So what bets have you made in readiness for the start

[Hookeysmith]

You know the bets you have with mates rather than bookies

I have my usual £10 with my nose mate that we finish higher than then in our corresponding leagues - i have this bet every year and when TSM signed my mate said that i might as well pay up before a ball was kicked 

This year i work out of town and am surrounded by glory hunters - mainly United / Liverpool and even a Man City fan

I have had £20 with a 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' fan that we wil finish higher than them as i really see them struggling to score many goals, i think Suarez will sulk as he will be booed at every ground he goes to and if they lose Agger then i really see them struggle - in fact i dont think Radgers will last till xmas

[Rob92]

Betfred are offering 13/8 on Villa finishing as the top Midlands club (above WBA and Stoke) - Printing money.

[dicedlam]

Had £50 with a pal (baggies fan) that we will finish higher than them this season, along with a tenner for every point above the baggies total.

Easy money.

[Witton Warrior]

I started a £1 "double or nothing" bet in 1974 with a Wolves fan who disappeared many years later owing me a small fortune!

All the armchair Sky fans in our office refuse to bet with me because they believe that if you attend a match you may influence the outcome unfairly - they are mad!

[Percy McCarthy]

Two Liverpool colleagues have finally lost faith in them finishing in the top four. Which is a shame as that money came in handy the last couple of Easters. :-(

[Brian Taylor]

Can we make the Top 4 this season? Am I being too ambitious?
I have an inclination to take whatever odds are on offer. Maybe just pre-Season enthusiasm that we have turned the corner and left the horrors of the past few years behind us, but the new Mr L's transfers have got me going.. Bring on the shirt-stealers for a start. Definite 3-0, 3-1!

Villa Top 4, 80-1 generally with 150-1 at Blue Sq..  whoo - hoo!

[LeeB]

I bet a nose who's too stupid to know the shit his clubs in £50 that we'd finish higher the our league than they would in theirs.

[N'ZMAV]

My bet is Sunderland will be relegated.

[john e]

I've had a few bets with betfair on Villa doing quite well, can't remember without checking, top half, top 8 even top 6 etc

Also had money on Stoke going down, I think they were 9/1 at the time, was going to put some on West Ham getting relegated but there odds were to poor,

I have this theory that it's the end of the line for the 'direct football' manager, with the influx of men like Rogers, Lambert, Martinez, AVB, coupled with Alex, Wenger, Mancini the old fashioned approach will struggle to compete against better footballing tactics.

Just a theory,

also think MON might struggle for the same reasons, and might put some money on him not being at Sunderland at the end of the season

[JUAN PABLO]

i can see a norwich or Swansea relegated .   Wonder what the odds are ?

[dave.woodhall]

Fixed:

My hope is Sunderland will be relegated.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Di Matteo to be sacked before Christmas

Albion to go down

[ez]

I've had a few bets with betfair on Villa doing quite well, can't remember without checking, top half, top 8 even top 6 etc

Also had money on Stoke going down, I think they were 9/1 at the time, was going to put some on West Ham getting relegated but there odds were to poor,

I have this theory that it's the end of the line for the 'direct football' manager, with the influx of men like Rogers, Lambert, Martinez, AVB, coupled with Alex, Wenger, Mancini the old fashioned approach will struggle to compete against better footballing tactics.

Just a theory,

also think MON might struggle for the same reasons, and might put some money on him not being at Sunderland at the end of the season

Mon walking out on Sunderland is just a case of when.

[JUAN PABLO]

Aston Villa had finished as the top Midlands club for nine successive seasons before their struggles in the last campaign, but normal order can be restored now that Paul Lambert has taken charge at Villa Park.

With only West Brom and Stoke as competition for the honour, Aston Villa's odds of 1/1 to be top Midlands club look generous.

Lambert's arrival has been greeted positively at Villa and he has already made some seemingly shrewd signings.


Ron Vlaar should strengthen a defence that looked iffy from set pieces last season, Karim El Ahmadi should provide some new protection to the back four, while Brett Holman has been scoring goals regularly in pre season.

Throw in that Darren Bent is back fit after missing a large chunk of last season and his goals will almost certainly ensure Villa finish higher than 16th and perhaps even back in the top half of the table.

Lambert's style of attack-minded football will also suit Bent, along with Charles N'Zogbia and Stephen Ireland, with this trio in particular seeming starved by the more defensive approach of Alex McLeish.

West Brom took top Midlands honours last season by finishing tenth, but they will struggle to replicate this without current England manager Roy Hodgson.

This is Steve Clarke's first managerial post and the general consensus is that Clarke will cause the Baggies to be nearer relegation than last season.

Stoke are another team tipped as outsiders for relegation after struggling for form towards the end of the last campaign and doing little to strengthen their squad in the close season.

[junxs]

When was Steve Clarke appointed WBA manager? I somehow missed that one.
While I'm at it, who's the new Wolves manager?