By Betting Zone
December 1 2006

Sir Alex Ferguson has no personal grudge against Gareth Southgate but he is adamant the Middlesbrough manager should not be in the home dugout when Manchester United visit the Riverside on Saturday.

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As a committee member with the League Managers' Association, Ferguson is steadfastly behind the organisation's belief that all league managers should have their UEFA pro-licence, something Southgate and Newcastle counterpart Glenn Roeder do not have.

After appointing Southgate as successor to Steve McClaren, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson successfully convinced the Premier League to let the former England defender continue in the job until he has the necessary qualifications.

Ferguson believes Gibson was totally right to fight his corner, given Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd had already persuaded his Premier League counterparts to bend their rules to let Roeder continue in charge at St James' Park.

But he feels the initial decision was wrong given the whole idea of forcing managers to take their UEFA pro-licence was to improve the standard of coaching.

"The regulations were set out to improve the standard of coaching and the people coming into the game and they should have remained," said Ferguson.

"The whole thing was changed by Freddy Shepherd when he rounded on the other chairmen to get the rules changed so he could appoint Glenn Roeder.

"I am a committee member of the LMA, I feel the rules were absolutely correct and it was wrong to change them.

"If you want the quality of the game to improve, it has to be done through the coaches. It is nothing personal but the principle was right and the fact both Gareth Southgate and Glenn Roeder are now taking their badges gives you the answer."

While Shepherd claimed Roeder had been unable to complete his coaching courses because he had to take time out for treatment on a brain tumour, Gibson pointed out Southgate's extensive international career was a barrier to furthering his coaching qualifications.

Ferguson can see distinct differences between the two, although the Scot accepts once the rules were amended once, it was inevitable the same thing would happen a second time.

"Once the door was opened by Freddy Shepherd, Middlesbrough were completely correct in giving the job to Gareth Southgate under exactly the same principle as Glenn Roeder got it," said Ferguson.

"But Gareth is different from Glenn in the sense he was a player, then the next day he becomes a manager when the job is thrust upon him.

"Managers and coaches should be completely qualified if they want to raise the standards of our game but the door is open now. How you close it I don't know."

Ferguson is exempt from having to secure a UEFA pro-licence himself as he was already managing in the top flight before the rule was introduced.

Southgate will hope to provide the perfect answer to Ferguson's argument by engineering a similar success over United to the one they enjoyed against Chelsea earlier in the season.

No-one inside the United camp will need any reminding that their last visit to Teesside turned into an unmitigated disaster as they crumbled to a 4-1 defeat which triggered Roy Keane's infamous MUTV tirade.

Ferguson is not expecting a repeat, especially as he intends to field a full-strength side after making wholesale changes for the midweek win over Everton.

Rio Ferdinand is available despite picking up an ankle knock, while Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Louis Saha can also expect a recall as United look to take advantage of Chelsea's inactivity by opening up a six-point lead at the Premiership summit.

"Last year was a bad moment for us," admitted Ferguson.

"The team weren't playing particularly well, we had some injuries and we produced a bad performance.

"But our record up there overall is pretty good and our away record in general this season has been exceptional.

"We have only dropped two points at Reading, when they scored through a penalty, so what happened last year should not have any bearing on what we do tomorrow.

"We are in the right frame of mind. There is a great spirit, the players are enjoying their football. Hopefully we can get the result we want."

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By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.

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A GUARANTEED PROFIT ON PORTSMOUTH v ASTON VILLA

December's busy Premiership programme kicks off on Saturday. Portsmouth take on Aston Villa at Fratton Park at 3.00pm UK Time and we can guarantee you a profit on the match, whatever the result.

We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now - don't delay! - because we expect the odds to change before kick-off which means the figures here will be invalidated.

You won't be able to do this if you already have accounts with one or more of the bookies we are using for this bet but if that is the case, mail us and let us know which accounts you have and we'll send you an alternative bet.

We're going to lay out a total of £146.25 on the match and we will collect £183.25 plus £75 in free bets if Aston Villa win. If Portsmouth win or if it's a draw we will get all of our money back plus £75 in free bets.

Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.

1. Open accounts with Extrabet and Betfred and Totesport. This shouldn't take you any longer than ten minutes.

2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts. Deposit £36.25 into your new Extrabet account. Deposit £45.00 into your new Betfred account. Deposit £65.00 into your new Totesport account.

3. Now make the following bets.

Place £36.25 on Aston Villa to win at 12/5 with Extrabet.

Place £65.00 on Portsmouth to win at 5/4 with Totesport

Place £45.00 on the draw at 9/4 with Betfred .

You have temporarily laid out a total of £146.25. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.

4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.

If Aston Villa win, you will collect £183.25 from Extrabet.

Extrabet pay a bonus on your first bet if it's a winner. What they do is match your first bet up to £25.00 so if it's a draw, you will collect the following:

£87.00 winnings, plus £60.00 winnings from your free matched bet plus your £36.25 stake back which equals £183.25.

If it's a draw, you will collect £146.25 from Betfred . This money can be withdraw immediately.

Betfred will then credit your new account with a free £25.00 bet, whatever the result of the match.

If Portsmouth win, you will collect £146.25 from Totesport. This money can be withdraw immediately.

Totesport will then credit your new account with a free £50.00 bet, whatever the result of the match.

5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Aston Villa match is Villa don't win and you break even and get £75.00 worth of free bets. But if Villa do win you make £37.00 profit plus £75.00 in free bets.

6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the three bookies or you may not qualify for the bonuses.

Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. They rarely do but if they have, the figures here will no longer be valid.

Also, please note that the bonuses and free bets are not always paid immediately and you may have to wait until Monday before they hit your accounts.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will come straight back to you.

Please note that the free bets and bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case,contact us and we'll mail you an alternative bet using different bookies.

This method of betting was used very successfully during the World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.

It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for three seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.

Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.