Just compared some odds on promotion for City and we are 13th behind Forest and Brighton http://www.betting-directory.com/football/championship-betting.php Is it a good thing that we are not really been looked at for promotion?
Not really important. If the odds were decided by football people looking at the division and deciding who'd win I'd be more concerned about not being fancied, but as the odds are set to maximise the profits the bookies make you can guarantee things like the relegated clubs being above us, along with any teams who've spent a lot of money on a player known to British fans.
Can anyone remember a season where we have been expected to do well? We've had threads like this the last god knows how many summers and it's always the same, we make progress over the summer yet people expect us to finish further down than we did the previous season.
2003/04 I believe we were one of the favourites to get promoted after we'd spent quite a bit and moved to the KC. That's the last time I can remember us being 'fancied' to do really well.
No suprise, and at least we won't have to live up to a favourites tag and can suprise a few people along the way hopefully.
Also, did anyone see the pundits predicitions for the season in the mail today? Think they had us down to finish 6th/7th, though Swanny had Ipswich down for 2nd place
When we were one of the biggest clubs in the division (L1 and D3) we were generally the favourites because the losses incurred by the bookies through our fans betting on us to win it needed to be considered.
I understand the way bookies do their odds, but I'm talking about predictions in general by neutral sources like papers, pundits, etc. We're usually expected by the majority of these sources to finish lower than we did the season before. It's like they do the Leeds thing and ignore all the relevant evidence but just go on who has the history and who doesn't.
The maths is the same though. They want to sell papers, subscriptions etc so kiss the arses of the fans of those teams by telling them everything they want to hear. Leeds being the primary example, I can't remember if the delusion many of their fans suffer from came before or after the press insisted on telling them they belong in the PL etc. I do like the occassional journalist though that describes a team as the bookies favourites. You know they're basically saying they think the team is **** but they're doing it in a way to avoid upsetting their fans.
This guy appears to believe in us! Steve Bruce has added quality to a Hull side who finished just outside the Championship play-offs last season and despite taking the questionable step of signing his own son Alex, The Tigers look well placed to make a decent challenge in a notoriously tough division. Nick Barmby left the KC under a cloud after falling out with the owners but the board have already backed Bruce in the transfer market and he has strengthened the squad in the right areas. This league is littered with misty-eyed clubs dreaming of a return to the big time while others look to invest their parachute payments in an attempt to bounce back at the first attempt. The reality is it is a brutal 46-game battle and many clubs have tried and failed in their attempts to escape it. Bruce adding Nick Proschwitz and Sone Aluko to the squad should give the Tigers the teeth they lacked in attack at times last season and they look overpriced at 28/1 (29.0) to win it. An each-way bet totalling £25 should pay dividends if Hull can make the step up to title contenders this time around. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2995/betting/2012/08/14/3306438/-?
