using their own eyes. The well supported Shava won the six furlong sprint but was called Firework by Thommo all the way to the line.
Both horses had similar light blue colours but the winner had a blue cap while Firework's jockey wore orange. Some in-running punters took Derek's commentary as being correct and £20,000 was matched at odds of 1.3 or less, including £2,724 at 1.02 (1-50) on Firework.
The latter was seen as easy money with Shava (thought to be Firework) always in command and winning by a length and a half. Only problem was, the dosh was on the wrong horse. However, there were plenty of others capable of using their own eyes to back Shava who hit a low of 1.12 despite never getting a mention in the closing stages.
And no wonder because Thommo thought Shava was Firework who in reality, was never in the hunt although called the winner by the commentator in the final furlong.
Such is the vicissitudes of punting and gives credence to that betting maxim which says, 'believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.'
