International weekend and one to leave right alone. I’ve been burnt more than once on internationals as it’s hard to weigh up how teams compare. That leaves the games in the lower English leagues. I’ll have a punt on 2 or 3 goals in the Scunthorpe v Colchester game but a few others have caught my eye.

I corrected the post below as I initially had written Doncaster like a wally.

Barnet v Darlington (English League Two: Sat 3pm local time)

Darlington’s recent problems are well documented with them going into administration and there are a lot of issues that brings aside from the points deduction. On another site someone has demonstrated to me the value in opposing teams that have a lot of off-field issues or press and I think Darlington fall into that category. Add to that recent form and you get a good bet. Darlington have lost 6 of their last 9 games and 4 from 5 away from home. Barnet had just 1 home win in their first 14 matches but after a run of 3 draws have now won 4 on the bounce at home and are unbeaten at home in 2009. They have scored 15 goals in the last 5 home games and Darlington have managed just 2 in the last 6 away games. 3-1 anyone?

++ Win Market – Barnet @ 2.4 on Paddy Power (1pt) – 2.42 on Betfair and 2.375 at 5 others

Brentford v Gillingham (English League Two: Sat 3pm local time)

I plug away at the HT/FT bet here. Brentford have been leading at both HT and FT in 10/19 matches and the Gills have been losing at both in 7/19 away. Combining the two we have a 44% chance which is odds of around 2.2. Gillingham have been on a good run though lately and their away form looks decent with just 2 defeats in the last 10 away. However, 7 of those games were against teams in the bottom 9 places. They have been poor against teams nearer the top this season.

++ HT/FT – Home/Home @ 3.5 on Bet365/Paddy Power/Stan James/Coral (1pt) – 3.8 on Betfair

2 points staked on the weekend.

Good luck in whatever bets you do.

Two more losers in midweek and the poor run continues. A big thank you to Eastwood23 for his comment and hopefully some of the stuff I write is of use. There’s a long way still to go in the season and I’m hopeful of getting back on a winning track.

This weekend there will be no bets as I’ll be without internet access from lunch today and haven’t had time to look at any bets in detail. I may get a chance to look at the Sunday games on Saturday but it’s unlikely.

The current standings are:

116 Bets (111 points staked) :: 38 won – 69 lost – 7 void – 2 half void :: -19.27 points

“If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.” – Chico Marx

Sadly, another loser last night.

Rotherham v Aldershot (English League Two: Tuesday 7:45pm)

I explained why I think Rotherham are good value last week as their league position does not show their true points. Aldershot arrive having lost 5 of their last 6 games and have lost half their away games by more than one goal. Rotherham are unbeaten in 6 at home, winning 4. In all games they have just 2 defeats in 14 matches, winning 9.

++ Asian Handicap – Rotherham (-0.5, -1) @ 1.98 on Bet365 (1pt) – 2 on Betfair

1 point staked.

Good luck in whatever bets you do.

Not sure if other bets will follow but one for tonight.

West Ham v West Brom (Premiership: Monday 8pm)

West Ham good, West Brom bad just about sums this up. I was keen on West Ham -1 on the AH but have been burnt a little there recently. West Brom have lost 11/14 away matches this season and have lost 5 of the last 6 matches. West Ham had a poor start but have settled down now and lost just 3 of the last 12 matches, home to Villa and Man Utd and away at West Brom and that included matches against both Arsenal and Chelsea. I think they are a long way better than the baggies.

++ Asian Handicap – West Ham (-0.5, -1) @ 2.1 on Bet365 (1pt) – 2.12 on Betfair

1 point staked.

Good luck in whatever bets you do.

It’s been a terrible run of late and it continued. After having a few winning years to have a year like this is hard to take and you wonder how it ended up like this. I’ll keep plugging on as a big weekend would wipe a huge deficit out of the total.

Going back to midweek Chester went 1-0 up at home to Rotherham and I feared the worst but Rotherham came back to win easily 5-1. The corner bet was a loser as Chelsea and ManCity shared 7. Chelsea had just 4 corners which aside from big 4 matches equals their lowest total. Valenciennes beat Le Havre 3-2 but that was no good as we needed the 2 goal margin, Monaco and Toulouse were drawing at HT but Monaco went on to win when we needed it to be Toulouse. In Greece Larissa and PAOK drew 0-0 and the one correct call was Aris and Xanthi being 0-0 at HT.

114 Bets (109 points staked) :: 38 won – 67 lost – 7 void – 2 half void :: -17.27 points

Some English games this week and there will be a bet on the West Ham game tomorrow.

* This does not include the 3 antepost bets.

“If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.” – Chico Marx