Betting Bad Part 5: All away days

Good morning, afternoon and evening to you all, and welcome to another addition of my substandard series – Betting Bad. To all you regular readers, I’m sure you know the drill. To all the newbies, here’s a quick refresher. Basically, I am cursed. I have a betting curse. The last accumulator that I won which was slightly more adventurous than a Celtic, Manchester United and Juventus treble probably dates back to about 2015! Unlike most betting sites who aim to guide you to a big win, I am throwing you a curveball. I’m not telling you who to pick, I am telling you who I am picking. You can choose to follow my picks if you are completely mad (I know it’s 2018 so please don’t be offended…). What I recommend is that you avoid these picks. One of them will inevitably fall short, so please, please, PLEASE, do yourself a favour and avoid the soon to be unveiled selections.

Now, as you probably guessed from my quip about not winning for a couple years, I did not win last week. It wasn’t as dreadfully awful as other weeks of betting, it wasn’t until around minute 70 or so that I truly lost the faith, so that’s something. I was right on two counts. Wolves duly backed up my pearls of wisdom that Ian Holloway was a con artist of a football manager. Falkirk got off to a great start against non-league Cove Rangers, Alex Jakubiak scoring after two minutes. Cove equalised a minute later, but the Bairns held on to win in style. Notts County suffered a shock defeat to Barnet, a side revitalised under Graham Westley, while Plymouth caused an upset by beating high flying Shrewsbury.

Another bad betting week out the way, we go again. The FA Cup has obliterated the Premier League fixture list, while the Championship one has been shortened too! No doubt there will be a number of bad calls this week, so once again, do not follow my picks! And do not bet against Barnet, they appear to be having quite the resurgence!

Oxford v PLYMOUTH – 9/5

There is not a lot of difference in the table between these teams, with Plymouth sitting 8th with 47 points and Oxford lying 13th with 41 points. Any away game is tough when you’re from a faraway place like Plymouth, and this is by no means a certainty, but at overs it is worth a punt. They are playing some excellent football and are on a four game winning streak, including a win over top of the league Shrewsbury last Saturday. Oxford are on poor form, and have won only one of their past five matches. Oxford hammered Plymouth 4-0 at Home Park back in November, but they are a side on the up recently, with no sign of slowing down.

Cheltenham v WYCOMBE – 13/8

I want to put Accrington Stanley to beat Barnet here, really I do, but I can’t face another Barnet upset. Not again! Instead I will plump for 3rd in the league Wycombe Wanders. Wycombe fans may be a little conflicted with this game. They will desperately want to win to keep their place in the automatic promotion spot in League 2. However, talk of manager Gareth Ainsworth leaving to join Barnsley has been doing the rounds over the past couple of days, therefore some segments of the blues fanbase may hope they lose, to drop their manager’s stock! They face a Cheltenham side who are midtable and on sporadic form, at overs, it is surely worth the gamble!

Brechin v FALKIRK – 4/9

For the second week in a row, the team 8th in the Scottish Championship ten team division. They do have the advantage of a) being on form and b) playing a team who have yet to win a league game all season. Brechin can count themselves as proud for achieving promotion last year, but this is a real reality check for the team most famous for having a hedge instead of a stand! Brechin have enjoyed a few close games this year where they have been defeated in heartbreaking circumstances, but the bottom line is they simply aren’t good enough this season. Paul Hartley’s men appear revitalised of late and should dispose of Brechin with ease.

Bet slip:

Oxford v PLYMOUTH – 9/5

Cheltenham v WYCOMBE – 13/8

Brechin v FALKIRK – 4/9

£5 placed at 9.62/1 returns £53.08

For the first time this series I am going for a simple threefold, a stark reality check from the heady days of Betting Bad 1, where I had an ambitious fivefold. FIVEFOLD. The odds are high, with two of my three selections at overs and all three teams playing away from home. This is a cardinal betting sin in my book, as is betting on teams with weirdly good odds. But I will break those rules, choosing to be optimistic! I am yet to win at four attempts this season, but I have high hopes for this selection. That being said, it won’t win, so do yourself a favour and avoid these games!

Money spent so far: £20

Winnings: £0

Profit-Loss: -£20

As ever, gamble responsibly. Please.